Californians coming to Austin area?? (Fort Worth, Round Rock: transplants, to rent, buying) - Texas (TX) - City-Data Forum

maverck11 · 02-26-2008, 10:24 AM

I am a 41 year old man with a wife and two little girls ages 9 and 6. We are looking to leave California for several reasons, stress, cut throat job/boss, too much cold weather and rain and generally want to start fresh somewhere nice. We have read literally over a hundred threads here about Round Rock, CP, Georgetown and Austin. We have seen some talk about some folks not being too happy with Californians coming down this way and moving here. I would like to ask if anyone has any opinions on this matter and if it holds true? I would also be very appreciative if anyone could lend any advice as to what city would be nice to raise a family? Austin? RR? Georgetown? CP? We have read West RR is the place to move and Georgetown as well. Alos heard some good things about CP but it may be getting too far away from the city.....? Budget is about 250-275k for a house. Any feedback would be greatly appreciative. Thank you.

jenkirk · 02-26-2008, 10:31 AM

With your budget - Cedar Park, Round Rock, and SW Austin would all be great places to raise your family. Cedar Park is further out, but they will have the commuter lines soon. I think this will make the extra distance from downtown less of an issue.

SW Austin is my favorite, but I am very biased because I live in there.

As far as people disliking the Californians, it sounds like hype to me. I know many Californians who are perfectly happy in Austin. Just know that the pace is slower here and there in not as much "keeping up with the Jones". Not saying that there is none of that because of course there is.

marsardpt · 02-26-2008, 10:37 AM

Good day, your message struck a cord since my wife and I and 3 kids (11/10/5) are also looking to Austin for relocation from FL where we are now completing our grad school. We actually did an internship in La Jolla (very nice place but too busy to fully enjoy living) last summer and drove back with our kids and did an overnight in Austin. We have a cdn friend who married and settled down in Austin. They are world class level triathletes and just love it there. My wife and I have opportunities in our field and are seriously considering the area. I would be very pleased to chat and learn from your research. Our friends also agree on Georgetown/RR etc but I guess it is all depending on commute to work. They are married but no kids but consult in triathlons so have many clients to pull info from if you are interested in some specifics. Anyway, thanks for your post and stay in touch. What line of work are you in? Does your wife intend to work? Are your kids active in sports/clubs as ours are and this is a consideration with the area we live. Thanks again

kylenamy · 02-26-2008, 10:43 AM

We moved from California (Orange County) last summer, and we are really enjoying Austin. The one tip we have is don't make a big deal that you were from California once you get here. It seems like most people from Austin don't mind Californians moving here. However, they are getting sick of Californians moving here and complaining about the things in Austin that are not like they were in California. Once you move here, embrace the fact that you are now a Texan, your family will be fine. As far as where to move, the places that you are looking at will be fine. There is a new toll road(130) that has just gone through east of the city. In a few years there will be more and more development there. It may not be the trendiest part of the city, but it is not a bad place to raise a family.

Soccersupporter · 02-26-2008, 11:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maverck11

I am a 41 year old man with a wife and two little girls ages 9 and 6. We are looking to leave California for several reasons, stress, cut throat job/boss, too much cold weather and rain and generally want to start fresh somewhere nice. We have read literally over a hundred threads here about Round Rock, CP, Georgetown and Austin. We have seen some talk about some folks not being too happy with Californians coming down this way and moving here. I would like to ask if anyone has any opinions on this matter and if it holds true? I would also be very appreciative if anyone could lend any advice as to what city would be nice to raise a family? Austin? RR? Georgetown? CP? We have read West RR is the place to move and Georgetown as well. Alos heard some good things about CP but it may be getting too far away from the city.....? Budget is about 250-275k for a house. Any feedback would be greatly appreciative. Thank you.

We moved from Irvine CA this past November and love our new life. Austin was our second choice but we decided on Keller just outside of Fort Worth where our daughter lives. One thing about Texans is that they have great pride in their state and way of life. I have heard so many CA transplants that want to make TX like CA. That is a huge mistake for 2 reasons. The first is that most Texans don't like the CA lifestyle, the political correctness, intrusive government regulations, etc.. The second reason is that if TX becomes like CA I will have to leave TX and I don't want to move right now.

I have friends that live outside Austin and love their area but it is a little pricey. We looked at Round Rock and really liked the area also. I don't think you can go wrong in any of the areas you have mentioned. Do your homework on the schools and visit them if you can. We did before our move and it really paid off.

Good luck in your search!

maverck11 · 02-26-2008, 11:19 AM

Hi Kylenamy

Yes, kids are very active in soccer, gymnastics and dance. We are just so confused as to where to narrow our search down to....now it seems as though SW Austin might be a very good fit for us. Reading your input are you saying that SW Austin is a very nice place or RR? I want to be as sure as possible and don't really want to rent before buying.....but we may just have to do that to get a feel for the right area. It's a big move for us and I want to make sure it is the right one. Thank you very much for everyone's input, I look forward to more. West RR, Georgetown, CP or SW Austin seems to be our top choices and the most popular in reading the responses here. The search continues!

Raskolnikov · 02-26-2008, 11:27 AM

I'd highly recommend SW Austin. It's so pretty down there. I'd echo what others said. Don't expect Austin to be like California and you'll be fine. Also a tip: don't bring it up a lot, and don't make a big issue of it. I think what's great about Austin is that people are very open minded and usually judge people on an individual basis. However, Californians have gotten a bad rep here, in some cases for good reason. I don't think anyone in Austin was focused on Californians moving here being a bad thing until some Californians started to complain about Texas and compare it to L.A.

llkltk · 02-26-2008, 11:28 AM

Okay, here's the scoop. Everyone from here is pretty much from somewhere else. I consider myself from Austin even though I moved here from Seattle 8 years ago. If you are coming from California, you probably would prefer SW Austin over Round Rock. Round Rock is more suburban, SW Austin has more of an Austin vibe. I really don't think people seriously hate California transplants, I love 'em because they bring in all of the new shopping and things that Austin would have never seen otherwise. I am moving to SW Austin to Meridian which is a new community. I met someone from California, there are many Californians living in SW Austin. Let me know if you have any other questions.

sanmiguel · 02-26-2008, 12:11 PM

If anyone gives you a bad time for moving to Texas from California, tell 'em that it's The Grapes of Wrath in reverse

orngkat · 02-26-2008, 12:25 PM

As an almost native Texan, I say welcome to all who wish to move here. It kind of puzzles me though how people here always seem to be seeking the perfect place as if it exists somewhere else. The thing I always liked about living here was the friendliness, slower pace and the lack of pretentiousness. For whatever reason, some newcomers from other places have a constantly impatient quality that rubs natives the wrong way. Just this morning, a driver with Florida plates pulled out in front of me while blabbing on his cell phone and I had to brake hard to avoid him. Makes me say go back to Florida if you can't be courteous.