Newbie from Bklyn NY soon to be in Austin! Any transplants? (Georgetown: houses, living in)

[RoadWarrior12]

Oh, I scrapped the 30 minute rush hour idea right off the bat. That's not happening under $450K

[hillcountryheart]

Originally Posted by scrappygurl

To those of you who took my posts seriously thank you so much. My mother in law who is moving to TX from AR near us, keeps telling us that we can find something in that price range . She's not considering commuting times which is why we are traveling in July for 2 weeks prior to his start in September.

Hello Scrappy,

I am very familiar with AR - Yell/Pope/Van Buren/Conway counties to be precise. Yes, you can get some land with $150k there.

Your MIL may be able to find *something* but not very near to you if you want a 30 minute commute.

The reason some folks seem touchy is that there's a population explosion pushing up real estate and snarling traffic. And a lot of people move here either sight unseen or with an entirely unrealistic idea of just how much the housing is and just how horrible the traffic is. We too would all like to avoid higher costs because this means higher taxes and none of us love the traffic. 30 years ago none of this was a problem. It's like being the frog that is slowly being boiled to death, only we've caught on that we're being boiled.

You have lived a lot of places and while things here are not as expensive as NorCal or the south of France, they are definitely more expensive than Arkansas, which is very pretty but doesn't have the job market we have.

[LiveUrban]

Originally Posted by Iac1003

It takes me 30 minutes to get from downtown Austin to Hyde Park in rush hour. Many neighbors have chickens in postage stamp-size backyards but the raccoons get to them sometimes. There's nothing remotely close to $150,000-$200,000 in my neck of the woods. I think you're going to have to live further out than you planned to get everything you think you want.

Native New Yorker (55+ years), Austinite (4 years).

The MetroRapid will get you there in 15-20 min during Rush Hour.

[brattpowered]

Originally Posted by TexasHorseLady

Not sure what "rural" in the NE is, but as someone who actually lives rural and who grew up rural and for whom it is part of my business, I have to disagree with the "more of a poverty-like thing" statement.

It's all relative, and it sounds like you haven't spent much time in the rural North or you'd agree.

[austinnative69]

Sorry to come into this so late. This topic is near and dear to me as i do raise chickens in Central Austin. The rule in the COA are amazingly liberal (ok, maybe that shouldn't be surprising). You can actually keep large livestock in the city, if you have enough space. I know you are thinking farm, but i just want to make you aware of the city laws. Now, that being said, there has recently been some issues on the east-side with someone who was rending a lot of chickens and composting the remains. So the rule of thumb is, keep the neighbors happy.

The Common Law: Chickens, Goats, and Urban Ranches? - Columns - The Austin Chronicle

[scrappygurl]

I feel as if Pennsylvania is getting so crowded in Allentown.

What is it that you don't like about TX if I may ask? I feel like PA has just as desolate places. My favorite place in PA is Hamburg though. I like the small town feel and the community factor.

I don't really have a choice into the Austin area due to work, but if I did, I would love to go back to Upstate NY, but I am having a hard time with the winters. Not due to age, just getting worn out from it.

Thanks for any info ATX. Isn't it hard moving from state to state?

Originally Posted by AtxZombie

im from queens living in bastrop, its a culture shock for sure, we are selling our house and heading back up north. we are heading to allentown pa. closer to family with out being in nyc

[scrappygurl]

I agree the rural Northern part of NY is as remote as many places I've seen. I love it, but there's no work up there. Its getting very difficult in NY believe it or not, the finance capital of the world is not the same anymore, well at least NYC isn't.

[scrappygurl]

I understand all the hate because of population explosion because here in Brooklyn, NY we have the same thing.
I own a home here and people from Manhattan have driven our property taxes and parking up so much it is no longer affordable for people like me, who don't have a 100 year old trust fund passed down. Its so different here. Brooklyn always had the suburban spots where you could get away from all of the hoopla of the city and just sit on your stoop and talk to your neighbors, have a pool, bbq with the neighbors, and well feel as if you had the best of both worlds, now the hipsters, the manhattan stock brokers and the Doctors (new trend is to buy our brownstones and spend another million to gut it into a one family house), are driving our taxes up so much that what was affordable is no longer.

Then the economy, my husband's job moved from the city, to the sticks in Jersey (what we consider the sticks) so that he could buy the building, the dilemma is all of the Employees were from the city too. So the next best thing for this expectant mother is to is try to get something a little better somewhere else. Its sooo frustrating. I feel as if a good town to live in, is suddenly run over and changing, making it so unaffordable for us.

[scm53]

Originally Posted by scrappygurl

... bbq with the neighbors ...

Word to the wise. Here that is a noun, not a verb.

[kylerboys]

You will probably have to cross Dripping Springs off your list. It's awesome, but I don't think there is any way you will find what you are looking for for under $200K