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Violent crime rate has shot up since Katrina. For example, last week a Hispanic man was beaten to death by a group of African Americans when the car he was in bumped a child. Homicide rate in general has increased dramatically ...sadly.
Based on the numbers, it is not true that the homicide rate in Austin has increased. The idiotic murder that you referred to was reported as homicide number 11 for the year in Austin (population 700,000). That puts Austin on a pace to record about 22 murders for the year which is slightly lower than it's recent average of about 25.
We had contemplated moving to Austin seriously for the past year. We have been here now for 3 weeks and I can definitely say all these negatives are relative.
There is definitely traffic congestion but I used to commute an hour on a good day into Baltimore City so for me-no biggie. I could not get around here without a GPS though. The access roads are crazy and I got turned around several times even with the GPS but I am getting used to them already. I think part of the problem with the clueless drivers is there are a lot of people new to the area and don't know what there are doing. I pissed off a few people unintentionally already.
It has been raining almost nonstop since we came so I haven't truly experienced the heat yet but the humidity here is nothing like Baltimore.
I can say though that we keep our air on 77 ave and if it's lower than that I am cold. I used to keep it on 73 at home-go figure.
So far I am liking it a lot here. I think it really depends on how adaptable you are. Are you a go with the flow kind of person or do you complain about every single thing that changes in your life? People deal with change in different ways. You can embrace it or you can be miserable.
I say go for it, you only live once. And, like my SIL says, there are 49 other states if you don't like this one
Want might be a bit harsh. I would love to live in one of the nice downtown neighborhoods, but I don't want to plop down 400K plus on a 60 year old 1200 sq ft. fixer upper.
Yep, that's the reality of it if you truly desire Central Austin. When people say their moving too Austin, it often means moving near Austin to one of the cheaper outskirt areas. But there are still plenty of decent, good homes available in South Austin for about $200K, 20 minutes from downtown.
Steve
But there are still plenty of decent, good homes available in South Austin for about $200K, 20 minutes from downtown.
Steve
Steve,
One area I am just dumbfounded no one talks about is off Convict Hill & 290W. Between Escarpment and Poncha Pass, south of Convict Hill. The ones with all the David Weekly homes. When I was looking for a home 2 years ago I was hoping one would go up for sale that matched a floor plan I liked. That area is a hidden gem. The were selling between 195K-240K. Could never figure out why, seems like they should have been more.
One area I am just dumbfounded no one talks about is off Convict Hill & 290W. Between Escarpment and Poncha Pass, south of Convict Hill. The ones with all the David Weekly homes.
That's Legend Oaks. Yes, it has been a hot area the past year. Many of the floorplans are somewhat dark and dated, which turns off a lot of buyers, but the location is absolutely one of the best in Austin, in my opinion.
When my wife and I first moved here we were dead set on the NW part of town. We could not find a apartment that was reasonable & take 3 cats. We were almost forced into living in a condo off Shadowridge Run. My wife wanted to purchase the condo just to be in the area
That was the best thing that could have happened to us, we just fell in love with the SW part of town and just reaffirmed the whole rent before you buy thing for us. We took many walks around legend oaks hoping the perfect floor plan would come available. Oh well, good thing the Austin area has a multitude of options.
One year ago tomorrow I moved from the coast of central Florida to Southwest Austin so I can be a real resource for you.
It is not hot here compared to Florida.... what it is is COLDER in the winter! Be prepared to shiver. There was actually an ICE STORM here last year. The sun CAN be intense - but you're used to that.
It rains for days or weeks at a time. None of that short refreshing afternoon shower and then sunshine here. It can get depressing. They also say that it's sunny 300 days a year. They don't tell you that some years there are horrible droubts and others, like this year, it rains for months on end.
It goes from cold, to rain, to intense heat with none of that balmy, pretty stuff you're used to in Florida.
I moved from NYC to Florida to here. Compared to NY this is a green and pretty city but compared to Melbourne Beach Florida this place is downright ugly.
There is more to life than weather and tropical beauty however.... but let's just finish up with those first.
The weather in Florida is fabulous all 99.999% of the time but that .001% was enough to make me move. Evacuating 3 times in one year and returning to destruction after hurricanes is no fun. Austin does have hail, really, really, really heavy rains and flash floods, the ocassional ice storm that keep you in your house for days on end and pretty sucky weather in general compared to Florida, but it does not get hurricanes, tonadoes or earthquakes. The weather does not usually put your life at risk, unless you are stupid enough to drive through water in a downpour.
Be careful if you have allergies. If you do, this is not the place for you.
In terms of beauty, there are a lot of parks and greenbelts. As far as cities go, it's pretty green. Not Florida tropical green - but better than most around the country. Just be careful as relatively, if you expecty Florida green and beauty, you will be dissapointed.
I gardened avidly in Florida. This place simply doesn't compare. The soil is clay and like digging in one big rock. Raised beds and irrigation are necessary if you aren't xeriscaping like I am. I do have a magnificent wildflower meadow for a yard here though. Lovely.
OK, so onto other than weather and natural beauty:
Driving - Florida is exasperating for all the reasons you say. Slow, out of it, nobody home etc. I was angry all the time. It was hard on me to drive in Florida. But there were few accidents. People were patient, polite and slow. Austin is filled with what I call "young testosterone". It is less infuriating in general because you can tell what people are going to do and they aren't so out to lunch - but it is aggressive! I've seen four cars end up on the side of the road because they tried to cut someone off or get somewhere they had no business trying to get to. I see accidents about half the time I'm out driving. People will do anything to get in front. They accelerate, swerve, won't let anyone in, most times don't signal and won't allow for normal merging. It's more aggressive than NYC driving in my opinion. It's a college town where the young guys grew up playing video games. If you have to drive any distance to go to a job during rush hour - don't move here. The traffic is simply awful. But if you work from home like I do, I'd say that as dangerous as it is, I prefer this to the vacant-headed drivers of Florida. I get moments of Wow! that was really close or dangerous; or Wow! I can't believe that person did that! But I'm not continually annoyed and frustrated. I expect people to drive very aggressively and in response drive extremely defensively and I never go out at rush hour if I can help it.
You can still get a nice house here with a good yard for a great price and real estate is still going up here - that is - if you can sell your house in Florida at this point. The economy and population are growing here and building is still happening. There was a glut of houses after the 2000 tech crash so this area never went through the boom. It's a great place to invest in a house.
If you buy a house though, make sure it is absolutely perfect and there is not one thing that you would want to change or upgrade. This place is even worse than Florida when it comes to contractors - and you know how bad Florida is. I moved here a year ago and have still not moved my things in because of horror story after horror story with contractors. I've used and interviewed maybe 100 contractors during my ordeal called moving to Austin and not one of them was reputable. It's an absolute disgrace.
Health care - especially if you are a senior citizen is horrendous. There are few doctors that even accept medicare patients. There are few services. Finding a good doctor or dentist is close to impossible. Healthcare on the east coast is light years ahead of this place. I was hoping that since this was the capital of the state it would be better here. It's not. If you have health issues, you might want to re-think moving here.
If you have prejudices against hispanic culture or don't like Spanish spoken around you on a regular basis or are particularly upset with the way this country approaches immigration, probably not the state for you.
The school systems are rated 3rd to last in the country. Yes, we are below Lousiana and Alabama on the list. But..... Texas has great homeschooling laws. There are also many Montessori schools and a Waldorf school. Alternative education is strong. Public schools, rated some of the worst. But lots of activities for children. Children everywhere! The opposite of Florida. You don't even realize how few children and pregnant ladies there were in Florida until you move here. Melbourne was actually a young part of Florida too.
Culturally Austin is way ahead. Music capital of the world, fun stuff happening all over. Lots of activities of all types. NYC it's not, but for a small city it's a happening place. People are young minded, engaged, thinking and progressive. This is an oasis in Texas for culture and foward thinking and compared to all of Florida, it's a breath of fresh air. There is more to a place than the weather and natural surroundings and the people here make it (except the contractors!).
There is the university. People are thinking and creating. The tech industry is big. Austin is an educated city.
There are different sections appropriate to different focal points, ideals and lifestyles. Be careful where you pick to live.
The city is sprawling. Living downtown is expensive compared to the rest of Austin but downright cheap compared to NY, California or even Florida these days.
Here in the southwest there is a big farmers market and there's one downtown and then there is the glorious Whole Foods. That store is a dream come true.
There aren't that many healthy restaurants though. Strange.
If you like to drink and party - this is a great place.
If you want to settle down and raise a family and homeschool, this is a great place.
If you are a senior citizen, be careful.
If you love living outdoors all year, gardening in the tropics, digging in sand, the ocean, palm trees and beautiful weather - be careful before you leave.
There are still some beautiful trees and clouds and sky and wildflowers. It's just so radically different. You can garden, but things won't just grow by leaps and bounds by themselves like in Florida.
I got bit by two scorpions this week. One on the tip of my finger and one on my throat in the middle of the night. It hurts like nothing else and is beyond creepy. There are still mosquitoes here, but not as slow and dumb as the Florida ones, but not quite as many. There are also flies. Oh so many flies. There is much less wildlife here. I must admit that the song birds are charming. Snakes there are both places, both good and the bad. But no massive hunter spiders, no frogs in our toilets, no lovebugs and no no-seeums. So many less bugs - but those scorpions are worse than all the others combined in Florida.
This place is faster, more agressive, less friendly, more intense and a bit darker. Less smiles, less friendly, more aggressive and defensive. There is more homelessless, more strife and struggling. It is also sharper, more intelligent, more active, more creative, more progressive and young. If you prize intellectual connection and culture, this place, in my experience, wins out.
Overall (if I ever do get to move into my house), I do believe that I personally will prefer Austin to Florida. Oh, but I do miss the beauty and the weather sometimes like on rainy, nasty days like today - and especially in winter.
Hope this helps you to make your decision. If there's anything I left out or that you want to know my take on, please feel free to ask.
Employees care too much about work life balance. It's hard to get people to work a lot compared to the bay area where everyone works 55+ hours
This for me is a major plus - we are leaving London, UK to escape the rat race and live a more laid back life! Not work mad hours and never see our families!
Seattle and Austin are my 2 favorite metro areas in the USA.
Seattle is romantic, with the islands and ferries, the mountains, and so many other factors that make it a wonderful place.
I have reasons for preferring Austin, but this is supposed to be a thread about reasons NOT to move here. The reasons have been listed several times by people. Heat is obvious, so I want to stress another factor: In Seattle you have many escapes. In Austin our only escape is by air travel. It takes a long time to get to mountains, ocean, or anything remotely like the varied landscapes, geology and climates of the Pacific NW. I often feel trapped here, almost claustrophobic, because it's such a huge effort to get to a place that doesn't look and feel like Texas. The central Texas Hill Country region alone is at least as large as the entire state of Washington.
The center of the USA is vast and the beauty is much more subtle. I've grown to love it, but I still want to spend my summers in Seattle. If I were a rich man, I most certainly would have a second home in the NW.
Like I said, all the other reasons not to move here have been stated many times. I loathe the traffic, but Seattle is just as bad so it's kind of pointless to make that an issue. And heat here isn't as hard to take as it is in Seattle. I've been in San Francisco, Seattle and other west coast cities on 80 degree days that felt hotter than a 90 degree day here. Weird. I'm still trying to figure that out, but I know I'm not the only one. I know several people who say the same thing. Maybe it's because we have more wind here? Or the atmosphere is deeper and filters out the piercing sun more here?
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From Florida to Austin
