Considering a relocation from Northern CA to Cedar Park Area (Houston: transplants, houses)

[karljodi511]

Hello- My husband, son and myself are considering a move from Northern Ca to Austin. My son is 2 years old and the schools here are just getting worse and worse. We are hoping to move before he starts school in a few years (hopefully next year). I work in accounting and my husband is a hard work self employed truck driver. We both have to work to afford to live and we are hoping that Williamson County will offer the ability for me to stay home, work from home, or atleast work part time. In comparsion to CA what are the major differences with the lifestyle. We want to enjoy life, not work through all of it. We want to provide a better life for our only child and feel that outside CA is the only way to do that.

Anyone made such a move? Any thoughts? We are visiting the area in 2 weeks for 3 days to get a feel for it. We've never been to Texas so we are starting the process blind.

Also if anyone knows how the trucking industry works out there, if it's a good living etc. My husband prefers local (no sleeper on his cab), or regional.

Thanks!

[Moonlady]

Just out of curiosity - why Cedar Park? Lots of areas around Austin that are family friendly with good schools and budget friendly. however, to give you some better advice, can you tell us your housing budget?

I will tell you that a lot of the regional and LTL trucking companies are located East of town, so a commute from Cedar Park wouldn't be ideal.

Hopefully some of our recent California transplants can help you with the differences.

[Idlewile]

Originally Posted by Moonlady

Just out of curiosity - why Cedar Park? Lots of areas around Austin that are family friendly with good schools and budget friendly. however, to give you some better advice, can you tell us your housing budget?

Yes, this, please.

I am from northern CA and we made a similar lifestyle change move from CO (Cost of living related, to allow for one of us the be at home with kids at leaat part time) last year. It's been a good decision.

Still, for better input, you should share your housing budget and other priorities.

[karljodi511]

We aren't set on any area honestly so whatever is suggested we will probably check out. We like space, but I think most the houses in that area have a little space between eachother compared to houses here. I can hear their phone conversations if the window is open. We just want a nice yard for our son and 2 dogs. good sized kitchen, 3/4 bedrooms nothing too picky. My husband is tall so we can't be in an older built house with low ceilings (he's 6'7). Other than that. Safe, quiet, family friendly neighborhood.

We are looking at purchasing a house around 200K (likely a bit less).

Thanks!

[EzPeterson]

What part of NorCal are you in right now? I moved here quite some time ago, and have never once regretted that decision.

That said, there are some significant differences between CA and TX - knowing what part of CA you're in will probably help us give you some input that would relate easier.

[karljodi511]

I'm from Santa Rosa- Sonoma County (Wine Country). We have one of the best climates in the world, so I know that will be an adjustment, which is why we are visiting in July....we want to see the worst of the worst. The population here is grown since I was a kid, crowded, houses on top of one another, bad roads, bad schools, high prices.

[neddy]

July is not the worst..late Aug to early Sept. is..just keep that in mind also and it goes on and on and on froom late April to mid Sept with the heat.

[EzPeterson]

Ok, I've got family in Napa, and used to work in Santa Rosa, so I can see why you'd want to get out - unless you're making enough for private schools, you're dealing with some pretty lousy schools around there.

1. Traffic - will actually be about the same. Really bad at times (sometimes for totally inexplicable reasons), narrowing down job locations will be pretty important in reducing your/husband's commute.

2. Politics - pretty big difference here, and don't expect it to change, particularly WilCo. I don't want this thing to run off on a tangent, so I'll just say this. If the words "Well, in California we did this..." ever escape, be prepared to defend your point.

3. Family-Friendliness - Pretty broad topic, but I consider this area to be far more focused on neighborhood/family than Santa Rosa. Some of this is likely due to the fact that folks aren't spending 3+ hours a day in their cars (outside of work) and therefore have more time to spend with people in their lives.

4. "Crowded" - eh, population density seems to be pretty similar between the areas.

5. Housing - Major difference here. $200K there gets you a long search, with little results. Here, you can pretty easily find a 3/2.5 for that or less. Keep in mind that property taxes here are higher, and vary by year (not like CA, which is limited to the purchase price of your home for taxable value - each year your house will be reassessed in TX). Offset this by no state income tax and its a wash, IMO - as long as you keep your housing budget with this in mind.

6. Schools - Night and Day. Folks take pride in their schools here, and I mean PRIDE. Expect far more parental involvement to be expected from you, as well as focus on learning. One thing that is very noticeable is the lack of a significant drop from the "best" to the "middle", unlike in CA. Yeah, we'll hold long arguments about which is the "best" school system 'round here, but at the end of the day, the overall quality is much higher - so you won't go wrong, even if you're not zoned to the "best" in terms of rankings.

7. Weather - Night and Day. at night, no offshore breeze, stays HOT. In the Day - HOT. If you like heat, it's lovely, and you do learn to adapt. Just make sure you have access to a pool for the kids (and yourself) - other wise you end up feeling trapped in AC during the hot months. Winters are actually fairly similar, might be a bit cooler here, definitely drier, and far more volatile. It took me a few years to get used to the fact that some mornings 8AM would be the warmest part of the day when a front blows in. Two years ago, I remember leaving the house in February with the temp at around 60-65, and coming home to mid-30's. on the whole, winters are mild in both spots. Spring and fall are fairly short here, but they are awesome.

8. People - I think you'll find folks here far more open and friendly. It may not be "best friends overnight" friendly, but you can talk to the person behind you in the grocery checkout line without them looking at you like you just stepped off a spaceship.

9. Jobs - I'm not too sure on the trucking piece. Austin seems to be a place truckers pass through or deliver to. DFW and Houston are the big hubs for that.

Hope this helps. Keep asking questions!

[love roses]

My husband drives a truck. It's pretty easy to find work. He does a small amount of OTR because he recently got a new truck with a sleeper. He mainly does local and regional. EzPeterson is somewhat correct as far as there are lots of trucking companies here but not too many distribution centers. For example, my husbands boss will call him (their office is in N. Austin) and have him maybe pick up a load in Temple and deliver it somewhere around Austin or San Antonio. Or he'll do a pickup in Austin and take it to McAllan or Laredo. They get to do some work with Dell and the convention Center but those are very seasonal runs and the only super close to home ones he gets to do. He leaves in the morning and nearly every evening makes it home if his runs send him from here to Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Temple.

[karljodi511]

Love Roses- Do you mind giving me any advice on trucking companies to look in to? And also, where would you consider living? My husband is home every night now, and we love that. Sometimes not until after we are asleep but he comes home.