Offered jobs in both Austin and Nashville, which one is best for families? (Waco: sales, attorney)

[BuddhaBlue]

Hello everyone! We are a small family of four from the northwest suburbs of Chicago (born and raised), with two kids ages 10 and 6. My husband is an attorney and has recently been offered positions in areas close to Austin and Nashville. His position near Austin is for a firm that operates out of Harker Heights, TX. His position near Nashville is for a firm that operates out of Clarksville, TN. Now, what I am most concerned with are the schools, the availability of affordable housing in desirable (middle/upper middle class) neighborhoods, and the cost of living...specifically taxes. The reason we are leaving Illinois, is due to the INSANE amount of taxes we pay each and every year. We live in a middle to upper middle class area, with average schools (not bad, but not amazing), in a house that is 1800 sf and we pay close to $10,000 A YEAR in property taxes. Our sales tax is just shy of 10% and income tax has tripled in the last five years. It's insane. Basically, we're being taxed to death. And our property taxes are relatively cheap! My sister pays $16,000 A YEAR and my parents pay over $22,000 every...stinking...year in property taxes. You'd think with taxes like that we'd at least have amazing social programs, but oh no, they can't close those down fast enough. And don't even ask me to venture into Chicago. The city is filthy, it reeks of sewage (sewer vapor is a real thing in Chicago), the beaches are always closed due to e. coli, and the homeless population is out of control. You are constantly being accosted by bums, even in the most affluent areas. It's just a mess. I honestly don't know what Illinois' problem is, but it is definitely time to abandon ship. So, it's Nashville or Austin we go. My husband has since visited both locations and his stance is this: although the city of Austin itself is beautiful, the surrounding areas are a not (he described it as almost desert, but not quite, very barren looking), and it's hot as hell down there; although the city of Nashville is more blue collar and less beautiful than Austin, the surrounding areas are gorgeous and the heat is similar to what we are used to in Chicago. One thing we definitely do not want to find ourselves in is a heavily taxed area. We are so done with that. And I have seen that the property taxes in the Austin area are almost on par with the property taxes in Illinois. But taxes in general are MUCH lower in Texas in comparison to Illinois, so it is not like the property taxes alone are going to make or break the deal. Schools are another concern. The only decent schools I was able to find (but it is entirely likely I missed some) close to Harker Heights, were in the suburb of Round Rock, TX. And even then, the quality of schools varied greatly. Traffic is also a major concern. Traffic in Chicago is like slow death. It's horrific. We don't talk of distance in terms of miles here, we talk minutes. For instance, I grew up in a suburb of Chicago that was ten miles outside of Chicago's city limits. It still took at least a half an hour to get to city on a good day. On a bad day, you were looking at over an hour. I've heard that the traffic in Austin is also horrendous, and that is something we are not looking forward to. It looks as though Austin is a great city for young, liberal, students. But what about families with young children who are quickly learning that liberal means taxes and taxes can get OUT OF CONTROL if left unchecked by liberal governments. What about people who have become disenchanted with city life and aren't afraid to say they embrace the suburban lifestyle? Does Austin offer that? If so, where?

[Trainwreck20]

Ack! WOT! (Wall of Text).

Harker Heights isn't really that close to Austin, it is in Killeen, iirc? Close to Waco. You could drive to Austin, but it isn't like a quick trip or anything.

Round Rock has some very good public schools, as does Leander. But that is a long drive to Killeen.

If you make a lot of personal income, then either TN or TX will end up much better off than Illinois. Property taxes at least don't go up with your income. As mentioned elsewhere in another thread, though, you will loose the ability to deduct your (now non-existent) state Texas from your federal taxes. So basically 40% or so of what you were paying to the state will now go to the Feds.

[BuddhaBlue]

I looked into Killeen and the surrounding areas and there is NO WAY I'm moving my kids to them. Waco is Waco. What do people think of when they hear the word Waco? No. My husband would be forced to commute to Harker Heights. It's no different than commuting to the city of Chicago, same time, just more physical distance.

[10scoachrick]

Will there be a daily commute to Harker Heights? That's sixty-ish miles from north Austin. It would be sad to live in Austin(anywhere near central) and make that commute daily. That's a start.

You could get closer in Georgetown and then venture in to Austin as needed. No need to worry about our horrible traffic unless you do end up on IH35 a lot...or plan to visit central Austin on a regular basis.

[Trainwreck20]

Originally Posted by BuddhaBlue

I looked into Killeen and the surrounding areas and there is NO WAY I'm moving my kids to them. Waco is Waco. What do people think of when they hear the word Waco? No. My husband would be forced to commute to Harker Heights. It's no different than commuting to the city of Chicago, same time, just more physical distance.

Well, if you are up for the 1 hour (or a little more) commute, then you could live in Round Rock or Leander. I would also highly recommend Georgetown - the schools are plenty good (imho as a parent who used to live there) and the commute would be cut by about 1/3.

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by BuddhaBlue

I looked into Killeen and the surrounding areas and there is NO WAY I'm moving my kids to them. Waco is Waco. What do people think of when they hear the word Waco?.

Quite a few zillion folks think of "Fixer Upper" when they think of Waco...

HGTV's Fixer Upper With Chip and Joanna Gaines | HGTV

[BuddhaBlue]

I actually looked into Georgetown because of its location, but the schools are not ranked well. In fact, I'm having a hard time of finding good schools around Austin in general. Except for the one area south of the city that has insanely expensive homes.

[BuddhaBlue]

And Ace of Cakes was in Baltimore. Have you been to Baltimore? There is no way I'd want to live there. Also, have you seen the rank of schools in Waco? It's terrifying.

[Trainwreck20]

Originally Posted by BuddhaBlue

I actually looked into Georgetown because of its location, but the schools are not ranked well. In fact, I'm having a hard time of finding good schools around Austin in general. Except for the one area south of the city that has insanely expensive homes.

Hard time finding 'good' schools, or do you mean only the 'Elite' schools? Honestly, the vast majority of the public schools in Austin/RR/Leander/Gtown are good. A few here or there to avoid, possibly. What is your criteria for 'Good'?

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by BuddhaBlue

I actually looked into Georgetown because of its location, but the schools are not ranked well. In fact, I'm having a hard time of finding good schools around Austin in general. Except for the one area south of the city that has insanely expensive homes.

The schools attended by folks living in north north Austin(specifically Avery Ranch but also across the 'crick' in Cedar Park like Ranch @ Brushy Creek) are pretty darned good. If you are looking for some fantasy Top Ten national ranking for schools, you will be limited to areas nowhere near Harker Heights.

BTW, the property tax bill is a function of location and the value of the home(not size). A more modest home(pricewise) will yield a smaller tax bill.