Thinking about relocating, where-to for the early/mid 20s crowd? (Houston: renter, loans)

[Stratocaster86]

I live in SW Pennsylvania and need a change of scenery very badly. I'm a 23 year old male education major and will be looking at attending a few job fairs in the Spring to see where I end up. I'm presently looking at Texas, Arizona, North Carolina, Florida, and Virginia. But basically I'm interested in Austin, Fort Worth, San Antonio, Dallas, and Houston in that order. I don't need a lot of money to be happy...hence the teaching profession; it's a passion and I love it so far. I'm interested in moving just to have an upgrade in the quality of life department.

My prospects are simply that I'd like to go to a place with:

1. Good school systems.
2. Potential to live happily/comfortably on $40K a year.
3. Opportunities for musicians of all varieties.
4. Nice music scene whether large or small.
5. Tons of down to earth and overly friendly people(...people who don't look at you funny when you open a door for them, haha).
6. Great weather.
7. Large 20s crowd/great for the 20-30 age group, but still great to settle permanently.
8. A "modern" yet laid-back vibe.
9. People who are actually proud of where they live.
10. And most importantly...A place with a lively 20-30s dating scene where there's potential for meeting somebody who's actually interested in building a long-term relationship.


Any comments, suggestions, or advice would be appreciated...just humor me if nothing else.

[awecelot]

Austin is your best fit, except for #2.

[tstone]

Sounds like you'd like Austin. If you're frugal/sensible and not currently saddled with debt, $40k will do you just fine.

You might wanna strike off #6 if you're going to live in this state, though. For at least 5 months of the year, anyway, unless you like semi-extreme heat.

[ATXIronHorse]

Originally Posted by awecelot

Austin is your best fit, except for #2.

You can do it on $40k/year, but you won't be exactly a high roller. Very doable in a double wage earner household.

[awecelot]

Originally Posted by ATXIronHorse

You can do it on $40k/year, but you won't be exactly a high roller. Very doable in a double wage earner household.

Yeah, but the OP sounds like (s)he is single, at least for the time being.

[tstone]

Median household income in Austin is $49k

http://www.city-data.com/city/Austin-Texas.html

It doesn't break it down household into singles vs. families. The number includes all possibilities.

$40k is only high-rolling in Dallas, on the surface anyway.

[awecelot]

Originally Posted by tstone

Median household income in Austin is $49k

http://www.city-data.com/city/Austin-Texas.html

It doesn't break it down household into singles vs. families. The number includes all possibilities.

$40k is only high-rolling in Dallas, on the surface anyway.

Very true about Dallas

Austin's got a higher cost of living than the rest of Texas. I wonder if the number of students in Austin affect that household income number at all.

[tstone]

Originally Posted by awecelot

Very true about Dallas

Austin's got a higher cost of living than the rest of Texas. I wonder if the number of students in Austin affect that household income number at all.

Judging by the numbers for College Station, it probably does:

http://www.city-data.com/poverty/pov...ion-Texas.html

The town definitely doesn't look like it has a 31% poverty rate.

[Bowie]

Based on the thread below, I would discourage the OP from coming to San Antonio to teach. Teaching jobs are abundant there, but so are teaching job seekers.

http://www.city-data.com/forum/san-a...-teachers.html

Originally Posted by awecelot

Austin is your best fit, except for #2.

I agree with awecelot.

[Stratocaster86]

Originally Posted by ATXIronHorse

You can do it on $40k/year, but you won't be exactly a high roller. Very doable in a double wage earner household.

haha, not looking to be one anyway. It's not my style and I like to keep things simple. So basically $40K is enough for a single person to do the typical renter routine and be happy sans monster vacations and sports cars? And that along the road, say an $80K combined income would be good for a young family when it comes time to look for a house and prepair for a family? I'm also not in any sort of debt or paying off loans.