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I lived in Austin for many years before moving the northeast, including ten years in NJ (Essex County), and then back to Texas. Thankfully, I've never had a bad commute. I know from friends in NJ that the daily commute to NYC on NJ Transit through Penn Station is a soul-crushing experience.
The thing that bothers me the most about Texas is the lack of walkability. Everything is twenty minutes away by car (at least). All you do is drive, drive, drive. I really miss my little NJ village (South Orange) where I could stroll around for a couple hours and see a movie, grab a bite, buy a book, pick up a prescription, get a drink at the corner bar, etc. I could go days without getting in the car.
And the heat.
But, could you walk to the pistol range or the Pickleball courts??? Some people have priorities, ya know
There are a lot of New Yorkers moving here lately. Let me say this. First, there is not the pizza, bagels, or Jewish delis you have up there. You'll quickly substitute BBQ, breakfast tacos, and Taquerias respectively for that.
The heat in the summer is as extreme as the cold in the winter there. People either adjust or they don't. I'm like a lizard I seem to soak up the sun and move faster, but many people absolutely hate the heat. By the way 85F is not heat, 85F is a spring day. 105F is heat. We can stay at that for weeks at a time although it is usually around 98F most of the time in the heat of summer. Everyplace is air conditioned which makes things easier but don't ever underestimate the heat. For that reason, it's essential that you visit in late July/early August to test if you can handle the heat.
I'm in shorts and t-shirt today (I was just working in the yard this evening) and the same tomorrow. This is not Florida though, it is rainy and cold for long periods of time and this winter was no exception. Every now and then we get cold weather in the winter and then it warms up. You do need a heater/fireplace here.
Calling Idlewidle! They moved here, stayed for a few years and then moved back to the NYC area.
Thanks centralaustinite!
OP, you can search my name on this board and find many posts about our experience. That said, everyone's story is different. When we ask for others' experiences it really isn't an apples to apples comparison because everybody's benchmarks, expectations and priorities are so varied. Plays out here every day.
We've lived in CO, northern and southern CA, GA, OH, VA, CT, NJ and NY. We were in Denver directly before our move to Austin. We made the move for a job, lower cost of living and “a slower pace". We like hot weather so we were prepared. Unfortunately, we lasted 4 years.
As other have mentioned, it is not as inexpensive as the media makes it out to be.
Past a certain point, excursions and culture are limited if you're used to, well, a lot in these two categories. Mind you, this was BEFORE we moved to NYC area.
The heat turned out to be just too much. 5 months of 90… 100s for 3 months takes a toll. I remember having physical and emotional meltdown at the pumpkin patch in October with my young kids after we paid $12 each admission. 87 degrees. No change of seasons either.
The allergens are horrible. I was told this beforehand but ignored it. Figured it couldn’t be THAT bad. Both an ENT and ophthalmologist here have told me my sinuses and eye dryness have been permanently affected by Austin's cedar and mold and, get this, they’ve seen it before. Not right.
One of us works in marketing, the job pool is not great —too small -- and the pay is worse. Not gonna sugar coat it. This was disappointing.
The commute by car can be shockingly bad depending on where home vs work is. There are posts on this. Ours was not too bad, bc we lived very close. Many people we knew could count on 40+ minutes.
Also, as many have said on this board, if you are coming to TX from the Northeast (and have lived nowhere else) it is usually the most difficult move as compared to coming from all other regions. We were lucky -- while we had spent a huge amount of time in the NE, we also lived in almost every other quadrant of the country prior to coming to Austin so our minds were fairly open.
After moving back here to the NYC metro/northern NJ, I can assure you the above ^ is accurate. It's just SO different in every way I can think of. People here take for granted so much stuff that doesn’t even exist in Texas.
And now the tradeoff. Yes, our property taxes are about half of what you say yours is (Westchester is crazy btw; we work Grand Central and live Northern NJ and make it work for much less taxes and excellent schools). Yes, the commute it 1.5 hrs each way to the city on the train/bus and subway. And you have to pay $200/mo for pleasure of doing so. Won't lie, it sucks, BUT the pay is more than great (we do better here on the whole), the public schools are phenomenal, the setting is beautiful and you are 6 miles from the biggest city in the world and all it has to offer, access to the entire eastern seaboard, cheap airfare to anywhere, ocean, mountains, snow, seasons set to a wall calendar and so much culture you’ll barely break the surface.
But everyone’s benchmark and priorities are different. Good luck.
And for another point of view, I'm a New Yorker (born in the Bronx, lived in BX and Manhattan for 28 of my 43 years). I'm very familiar with what you speak of, and probably the area where you live. I used to live in northern bronx and spent a lot of my social time in Westchester because it was closer than Manhattan.
I wasn't seduced by lower COL, "weirdness" or any of that stuff. I came down here 15 years ago for love. Yup, quit my job, sold my condo, packed all of my possessions into boxes and moved to start my life as a married woman in a new place. I was 28, young enough where if things didn't work out, I could easily return. I did want a change of scenery though, despite being a city girl. Finding a guy I guess was the impetus for me because I probably wouldn't have moved otherwise. Lower COL, etc. ended up being gravy for me.
But I won't lie, compared to NYC, I'm living very well. We own a custom house on a half acre lot in a pretty nice area of suburbia that would cost millions in NYC suburbs. Westchester? This house would cost probably 2.5 if not more, especially for the land. Basically I have the bucolic nature of Hartsdale, parts of New Rochelle, etc. for a fraction of the price. Yes, my pay is lower, but I don't have to endure the horrible three tiers of taxation hell. So, I actually make more. Additionally, NYC can't seem to get their **** right when it comes to finances and always seem to want to scrape for that one last dime off the taxpayer's back. Hated that.
I freely admit that it takes me over 40 minutes to get to work. if I wanted to be closer I'd have to compromise and frankly I don't want to do that. I'll just take a nice snoozle on the bus. As a New York suburbia resident, you should probably be used to it. I will say again, that while it's lower than NYC, it isn't cheapie living down here. It was like that fifteen years ago when I moved here, but definitely not now.
The heat sucks. I've just dealt with it. My solution was to get a home with a pool. Nuff said. Stay wet, my friend.
Culture - while nowhere near NYC, there's more diverse offerings (food, entertainment, etc.) as the years go by because people move down here and bring their culture with them. In my part of time, you can find Indian, African, Ethiopian, Interior Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban...you name it...food. Plus, I don't mind gaining some new culture. Texas has a rich culture that I find interesting and amazing.
So, in short, no I don't plan on moving back. I have two kids that are texan through and through and why would I move back to a city that taxes you to death, where I'd live in modest home on a postage stamp lot for 600k, or apartment (no way, done with that). I'll just deal with the damn sun. I'm happy, my kids and husband are happy, what more is there to say. January was 15 years, my opinion hasn't changed. Even convinced my mom to move down here.
Hi All, anyone here moved to escape crazyness and high cost of everyday NYC commuter life? If so, do you like it/regret it?
We are a family with two kids and two working parents (data science and marketing), just looking for ways to make life more manageable and less expensive. There are things we like about NYC — like access to culture, international community (we are Europeans) etc, but it’s crazy expensive in many ways -taxes on a 2000 sq ft home around $25k/year, this is not to mention that home is 70-90 years old and costs a fortune if you’re in a good school district.
Also everyday life is stressful, our average commute is considered good by NYC standards buts it’s 1 hr 15 mins door to door, or 2.5 hours per day spent on trains and subway.
Our major attractions to Austin :1) cost of living; 2) better everyday logistics-we hope of to spend under 40 mins commuting each way; 3) job market seems booming ; 4) culturally seems Austin is very interesting
What do you guys think??
I say go for it. Just get ready for the weather change...the reverse from the recent "polar vortex" where it was -9, it might be 110 in the summer. I actually enjoyed the heat but miss the seasons.
Having said that, and to contrast from Austin and NYC, we made the difficult decision recently to move away from Austin to Lancaster PA (2 hours to DC and 3 to NYC) for mostly the same reasons.
Agreed about getting out of NYC. But do you need to go to the other end of the spectrum? Why not something on the east coast itself like Raleigh or Charlotte?
Austin is
a. Expensive
b. Hot as hell (90F+ for 6 months with NO COOLING off at nights)
c. Allergies (those suckers get to you at the 3 year mark - yep, right after you've settled in and bought a house)
Now don't get me wrong. Austin is a great city but I think there are better options for you.
OP, you can search my name on this board and find many posts about our experience. That said, everyone's story is different. When we ask for others' experiences it really isn't an apples to apples comparison because everybody's benchmarks, expectations and priorities are so varied. Plays out here every day.
We've lived in CO, northern and southern CA, GA, OH, VA, CT, NJ and NY. We were in Denver directly before our move to Austin. We made the move for a job, lower cost of living and “a slower pace". We like hot weather so we were prepared. Unfortunately, we lasted 4 years.
As other have mentioned, it is not as inexpensive as the media makes it out to be.
Past a certain point, excursions and culture are limited if you're used to, well, a lot in these two categories. Mind you, this was BEFORE we moved to NYC area.
The heat turned out to be just too much. 5 months of 90… 100s for 3 months takes a toll. I remember having physical and emotional meltdown at the pumpkin patch in October with my young kids after we paid $12 each admission. 87 degrees. No change of seasons either.
The allergens are horrible. I was told this beforehand but ignored it. Figured it couldn’t be THAT bad. Both an ENT and ophthalmologist here have told me my sinuses and eye dryness have been permanently affected by Austin's cedar and mold and, get this, they’ve seen it before. Not right.
One of us works in marketing, the job pool is not great —too small -- and the pay is worse. Not gonna sugar coat it. This was disappointing.
The commute by car can be shockingly bad depending on where home vs work is. There are posts on this. Ours was not too bad, bc we lived very close. Many people we knew could count on 40+ minutes.
Also, as many have said on this board, if you are coming to TX from the Northeast (and have lived nowhere else) it is usually the most difficult move as compared to coming from all other regions. We were lucky -- while we had spent a huge amount of time in the NE, we also lived in almost every other quadrant of the country prior to coming to Austin so our minds were fairly open.
After moving back here to the NYC metro/northern NJ, I can assure you the above ^ is accurate. It's just SO different in every way I can think of. People here take for granted so much stuff that doesn’t even exist in Texas.
And now the tradeoff. Yes, our property taxes are about half of what you say yours is (Westchester is crazy btw; we work Grand Central and live Northern NJ and make it work for much less taxes and excellent schools). Yes, the commute it 1.5 hrs each way to the city on the train/bus and subway. And you have to pay $200/mo for pleasure of doing so. Won't lie, it sucks, BUT the pay is more than great (we do better here on the whole), the public schools are phenomenal, the setting is beautiful and you are 6 miles from the biggest city in the world and all it has to offer, access to the entire eastern seaboard, cheap airfare to anywhere, ocean, mountains, snow, seasons set to a wall calendar and so much culture you’ll barely break the surface.
But everyone’s benchmark and priorities are different. Good luck.
How does Denver / CO compare to those other places you've lived in? I thought the pay was lower in Denver than in Austin. Did you feel that way too?
How does Denver / CO compare to those other places you've lived in? I thought the pay was lower in Denver than in Austin. Did you feel that way too?
Denver/Boulder and the CO Rockies are special and one of only a few other places I'd live at this point after spending time all over. True on the salaries, or about the same, really depending on the industry. That said, Austin is just Austin for jobs. Denver is Boulder too (w/ its own booming industry), more so now since we've lived there... Google Boulder is just the one that gets the most buzz.
Denver/Boulder and the CO Rockies are special and one of only a few other places I'd live at this point after spending time all over. True on the salaries, or about the same, really depending on the industry. That said, Austin is just Austin for jobs. Denver is Boulder too (w/ its own booming industry), more so now since we've lived there... Google Boulder is just the one that gets the most buzz.
My current girlfriend lived in Denver and said that it is just the "Great Plains West". She said that the land is mostly grassland that is brown most of the year and the only trees are the ones in the city that have been planted and irrigated. She said that if your office has a view facing West then you realize you're in Colorado but if you face East then you think you're in Kansas.
She did say that the mountains around Denver are great but she said that during ski season the traffic is horribly backed up on the weekends and can take hours so she never could go unless she took an extended weekend. She also said that the dry air is a really bad thing, causes nosebleeds and cracked skin even for a girl that moisturizes daily. She said that she had to drink lots of water or she got dehydrated and that was just sitting in her desk working.
She also mentioned the inversion layer in the winter is horrible and that smog is a thing in Denver for weeks at a time. During that time you can't even see a few blocks down the road much less the mountains. She also said that winter dragged on into April and May. She recalls a few snowstorms in late April/early May. Here's an example of the inversion layer in winter (December 2014 when she was living there): https://denver.cbslocal.com/2014/12/...a-brown-cloud/
My current girlfriend lived in Denver and said that it is just the "Great Plains West". She said that the land is mostly grassland that is brown most of the year and the only trees are the ones in the city that have been planted and irrigated. She said that if your office has a view facing West then you realize you're in Colorado but if you face East then you think you're in Kansas.
She did say that the mountains around Denver are great but she said that during ski season the traffic is horribly backed up on the weekends and can take hours so she never could go unless she took an extended weekend. She also said that the dry air is a really bad thing, causes nosebleeds and cracked skin even for a girl that moisturizes daily. She said that she had to drink lots of water or she got dehydrated and that was just sitting in her desk working.
She also mentioned the inversion layer in the winter is horrible and that smog is a thing in Denver for weeks at a time. During that time you can't even see a few blocks down the road much less the mountains. She also said that winter dragged on into April and May. She recalls a few snowstorms in late April/early May. Here's an example of the inversion layer in winter (December 2014 when she was living there): https://denver.cbslocal.com/2014/12/...a-brown-cloud/
How does her experience ring in with yours?
All of these things are true to a certain extent. (Smog is a winter issue but not all the time and for the most part, CO has crazy blue skies.) I've never heard of not being able to see down the street or across town. I tired of most of these things prior to moving to Austin giving me motivation to make the move. After the trade off, I realized I gave up a lot and took much for granted. A May snowstorm (it's always 70 degrees a day later and the snow always melts unlike the NE) is worth it vs 5 months of 95+ an unending allergies.
That said, Denver is Denver. I'd live in in Boulder or Summit country, where only the dryness and the weather applies and everything else you mention doesn't.
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