Moving to Austin from New Jersey! (fit in, apartments, to rent)

[candyhart]

So I have read pretty much every "moving to austin from ________" post on here and just thought I'd write my own to get some info from native texans.

I am planning to move to Texas probably around May or June of next year, my boyfriend wants to transfer to the University of Texas and I'm looking for a job in the graphic design world. We are also hopefully planning to take a weekend trip there in January to look at the school and hopefully I can have some interviews lined up by then. We are going to be working on an EXTREMELY tight budget. Maybe 2k or a little more. We're looking to get an apartment, a simple one bedroom close to the school and hopefully to where I'll be working.

As far as info I would like from everyone here... How should I go about applying to jobs there? I'm not sure when to start sending my resumes to places. I do not expect any relocation assistance, though it would be nice to be compensated for going there for the interview. Is there any neighborhoods or places in Austin that I should look into that are heavy in art or art related jobs?

For apartments I've just been looking on apartments.com, and sites like that. are there any more specific to the Austin area? I know we're going to be on a pretty tight budget, I'm probably looking for something that's at most 650 without utilities.

I understand that Texas will be very different from NJ, is there any tips people can give me for the move? I'm definitely not looking forward to fire ants, or anything I've seen in other posts. And I am really looking forward to the weather

Any information I get would be great!

[drshdw]

Your budget includes working + bf's contribution? 2k/month? That's rough around campus but doable if all y'all need is a 1/1, but you're probably looking at $650-800 + utilities. Will you have a car or a bike or ?

Padmapper.com

GDS&M
T3
PROOF
Razorfish

Google, look for startups, though almost a year lead time..

[candyhart]

the 2k is what we're going to save up for the initial move, once we get there hopefully I'll have a job and such and making more than that. I'll have a car so we don't have to live right on campus if there's something more affordable maybe 15-20 minutes away.

[someguyatx]

For $650 a month you can find a decent 1 bedroom in many different parts of town. I would wait a while until you figure out more with a job to decide on area to live. UT campus is central and on the bus route so gettign there shouldn't be a problem from most parts of town.

Also 2K wont get you very far is you have to rent a moving truck and pay for gas from NJ to here. Start pricing that type of thing out and if you dont have lots of nice stuff consider selling your stuff then buying new stuff when you get to town.

[CptnRn]

I've been there, done that, so I'm not trying to be negative, just realistic. These are much harder economic times then when we moved here so I could go to graduate school, and my wife already had a job lined up before we moved.

What will you do if you can't find work for 3-4 months? Does your BF have money coming in to pay for college + rent? Hope so.

Consider moving with only what will fit inside of your car, so you don't waste money on renting a truck. Sell or get rid of what won't fit. If you absolutely must move more stuff, limit it to what will fit in a uhaul trailer towed by your car, its much cheaper then a truck. Sell off everything you can before the move to give you more cash. Buy what you need once you get here, as you can afford it. Unless you can find a cheap mattress once you get here, buy an inexpensive inflatable mattress to sleep on until you can afford something else.

Austin has enough students moving in and out of town every year there is probably a pretty good amount of used furniture at good will and second hand stores.

My BFA was in Studio Arts, and its not by impression that this is a great area to find jobs in related fields. There are no particular neighborhoods that are heavily in art or art related jobs that I can think of. Google art galleries on google maps to see what pops up. http://maps.google.com/maps?q=art+ga...src=0&t=h&z=13

With all the colleges and universities here that is probably a tough market to get into. There are a few well known advertising companies here that probably hire in those areas, such as GSD&M. http://maps.google.com/maps?q=advert...src=0&t=h&z=14

[h886]

Not trying to be a Negative Nellie, but you may need to rethink this plan. $2K in savings won't get you very far. That's maybe two months if you're very frugal. Considering how much it will cost to license your car, etc, you may need a bit more than that OR if you can line up a job before you move, you would be in better shape. But be advised that in many fields, you may sit unemployed for 6 months. Maybe longer, especially if you're competing for entry-level jobs that our many UT grads have the connections and interning experience to get. You'll probably want at least 6 months worth of expenses saved up.

Whether you'll be compensated for flying in for an interview varies wildly by field. In my field, no one is ever compensated. Period. You either want the job enough to come and grovel, or you don't. Since there is a glut of applicants in most fields, unless you have some amazing skills no one else does, my guess is they could save a buck and simply interview all the qualified people who already live locally and find someone good for the job. So if you are lucky enough to get an interview, I would thank them and just come. You'll read many times on here that people comment non-locals often can't even get a call back. It's tough in some markets.

[candyhart]

Hey guys! thanks for all of the responses. As far as moving wise we do pretty much plan to leave with whats on our backs and what will fit in our car. Anything not completely necessary will be either donated or shipped to our address via UPS.

With the job I really don't plan on moving until I have a job lined up completely, though I could at least have a part time job lined up with the place I work at right now. So I would at least have that going as far as incoming money. I am starting to realize because I will be out of state I'm going to have to start networking with people there now, and hopefully have some contacts by time I get there.

Thanks for all of the input and looking forward to anyone elses input as well