Moving to Austin from the UK

[UKexpat]

Thank you all for your very useful messages. I wasn't expecting so many helpful posts so quickly! UKjay, you made me laugh with things that you miss, thank you. The good Indian food did occur to me as I can't remember seeing any Indian restaurants on previous visits to the US. Bisto I'd not thought of and as much as I moan about my daily commute on the train at the moment, I'm going to miss it.
We've confimed our trip over for November and are excited at seeing Austin for ourselves. I know it's not really possible to say for sure that you can live somewhere based on a 1 week trip, but unless we really dislike it, I imagine we'll be moving early next year.
Thank you for all the advice re cost of living. I don't fancy paying the huge UK tax hike coming next year, so now may be a good time financially to move away from the UK for a short while. Austin certainly can't be any more expensive than the UK I guess.
Thank you again for all your advice, it's greatly appreciated. If this is an indication of how welcoming people are out there, I can't wait to visit!

[DanoTex]

Originally Posted by UKexpat

Hi all,

My husband and I are possibly moving to Austin from the Midlands, UK next March/April and I'm hoping you can help me.
Any advice is greatly appreciated- this is a huge step for us and I want to make sure we've got as much information as possible before making the commitment.

Many, many thanks

Hi expat, My DW is from the Binley woods section of Coventry. We're about 60 miles NW of Austin in the area called Highland Lakes, a bit far for commuting to the Uni tho. Housing is almost exclusively detached with large to gigantic in comparison with most houses in the UK. With a few exceptions you'll find the cost of living to be much lower.
Lower prices:
Nice large detached houses from $100,000 to $300,000 (VERY nice).
Petrol currently at $2.30 a US gal (3.8 ltr).
Flesh & Fowl- The beef is extraordinary (T-Bone steaks!), but good lamb and seafood are somewhat difficult to find.
Auto taxes & insurance.
Entertainment, clothing, workmen................
Higher cost:
Medical in all categories. Insurance is an absolute necessity! That said, it's also much more available for ordinary (non emergency) care. Labs and specialized testing is typically done in less than 7 days.
Utility costs; depending on how large your current property is this can be quite surprising. We need aircon from Apr/May through Oct and it adds significantly to your electric bill.
Water, trash service, and sewer varies dependent on who your supplier is- prices are a bit higher in most cases.
Good English beer- you have to search for it and it is imported after all.

I believe you'll find folks to be more friendly than you can even imagine, again depending on the neighborhood. The advert on UK TV about the annoying yank couple on holiday who meet and invite perfect strangers to visit their home is close to the truth!

If you would like to pm me with your email addy, I'll see about getting my DW to send you an email for further discussion, she can tell you what she really doesn't like. I don't mind giving actual numbers-just not in a public forum.

BTW, we'll be in Merry Auld for Christmas this year- could meet for a pint perhaps?

Dano

[orbius]

Costco always has good quality lamb and good prices on everything, its a discount club store. Central Market has a lot of English packaged food, I can even get Heinz Baked beans and chocolate digestives at my local HEB.
The only thing you wont experience in November is the 6 month+ Summer. I've been here most of my life and you never really learn to love the Summer just endure it.