Moving (Houston, Dallas, San Antonio: rent, house, employment)

[jithomas83]

My wife and I are seriously looking into Austin as a move from Little Rock when I finish nursing school this December. Nursing salaries in Little Rock are terrible and the cost of living is, believe it or not, quite high.
1. Our budget depends on the what new grad nurses can make in the Austin area and if they are hiring. Can anyone answer these questions?
2. We need a house as we have 4 small children. A 3 bdrm is the smallest we can accomodate with a 4 bdrm being preferable considering my wife homeschools and could use the extra room.
3. Employment status explained above.
4. We homeschool
5. Suburban preferred with country also an option if the drive is not to bad to work. Even if it is, if my family life is better with a slower pace then I won't mind a bit.
6. No need for public transit at this time.
7. Need a neighborhood that is safe most of all and where our children can play in the front yard at times without worrying about excessive traffic or crime. Something similiar to Leave it to Beaver or Brady Bunch, LOL kidding.

Thank you for any help offered!
JT

[Melissa78703]

Austin pays around $20/hour for RN's. The more desirable the location, the lower the wage. Unless you make a really rake in the bucks, Austin is a city where two spouses must work to make basic ends meet, especially if you have a family.

However, you might check out towns outside of Austin, such as Round Rock, Cedar Park, Pflugerville or Georgetown. I don't know what the medical facilities are like in those towns. I would suspect that there would be ample opportunities, though. However, you wouldn't be living in Austin. These towns are in a different county entirely, and they're nothing like Austin in lifestyle and flavor.

It's a lot cheaper to live outside of Austin than in it. Scott and White Hospital in Temple is a top-notch medical facility. Really great hospital that draws patients from all over the South and Southwest. You'll likely be able to do much better there, salarywise. It's not so close to Austin that you pay for the high cost of housing. It is very suburban, and in every way just like Round Rock, Cedar Park and Georgetown, only cheaper. Also, very safe. It's just a little further north of Austin.

[love roses]

But those towns, especially Pflugerville and Round Rock, are right smack next to Austin and you can't tell where one ends and one begins. Depending on which town you pick it could be anywhere from 20-45 minutes into Austin. Round Rock has 3 hospitals and numerous medical centers. Georgetown has different medical offices and is close to two of the Round Rock hospitals and you could also travel pretty easily to the one in Temple.


"However, you wouldn't be living in Austin. These towns are in a different county entirely, and they're nothing like Austin in lifestyle and flavor. "

It's not like you lose the Central Texas lifestyle because you don't pick Travis County. You still have plenty of Central Texas things to enjoy. Outdoor activities (not limited to Travis County), dance halls (Gruene, Granger, Coupland and Wahlburg all have them), BBQ (some of the most world renowned is located outside of Travis County), Most people tube the river in New Braunfels...not Travis County (Austin in particular) and Bandera, Kerville, Fredricksburg and many other towns are quintessential Hill Country...not just Austin alone.

[mezman]

Originally Posted by Melissa78703

It's a lot cheaper to live outside of Austin than in it. Scott and White Hospital in Temple is a top-notch medical facility. Really great hospital that draws patients from all over the South and Southwest. You'll likely be able to do much better there, salarywise. It's not so close to Austin that you pay for the high cost of housing. It is very suburban, and in every way just like Round Rock, Cedar Park and Georgetown, only cheaper. Also, very safe. It's just a little further north of Austin.

Temple is a pretty decent distance from Austin and they're looking for the Austin vibe they won't be finding it here. But if they are looking for country/suburban, low cost of living. and short-commute times Temple could be the place.

Additionally, in regards to Scott & White there is a satellite S&W hospital in Round Rock that the OP can look into to be closer to Austin. I read in the paper yesterday that they plan to expanded that hospital by 50,000+ square feet (adding 26 beds or so). Expansion usually means more jobs... but they didn't say when this would be happening, unfortunately.

[mark311]

Originally Posted by jithomas83

My wife and I are seriously looking into Austin as a move from Little Rock when I finish nursing school this December. Nursing salaries in Little Rock are terrible and the cost of living is, believe it or not, quite high.

Unfortunately, I can almost guarantee that the cost of living is higher in Austin than in Little Rock, especially if you plan on purchasing a home as property taxes are probably higher here as well. Austin and its surrounding areas are a great place to live in my opinion and the cost of living is great for a person like myself as I'm comparing it to the cost of living that I had in California. It's also a highly desirable area still as it continues to be touted as one of the best places to move to right now.

Honestly, I think it would be difficult for a family of six to survive on a single income of an entry-level nurse in the Austin area. You might be able to swing it in Leander which is a suburb of Austin if you rent a house and don't want to buy. I don't think Temple is what you're looking for at all personally.

[Melissa78703]

Originally Posted by mark311

Honestly, I think it would be difficult for a family of six to survive on a single income of an entry-level nurse in the Austin area. You might be able to swing it in Leander which is a suburb of Austin if you rent a house and don't want to buy. I don't think Temple is what you're looking for at all personally.

Well, cutting to the chase, it would be impossible for a family of six to survive on a single income anywhere remotely near the Austin area, which is why I recommended Temple. But honestly? It would be hard to get by on that income even in Temple, unless the OP lived in one of the rural outliers, such as Belton, Troy, Bartlett, Holland, etc.

The salaries for nurses are much better in South Texas, where there's a shortage or nurses (and everything else). Of course, that means living in South Texas ...

[staubach]

The Buda/Kyle area, which is 15ish miles South of Austin, has a new hospital and housing from $100k on up. I grew up in Arkansas and the cost of living is comparable. Just remember that the money that was coming out of your check in Ark for state taxes will now be the additional property tax bill that is added onto your house note.

Edit: Except for water..It is weird to go from watering your yard everyday and getting a $60 bill in Ark and watering your yard three times a week here and getting a $180 bill

[ausguy]

I am an RN here in Austin but actually work on the corporate side and travel for my work. You want to check out St. Davids or Seton. ENTRY level pay is probably about $22/hr. NOT good in my opinion. Houston and Dallas pay much better. However I know they both have a lot of jobs posted and are hiring. Have friends working at both networks and they are good places to work. Of course, once you get experience your pay should go up. Note too, you can pick up a lot of shifts to supplament the lower entry pay but that can burn you out quickly.

In my opinion, commuting to Temple would be awful unless maybe you lived in Georgetown or Round Rock. Affordable housing would be more north or south. Expensive areas are central and west. East side is still in transition. There is a very nice VA hospital in Temple which could be an option too...sometimes they pay RN better and the benefits are fantastic.

[Melissa78703]

Originally Posted by ausguy

In my opinion, commuting to Temple would be awful unless maybe you lived in Georgetown or Round Rock. Affordable housing would be more north or south. Expensive areas are central and west. East side is still in transition. There is a very nice VA hospital in Temple which could be an option too...sometimes they pay RN better and the benefits are fantastic.

The VA is where my mom and aunt used to work, and it was a sweet deal for them. My aunt was a single mom with two kids to raise, and she managed pretty well. My mom was head nurse at S&W Temple way back in the day. That hospital is really taking over; the expansion I've seen is simply amazing. I would never suggest a commute to Temple, BTW. It's close enough to Austin that it's doable. I've even heard it called a "North Austin Suburb," along the same lines as Round Rock and Cedar Park. The drive from RR to Temple is a breeze; it's driving from Austin to RR that takes forever and a day.

[geoquiz3000]

I agree with Staubach and would suggest you look even further, perhaps the area from San Marcos to New Braunfels and the northern San Antonio suburbs. There are smaller cities with character that have developed a suburban feel as Austin and San Antonio inexorably merge along this 75-mile corridor, and I think you'll find prices are generally lower than Austin.

The medical complex in SA is more developed than here in Austin so there would probably be more nursing jobs there. I'm actually stunned at their employment numbers at major hospitals:

Methodist Healthcare System Health Care Services 7,013
San Antonio Military Medical Center (South, aka Wilford Hall USAF Med Ctr) 6,010
University of Texas Health Science Center Health Care Institute 5,985
Baptist Health System Health Care Services 5,939
San Antonio Military Medical Center (North, aka Brooks Army Hospital) 5,482
Christus Santa Rosa Health Care Services 3,721
South Texas Veterans Health Care System Health Care Services 2,800

San Antonio isn't Austin but it's certainly got a lot going for it if you're a nurse looking for a job and a suburban life. And Austin is just 1-to-1.5 hours up the road.