2 Gypsy's moving from soggy Portland Oregon to Austin

[2 Gypsy's]

Thank you for the info on Leander downtown.Yes, That's what I was getting at.

[ArsenicJulep]

Welcome to Austin; there are a lot of folks here who appreciate talented, hard-working contractors--especially if you pay attention to detail and do careful work, and most importantly, finish the job! If you do custom tile work, you should really check out Architerra in Penn Field (South Austin, just off of Congress). It houses a number of high-end sellers of tile, lighting and architectural hardware/fixtures. The tile store carries Pratt & Larson, who matched the color of my vintage tile exactly. If you have a portfolio of work you could show them, you might be able to get referrals for clients who want their new tile installed.

Oh, and not to be a pain, but the plural of "gypsy" is "gypsies," and of "hurricane" is "hurricanes." No need for an apostrophe (it's not a contraction), just add "s"/"es" (or "ies" in the case of a word ending in "y.") Sorry, but as a editor, the "grocer's apostrophe" drives me nuts. (Not "nut's.") And real estate prices here are "out of sight"; if you're "out of site," I guess there are no sites left to build on.

[Moonlady]

Originally Posted by 2 Gypsy's

Is anyone familar with the area of hwy 620 & FM 2222.We are looking at an apartment complex to rent for a year while looking for a home.It's the Sonterra Apartment Homes.How is the traffic coming from that area into Austin? We have visited the property this past June and liked the area but of course it was just a visit.Not sure what the area is like to live?

Thanks

If you can stand moving twice, renting for awhile will give you a good opportunity to check out different areas of town. 620/2222 is a nice area but a bit limited on your commute options. Sonterra is nice - I'm guessing about 5 years old - and 620 has lots of shopping. It's close to the lake which is nice too. There are lots of apartments up in the NW area also if you're considering that area.

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by 2 Gypsy's

Hi, Our friends and family call us Gypsy's because we can't seem to find a state we want to stay. So far we lived in Boston (snow) Florida (hurricane's & too many retirees) Hawaii (I know you guys think we are crazy but you DO GET ISLAND FEVER & real estate is out of site, $700,000 for an average home) and Oregon(where we are now) (Endless RAIN !!!.)
We were in Austin this June and just fell in love with the city and the north west burbs. We think we will put the covered wagon up for sale soon.
I am a tile contractor/remodeler and my wife is a massage therapist and are looking for a home in the north west burbs. It seems there is a lot of work for me but my wife was wondering where the best area would be for her to set up shop? Had a injury that kept me from working for a year and a half so in a nut shell now have unfinanceable credit BUT we have a good chunk of change to put down (sold a lot of that cure-all elixir from the back of the wagon).We are looking for a home under $200,000(downsizing)
So back to the nut shell, Has anyone done a owner financed purchase?? Is it good bad or what?
We have been looking on line in Anderson Mill, Cedar park & Round Rock.
Does any one have any comments good or bad) on these areas.
We are both 50( grown children) We do like being close to the city but can't really afford those city prices.
Are there other areas we should look at? We are not old fogies so no nursing homes yet !
Thanks for any input.

Take a look at trulia. You can actually get housing at that price pretty close in to DT (15 mins) east of 183 in the duval/183 area.

The allandale neighborhood seems to have some deals too. Smaller houses in the under 200K range. Those are maybe 10 minutes from DT. Around anderson ln east of mopac.

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by 2 Gypsy's

Is anyone familar with the area of hwy 620 & FM 2222.We are looking at an apartment complex to rent for a year while looking for a home.It's the Sonterra Apartment Homes.How is the traffic coming from that area into Austin? We have visited the property this past June and liked the area but of course it was just a visit.Not sure what the area is like to live?

Thanks

2222 during rush hour is bad going into town and bad coming home. Otherwise traffic on 2222 is pretty light.

[newrrmom]

If I did massage I would love to work at The Crossing's, also if she likes the chain type enviroment, Massage Envy's seem to have it together, she might build clientele quick there?
I would say you can find a home for that price if school district's are not a issue, sounds like they might not be.

[elduderino38]

Originally Posted by ArsenicJulep

Oh, and not to be a pain, but the plural of "gypsy" is "gypsies," and of "hurricane" is "hurricanes." No need for an apostrophe (it's not a contraction), just add "s"/"es" (or "ies" in the case of a word ending in "y.") Sorry, but as a editor, the "grocer's apostrophe" drives me nuts. (Not "nut's.") And real estate prices here are "out of sight"; if you're "out of site," I guess there are no sites left to build on.

It should be an editor.

[stkntx]

Property Taxes in the area and most of Texas are one of the highest in the country-about 3% of appraised value and there are basically no limits on increases-thus you get a new, higher tax bill every year. If you buy a house for 170-K your tax bill is about 5000.00. Sales tax is about 8%. Water bills and energy bills are much higher than they were in Cali-but then again I have to use the AC a lot. I live in Cedar Park. It is one of the cheaper housing areas compared to central Austin, etc. I do prefer parts of Austin though for ambience-can't really afford it though.
People get fooled by the comparitively low house prices and no state tax and think they will save big time here. The wages are pretty low and while there is some high end homes-people here are not that savvy about really nice custom work. Also-the health care insurance here is pretty bad if you are self-employed. You should check into it. Basically, any law that would help consumers will never get passed. Any law that helps big business is always passed. This state is very corrupt. Don't do it.