I want to move to Austin from California (Vega: neighborhoods, weddings)

[another_hot-day]

Originally Posted by srjth

I don't know, I was talking to a leasing agent in Austin today, and she said that it gets in the 100's maybe 2 week out of the year.

She lied to you.

[Ivory Lee Spurlock]

Originally Posted by srjth

Hello there. So I've been planning on moving in Summer 2018 for several years now. I want to leave Northern California (north bay area) and move to a place which has cheaper COL. Since I'm born and raised in CA, it would be nice to go somewhere where the weather is fairly moderate/not extreme and is a growing economy.

As for career, I am an Accountant and a licensed Realtor. I plan to get my real estate license in Texas in the coming months because real estate is my passion. Accounting just pays the bills in the meantime. I have never been to Austin but I keep hearing great things about it and it seems to fit my criteria above from what I've researched. Seems like a nice place to call home.

I've been trying to figure out the areas to live in. Obviously, I don't have a job there yet, but I believe it is too early for me to apply considering that I can not move until after June 1st. I think I will rent an apartment to start and get the lay of the land, get used to the area, and then purchase a home. As far as where (areas) to rent a place, any recommendations? I am very excited about this move.

The weather varies from year to year. Ever since the mid to late 1990's or early 2000,'s, seem like the temperatures gets hotter earlier and they stay hotter longer as each year goes by.

In the 70's and 80's, the temperatures didn't get into the lower 90's until early June and by late June the temperatures would be about 94 to 97 degrees until late July when you can count on temperatures of about 98 to 105 and stay that way until about 1st or 2nd week of September. About 3rd or 4th week of September, the temperatures begin to drop. Around mid October, you wake up one morning and it's like 52 degrees when you step outside, and you instantly know that fall has finally arrived.

Now a days, it seems like the 95 to 105 degree days begin in mid May and they last until about middle of October.

Austin's most extreme weather events have been floods and flash floods, droughts, and lately theres been alot more wild fires, grass fires and forest fires. In the 70's and 80's I don't remember hearing of any wild fires in the Austin area. An occasional grass fire every now and then, but nothing like it's been the last few summers when they have been violently destructive wild fires destroying everything in their path.

Unless you have enough money saved up that you can pay off an entire lease upfront before you move in, you would be wise not to move to Austin until you have secured yourself a job. Before you sign a lease, you might want to rent a room at a low budget motel like Motel 6 or Super 8 for a couple of weeks and hang around town while you look for work and see how well you like it, and if you do get called for a job, then you decide if Austin is where you want to live. Austin's not cheap. I doubt if you can find a 1 bedroom apartment for less than 900$ a month inside city of Austin. You might can find a place for 750$ or 800$ a month, but it's probably a place you wouldn't want to live.

Good luck.

[G Grasshopper]

Originally Posted by srjth

I don't know, I was talking to a leasing agent in Austin today, and she said that it gets in the 100's maybe 2 week out of the year. That is what I am experiencing now every summer where I live. I can live with that. As far as the cold, does it really go down to 6 degrees F? I can handle low 30's, which is what we get here. I've been following the temperature daily on my weather app.

That agent flat-out lied to you. Austin weather is in the 90s and 100s often from May through October. And it is more humid than northern CA. In addition, it cools off only slightly at night. If you live in Sonoma, Napa, etc., you cannot in any way think that the weather is similar. In CA, no matter how hot the day may be, the night is cool, you can be out in the evening without sweating, and the house cools down. In Texas, no way. It can be in the 80s all night. And yes, it can get way below freezing in the winter, although this is usually in chunks of time, like for a week, interrupted by 50s or 60s, then back down to freezing. The last winter I was in Austin, there were 7 freeze cycles like that, and several of them went down to 15 degrees. Austin has a continental climate, but the Bay Area and adjacent counties have coastal climates, which are moderated by the ocean. There is no ocean moderation in Austin.

There are plenty of people who like the blast-furnace effect during the summer. I'm not saying it is unlivable. But don't fool yourself into thinking it is like California.

[Luckystrike1]

Originally Posted by srjth

Hello there. Since I'm born and raised in CA, it would be nice to go somewhere where the weather is fairly moderate/not extreme and is a growing economy.

Well, I guess it depends on what you like (weather) and your tolerance. But the summers are humid and HOT. I lived there for 3 years a long time ago and, while I didn't mind it, I still prefer the dry California heat (and I was raised in the Central Valley).

Pretty place, though ~ at least it was when I lived there (70's).

[Texyn]

Originally Posted by cBach

Miami will be getting into the low 40's the next three mornings. LA won't get below 50. LA high in the lower 70's, Miami high in the lower 60's. Give it up...

There's a reason they developed Hollywood where it is. They needed dry, sunny, and warm conditions much of the year to film movies...

.....

Originally Posted by IC_deLight

As much as you are obsessed with weather, comparing temperature measurement on a single day from two places to draw inferences on general climate (a long-term average of atmospheric/environmental conditions) or weather (short-term atmospheric/environmental conditions) defies common sense and several other senses.

Miami is far, far better than LA during winter if you are looking for dry, sunny and warm.

[Texyn]

Originally Posted by RoamingTX

Where are these people? Usually it’s the opposite - much gnashing of teeth over traffic and a lack of parking, etc.

They are all over Texas, but particularly common in the suburbs of Dallas and Houston: to them, Austin is the "magical, walkable utopia of Texas," which is only true in the sense of allocation of activities (more downtown centric in Austin vs spread around in Houston and Dallas).

[cBach]

Originally Posted by Texyn

.....



Miami is far, far better than LA during winter if you are looking for dry, sunny and warm.

But not during the summer. Year round LA pounces Miami in sun hours, especially in summer when Miami gets rain daily and LA is in its dry season.

[Texyn]

Based on the current 30yr normal period (1981-2010), Austin averages 17-18 triple digit days per year, slightly more than 2 weeks. Of course some years have way more, others have less.

Originally Posted by G Grasshopper

That agent flat-out lied to you. Austin weather is in the 90s and 100s often from May through October. And it is more humid than northern CA. In addition, it cools off only slightly at night. If you live in Sonoma, Napa, etc., you cannot in any way think that the weather is similar. In CA, no matter how hot the day may be, the night is cool, you can be out in the evening without sweating, and the house cools down. In Texas, no way. It can be in the 80s all night. And yes, it can get way below freezing in the winter, although this is usually in chunks of time, like for a week, interrupted by 50s or 60s, then back down to freezing. The last winter I was in Austin, there were 7 freeze cycles like that, and several of them went down to 15 degrees. Austin has a continental climate, but the Bay Area and adjacent counties have coastal climates, which are moderated by the ocean. There is no ocean moderation in Austin.

There are plenty of people who like the blast-furnace effect during the summer. I'm not saying it is unlivable. But don't fool yourself into thinking it is like California.

Actually, there is a bit of ocean moderation in Austin's climate, by way of the Gulf of Mexico: how else would it have the humidity you speak of? But yes, it does indeed have semi-permanent continental influences that modify the oceanic regime, both during summer and winter (summer heat ridges and arctic blasts, respectively).

[Texyn]

Originally Posted by cBach

But not during the summer. Year round LA pounces Miami in sun hours, especially in summer when Miami gets rain daily and LA is in its dry season.

Considering that the rain mostly comes as quick pulse afternoon storms, that isn't really much of a detriment.

[cBach]

Originally Posted by Texyn

Considering that the rain mostly comes as quick pulse afternoon storms, that isn't really much of a detriment.

Yes it is. If you are at the beach or having an outside wedding or party it makes a big difference. No problem in California.

I liked living in California because you could guarantee not a drop of rain from May to October. So you could plan things like a wedding with a 100% guarantee of sunshine...