Potential move to Austin. Bit concerned. (Houston, Center: fit in, transplants, sales)

[Hobokenkitchen]

I have actually heard some good things about Austin but am a bit nervous about Texas as a whole.

We currently live in Center City Philadelphia and really like it. We like being able to walk everywhere and that there is so much going on in the city and that the neighborhoods are so pretty and rich with history.

However we are pregnant with our first baby and starting to think that a house with more space and decent schools might be a good idea. DH may be getting a job offer in Austin and we would like to get a feel for whether we would fit in.

I'm in my mid 30s and DH is 40. My Mom (who will come and visit relatively regularly) is a lesbian. We are really quite liberal in our views and we don't attend Church.

We would be looking for a 3 or preferably 4 bedroom home in a great, friendly neighborhood and I guess we now have to pay attention to the school system.
We could pay from 500 to about 850 for a house, but am concerned about the real estate tax situation. We paid 700 for our current house and taxes are $5300, but we pay city wage tax on top.

Any 'odd' taxes that we might not be aware of like city wage tax in Philly?

Are we going to stick out like a sore thumb as liberal, pro gay marriage, pro universal health care, non church going, older first time parents? Or is Austin pretty easy going?
I will say we don't advertise our views - no bumper stickers here, and at first view most people take as for conservative for some reason, but we're not.

If health care, gay marriage and religion come up would it be most sensible to keep quiet about our views? I am normally pretty outspoken and by far the majority (but not all) of our friends tend to share most of our views.

Thoughts? The stereotype of Texans is conservative, traditional and religious. We are none of those things and I'm English so not really sure how fair or unfair the stereotype is.
If you tell me I'm worrying needlessly I will be delighted!

[Trainwreck20]

liberal, pro gay marriage, pro universal health care, non church going, older first time parents?

Sounds about like half of Austin proper, more or less. Really, I can't say that anyone will care, not even your anti-universal health care, church going, younger parents - I leave out the gay marriage because, frankly, I don't think I know anyone who really oppose it (although I know lots of people that don't care enough to actively support it).

I suppose the 500 - 850 is $500,000 to $850,000 to buy a house? That would be $13,000 to $25,000 or so in taxes per year, depending on you location and actual cost. Depending on what you consider hidden taxes (8.25% sales tax, for example), I don't think there really are any. There is no income tax whatsoever in the state that I am aware of except federal income tax. If you buy an $850k house in the 'moderate' priced suburbs, that means you would have, like, a 6,000 sf+ house and your electric bill would be somewhat outrageous, potentially.

[centralaustinite]

you'll be fine! And if your price range is really 500K-850K for a house, you'll be better than fine! Watch out for the property tax though, you could find a nice house in a good school district for 400K. Generally, the further out you go from central Austin the more conservative folks are . . . but that is a gross generalization. I know plenty of super-liberal folk out in Bastrop, Kyle, Buda, etc. Williamson County is a more conservative place than Travis but nearly everyone in Austin has a libertarian streak and is pretty live and let live.

[homeinatx]

IMO, you do not have to worry at all. If you look for the stereotypes, you can find them, but many of them are outdated and untrue. Texas is a majority minority state, and while Austin is the whitest big city in Texas, it is also majority minority. Houston is the largest city in the world ever to have elected an openly lesbian mayor. Austin is one of the first municipalities in the U.S. to pass a gay rights ordinance back in the early 1970s. Small town Texas and many of the exurbs will be more "conservative, traditional and religious," but no more than small town Pennsylvania.I have lived here for a decade and no-one has ever asked me about "church." That said, it is the pro-gun and pro-death penalty positions that were the biggest shock to me, moving here.

Austin is a much younger and smaller city than Philadelphia and there is nothing as dense or historic as Center City here, including downtown Austin, but in your price-range you will have many options - just remember property taxes are not fun here - roughly 2% annually on the assessed value of your house - a 500K house will cost you around 10K in annual property taxes. There are quite a few Central Austin neighborhoods which are semi-walkable with some historic housing stock: I would start by looking in Hyde Park, Travis Heights, Clarksville, French Place.

While I don't think Austin is as liberal as it sometimes thinks it is, in my experience it is mostly "a live and let live" kind of place. I would guess that adapting to the suburban strip-malliness of it all will be harder than any political or social adjustments.

Your English accent will be a social asset here as long as you don't mind being treated as a little exotic. Good luck with your move.

[eichlerfan]

For the most part you will be just fine in Austin. We moved here last year, and it really is an easy place to live when it comes to attitudes. However at that house price range watch out for property taxes, When we eventually decide to buy a home here (renting for now till we decided where we want to buy) I'm sure we will buy less than we can actually afford as we don't want to pay that much in property taxes.

[halfliquid]

Hello! I just have to state how I feel about living in Texas for the last 10 years. I hate it! I really envy that you live in Philly! I grew up in Chester County and would visit Philly from time to time. I left PA 20 years ago and I've missed it since. I never knew how much I would miss civilization until it was gone! I'm desperately trying to save my pennies so I can get out of this scummy dump of a state and move back north, but it's taking forever.

I lived in central Florida for 10 years and now in Austin for 10 years. Both places suck!

There is no culture here, no sense of history, no importance, no good taste, lousy shopping, no neat neighborhoods like Philly. You'll never have a good meal here unless you cook it yourself. You'll need to drive everywhere as there isn't any properly planned city--downtown is just a big mess of cheaply built high rise condos and some crappy bars and restaurants whose chefs got their training from the back of a matchbook. The people here don't seem to know how to drive properly yet don't want to take public transportation. I see intolerance every day--the gay couples that get snickered at. The mixed race couples that get the frowns. If you're Mexican forget it--Asians aren't far behind on the "look down your nose at them" ladder. If you have an English accent it might be an oddity here--the one English woman on the local classical radio station might as well be from Mars the way I've heard people react to her accent! And all most people want to do is drink or get stoned to escape their misery. The kids running around here are the most obnoxious, undisciplined bunch of nothings that mankind has ever produced. Their parents act like they're on some TV reality show and idolize human trash like the Kardashians.

The weather here sucks. I don't think I've opened a window since February. The allergens/pollen/dirt in the air are something of a Biblical plague. I didn't have allergies until I moved to this dump. And this past year--OMG!!! It's been like over 100 degrees every day for months without rain. As far as Autumn/Winter seasonal change it goes from summer heat one day to a cold blast the next. Then the leaves suddenly turn brown and fall all at once when you're not looking. And on the occasion that we get a half inch of snow the road crew goes around and sprays water on the roads to make them into a sheet of ice. And people still try to drive 65 in a 40 zone!

Can your husband keep his job in Philly or consider one of the surrounding counties? I honestly hope you'll reconsider your move here. Imagine Philly without everything you like, then make what's left bland, shoddy, unorganized, lifeless, hopeless, greedy, unconcerned, hateful, racist, uncomfortable, agonizing, and allergen-laden and you'll have Austin!

JMO. Good luck to you and your family!

[atxcio]

If I were you, I'd lower the price range a little bit on the home and instead save some of that money! I agree with centralaustinite that the optimal range is about $400K to stay in a close-in neighborhood (sounds like that's what you want, coming from a walkable larger city). Remember, with a $500-$700K home your yearly property taxes will be in the area of $15K per year... not worth it IMO.

Texan culture is different, no doubt. I moved here from RI many years ago, and it was a huge adjustment. But lots of people end up loving it, for a bunch of different reasons. There is truly a feeling in Texas that there is no "old money" like you might find back east, the workplace and society as a whole is much more open to newcomers establishing themselves at any level. So that is a plus. People are also very polite/talkative/friendly, which some find as non-genuine but it definitely grows on you... and if you are like me, you'll ultimately find yourself preferring it. A lot of people, rightfully so, really value the environment for families here. Good schools, more opportunity for one spouse to stay at home with the kids due to low COL, people have a good work ethic, etc.

Anyway, the key thing is to treat a move like this as an adventure. Like you were moving to another country. Don't look for the comforts of home -- instead, take pleasure in discovering the differences. Some will be odd to you, but that's all part of it. Keep an open mind.

And again, save that money and reduce your housing budget here! You can use it for vacations if you get homesick or just want the opportunity to explore more than you could in PA. Explore the west. This is a good base city to do so.

Finally, nothing you've stated about your beliefs, family, etc would be even the slightest problem in Austin. You will find kindred souls here, everyone does... it's a city of transplants from everywhere. Anyway, good luck to you whatever your decision.

[phone man]

Not sure what the OP meant by their price range for housing. I got the impression that 500-850 was a monthly payment they are shooting for.

[Hobokenkitchen]

Thank you for all your comments, very much appreciated... even the negative one!

The property taxes are definitely giving me some pause - that is a LOT of money. Gulp. I guess by the time you take off the state and city wage tax that gives us some wiggle room, but I don't fancy having massive property taxes, and we don't need anywhere near 6000sqft.

My ideal house would be 3500 sqft, 4 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms, nice walk out basement with lots of light.... but we don't like subdivision cookie cutter, so that's the challenge.
I also like a nice kitchen, but guess we could redo whatever is there. A view of the lake would be lovely as long as it's not too isolated.

Looking on realtor.com, there are a lot of really quite ordinary looking houses, some under 2000sqft which are in the 600s. Guess they must be in fabulous neighborhoods though?

Thanks for the comments on the liberal/ church thing. Really useful to know that we won't be shunned! Of course I'm anti gun too, but DH has one so maybe he'll balance us out.

[Hobokenkitchen]

Originally Posted by phone man

Not sure what the OP meant by their price range for housing. I got the impression that 500-850 was a monthly payment they are shooting for.

Sorry. $500,000 - $850,000 for a place to buy. Will definitely look at some lower price point places also.