Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Hello All!
My husband and I are considering moving to Texas for many reasons. We are currently living in Roseville, Ca which is a suburb of Sacramento. We are both unemployed and living with my father-in-law. Needless to say, the job prospects here are nearly non-existent. Ultimately, we are looking for an inexpensive place to live with a reasonable job market. We are used to living in extremely safe and uneventful suburbia.
As I former bay area and central valley resident, I understand that things are difficult there now. I moved to Austin nearly 8 years ago and have been more or less trying to get out for close to that same amount of time.
I should probably mention our ages, I am 22 and DH is 24. He is looking into going to school for engineering and I am planning on being a stay-at-home mom when the time comes. We are friendly people who would appreciate friendly, outgoing neighbors.
With Austin you have to double edge sword with regards to arrogance. Most people I have met in the city of Austin are extremely arrogant and full of themselves. Many of these people consider Austin and Texas to be the center of the universe when in reality quite the opposite is true. Austin is a distant 4th place (similar to Sac) when it comes to most anything in the state of Texas. The suburbs are a tad more friendly, but then you have to horrendous "redneck" element to deal with when you leave the central austin area.
I am wondering what the best places to live in Austin are. Is Austin safe?
Most of Austin is safe as long as you stay west of I-35 (South of Rundberg)
I like to jog outside. Well that's great, but the climate in Austin is terrible compared to Sacramento. It's is very hot in the summer and way more humid than Sac. (of course, the locals with always tell you, "well its not as humid as Houston) I love that!! And by dealing with a horribly hot summer, you still have to deal with cold in the winter. Freezes at night are common and it is almost always windy in the winter. In my opinion, Sac has one of the greatest climates in the nation (and maybe world)
How is the job market?
The job market is currently better in Austin (no doubt about that). I know things are rough in the valley right now, but it's all cyclical. Just wait things out rather than throwing your hands up. Roseville is a GREAT suburb filled with tons of stuff to do.
Is it an expensive place to live, in comparison to CA?
Something else that Austinites don't want you to know. Housing in central Austin is NO cheaper than most of the Sac area. Yes, you heard that correctly. However, the Austin suburbs ARE a bit cheaper, so that is where you would gain. However, Texas has some of the highest property taxes in the nation so you may not be that much better off even in the suburbs.,
What are some VERY safe suburban areas to live in that have low unemployment, good job prospects and low living costs? We are tired of how expensive CA is!
Yes, most of the burbs in Austin are safe ans reasonably priced. But, just be ready for the "real texas". 95% pickup driving ultra conservative hillbilles with the "NOBAMA" bumper stickers. Ok, maybe a bit of an exhaggeration, but trust me i'm not far off. Roseville is 1000 times better and higher end. Way more like Plano is my opinion.
I fully understand how expensive CA is, but always remember the phrase "you get what you pay for". That is SOOOOO true with regards to a move to TX from CA.
Any help is VERY much appreciated! Thank you!!!
I'm don't bow to the capitol in my longhorn t-shirt, so my opinions are gonna be different than most anyone else on this board. (except artsy of course)
I'm don't bow to the capitol in my longhorn t-shirt, so my opinions are gonna be different than most anyone else on this board. (except artsy of course)
I don't have experience with CA but the TX comments were pretty accurate.
With Austin you have to double edge sword with regards to arrogance. Most people I have met in the city of Austin are extremely arrogant and full of themselves. Many of these people consider Austin and Texas to be the center of the universe when in reality quite the opposite is true. Austin is a distant 4th place (similar to Sac) when it comes to most anything in the state of Texas. The suburbs are a tad more friendly, but then you have to horrendous "redneck" element to deal with when you leave the central austin area.
A young man was passing through a community he had never visited before. He met an old man and asked him, "So, what are people like 'round here?"
The old man scratched his head and slowly replied, "Well, what were people like where you came from?" The young man did not hesitate: "Oh they were terrible, arrogant and full of themselves! Horribly redneck, the dogs and children ran loose, and they were always asking you do something!"
The hardware store man showed empathy. "Yeah, I know what you mean. They're like that here, too, and the best thing you can do is keep to yourself and ignore them!" The new neighbor was grateful. "Thanks for letting me know. I probably won't be staying here long, anyway."
The next day, another young man was passing through and encountering the old man, he asked, "So, what are people like around here?"
The old man replied, "Well, what were your old neighbors like?"
The new young man reminisced: "Oh they were great, very kind and helpful, we still keep in touch! We had lots of potlucks, there were always lots of children playing, we started a community parade and through our spaghetti suppers raised money for a fire station!"
The old man grinned. "Well, I think you'll find the people around here are just like that."
Let me list the similarities between Sacto and Austin
1) Both are state capitals.. so you won't miss capitol buildings..!! lol jk
2) Both are quite greener. I think Sacto is much greener than bay area. You will find Austin the same.
3) Both have very less diverse population..no where near to big cities like NYC, LA, Chicago, SF, Bay Area, So Cal. Being less diverse directly affects things you can do, food options you have and so on. Austin may have good steakhouses and texmex restaurants, but nearly zero options for Thai, Chinese, Indian, Malaysian food.
Things you should know or research before making a move to Austin
1) Rents are not as low as in Sacto suburbs. Here you won't find a decent 1-bed apt for ~$650 (unless you are looking east of I-35), in Sacto there were some average neighborhood where you can get it.
2) Austin housing market is a little better compared to Sacto. I would say similar house would cost you ~5-10% less here. Also I heard that overall Austin schools are better than Sacto. But don't forget, property tax is 2.2% here and 1% in Sacto.
3) Commute here is horrible at best. I drove in Sacramento for two years and believe me rush hour traffic there was better than noon traffic here. Sacto has a light rail which kind of runs through the length of city and then you have bus feeders. You can use public transport there, but here forget it. In 6 months of commute and leisure driving, I see may be 1 bus every other day.
4) Weather is horrible here. Austin natives will brag you that it is the best in texas and less humid that houston and blah blah blah. Here you have humid heat of 100+ for 2 months every summer. Rest of summer months also feel 100+ because of high UV Index. Sacramento summers are hot too, but it is all dry heat. Believe me, dry heat is much much better than humid. I have lived enough at these 3 places to say austin weather is just horrible.
Winters are cooler than sacramento. This makes a huge temperature difference in a year. Basically calling for health problems. I read couple of medical research papers which said, Austin weather is really bad for your health because of huge summer and winter temp difference.
If you have allergies, Austin is not the place to be. I lived in CA for 7 yrs, never had a single allergy. In 6 months here, I had nasal allergies 3 times.
5) Things to do in/around Austin : Zero, unless you are into live music. In Sacto, you had
Lake Tahoe (1 hrs)
Napa (1 hrs)
Yosemite (3.5 hrs)
Beach (1.5 hrs)
Bay Area (2.5 hrs)
San Francisco (1.5 hrs)
Los Angeles (6-7 hrs)
Las Vegas (10-12hrs)
Basically you had lots of stuff to do on weekends. Both natural and big cities. Here there is nothing natural around. People will brag about lake Travis. Believe me, its nothing but Folsom Lake. Nearest cities are Houston and Dallas, Sacramento nightclubs are much better.
6) Regarding employment, honestly I can't comment much
- since i don't know the latest employment situation in Sacto
- I am fairly new to Austin
However, looking at number of hi-tech companies Austin has, I think Austin might be better. Intel, AMD, IBM, Dell, Samsung, ARM, Freescale and so on.
7) Austin is far cheaper than Bay Area/OC, but definitely not cheaper than Sacramento. Food, utilities, gas, clothing, groceries all cost almost the same. Yes, you save money on weekend activities, as there is nothing to do here..!!
To summarize, I will take a line from "eepstein" response
"you get what you pay for"
"just wait things our rather than throwing your hands up"
If you are a person, who just want to commute to work daily, who doesn't mind horrible traffic, doesn't give a damn to bad weather, doesn't mind sitting at home every weekend, doing nothing but drinking beers and watching football games then Austin is the place for you.
I loved the you tube video! Thanks for sharing! Anyways, it seems like you may be another person (of the few) on this board who actually speaks the truth. I'll comment on your comments.:::
Quote:
Originally Posted by infoseeker2010
i lived in sacto for about 2 yrs, then in bay area for 5 yrs and now in austin since last 6 months..
Let me list the similarities between Sacto and Austin
1) Both are state capitals.. so you won't miss capitol buildings..!! lol jk
That is about all I can come up with as far as similarities go. But, I think the Capitol building in Austin is a bit taller.
2) Both are quite greener. I think Sacto is much greener than bay area. You will find Austin the same.
The bay area has lots of green areas within the cities, but many of the mountains tend to be brown especially during the day summers there.
3) Both have very less diverse population..no where near to big cities like NYC, LA, Chicago, SF, Bay Area, So Cal. Being less diverse directly affects things you can do, food options you have and so on. Austin may have good steakhouses and texmex restaurants, but nearly zero options for Thai, Chinese, Indian, Malaysian food.
I would disagree with that statement. Sacramento proper is VERY diverse. When you start getting out into the burbs like Folsom, Roseville, Orangevale, Citrus Heights, Fair Oaks, Rocklin, etc is where is starts getting more white and conservative. Overall metro Sac is far more diverse than Metro Austin.
Things you should know or research before making a move to Austin
1) Rents are not as low as in Sacto suburbs. Here you won't find a decent 1-bed apt for ~$650 (unless you are looking east of I-35), in Sacto there were some average neighborhood where you can get it.
I would say rents are comparable in both cities. This has been the case since the big housing bubble burst.
2) Austin housing market is a little better compared to Sacto. I would say similar house would cost you ~5-10% less here. Also I heard that overall Austin schools are better than Sacto. But don't forget, property tax is 2.2% here and 1% in Sacto.
Put simply, any desirable part of Austin is no cheaper than Sacramento. However, the Austin suburbs are overall cheaper than the Sac suburbs. Yes, you do have to consider property taxes, but even so you still may come out slightly ahead in Hutto or Leander. (but who the HELL wants to live there???)
3) Commute here is horrible at best. I drove in Sacramento for two years and believe me rush hour traffic there was better than noon traffic here. Sacto has a light rail which kind of runs through the length of city and then you have bus feeders. You can use public transport there, but here forget it. In 6 months of commute and leisure driving, I see may be 1 bus every other day.
Agreed. Austin traffic is FAR worse than Sacramento traffic. However, Sac traffic isn't the greatest either especially on Friday;s when you have all of the traffic from the bay area heading up to the mountains. Sacramento hasn't improved or added to their overall freeway system in nearly 30 years. However, most of the freeways have HOV lanes and ramp meters will help out the traffic flows.
4) Weather is horrible here. Austin natives will brag you that it is the best in texas and less humid that houston and blah blah blah. Here you have humid heat of 100+ for 2 months every summer. Rest of summer months also feel 100+ because of high UV Index. Sacramento summers are hot too, but it is all dry heat. Believe me, dry heat is much much better than humid. I have lived enough at these 3 places to say austin weather is just horrible.
Winters are cooler than sacramento. This makes a huge temperature difference in a year. Basically calling for health problems. I read couple of medical research papers which said, Austin weather is really bad for your health because of huge summer and winter temp difference.
If you have allergies, Austin is not the place to be. I lived in CA for 7 yrs, never had a single allergy. In 6 months here, I had nasal allergies 3 times.
Yes, overall the weather is pretty bad in Austin. The relentless heat in the summer forces people to stay indoors. It's a long, depressing summer here similar to a North Dakota winter. The summer in Sac is AWESOME!! Low 90's during the day, and you can always open your windows at night. High 50's and low 60's are generally the morning lows in the summer. Yes, they do have heat waves past 100 degrees, but that generally last for no longer than a few days AT THE MOST. The delta breeze kicks in and it's back down into the 80's for a few days. And yes, it's WAY colder here in the winter. Weelky cold fronts and freezing temps are the rule here--highs are all over the place. Way more constant in Sac. And it actually rains in Sac too!!
5) Things to do in/around Austin : Zero, unless you are into live music. In
Sacramento has TONS of live music venues. All scattered downtown and in the old Sac district. I also remember a couple of cool live music clubs in the Folsom area (but I cant remember the name). Nightlife is great in Sac and you don;t have to deal with a bunch of inmature drunk college kids (like on 6th street in Austin)
Sacto, you had
Lake Tahoe (1 hrs)
Napa (1 hrs)
Yosemite (3.5 hrs)
Beach (1.5 hrs)
Bay Area (2.5 hrs)
San Francisco (1.5 hrs)
Los Angeles (6-7 hrs)
Las Vegas (10-12hrs)
Basically you had lots of stuff to do on weekends. Both natural and big cities. Here there is nothing natural around. People will brag about lake Travis. Believe me, its nothing but Folsom Lake. Nearest cities are Houston and Dallas, Sacramento nightclubs are much better.
Agreed. Folsom Lake is very nice, and that is just the beginning of the Sierras!!
6) Regarding employment, honestly I can't comment much
- since i don't know the latest employment situation in Sacto
- I am fairly new to Austin
However, looking at number of hi-tech companies Austin has, I think Austin might be better. Intel, AMD, IBM, Dell, Samsung, ARM, Freescale and so on.
Employment picture is better in Austin FOR NOW. But give Sac a little more time to rev up it's engines. Once CA turns itself around, Sac will again be the powerhouse for jobs that it once was.
7) Austin is far cheaper than Bay Area/OC, but definitely not cheaper than Sacramento. Food, utilities, gas, clothing, groceries all cost almost the same. Yes, you save money on weekend activities, as there is nothing to do here..!!
I've lived all over the country--Austin is without a doubt the most uninteresting, uncool cities I have ever had the misfortune of living in. No city in the country boasts itself so hard, and has so little to show for it. Like I said, I would move to Sac in a heartbeat if SacMetro would ever start hiring again!!
To summarize, I will take a line from "eepstein" response
"you get what you pay for"
"just wait things our rather than throwing your hands up"
If you are a person, who just want to commute to work daily, who doesn't mind horrible traffic, doesn't give a damn to bad weather, doesn't mind sitting at home every weekend, doing nothing but drinking beers and watching football games then Austin is the place for you.
Yes, overall the weather is pretty bad in Austin. The relentless heat in the summer forces people to stay indoors. It's a long, depressing summer here similar to a North Dakota winter. The summer in Sac is AWESOME!! Low 90's during the day, and you can always open your windows at night. High 50's and low 60's are generally the morning lows in the summer. Yes, they do have heat waves past 100 degrees, but that generally last for no longer than a few days AT THE MOST. The delta breeze kicks in and it's back down into the 80's for a few days. And yes, it's WAY colder here in the winter. Weelky cold fronts and freezing temps are the rule here--highs are all over the place. Way more constant in Sac. And it actually rains in Sac too!!
Yep, up north seasonal depression used to be just in the winter. I get even less sunlight here because I am stuck inside all summer with the blinds closed trying to keep from drowning in a pool of my sweat. I used to love summer. I would spend a good portion of the day active outside and sleep with the windows open. Now I am too weak to do anything all summer and if I sleep with the windows open someone will probably break in.
Stay put. Unless you are highly qualified and experienced in the technology/engineering fields, finding a good paying job is tough. There are too many college students to compete with in the food service area.
Like I said, I would move to Sac in a heartbeat if SacMetro would ever start hiring again!!
Believe me, I too want to move back to Sacramento/Bay Area or for that matter anywhere in CA. But some personal reasons made me move here. I hope things change (highly unlikely) and I can be back in great CA.
Yep, up north seasonal depression used to be just in the winter. I get even less sunlight here because I am stuck inside all summer with the blinds closed trying to keep from drowning in a pool of my sweat. I used to love summer. I would spend a good portion of the day active outside and sleep with the windows open. Now I am too weak to do anything all summer and if I sleep with the windows open someone will probably break in.
I hope this post is a joke.
Cyclists, runners, swimmers, rowers, water skiiers, walkers, etc. stay active and outside all summer here. Maybe not so much at 4 p.m. in August.....
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
And by dealing with a horribly hot summer, you still have to deal with cold in the winter. Freezes at night are common and it is almost always windy in the winter. In my opinion, Sac has one of the greatest climates in the nation (and maybe world)
