Possibly Moving to Austin from LA (Houston, Atlanta: house, to buy, utilities)

[Moonlady]

Originally Posted by aedelste

Sorry for posting twice, I just remembered I forgot to ask if there are any good apartment resources besides Craigslist? We have this thing in CA called Westside Rentals - you pay $60 for a 60 day membership and get access to nicer, exclusive listings. Landlords have to pay a fee to list as well, so you don't end up with as many scummy people.

Here we have apartment finders. They are free to the tenant, they get a finders fee from the apartments, so you don't have to pay anything. Some people have unfavorable views of them, but I can't see how it would hurt to use them since there is no cost to you. Just google apartment locators in Austin and see what you get.

[aedelste]

I suppose that's one of the things I'm worried about - getting bored. I think we'll be fine as long as there is enough nightlife (bars / pubs / live music, NOT clubs) and museums and flea markets, etc. They don't even need to be the greatest in the world. I'm sure I'll miss the beach, but we really don't go that often anyway! I'm totally cool with lakes.

I just can't take the traffic anymore. Ugh the 405 and 101 are the devil... I was commuting from Encino to West LA, just awful! They started doing major construction at the 405 Sunset exit, so you can imagine how much worse it is now

Thanks, I'll definitely look into that! I don't like to just rely on Craigslist, especially since you see the same postings over and over again.

[aedelste]

Arrgh, sorry for the double post again... my fiance worked on two movies in Austin and absolutely loved it. His sister's company is based there (she lives in LA) and she was raving about it. Next time she goes for work I can hopefully tag along and explore a bit.

I'll try to find a job before we move, but I've found that potential employers discard your resume if it doesn't have a local address. Maybe that's just CA though!

[lemonlime22]

I lived in LA, and here's what I miss:

Good restaurants (very limited here), the beach, the amazing smell of the air, enjoying life without either air conditioning or heat (which is nearly impossible here) the produce, the wonderful sunny weather, museums, the mountains, hiking, yes, you reminded me--flea marketing!

Flea markets in Texas are, well, different. But we do have the City Wide Garage Sale, antique malls, and a couple great weekends in Round Top.

Mostly I miss having less options.

People here are less concerned with appearance and in general are less superficial. I also like being away from everyone being in "the business".

But it's as hot as blazes for a loooong time, buggy, and can be boring.

[centralaustinite]

And jobs are not that easy to find! Don't believe the hype!
(search the threads)

[aedelste]

I just know that I absolutely want to move out of LA - I can't stand people in "the business" anymore. It started out as mildly annoying, but I'm really tired of humoring "actors" that their dreams will come true!

I'd read / heard Advertising and Design was doing better in Austin than LA - is this not the case?

[BevoLJ]

Oh, that is a major thing I totally didn't even think of in my last post ... the people. Even with the huge population differences, beaches, mountains, traffic and just massive size, even with everything else the biggest difference between Austin and LA is the people. They are night and day. I love Santa Monica and met and knew some great people there, but in Austin everything about 'people' is just so much easier. Easier to meet, get to know, have fun, everything. Like Lemonlime said people just aren't as superficial. So much more laid back. Sure there are some but it is NOTHING like LA.

Also on the movie thing, that has continued to grow a lot in Austin since the '90's. There was a bit of talk of Disney putting a studio and another company opening a massive new studio here, but I'm not sure what the deal is with the Disney, and the other one turned out to be some sort of dude trying to con the county into changing his zoning so I don't know. I do know Robert Rodriguez now has a fancy new studio and has already done a few flicks, and there is another that opened where our old airport used to be and that UT-Austin has a new program where they are doing one major film and a few small ones every year now and that has done a lot of for their film program.

On the Advertising and Design thing... I know there have been a few design companies from the bay area that have either moved here or opened offices recently. I'm not sure about Advertising. Our big firm that everyone knows of GDS&M Idea City lost the BMW contract I saw. They also sold their office building downtown to SXSW and have moved into a big building near Zilker Park. I'm not sure how they are really doing, but they aren't in the news every week with a new major contract like they used to be, and I just don't know enough about the other firms.

On the "as long as there is enough nightlife (bars / pubs / live music, NOT clubs)" I think that is one area you will never have a problem here in Austin. The famous/infamous 6th street is littered with lots of "clubs" but that isn't what really makes Austin stand out. It is the bars and live music. You can always find a good show at Emo's on 6th, and off of 6th there are lots of bars and pubs like Antone's or Saxon Pub you can find Downtown and in South Austin. LA has a great music scene and nightlife and while you will not get as many major Coldplay or Lady Gaga type shows in Austin, the indie scene is right there with LA IMO with plenty of great music to keep you discovering new favorite shows pretty often.

[aedelste]

The people in LA are awful, it'd be so nice to move somewhere with friendly people. If you can't help someone with their career, they aren't interested. I sincerely hope the movie industry doesn't invade Austin, then I for sure won't want to move there!

I've only worked for small agencies, so I wouldn't necessarily be looking to work for a big one. In fact, I don't even know if I want to be at a traditional agency anymore. Anything involving design, creative work, etc is good. Are there any good temp or creative placement agencies in Austin? I've googled and looked on yelp, but I can't find too many.

I'm definitely looking for a great indie scene - I hate popular music. I can't stand Lady Gaga or **** like that. "Indie Pop Rocks" on iTunes Radio is actually really awesome.

[mimimomx3]

[quote=aedelste;16409931We currently live in LA, so I can only laugh when other cities mention ridiculous traffic, a-hole people, lack of culture, insanely high rent... No big city can be as horrific as LA right??[/QUOTE]


Maybe not. But then again, a lot of those ahole people you mention have moved here from LA.

[inthecut]

Originally Posted by aedelste

We are thinking about moving to Austin - what are some good / fun areas to rent?

On a somewhat related note, I've been researching online and a lot of people say the rent is too high, too much traffic, not enough culture, etc.

We currently live in LA, so I can only laugh when other cities mention ridiculous traffic, a-hole people, lack of culture, insanely high rent... No big city can be as horrific as LA right??

I disagree...LA has many incredible points..the beaches...jobs(until recently)...the hub of the entertainment/recording industry...one of the most dynamic international mixes, the weather, the ocean access, the beautiful women(and, I guess guys, for the ladies), Beverly Hills, some beautiful drives up in the hills(and looking down at the city lights at night).....the higher culture, live theater, ability to land tickets for a few hundred free TV shows, including the "Tonight Show", Disneyland, the ton of live clubs(far more than Austin, including many famous ones, from Whiskey a go go on), and I really think the people are pretty decent for the most part, if you can get em out of their cars and traffic...

A hole to get away from would be more like Las Vegas, Phoenix, Orlando,
much of Miami, and any of the essentially defunct rust belt cities like Detroit and Cleveland....

LA still ranks as a top notch city, though too bad the cars and related pollution belched it up a notch towards Mexico City and Shanghai..