Sarasota or Austin, San Antonio or Dallas (rental, house)

[firsttimeowner]

How would you compair Sarasota to Tampa?

I think those are the 2 places in Fl. I have narrowed it down to.



Thanks for any advice.

[Persiani]

I live in El Paso and am currently considering Sarasota as a sea change: pun intended. However, there are a couple of additions to previous posts.

Taxes are not "much higher" in Texas as one post read. Firstly, Texas, like Florida, has no state income tax and some areas have relatively low property taxes which form the crux of the Texas tax system. School taxes comprise half of that amount in all Texas locales to my knowledge. But, my homeowner's insurance is approx. $440, including replacement cost, a year on a 2450 sq. ft. home in an ideal neighborhood with pool, palms, privacy, and an incredible mountain side view. I'm sure Floridians will be swallowing hard over their insurance rates in comparison to mine especially if they are in spitting distance of the ocean/gulf. Secondly, if it's not winter, you will be sweating in all these places: Dallas, Austin, Sarasota, and San Antonio... really sweating profusely in mid-Summer. Approximately, 200 miles east of El Paso the sweat-line ends. Thirdly, since there are no allergy issues in El Paso, it's hard to imagine Austin and San Antonio being more allergy prone than Florida. Certainly there would be a far buggier experience in Sarasota or anywhere else in a semi-to-sub-tropical area than in A and SA. Do not count on Sarasota being sunnier than Austin or SA; they should both have as much or more sun than any location in Florida.

I have done my research and agree that Sarasota seems to be the cream of the crop in Florida. The state is a magnet and will draw all kinds from all parts of the US and elsewhere and one should be prepared for that in all its ramifications. Florida is flat and you better be prepared to look at the half dozen homes that border your own. If you're not standing on the beach, you'll have to rely on the flora, fauna, and non-beach elements of the lifestyle. That issue is my biggest drawback as I'm so used to wide open spaces; I can see 125 miles out of my backyard.

The biggest drawbacks to Dallas are its pervasive conservatism, traffic, and black ice in the winter. Fabulous health facilities, excellent high end shopping, and great multicultural food fare are its plusses. It's lakes are wonderful and for many make up for the ocean. You can also live very near the city center in some extremely nice and affordable areas that can minimize driving problems. Austin is an hippie chic location with much competitiveness for jobs as UT students would like to stay in the progressive mecca they've immersed themselves in for four plus years. Traffic is a nightmare in the capital, but the airport is a snap. The areas around New Braunfels, Fredricksburg, San Marcos, and other outlying areas have become the roosting places for many transplants. And, they are very nice and very Texasy. Austin is a town that Texans love and have a deep reference for. San Antonio is much more Hispanic-oriented than Austin or Dallas and also a staging ground for Mexican drug-trafficking. At the same time, this gives an element of foreigness which I like that is quite pleasant for many, but a much less foreign feel than El Paso. True, people are genuinely friendly all over Texas, but there is the cooler element to one on one contact in SA than in Dallas or Austin possibly due to the touristy nature of San Antonio's heart. The charms of the River Walk is hard to resist and among all these locations other than the white powder beaches of Sarasota may be the best scenic advertisement.

Don't mean to offend anyone with any comment. But for one who knows both areas well (TX 30 yrs and FL near native), I thought these comments might point out some issues worth considering.

[imagardener]

[quote=Persiani;9009220Taxes are not "much higher" in Texas as one post read.[/quote]

I plead guilty to making that statement. My brother (Houston) and I (Naples at the time) compared our taxes and arrived at that conclusion. He felt his taxes ran 1.5% of value whereas ours in Florida were a little less than half that (say .6%).
To be clearer: on a $400,000 house taxes are $6,000 in Houston and $2400 in Naples. I may not be totally exact (this was 2 years ago) but in the ballpark.
You make a lot of good points, especially insurance costs being MUCH higher in Florida.
We chose to stay in Florida because we love it here but others should take expenses into consideration in making their decision.

Too many people move to Florida without enough money, without jobs, without planning ahead.

[pinda]

Persiani,
Thanks for all the great information and opinions. That was a great post. I think we eliminated Dallas because of the traffic to work for my husband. Austin, SA and Sarasota are still in our hearts and considerations. I will go where my husband chooses because he is willing to leave home for my health. Sunshine is all I NEED.

Those powdery beaches are so alluring. I could not believe sand could feel so soft. But like Persiani, the larger yards are important too. I love quiet. If you live so close to someone who has outdoor speakers, like I do now, that can get really annoying. So, I am afraid of living really close to someone because of a couple of really noisey neighbors.

As far as property taxes and home owners insurance go, I just figured they end up balancing each other out from what I read on the forums.

So much to think about.

[movin-on-up!]

how funny! austin and sarasota are my top 2 choices to move to also! i have spent time in each - and they are both fantastic cities. im sure you could be happy living in either place. will your husbands job be easier or more profitable in one city over the other? maybe that will help you decide?

austin is younger, busier, hipper, and hippie-er, and also a bigger city
sarasota is older, and smaller, but still awesome and tons to do- and the beaches---breathtaking!

good luck
movin-on-up

[pinda]

Wow, small world. It almost seems crazy to be thinking about 2 so different places. We are in our 50's and conservative. If we moved to Austin, it would actually be on the outskirts so we could get 1 or 2 acres. I love the Austin people and the homes.

From the sounds of it, Sarasota people are also very nice. Big House sounds like a great guy, hosting a meet-up and helping people new to the area get to know if other. Those are the kind of people that make the world a better place.

Boy, isn't it hard to decide.

To answer your question, Austin could possibly be a bit better in the long run for my husband, only because it is a twice the size of the Sarasota airport, so maybe better chance of promotions. He does like a small airport to work at though. Our airport is half the size of Sarasotas.

Could anyone tell me a little bit about the Sarasota airport. Is is convenient to get to, newer or older building, expansions coming, etc... When we visited there, he was not yet working at an airport, so we did not visit the airport. Austins airport is really nice and convenient to get to.

Maybe I should do a separate post about the airport.

Good luck in your decision.

[gypsychic]

Originally Posted by pinda

Wow, small world. It almost seems crazy to be thinking about 2 so different places. We are in our 50's and conservative. If we moved to Austin, it would actually be on the outskirts so we could get 1 or 2 acres. I love the Austin people and the homes.

From the sounds of it, Sarasota people are also very nice. Big House sounds like a great guy, hosting a meet-up and helping people new to the area get to know if other. Those are the kind of people that make the world a better place.

Boy, isn't it hard to decide.

To answer your question, Austin could possibly be a bit better in the long run for my husband, only because it is a twice the size of the Sarasota airport, so maybe better chance of promotions. He does like a small airport to work at though. Our airport is half the size of Sarasotas.

Could anyone tell me a little bit about the Sarasota airport. Is is convenient to get to, newer or older building, expansions coming, etc... When we visited there, he was not yet working at an airport, so we did not visit the airport. Austins airport is really nice and convenient to get to.

Maybe I should do a separate post about the airport.

Good luck in your decision.

Haha - We live right across from SRQ - it's a fabulous airport for being small - it's beautiful, newer, easily accessible, and improvements are always being made there. My husband just had to fly out of there a couple weeks ago, it is just sooo easy compared to big congested airports. And yes, it is very convenient to get to, believe me I don't think you will be disappointed.

ETA: Sarasota area people are very nice! That is because we are all so dang happy and appreciative to be living here in this beautiful paradise!

[WAwannabe]

Lived in Texas (Dallas) for 8 years.. I love Texas. The people are great! I still feel like I'm going home when I visit - But! The summer heat is a killer - I know Florida has the humidity but my first summer in Texas we had something like 50 days over 100 degrees! - The ground cracks, you have to water your house to stop it cracking and you just stay inside where the AC can help you survive.. I also never had an allergy in my life till I moved there. Ragweed is the main culprit - my wife got it real bad. So we said enough is enough and we moved here to Washinton State (amazing place to be but not the right place for us right now)... So we're moving to the Sarasota area in 22 days, 5 hours and 23 seconds, 22, 21 ,20 - but who's counting.. Now I just need to find a house which is proving to be quite difficult..

Good luck in your choice...

[pinda]

Thank you gypsychic for the information on the airport. You can google the airport for distance, but I found that to not always be accurate. That is nice to hear it is such a nice airport.

WAwannabe, Good luck on your move to Sarasota. I hope you will keep us informed on how you like it compared to WA and TX. I wonder which heat is harder to take. We love warm weather, but not scorching. I know I will be swapping tough winters for tough summers. I have never visited either in July or August. ( May on Sanibel, not too bad, humid but only 85 degrees.)

Glad to hear you are so happy. When I get my sunshine, I am happy too. Can you believe, end of May and I am still using a supplemental heater because it is so chilly.

I am so looking forward to moving to Texas or Sarasota.

[SoFLGal]

Yeah, the airport is really easy to get to. I think it was built sometime in the mid 50's but I'm not sure of that. It was totally renovated about ten years back.

I can't really comment on the Texas thing because I'm a native Floridian and have only lived in SW Florida. The beaches here are some of the best in the world. The summers do get hot but to me they're tolerable. The winter weather is beautiful as long as it doesn't drop below 50 degrees.

Sarasota is a beautiful city to call home