Would we fit in? (Austin, Round Rock: for sale, insurance, crime)

[TXpackerbacker]

original poster: based on what you say you want in a community, you may find your ideal place to live in Austin around the area where mopac and 183 meet. it isn't far from downtown, outdoorsy activities, or good restaraunts and shopping. I'd say that area is a healthy mix of the north, west, and central/downtown "cultures." living near the 183 and mopac highways is also great for city driving.

again to OP: I agree with atxcio. and like he said for "safe areas," there really aren't many "bad areas" in Austin. the north and west areas would probably be safest, but downtown/central, south Austin, and the east side are all more safe than the north and west suburbanites think. the east side has the worst rep., but don't worry, you'll know a "bad area" when you see it.

[hoffdano]

Originally Posted by Muzzle of Bees

If you can answer yes to these questions you will fit in.
Are you prepared to pay some of the highest taxes in the nation?
Are you prepared to pay some of the highest property prices around?
Regular water rationing. It is usually not green, but brown during the dog days of summer.
Does it get above 100 degrees in Florida? I dont recall ever seeing long stretches of 100 degree weather for months in Florida?
Are you prepared to drive on toll roads? With more coming.
Are you prepared to drive on an infrastructure designed for 1980 traffic loads? As you can see all of CA has moved here already.

Huh?

Highest taxes in the nation?
- Florida and Texas do not have a personal income tax
- Property tax RATES are relatively high in Texas (and Austin), but annual out of pocket property taxes are not especially high because housing prices are NOT high on a national scale

Highest property prices around?
- compared to where?

Regular water rationing.
- Yes - it can occur. But a green-oriented person might not have a St. Augustine lawn and be unconcerned.

100 degrees?
- sure we have those days. Last year was the 2nd most in history. But none yet this year and our humidity is less than most parts of Florida. I'd say our weather and Florida's is about the same.

Toll roads?
- Yup. pay as you go is likely to grow in popularity. However many people in Austin rarely drive them.

Infrastructure problems?
- Yup.

[Muzzle of Bees]

Originally Posted by hoffdano

Huh?

Highest taxes in the nation?
- Florida and Texas do not have a personal income tax
- Property tax RATES are relatively high in Texas (and Austin), but annual out of pocket property taxes are not especially high because housing prices are NOT high on a national scale

Highest property prices around?
- compared to where?

Regular water rationing.
- Yes - it can occur. But a green-oriented person might not have a St. Augustine lawn and be unconcerned.

100 degrees?
- sure we have those days. Last year was the 2nd most in history. But none yet this year and our humidity is less than most parts of Florida. I'd say our weather and Florida's is about the same.

Toll roads?
- Yup. pay as you go is likely to grow in popularity. However many people in Austin rarely drive them.

Infrastructure problems?
- Yup.

Texas has the tenth highest sales tax in the nation.

You will pay ~ $350/month in property taxes on a 200,000 home. That is high. Consider that they are home schooling their children and most of the taxes go to AISD. Compare it to cities with similar traits. Of course it is not NY or NJ, but still very high considering our education ranking and infrastructure issues.

A 900 square foot home goes for about 250,000 in my neighborhood. That is high considering that it was built in the 50's and will have two bedrooms and one bath.

In the last ten years the weather has been some of the hottest on record. Not just one year.

We are rationing water currently and have been all year in Austin. As early as it started this year I can foresee it getting worse, not better.

The term state income tax is used loosely. We don't have a state income tax, but that is offset by all of the nickel and dime taxes on all other services we use. And they keep increasing at regular intervals without us even noticing.

These might not be show stoppers, but it is what it is. All relative.

Are you new here from CA too or just more money than common sense?

[eichlerfan]

[quote= As you can see all of CA has moved here already.[/quote]

Not true at all. Most of my friends still can't figure out why we moved here.

[eichlerfan]

Originally Posted by naturemama77

I do drive a Discovery, like I said we are not hardcore "green". We do our best to reduce, recycle and reuse in out home. We are into doing things to help the environment as much as we can because we love nature and just being outdoors.

I was just curious to see if there were any like-minded people in or around Austin. Families that share some of our interests. I know that I read somewhere on here that some of the areas were more religious than others. I just would like to avoid those particular areas because I want my children to have many different kinds of friends.

Believe me politics and government are not my thing. I was referring to conservative and liberal more as lifestyle. I don't know that we fall into one more than the other.

Are there any specific areas that we should or should not look into? Obviously we would like to find somewhere that is family oriented, low in crime, and in or fairly close to Austin that is not predominately conservative or religious. Oh and the trees, we would rather not live in a field of houses. I will worry about cost of living later, as I am not sure what the pay is like out there.

We decided to rent for awhile to become more familiar with Austin and we really love the southwest area of Austin. It's very close to downtown (which we like), but it's also at the start of the hill country which has beautiful landscape. We just found heading north to be more big box stores and chains in general. We are not a Christian family, and I haven't found that to be an issue at all here in Austin.

[austinnerd]

Originally Posted by Muzzle of Bees

Texas has the tenth highest sales tax in the nation.

You will pay ~ $350/month in property taxes on a 200,000 home. That is high. Consider that they are home schooling their children and most of the taxes go to AISD. Compare it to cities with similar traits. Of course it is not NY or NJ, but still very high considering our education ranking and infrastructure issues.

A 900 square foot home goes for about 250,000 in my neighborhood. That is high considering that it was built in the 50's and will have two bedrooms and one bath.

In the last ten years the weather has been some of the hottest on record. Not just one year.

We are rationing water currently and have been all year in Austin. As early as it started this year I can foresee it getting worse, not better.

The term state income tax is used loosely. We don't have a state income tax, but that is offset by all of the nickel and dime taxes on all other services we use. And they keep increasing at regular intervals without us even noticing.

These might not be show stoppers, but it is what it is. All relative.

Are you new here from CA too or just more money than common sense?

While your 900sqft home might be $250000, there are areas where that same amount of money will get you a brand new 2500sqft home. Using one home as an example is not very useful and hardly representative.

And lets be clear about "water rationing", there is none. There are voluntary restrictions in place on when you can water your lawn using an automatic device (e.g. a sprinkler), but that is far, far from "water rationing".

Your right, Austin isn't perfect, far from it as a matter of fact, but I think these things deserve an honest assessment.

Originally Posted by atxcio

the schools are very good but don't have the reputation of some of the RRISD or Eanes ISD schools.

I was assuming the talk was more Austin metro than necessarily the city of Austin. Though even if it is the latter, RRISD serves many Austin neighborhoods and Eanes ISD allows transfers (Pflugerville ISD also serves Austin neighborhoods).

[naturemama77]

Thanks for all of your suggestions, you have all been very helpful and we will definitely research the different areas and plan a trip to Austin in the near future. What's a good time of the year to come to really see what Austin is like? What are some favorite things that the locals with families like to do in or near the city? Are there many families that live in central Austin and what is the average house size?

[naturemama77]

Originally Posted by Muzzle of Bees

If you can answer yes to these questions you will fit in.
Are you prepared to pay some of the highest taxes in the nation?
Are you prepared to pay some of the highest property prices around?
Regular water rationing. It is usually not green, but brown during the dog days of summer.
Does it get above 100 degrees in Florida? I dont recall ever seeing long stretches of 100 degree weather for months in Florida?
Are you prepared to drive on toll roads? With more coming.
Are you prepared to drive on an infrastructure designed for 1980 traffic loads? As you can see all of CA has moved here already.

Our sales tax is 6.5 %

Our property taxes are high, not sure how it compares to Austin. Our home owners insurance is high because of the hurricane coverage we have on our home.

We do have water restrictions where we are too, so we are used to this.

South Florida is hot and very humid for most of the year. We live near the ocean, so we do get that really warm ocean breeze. Lived in central Florida as well and it feels even hotter there.

Toll roads are already a daily thing for my husband to commute for work.

Heard the roads were poorly designed, but we will have to deal.


If these are truly the only negatives to living in Austin it really doesn't sound all that bad!

[Muzzle of Bees]

Originally Posted by austinnerd

While your 900sqft home might be $250000, there are areas where that same amount of money will get you a brand new 2500sqft home. Using one home as an example is not very useful and hardly representative.

And lets be clear about "water rationing", there is none. There are voluntary restrictions in place on when you can water your lawn using an automatic device (e.g. a sprinkler), but that is far, far from "water rationing".

Your right, Austin isn't perfect, far from it as a matter of fact, but I think these things deserve an honest assessment.



I was assuming the talk was more Austin metro than necessarily the city of Austin. Though even if it is the latter, RRISD serves many Austin neighborhoods and Eanes ISD allows transfers (Pflugerville ISD also serves Austin neighborhoods).

I don't include new homes because of the poor quality today. Poor quality = expensive in the long run. I guess you could buy a home where crime is higher to offset the cost of living?

It is rationing. You water on your designated day. Anytime you are restricted from using something so others can too, it is rationing.
That is as honest as it gets.

[atxcio]

Originally Posted by naturemama77

Thanks for all of your suggestions, you have all been very helpful and we will definitely research the different areas and plan a trip to Austin in the near future. What's a good time of the year to come to really see what Austin is like? What are some favorite things that the locals with families like to do in or near the city? Are there many families that live in central Austin and what is the average house size?

Normally I'd suggest June-September.. because that's the worst time as far as heat/humidity. Coming from Florida, though, it's probably not going to be as imperative that you experience the summer weather.

But it's still a good time to visit, because the Spring Festivals like SXSW fill up the hotels... and ACL fest in October, and Sept-Dec you have UT football season... so you have to be careful which weekend you book during that those times; otherwise you'd be getting ripped off on hotel, plus all the restaurants/clubs/entertainment venues would be full.

Most pleasant time to visit might be in late February-April (but be sure you avoid the SXSW weeks!)