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Old 05-05-2011, 02:10 PM
 
Location: Avery Ranch, Austin, TX
8,977 posts, read 17,443,925 times
Reputation: 4000

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gatorgrad2004 View Post
but after spending 2 1/2 yrs in the capital of bums ...
You lived in Washington, D.C. ?
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Old 05-05-2011, 02:17 PM
 
Location: 78747
3,202 posts, read 5,982,650 times
Reputation: 915
SF is, for sure. You have not seen homelessness until you've been on Market Street after 8pm - it's an entire city unto itself.
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Old 05-05-2011, 09:18 PM
 
648 posts, read 1,956,875 times
Reputation: 184
Question is, can you get a job here. Austin is and has always been a hard place to get a job.
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Old 05-05-2011, 10:59 PM
 
112 posts, read 278,955 times
Reputation: 68
Thanks everyone for the nice answers.

One thing that really surprises me is how the "pros" win overwhelmingly over the "cons". It's not even close like 50-50 or 60-40, it feels more like 90-10, which in itself speaks volumes. When I mentioned this to a co-worker over lunch today he laughed and said maybe I should post the same on the "Bay Area" forum and see the opposite results

We're pretty much set to do this, but as always, the devil is in the details and I hope it works out.

Quote:
Originally Posted by kiacook View Post
Life in CA sounds so HARD.
I wouldn't say it's hard, it's rather weird, like a love-hate relationship... she's gorgeous alright and everybody wants her, but she's a high-maintenance beyotch and can drive you crazy sometimes (and dry up your bank account)

Quote:
Originally Posted by dave bacon View Post
I describe living here compared to Cali simply as twice the quality of life at half the price.
This is music to my ears

Quote:
Originally Posted by SpicyPepper View Post
Please when/if you move here DO NOT make mention to how they do things back in California. You will offend a lot of people; just like the old bumper sticker use to say "we don't care how you did it in California".
Well if I liked how they "did things in California" I wouldn't be thinking about moving now, would I? They better not do things like California in Austin!!!

Quote:
Originally Posted by pjoseph2 View Post
Florinator, The reasons you mention are exactly why we left the BA. You'll like Austin. Plenty of affordable houses (compared with the BA) with swimming pools and tree houses. And yes, public pools with fresh springs too
More music...

Moderator cut: orphaned

Last edited by Bo; 05-06-2011 at 06:57 PM.. Reason: orphaned - the post you quoted was deleted
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Old 05-05-2011, 11:04 PM
 
Location: Austin
37 posts, read 223,523 times
Reputation: 29
Quote:
Originally Posted by Florinator View Post
I wouldn't say it's hard, it's rather weird, like a love-hate relationship... she's gorgeous alright and everybody wants her, but she's a high-maintenance beyotch and can drive you crazy sometimes (and dry up your bank account)
Ha! This is perhaps the best description of living in California I've ever heard.
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Old 05-06-2011, 09:54 AM
 
1,556 posts, read 2,382,712 times
Reputation: 2591
Quote:
I thought Texans were very friendly and laid-back
The natives are but they are increasingly hard to find. As someone who has been here almost thirty years, I am seeing a serious erosion in "Texas friendly". I have been to SF only a few times and was blown away by the physical beauty of that region - that would be hard to leave. My niece just bought a house in Menlo Park and I was astounded at what she had to pay. A similar house here would have easily been half or less.
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Old 05-06-2011, 10:06 AM
 
2,627 posts, read 6,546,607 times
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Just another note is that it's tough to generally compare "California" to the Austin area. Since this thread is actually specific about the Bay Area, it makes more sense. Comparing Austin to the South Bay or San Francisco is a lot different than comparing Austin to Sacramento or Riverside. Life in CA can be a lot easier if you don't live in one of the prime real estate areas right now as long as you still have employment. I know people that have recently purchased new 3500 square foot homes in Temecula, CA for less than $290K. They have a 60 to 90 minute commute each way, but it's worth it for them to stay close to all their family and friends.
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Old 05-06-2011, 10:06 AM
 
157 posts, read 331,295 times
Reputation: 88
[Originally Posted by Florinator
I wouldn't say it's hard, it's rather weird, like a love-hate relationship... she's gorgeous alright and everybody wants her, but she's a high-maintenance beyotch and can drive you crazy sometimes (and dry up your bank account)
]Ha! This is perhaps the best description of living in California I've ever heard.[/quote]

I concur!
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Old 05-06-2011, 10:39 AM
 
Location: Austin, TX
12,059 posts, read 13,779,707 times
Reputation: 7256
I moved away from the Bay Area years ago for the same reasons as the OP wants to. It mainly came down to wanting to have a nice size home and backyard for a reasonable price, with good schools. Other requirements were sunny weather most of the year, little to no snow, and outdoor activities nearby. Austin fit those requirements to a tee.

I remember when I worked in the Bay Area, I was still inside looking out most of the day. In other words, yes the beach and mountains are relatively close by, but unless you are independently wealthy, you'll still need to work, which means you can't hang out at the beach all summer or the mountains all winter.

When I lived in California, I'd go to Tahoe maybe twice per year, once in the summer and once in the winter. I'd go to the beach (Santa Cruz) probably 3-4 times per summer. I'd go to Napa/Sonoma once per year. I'd have one vacation somewhere to Yosemite, going white water rafting, etc... I just couldn't justify staying in CA for those reasons.

Here, I generally go to the beach (Port A or S. Padre) once a summer, yet I hit the Hill Country a good 10 - 15 times per year because of convenience. I go to the TX wineries once per year. I go to the mountains once every two years. We don't have Yosemite, but we have Big Bend National Park.

Honestly, except for the mountains, I don't see how I'm doing anything less than what I was doing. The only difference is that you must drive a lot more here and you must deal with the heat and humidity, which I like.

For that, I get a much larger house, a very large backyard with playscape, garden, and a lawn to play baseball, football, soccer, and other sports. Oh, and I don't have to pay state income tax, although I hate the property taxes here.

All in all, I don't regret moving here at all.
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Old 05-06-2011, 01:16 PM
 
205 posts, read 737,349 times
Reputation: 205
Quote:
Originally Posted by cBach View Post
I moved away from the Bay Area years ago for the same reasons as the OP wants to. It mainly came down to wanting to have a nice size home and backyard for a reasonable price, with good schools. Other requirements were sunny weather most of the year, little to no snow, and outdoor activities nearby. Austin fit those requirements to a tee.

I remember when I worked in the Bay Area, I was still inside looking out most of the day. In other words, yes the beach and mountains are relatively close by, but unless you are independently wealthy, you'll still need to work, which means you can't hang out at the beach all summer or the mountains all winter.

When I lived in California, I'd go to Tahoe maybe twice per year, once in the summer and once in the winter. I'd go to the beach (Santa Cruz) probably 3-4 times per summer. I'd go to Napa/Sonoma once per year. I'd have one vacation somewhere to Yosemite, going white water rafting, etc... I just couldn't justify staying in CA for those reasons.

Here, I generally go to the beach (Port A or S. Padre) once a summer, yet I hit the Hill Country a good 10 - 15 times per year because of convenience. I go to the TX wineries once per year. I go to the mountains once every two years. We don't have Yosemite, but we have Big Bend National Park.

Honestly, except for the mountains, I don't see how I'm doing anything less than what I was doing. The only difference is that you must drive a lot more here and you must deal with the heat and humidity, which I like.

For that, I get a much larger house, a very large backyard with playscape, garden, and a lawn to play baseball, football, soccer, and other sports. Oh, and I don't have to pay state income tax, although I hate the property taxes here.

All in all, I don't regret moving here at all.
Good summation. I have been to Fredricksburg, I guess it is called Hill Country as honestly found it quite boring with nothing to do for young newly wed couples. Been to Enchanted Rock (don't know if it is part of hill country) and found it ok. Definitely can go there 3-4 times a year for small hikes and family picnics. Is there any other part/activity of Hill Country which I missed, which would be more suited for young couples?

How does Big Bend compare to Yosemite?
Port A/S Padre compare to Santa Cruz/Monterey?
TX wineries to Napa?

What I am asking is, which activities are common between CA locations and comparables in TX which you mentioned.
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