We chose Austin! (Houston, Dallas, San Antonio: transplants, sales, apartments)

[watchoverme]

I am on a roadtrip with my business partner to decide which city we are going to relocate our business to. We own a modern children's photography studio in CT right now and are looking to relocate our studio to somewhere warmer, with a better economy, and more laid back clients.

Using economy statistics, city-data, and the nortorious top 10 lists, we studied for 3 months narrowing our search down to 10 cities in the US. We planned a 2 week road trip to visit each city- each city only getting one day. Fortunately, we had done so much information that a lot of the packets of paperwork we had on hand helped make our searches quick. Also, I personally had been to each city once before in the past, so that also made it easier to make a quick decision. We knew we would be able to tell in the first hours at each city if it was the right city for us or not.

After seeing Atlanta, Charlotte, Raleigh, Greenville SC, Houston, Dallas, Oklahoma City, San Antonio, and Austin, we've officially decided on Austin. Raleigh and Charlotte were other top choices, but we are in our 20's and decided as much as this needs to be a business decision, it also should be somewhere we think we would love as well on a personal basis.

We were really surprised by how much we liked the Warehouse District. It is very us- a bit more swanky, a bit older and more professional. It's nice to have access to 6th street as well for every now and then, but we really liked the feel of the Warehouse District.

The main thing we loved about Austin was how active the city felt. People were out everywhere. People were running, hanging out with friends outside, biking, etc. We saw a pro life march (and even though that is not our belief, we completely appreciated seeing people getting active in their government and thinking about these important issues). We saw a chili festival on South Congress. It just seemed like such a young, vibrant city as we'd been told.

Before Austin, Charlotte had been our top choice, but Austin felt a lot safer, more vibrant, and it just felt a lot more us. The crime rates are very different between the two.

We did not like the level of homeless people. We understand it is a liberal city, but we couldn't stop at a single highway exit without someone walking along the side of our car with a sign. It's nice to see a city with so many "ammenities" for their homeless population, and it definitely seemed to keep them in during the night (we saw them lined up at 5 pm to go into the shelter), but wow! There was a lot more pan handling than we expected. Overall we didn't like that, but we can deal with it. No city is perfect.

We also found North Carolina to have more natural beauty, but that didn't stop us from choosing Austin. Choosing a city is about prioritizing and the vibe of Austin won out the cities in North Carolina.

Overall it feels like the perfect sized city for us. Large enough that is has everything we could ever need, and small enough that it's very walkable. We've heard people complaining about the weather, but I did some weather research and Austin seems to be on par with the rest of the US humidity wise. I am from Connecticut which has very humid summers. We are not too worried about the humidity- it is a trade off we are willing to take to leave the cold, cold winters.

We visited the suburbs of Round Rock, Georgetown, and West Lake Hills. West Lake Hills was beautiful and very fun to drive through. I anticipate we'd have a lot of clients from there. Round Rock seemed like a nice city for people who want that style of living, but wow! We were shocked by how many identical looking houses they pack into one development. It would never be for us in the future, but it was very interesting to see! We don't have stuff like that in the north so we enjoyed driving through and observing.

Now that we have decided on Austin, I guess we have a few additional questions.

1. Housing: We are set on living downtown. We toured the Amli Downtown and meant to tour the Amli on 2nd as well but didn't get a chance. Any feedback on the differences between the two? We also looked at the Gables over near Lamar (I can't remember the street- one street east of it I think), and The Crescent on South Congress. We were surprised to see that the prices for the Crescent south of Town Lake were comparable to those of the Amli in a prime location on 2nd street. We were hoping to save a bit of money by going a few blocks south but it doesn't seem like we would. We also drove around east of 35 and saw a lot of nice looking apartments, but the area just didn't seem improved enough get and for a young woman, I would feel afraid to talk through there sometimes. The prices also didn't seem to be low enough to justify going farther away from downtown. We are looking at a $1400 budget for a 1/1, which was the rate at the Amli. Although we might have to sign the lease at $1400, we would prefer to stay at around $1200, but we understand that might not be possible. Anyone have anymore suggestions? We will definitely be living downtown or a few blocks away. We hope to relocate in May. We like a grungier feel and more open floor plans. Fortunately there seemed to be a ton of construction and we've heard that because of the housing market, a lot of those condos will actually end up being apartments instead. Hopefully that will drive the overall apt price down slightly. We will rent for a few years before buying.

2. It was very yellow. Is this just a winter thing? We noticed the unique rain pattern when looking at the weather statistics, but how many months out of the year would you say the area doesn't look green?

Thank you to everyone in advance! We really looking forward to moving to Austin. Any other tips on making the move easier for us would be great as well. We would love to be in a great "mindset" when we move. We are set on knowing that Austin IS Texas and it's silly to like Austin but not Texas. We are also prepared to embrace the quirkiness about Austin and Texans. We are moving there because we love it there. If we wanted what we have at home, we would stay in CT, but we are coming to Texas with an open mindset and hoping to love it there. If there are any suggestions on how to make the best of our first months in Austin to really make it home, please let us know!

Thanks again!

[TexasHorseLady]

What time of year did you visit? You have visited during a major drought - plus, Austin being a "green" city in the sense of sustainability, a lot of our lawns are grasses that go dormant in the winter ("having a green lawn in the winter" is not a high priority for most folks around here), and in August things can get pretty burnt any year. However, we do have an 11 month growing season, if that tells you anything.

[Jennibc]

One thing to consider in terms of your business is that because Austin is much less expensive than CT, you may not be able to charge your clients as much here for photo sittings and packages. It might be worth your while to do a market survey (if you already haven't done so) to gauge what the market will bear in terms of price. I may be telling you something that is obvious to you, if so I don't mean to offend, but it is certainly something to consider.

I've read lots of posts here from transplants that were unpleasantly surprised by how much lower the wages are here than in more expensive parts of the country. You are not looking at wages, but I think your situation is analogous.

Good luck, and yes, it's a great place!

[AustinGuy]

For downtown apartments, also check MLS. There are lot of condos available at the 360 for rent which would be nicer than the AMLI. Also, check the Monarch & The Legacy both of which should be having great deals since there is currently too much supply downtown at the high end.

[atxcio]

Welcome! I think you'll be happy with your choice; Austin or SA were the farthest places from CT on your list! And probably the most different. That's a great thing to do when you are still young. Spread those wings.

There should be lots of options downtown for you. You can look up leases on Austinhomesearch.com -- enter zip code 78701. That will have the condos available to lease from their owners.

Monarch, 360, and Spring (when complete) have a great location on the "residential" side of downtown.. a little quieter and closer to whole foods, gyms, parks, etc. Farther away from east 6th street. Also closer to West Lake Hills & Rollingwood.

Legacy on the lake is on the eastern side of downtown and close to I-35 (still west of it, though), but also close to the hike/bike trail. They have brand-new 1 bedrooms starting at $1184. Legacy On The Lake - Luxury High-rise Apartments in Texas Managed by Milestone Management

[watchoverme]

Originally Posted by Jennibc

One thing to consider in terms of your business is that because Austin is much less expensive than CT, you may not be able to charge your clients as much here for photo sittings and packages. It might be worth your while to do a market survey (if you already haven't done so) to gauge what the market will bear in terms of price. I may be telling you something that is obvious to you, if so I don't mean to offend, but it is certainly something to consider.

I've read lots of posts here from transplants that were unpleasantly surprised by how much lower the wages are here than in more expensive parts of the country. You are not looking at wages, but I think your situation is analogous.

Good luck, and yes, it's a great place!

Thanks! We've dropped our prices by 35% to accommodate both the move and our new preference of target market. In CT we work with clients that want high end service and hand holding. We will be streamlining a bit in Austin- trying to appeal to the upper middle class rather than the very upper class we've been working with in CT. All of the places we looked to move to have a lower cost of living and so we have already anticipated accordingly. We average $950 per client now and put in 12 hours per client when you add up all the after sales work, but are anticipating to average $700 per client and 8 hours per client after our move. We are looking forward to not having to work with the richest of the rich anymore. Thanks though, we look forward to moving and working with the wonderful Austin families.

[watchoverme]

Originally Posted by TexasHorseLady

What time of year did you visit? You have visited during a major drought - plus, Austin being a "green" city in the sense of sustainability, a lot of our lawns are grasses that go dormant in the winter ("having a green lawn in the winter" is not a high priority for most folks around here), and in August things can get pretty burnt any year. However, we do have an 11 month growing season, if that tells you anything.

That's very helpful to know! We visited a few days ago! Overall the yellowness of everything didn't turn us away, it just made us wish it was a bit more greener, and it sounds like it often is!

[watchoverme]

Originally Posted by atxcio

Welcome! I think you'll be happy with your choice; Austin or SA were the farthest places from CT on your list! And probably the most different. That's a great thing to do when you are still young. Spread those wings.

There should be lots of options downtown for you. You can look up leases on Austinhomesearch.com -- enter zip code 78701. That will have the condos available to lease from their owners.

Monarch, 360, and Spring (when complete) have a great location on the "residential" side of downtown.. a little quieter and closer to whole foods, gyms, parks, etc. Farther away from east 6th street. Also closer to West Lake Hills & Rollingwood.

Legacy on the lake is on the eastern side of downtown and close to I-35 (still west of it, though), but also close to the hike/bike trail. They have brand-new 1 bedrooms starting at $1184. Legacy On The Lake - Luxury High-rise Apartments in Texas Managed by Milestone Management

Thank you! So very very helpful. I will look! I really appreciate it.

[watchoverme]

Originally Posted by AustinGuy

For downtown apartments, also check MLS. There are lot of condos available at the 360 for rent which would be nicer than the AMLI. Also, check the Monarch & The Legacy both of which should be having great deals since there is currently too much supply downtown at the high end.

Thank you!!! I will right now. Thanks!