Orange County, CA vs. Austin, TX?! (West, Huntington: sale, to rent, condo)

[ocgumbo]

Hi,
I am seriously considering moving to Austin towards the end of this year. I was born and raised in Lake Charles, LA but I have been residing in Southern California (Newport & Huntington Beach) for the last 5 years. I absolutely love it in SoCal, and I've had an amazing time here! It has been a great experience, but I feel as if my time is almost up (kind of over it). The main reasons I'm considering relocating to Austin is 1) the cost of living is ridiculous (meaning the price to rent a studio in the ghetto is $1000+ & I get sick to my stomach when I think about the average sale price for a 40 year old house in the ghetto about $650K+) I don't want to live in a apt for the next 20 years, much less 2years lol! 2) I really miss my family, I have NO family here in SoCal (I have family in Austin & my would be closer to my parents in Louisiana), it's also been a bit difficult to meet good quality people/friends unfortunately. I am a single (divorced) 28 year old female professional currently making $47,000 and barley living paycheck to paycheck. Sorry, if this is a little lengthily....if anyone could advise me on where to start looking to live in Austin, which areas/neighborhood is safe for someone my age, single & female? What's the average rent, condo and small home prices? When the time comes to have a family I just don't believe OC is a great place for that. THANKS!

[Phisch]

Ok, based on this evening, I will share a big difference.

In Orange County, our pediatricians medical group had after-hours urgent care. When you go, you have no appointments and you *hope* you get in within the hour but most likely longer.

I had to take the kids in today and we were the only ones there.

Oh yeah...never paid for hospital parking here. Why is it OC hospitals all charge for parking? At least in south county, they do.

I'm not so sure about the single thing, but I know several other single ladies have asked about moving here so you will want to do a search on this forum.

Cost of living is cheaper here. I didn't get that impression at the grocery store when we first visited, but now that we've done some "real" grocery shopping, I can tell there's a difference at the local HEB (chain comparable to Ralphs or Vons). Also, from what I remember reading on this forum, you can make it fine with $47k a year.

[austin-steve]

What's the average rent, condo and small home prices?

Average rents are $0.72 per sqft for an average 1800 sqft home. Of course this varies across neighborhoods, but that's the citywide average.

Not many house rent for less than $1,000 per month. Those that do are either far out (geographically) or rundown in sketchy areas.

You should be able to find a decent condo for less than $1,000/mo. You can also find something suitable to buy within 20 minutes of downtown for under $150K in a condo. A house in that range would be older, but still in a reasonably good area in South Austin or North Austin (Central is very expensive).

Best thing to do would be to come visit your family and spend a day or two exploring neighborhoods.

Steve

[mimimomx3]

In Orange County, our pediatricians medical group had after-hours urgent care. When you go, you have no appointments and you *hope* you get in within the hour but most likely longer.

I had to take the kids in today and we were the only ones there.

Oh yeah...never paid for hospital parking here. Why is it OC hospitals all charge for parking? At least in south county, they do.

My ped (ARC Far West) have after hours with no appointments and I *always* have to wait, sometimes more than an hour.
When I park at Seton Central (35th St) I *always* have to pay. Where are these no wait offices and no pay parking lots????

[Phisch]

Austin Diagnostic Clinic off Mopac and Parmer (12221 Mopac). They're on the north-bound side of Mopac just before Parmer.

It's in the St. David medical building. After hours urgent care is 5-8pm.

[Trainwreck20]

My ped (ARC Far West) have after hours with no appointments and I *always* have to wait, sometimes more than an hour.

We had to use the ARC after hours clinic off Far West on Memorial day. We had called to ask questions, and they told us to come right in. Although they do not take appts, they do 'schedule' you for a target block of time. It was a potentially critical problem (fortunately, turned out not to be life threatening in the end), but we did not even sit down...they took us straight to the Drs. office, where we waited maybe two minutes. Considering all things, I will happily (well, maybe not happily) wait to see a Dr. for a non-life threating issue if they see me that promptly for something very serious.

Austin Diagnostic Clinic off Mopac and Parmer (12221 Mopac).

Our baby was born there, and the level of care we got was almost overwhelming. I have said this before on here somewhere, but I have never dealt with as patient and friendly staff in a medical setting as when we were there for the birth. I can't say it was better or worse than elsewhere, but it was definitely more than I would have guessed before the whole event.

[ocgumbo]

Thanks guys, really appreciate the responses! But any information on what areas of Austin I should look, South, Central, Downtown etc? Oh and what's the Arboretum area? It look pretty neat! Thanks again!

[mimimomx3]

It was a potentially critical problem (fortunately, turned out not to be life threatening in the end), but we did not even sit down...they took us straight to the Drs. office, where we waited maybe two minutes. Considering all things, I will happily (well, maybe not happily) wait to see a Dr. for a non-life threating issue if they see me that promptly for something very serious.
Glad they took you in quickly....we were in for sore throat/fever, so we did wait! (thankfully it wasn't more serious...)

[Phisch]

Originally Posted by ocgumbo

Thanks guys, really appreciate the responses! But any information on what areas of Austin I should look, South, Central, Downtown etc? Oh and what's the Arboretum area? It look pretty neat! Thanks again!

It's a shopping area. There's a hotel (Renaissance), shops like Barnes & Noble, Restoration Hardware, Amy's Ice Cream (you must have some!), and some other typical mall stores and some restaurants. But it's outdoor and there are some really nice areas to walk which included a pond with aggressive geese

I get the impression that the area surrounding the mall proper are also called the Arboretum (locals would know better). That comprises several other shopping areas.

[jread]

You'll enjoy Austin a lot!

BTW, do you know any people from the Orange, TX area? I grew up there and you are the same age as me, so we probably know some of the same folks.