Please change my mind about moving to Austin

[austin-steve]

I think the price of homes is outrageous. Perhaps people are making reference to apartments or condos or something other than homes...

By what measure do you make this jugment?

A common measure is, "what percentage of the people making median income for an area can afford to buy a median priced home?" Austin, and all of Texas for that matter, rate very well on that measure. So what data are you using, or are you just sharing an uneducated opinion?

Steve

[TexasHorseLady]

Originally Posted by Julian/SWE

I thought that they only have scorpians in some parts of Texas, right?
They don't have them in the Austin Aeria, right?

There are scorpions in some parts of the Austin area. I'm not sure if there are scorpions in all parts of Texas, but they are in quite a few.

There are scorpions in East Texas, and there are scorpions in Central Texas, both places where I've lived for much of the past 60 years. I've seen less than 10 in that time, maybe less than five (part of that time I was too young to remember). I've been stung once, when very young and running around barefoot and I stepped on one. While I remember it, it hurt MUCH less than the bee that I stepped on in similar circumstances. (Eventually I learned to wear shoes when running around outside.)

Chances of you even seeing one unless you buy a home that is in a subdivision that has moved into their territory recently are pretty slim. And they don't tend to run after you and attack you; their sting, for humans, is more defensive in nature.

[Jennibc]

Originally Posted by oldtoiletsmkgdflrpots

Yes, I agree. It's all relative to ones experience and point of reference. However, in all good conscience, I cannot change my view if it's my view.


If I've stepped on your toes I profusely apologize. It certainly isn't direction at you.

No worries, I am not offended at all. My only point is that if you haven't been to the area, it is a bit premature to have made up your mind about it. I cannot tell from your post whether you are planning on moving there out of necessity and are not keen on it, or you are just perusing the boards and offering your opinion. If it's the former, I recommend keeping an open mind and allow for a visit. You may be pleasantly surprised. If it's the latter, then I am not really sure what your point it.

[wildlillie]

Honestly, you'd be missing out if you didn't move... Austin is the BEST place to live in! I moved here three yrs ago to get my masters at UT... Fell in love with almost everything!!! Sure the heat's high, the traffic can be hectic, but what city doesn't have its quirks. Trust me, the pros OUTWEIGH the cons a million to one. I knew this was home within two weeks of moving! Best areas to live? Well it depends what you are into. If you're an outdoor person, close to any of the lakes, Travis, Lady Bird or Lake Austin, or Zilker park. If you're a night life person, close to downtown. If you hate traffic, then close to work/school. I’m an all of the above type of person, so I live Centralized so that I can do all of the above and get the best of all that Austin has to offer. If you want the benefits of living in the City, with the feel of a small town, Austin is IT. There are plenty of options, prices, variety in activities etc... Just enjoy it... people are very friendly and will make you feel at home rather fast... just please try to blend in... Yes, we are weird in the best possible sense... Learn to drive laid back, trying to get yourself or others killed on the road is not nice and should not be acceptable, when people smile at you, smile back (the friendliness here is genuine) and last but not least, drink plenty of water & make sure your AC is working. Have a safe and happy move!

[FueledByBlueBell]

Before I moved here I woud lay in bed at night terrorized at the thought of living with scopians, creepy and dangerous spiders, etc. but I've barely seen any over the past 5 years I've lived here. I saw 2 huge tarantulas in my apt parking lot when I lived at 2222 & 360, but nothing ever was inside my apartment. I did have a large spider in my dining room when we first moved in our newly constructed house but nothing after that. I've seen a couple of very small and non-threatning scopians outside but they were more interesting than anything else. I would expect more action if we would have built in a more remote area, but if the area isn't too new then most have left the scene.

[jsmcdonald4]

Hi! I came across your posting while I was looking up information about moving to Austin myself. I was wondering what your final decision was. Have you and your family moved to Austin or stayed in PA? I currently live in Seattle and am considering moving to Austin due to work. I visited there a few weeks back and have to say that I thought the city itself was beautiful. My brother and his wife live there. They live in a new community in SW Austin and have actually seen at least 2 rattle snakes in their neighborhood. They were told it is because of all the construction going on and the snakes are relocating. Not sure if that is true or not. They were also told that before a rattle snake strikes, it rattles and gives you fair warning. My friend works in the ER in Austin at Brackenridge and said they rarely have people come in with snake bites. In any case, I heard that Austin has had 77 days with temps over 100 degrees this summer. Scorching hot! It was 106 for three days in a row when I was there. Sure, the humidity is lower...but let's face it...hot is hot no matter what. Anyhow, if you ended up moving there, do you find Austin to be very progressive, like the East Coast and West Coast? What is the vibe there? Are people pretty friendly? In any case, hope you all made a decision you and your family area happy with! Cheers!

[Jennibc]

Originally Posted by jsmcdonald4

Hi! I came across your posting while I was looking up information about moving to Austin myself. I was wondering what your final decision was. Have you and your family moved to Austin or stayed in PA? I currently live in Seattle and am considering moving to Austin due to work. I visited there a few weeks back and have to say that I thought the city itself was beautiful. My brother and his wife live there. They live in a new community in SW Austin and have actually seen at least 2 rattle snakes in their neighborhood. They were told it is because of all the construction going on and the snakes are relocating. Not sure if that is true or not. They were also told that before a rattle snake strikes, it rattles and gives you fair warning. My friend works in the ER in Austin at Brackenridge and said they rarely have people come in with snake bites. In any case, I heard that Austin has had 77 days with temps over 100 degrees this summer. Scorching hot! It was 106 for three days in a row when I was there. Sure, the humidity is lower...but let's face it...hot is hot no matter what. Anyhow, if you ended up moving there, do you find Austin to be very progressive, like the East Coast and West Coast? What is the vibe there? Are people pretty friendly? In any case, hope you all made a decision you and your family area happy with! Cheers!

I don't know about the new construction explanation. We live in a neighborhood that hasn't seen construction close by in 10 years and the last owner of our house found a baby rattler in the garage (last winter, it was probably trying to keep warm). In the culdesac across the street, our neighbor found a rattler in her front driveway last week (however, she backs up to a greenbelt). New construction is a better explanation for scorpion infestations. But don't worry, scorpions here are not of the deadly variety.

Are you coming from Seattle proper or one of the suburbs? (We moved back here from Wedgwood neighborhood last January)

What do you mean by "progressive" when you ask about Austin? That is such a nebulous term and can mean many things to many people. One of the reasons I tired of Seattle is that I found that everyone uncritically accepted that government was the answer to all problems. I am a little l libertarian and find Austin to be a much more comfortable existence. Now, lots of folks in TX think Austin is incredibly liberal, but it's nothing compared to Seattle (I find that a positive).

People here are warm and friendly, very different than what we experienced up there. We moved into this house just a couple of months ago and know most of our neighbors and socialize with many of them regularly. Many are native Texans and many are transplants from elsewhere. We've also found people to be more direct here, which is a refreshing difference. Some people will argue with me about how direct Texans are but compared to the overall culture up there, Texans are direct.

We haven't had 77 days, we've had 67 of 100 or higher. The record was set in 1925 for 69 and we were hoping to break it but it doesn't look like it will happen. I'll take three months of uncomfortably hot weather to get more sunshine. BTW, most people will be able to acclimate to the heat, and just about every place here has AC.

Cost of living here is so much less than up there. It makes life much easier.

There are many one-time Seattleites that have moved down here and love it (they regularly post here), but it's not for everyone. Good luck on your decision.

[TexasHorseLady]

There were a LOT more snakes seen this year, because of the drought. Like most other critters, they'll try to avoid people, but everything was coming closer to human habitation in search of food and water this summer. It's not common in town. Now, yes, new construction will definitely explain seeing more scorpions and such, because they lived there first and they're trying to figure out where their home went - it takes them a while to figure it out and go away.

[chambo]

Been here 10 years, and I play a LOT of golf never seen a rattle snake. Scorpions yet, but they are harmless, a stink feels like an ant bite. It's hot, but that's why God made pools (er... lakes) .