Old Austin Gone Forever

[Need4Camaro]

If they bought in Austin proper in 2010 their mortgage / interest rate are locked in at 2010 rates (unless they refinanced) with the only meaningful thing that has increased since then are property taxes (of which have increased statewide) which I will agree are annoying / burdensome but are not a game changer for an established household not baring a loss of income. Even if it did become unaffordable (which for most, it didn’t because there wouldn’t be such short supply of housing if otherwise) Most if not all of them have gained doubled (or more) the equity since that period of time and by no means took a loss. They can also use some of that equity short term to cover living expenses while they figure out another plan. The people who are taking a loss are those who have not secured themselves into home ownership since that period of time while home values rapidly appreciate and the value of the dollar rapidly depreciates. Those are the people who are not being scaled to the general cost of housing.

An established family should be very happy if they bought in 2010 as they have a world of equity, a much larger job market, and more amenities at the CoL scaled fairly close to 2010 pricing where as most moving here are paying much more for those same entities and have way less equity (unless they’re buying cash).

[Igor Blevin]

Originally Posted by WRM20

Old everywhere is gone. Things change over time. Cities grow, business open and close, neighborhoods become more or less desirable.

Houston is the same way. It's not like it was in the past. We can either whine about it, or move on with our lives.

My grandmother said the same thing about Austin. She was born there in 1910 and lived in Austin until she graduated from UT in 1932. Prior to UT, she attended Austin HS. I recall her saying every time we visited Austin with her that it was all changing. My parents met at UT in the early to mid 50s. Same thing "look how much it's changed, it's just not the same".

Anybody who saw pre and post World War II saw dramatic change.

Like the song goes, "How you gonna to keep 'em down on the farm, after they have seen Paree".

At least much of that change was good change. There is too much bad change now.

[ashbeeigh]

It was just an example to when people started to be able to afford to live in Austin, N4C. And again, not everyone, even with hard work, will buy a house. (Think of the the people making the minimum wage like a other thread talked about).

[Need4Camaro]

Originally Posted by ashbeeigh

It was just an example to when people started to be able to afford to live in Austin, N4C. And again, not everyone, even with hard work, will buy a house. (Think of the the people making the minimum wage like a other thread talked about).

That’s a whole different topic.

Someone making $15 - $22 Hr would not have been able to afford to buy or live comfortably with a Mortgage in Austin in 2010 either unless they had considerable savings. Less so today. Although no one is doomed to minimum wage. Most of us here have started off there and progressed which brings me to the next statement, the real key isn’t just hard work but rather career advancement or a long term financial plan (either in savings, investment, business or increasing income.) although the gate for that is narrowing as well as inflation progresses over salary increases.

However to your comment that someone buying in 2010 would likely be priced out holds very little weight as they bought at a considerably lower price with the only significant increase of housing expenses being property tax.

[WRM20]

Originally Posted by atxcio

Here's one: If the Village People were ever to reunite, obviously their costumes would need an upgrade reflecting current times. I think if you were to pick a new "Village People" lineup inspired by Austin, I would probably have...

1) The Uber Driver
2) The Tech Worker
3) The old hippie
4) The thong or tutu'd bike rider
5) The Paddleboarder

who would you have?

The mention of paddleboarder reminds of the time we went to Lady Bird Lake(I still want to call it Town lake), and there was a 20 something woman who had rented a paddleboard. She apparently hated the lifebelt, because it was around her backside. If she fell, she was going to drown, because that lifebelt was going to ensure her butt was the only thing held out of the water.

[ashbeeigh]

Originally Posted by WRM20

The mention of paddleboarder reminds of the time we went to Lady Bird Lake(I still want to call it Town lake), and there was a 20 something woman who had rented a paddleboard. She apparently hated the lifebelt, because it was around her backside. If she fell, she was going to drown, because that lifebelt was going to ensure her butt was the only thing held out of the water.

I’ve only been here since 2015 and it’s town lake to me. Legally you just have to have a PFD on your board if you’re paddle boarding.