Thinking of Relocating. Tired of the filth, crime, and graffiti (Austin: apartments, rentals)

[oldasndood]

Originally Posted by scm53

You can buy .25 - .33 acre in an under 10 yr. 4 BR home in the area off 290 w of 1826 for $400K all day long. Excellent Dripping Springs schools, 15 min to Costco and Whole Foods.

Are you looking for a retail or clinical job?

Thanks for the info. I'm looking in the retail sector.

[hoffdano]

Originally Posted by centralaustinite

Mmm . . . it depends on the night but you can totally find a five hour wait for stitches at the ER and plenty of people in line with the sniffles and no health insurance!!

Something like 40% of the population in TX has no health insurance!!

I do not think that Texas is the utopia you are looking for!

There are probably hundreds of places in Austin to get "minor emergency" care with little wait. Little accidents when my kids were small caused several ER trips and none involved a 5 hour wait.

Just don't go to a giant hospital.

[hoffdano]

Originally Posted by rojetx

It is kind of ironic that so many people are moving to austin to get away from crime, yet "statistics" or no, Austins violent crime has gone up exponentially from 2005 with the influx of people. It may be safer than LA but the way things are going it won't be for long.

What crime do you speak of?

Austin's violent crime has NOT gone up. Do you even know what exponential means? Show us some data.

In 2012 Austin had the 3rd lowest violent crime rate in the US of major cities. That would be hard to be true if our violent crime rates had been climbing exponentially.

Austin

The article further mentioned that Austin's violent crime rates have been declining (improving).

[hoffdano]

OP - the mixed ethnic makeup of your family is completely irrelevant in Austin. There are many Asians of various ethnicity in Austin, and mixed couples are not at all unusual. I speak from personal experience.

[Trainwreck20]

If you avoid Breckenridge downtown (the county hospital), then you won't see that kind of wait very often, for sure. Breck, OTOH, can be pretty interesting. I have gone to the ER a handful of times over the years, but generally to somewhere like Seton NW or Seton SW and the waits have been generally less than an hour, IIRC. Usually 1-3 other parties there waiting, max.

[oldasndood]

This is all great info! Please keep it coming.

[AustinTx78660]

Originally Posted by oldasndood

Hello everyone,

I've realized that we have become a third world nation in terms of healthcare, education, and in general. A five hour wait because the people in front of you have the sniffles and no health insurance was a reawakening.

Texas is not great when it comes to healthcare and education. Austin might be slightly different from the rest of Texas, but overall education and healthcare especially in Texas are sub par compared to the rest of the US. Health Care: File:Health uninsurance rates in the United States by state, 2009.svg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Education (Texas is dead last when it comes to % population with High School diplomas): List of U.S. states by educational attainment - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Texas is 41st in the US in spending per pupil too. Just trying to set the right expectations, crime might be lower here, and less graffiti, cost of living is lower as well (but so are salaries) - but healthcare and education are not things I would consider as reasons to move here unless you can afford living in the right school districts and have decent health insurance.

[scm53]

Originally Posted by AustinTx78660

Texas is not great when it comes to healthcare and education. Austin might be slightly different from the rest of Texas, but overall education and healthcare especially in Texas are sub par compared to the rest of the US. Health Care: File:Health uninsurance rates in the United States by state, 2009.svg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Education (Texas is dead last when it comes to % population with High School diplomas): List of U.S. states by educational attainment - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Texas is 41st in the US in spending per pupil too. Just trying to set the right expectations, crime might be lower here, and less graffiti, cost of living is lower as well (but so are salaries) - but healthcare and education are not things I would consider as reasons to move here unless you can afford living in the right school districts and have decent health insurance.

Pretty sure the OP has, and will continue to have, good health insurance. Given his stated price point, pretty sure he will live in a good school district as well.

Not sure what the rest of that diatribe had to do with anything. If it makes you feel better, go right ahead and believe that your proxies have anything to do with the quality of healthcare and education here in Texas.

[787]

a $400,000 property is going to run you almost $9,000 each year in taxes. Is a retail job going to cover that comfortably? Many west coast transplants fall into that trap - middle class paycheck, but played the housing market to take profits, then bought highly taxed property in Texas, and found out that they need high INCOME to have an expensive property here, unlike CA.

[scm53]

Originally Posted by 787

a $400,000 property is going to run you almost $9,000 each year in taxes. Is a retail job going to cover that comfortably?

Retail pharmacist - dispensing drugs in a CVS, Target, Walgreens, etc. As opposed to clinical - working in the pharmacy in a hospital.

Not your typical "retail" job.