Are we witnessing the largest growth spurt in Austin's history? (Orange: shop, suburban)

[inthecut]

Originally Posted by Paulmmm

In fact, I think I read a posting on Austin CD a few months ago that the majority of people moving to Austin are actually coming here from other places in Texas (not from California, NY, the rust belt, New England, out of the country, etc.). I believe it was one of the realtors who posted that (AustinSteve maybe?), but I don't remember for sure.

I think I can clarify that....

No metro has the majority of new residents come from out of state......the in-state residents live far closer, so there will be far more of them coming from in-state, especially one as populated as Texas. I run into more people from Houston than any single out of state place. A fair share of DFW folks are well as all over the state, even Lubbock. Austin looks just as enticing to someone from a struggling/small town in Texas looking for someplace more exciting.....

lastly, there ARE some single neighborhoods that are mostly out of staters.....I would say Steiner ranch is majority Californians, or close TO it......Some areas have many Asian Indians as well, so lets not forget out-of-countryers either...

BTW, Austin Steve is an ex-californian as well, so he should know!

[phil938]

hoffdano, this is interesting... could you post the link to the site where these studies could be found?

[hoffdano]

Originally Posted by phil938

hoffdano, this is interesting... could you post the link to the site where these studies could be found?

The link below is specific to Lake Travis ISD and reflects their 2008 study. They will have another one sometime in 2010.

Lake Travis ISD | Facilities, Construction & Support (http://www.ltisdschools.org/123310531152411580/blank/browse.asp?a=383&BMDRN=2000&BCOB=0&c=55148&1233105 31152411580Nav=|&NodeID=411 - broken link)

Leander ISD:

http://www.leanderisd.org/docs/1-DemographicUpdate09.pdf (broken link)

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by inthecut

Are we witnessing the largest growth spurt in Austin's history?

I don't think we are going to be anywhere close, at least not in terms of percentages.

This graph shows the Austin growth for each 10 year period. Ignore the last one as the data was not complete for the years 2000 to 2010.

[inthecut]

Originally Posted by CptnRn

I don't think we are going to be anywhere close, at least not in terms of percentages.

This graph shows the Austin growth for each 10 year period. Ignore the last one as the data was not complete for the years 2000 to 2010.

One disclaimer on a good graph....the last few percentages were pertaining to a far higher population. The last 10 years actually provided the most people numerically coming off such a large pop base in 2000....

if the metro grew by 150% today, it would have to add over 3 million people a decade, so obviously we won't ever eclipse that....

I can see that % wise we won't eclipse, but 27% is huge coming off a base of 1.5 million in the metro, and 800,000, or close to it, in the city proper.

[LolaIsMyPuppy]

I think it's a bit amusing that the creator of this thread, who does seem to have a trend of complaining about outsiders, has lived in Austin for..how long? Three years? He, himself relocated here, right? And now can't figure out why anyone else would? Reminds me of people who complain about immigrants moving to the US yet fail to remember that their ancestors were, at one time, immigrants to this country (obvious exceptions), it's sort of a "Ok, I'm in, now close the gate" mentality.

Anyway, I moved here 3 weeks ago (fresh of the boat!) from Madison, WI, with no job prospects, leaving behind the supportive network of friends, family, professional contacts and university services as an alum. Why? A few reasons, I suppose:

1. The climate - This is the kicker for me. My Norwegian heritage has given me some serious seasonal depresssion, and if I had to spend one more winter in the frozen tundra, well...maybe there's a reason Wisconsin has so many infamous serial killers.

2. I'm a musician - Do I need to explain myself here? Madison has some great bands, but no one to watch them. Not sure why, but the climate there isn't very musician-friendly. I do have to say, it's much different here. Many more "musicians for hire" that want to show up, show off and get paid. Where's the dedication in hand-pressing 2000 buttons or self-booking a tour for no money?

3. Well, that's really all I have. I'm young and didn't want to spend my 20's living in a quaint, little Wisconsin town with nothing going on OR having to walk through 3 feet of snow to get to whatever's going on. I considered other major cities, but ruled out Boston, Denver and Chicago because of the weather. Florida and LA because of the cultures, anything in California because of the job market. Someday I will most likely complete the famous triad of relocation and move on over to Portland or Eugene, but for now I just want to eat Tex Mex, go see live music and be warm and happy.

As far as looking for jobs, it really sucks. But I can't imagine it being any easier anywhere else. For anyone considering moving, I've got a B.S. from a Top Ten university with a 4.0gpa, I'm fluent in Spanish and I regularly volunteered in my community in Madison. I have experience in customer service, teaching, office administration, retail, food and haven't received a single call for an interview after a month of searching. (Anyone want to hire me?)

But I have to say, I'm sitting in a tank top soaking up the sun at a funky little coffee shop on the East side with my dog next to me, and I couldn't be happier.

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by inthecut

One disclaimer on a good graph....the last few percentages were pertaining to a far higher population. The last 10 years actually provided the most people numerically coming off such a large pop base in 2000....

if the metro grew by 150% today, it would have to add over 3 million people a decade, so obviously we won't ever eclipse that....

I can see that % wise we won't eclipse, but 27% is huge coming off a base of 1.5 million in the metro, and 800,000, or close to it, in the city proper.

That is correct, here is the graph showing the growth in population, the numbers used to produce these graphs come from the wikipedia.

[Danbo1957]

The jump in Austin population from 1982-1992 was incredible - we simply did not have the infrastructure to handle that growth - the end of "Old Austin". Also, that 130,000 increase in people, noted in the graph, does not include the incredible popuation increase in Round Rock, which in that ten year's time turned a small town into a city.

[inthecut]

Originally Posted by LolaIsMyPuppy

I think it's a bit amusing that the creator of this thread, who does seem to have a trend of complaining about outsiders, has lived in Austin for..how long? Three years? He, himself relocated here, right? And now can't figure out why anyone else would? Reminds me of people who complain about immigrants moving to the US yet fail to remember that their ancestors were, at one time, immigrants to this country (obvious exceptions), it's sort of a "Ok, I'm in, now close the gate" mentality.

Anyway, I moved here 3 weeks ago (fresh of the boat!) from Madison, WI, with no job prospects, leaving behind the supportive network of friends, family, professional contacts and university services as an alum. Why? A few reasons, I suppose:

1. The climate - This is the kicker for me. My Norwegian heritage has given me some serious seasonal depresssion, and if I had to spend one more winter in the frozen tundra, well...maybe there's a reason Wisconsin has so many infamous serial killers.

2. I'm a musician - Do I need to explain myself here? Madison has some great bands, but no one to watch them. Not sure why, but the climate there isn't very musician-friendly. I do have to say, it's much different here. Many more "musicians for hire" that want to show up, show off and get paid. Where's the dedication in hand-pressing 2000 buttons or self-booking a tour for no money?

3. Well, that's really all I have. I'm young and didn't want to spend my 20's living in a quaint, little Wisconsin town with nothing going on OR having to walk through 3 feet of snow to get to whatever's going on. I considered other major cities, but ruled out Boston, Denver and Chicago because of the weather. Florida and LA because of the cultures, anything in California because of the job market. Someday I will most likely complete the famous triad of relocation and move on over to Portland or Eugene, but for now I just want to eat Tex Mex, go see live music and be warm and happy.

As far as looking for jobs, it really sucks. But I can't imagine it being any easier anywhere else. For anyone considering moving, I've got a B.S. from a Top Ten university with a 4.0gpa, I'm fluent in Spanish and I regularly volunteered in my community in Madison. I have experience in customer service, teaching, office administration, retail, food and haven't received a single call for an interview after a month of searching. (Anyone want to hire me?)

But I have to say, I'm sitting in a tank top soaking up the sun at a funky little coffee shop on the East side with my dog next to me, and I couldn't be happier.

Lola, actually I rather like Austin. I do hate the poor direction the growth has taken, with abject lack of planning per roads and very poor city amenities that most every major metro has, especially numerous large public parks, a great, large main central library, which Austin assuredly does not have, and a very tacky and franchise-riden new growth area, which composes a very large part of the NW side of the city, where most of the new growth has taken place.

I do love the ethos, which I can only hope and pray does NOT get consumed with all the retail-stripping and franchising, and hope that the funky central does not get high-rise condoed out of existence.

I wish you the best of luck in Austin, especially being a relatively local
res of wisc and a badger fan. It is very pleasant to sit out and eat/drink in Austin, and hands down, along with the live music, would def be Austin's calling card.

Sounds like you jumped from the frying pan into the fire, with the move from Madison, which has an unemployment rate slightly below Austins.
I still find it hard to believe you couldn't land a customer service job, unless they are overwhelmed by apps now. They were not when I first moved here, as I got one myself pretty much right after moving in.
San Antonio has the highest number AND % of customer service jobs in the USA, so, if you have not locked a rental in yet in Austin, perhaps you could head down there and give it a try.

One thing I can vouchsafe.....being a recent graduate, you prob brought little money down with you, so I wouldn't hang out too much longer with the dog soaking up the rays. Put that stuff in the backburner till you land something. It would certainly suck to have to come back broke, and just have a few memories of hanging out with the dog at some outdoor eatery, and god knows it takes forever to save a decent nest egg to try it again.

I would honestly get off your butt and out of the "catching cool vibes and sun" thing, and look hard for a job now, before you blow thorough your cash and head back to below zero "real" chill in Wisconsin....

[latikeriii]

In my opinion, I think that this is the largest growth spurt in raw numbers but percentage-wise, I still think that the early to late 90s had the largest percentage gain. The early-mid 80s also saw a huge spurt before the market crashed in 87.