Are the relos moving to Austin some of the least grounded/established in the areas they are coming from? (Dallas: lease, house)

[inthecut]

Originally Posted by Idlewile

I'm not sure you really "have a good read on this".

I guess I am one of those "relos" you are referring to as we are considering a move from the Denver-Boulder area. My husband and I both have big career jobs here, good jobs. I suppose we're upper-middle class. We are very well-connected professionally and personally here; we are grateful for these connections and would miss them dearly. We live in a house we built three years ago. We have a toddler and another one in the queue. Schools are of utmost importance to us and we had planned to move into another district close by in 2.5 years to ensure our kiddos get the best in public schooling possible. That said, we will need to drop over 420K for a very average, barely 2000 sq ft house in that district.

In the meantime, we just figured out we'll drop 100K in full-time child care until our kids are in 1st grade.

It seems extraordinary and absurd you can earn as much as our family does but watch it all go out the window for childcare and toward an average house to ensure good schooling.

My husband's work is quite rare and hard to come by as it usually only exists in big (artsy) cites with high COL; the only other cites offering the same professional scene that ALSO have a lower COL than here in Denver are Austin and Atlanta.

We are most interested in putting our family first and not have every decision we make for our family be dictated by money. Thus, I will put my career on hold until our kids are in school (we then wont have to pay for childcare), cut our net income in half, buy a 250K house in Austin AND have exemplary schools. While still living in a distinctive, cool town with a good quality of life.

We care about our family's well-being too much and take our responsibility as parents too seriously to, in your words, "take our chances on Austin." We've done our research -- not just on Austin -- but on our financial and professional situations, as well as what's best for our children.
[

I presume you arent really taking a "chance" in Austin, in that your husband has found a job in his line already, or won't move until he does. I was referring to those who are moving because they either CAN'T find work they want/need where they live, or aren't really going anywhere where they work/live. Those that are in a job quandry, or lacking social networks, are FAR more able/willing to move across country to a place where they don't know a soul from Adam, and have to start a social network entirely from scratch....

We also are in a horrific time economically across the nation, with no true boom cities at the moment(no job growth in any, even in Austin, which has been net losing jobs for several quarters). Austin, having a reputation as a palatable place to live, should still "bring 'em in" for some time to come, if only because there is essentially no competition. The other old stand-by's have been/are struggling(Vegas; all of Florida; California,(though San Diego seems to be the first to be coming out of the recession there); Arizona; the Carolinas; Georgia;..........all losing ground and struggling...........

and WHY is Texas high and dry? Because they have no unions, pay is low, and many companies relocated there for the same and the fact that corporate tax is negligible, and personal state income tax is non-existent.........and they don't rely largely on tourism, unlike Florida and Nevada, AND did not have a real estate boom/bust cycle, unlike essentially the entire rest of the sunbelt........

So, by default, in the midst of a horrific national recession, those looking for Q of L issues, the bored and restless, and the economically displaced will make the trek to Austin for some time anyway...

[Tiger Beer]

Originally Posted by inthecut

and WHY is Texas high and dry? Because they have no unions, pay is low, and many companies relocated there for the same and the fact that corporate tax is negligible, and personal state income tax is non-existent.........and they don't rely largely on tourism, unlike Florida and Nevada, AND did not have a real estate boom/bust cycle, unlike essentially the entire rest of the sunbelt........

So, by default, in the midst of a horrific national recession, those looking for Q of L issues, the bored and restless, and the economically displaced will make the trek to Austin for some time anyway...

My take is that HOUSTON or maybe DALLAS or maybe SAN ANTONIO are those cities that are Texas and 'economic-related destinations'.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the general national populace SHOULD know that Austin costs a bit more to live and the wages are a bit lower - unlike its sister cities in TX.

[FueledByBlueBell]

I think Jenniebc has it down.

[mimimomx3]

I think people move to all kinds of cities for all kinds of reasons...family, money, jobs, personal interests, health, the list goes on and on. Inthecut, if you peruse the other city boards I believe you'll find the same kind of discussions we see here- growth vs. non growth, suburbs vs. city, locals vs. newcomers, etc. For every person who comes to Austin in search of a low cost of living and sunshine, you'll find another who can't wait to get out for a more sophisticated enviroment and four seasons. I know you find this speculating interesting, but I hope you're not searching for a kind of 'universal truth' or anything.

[paul6835]

I kept my job when I moved and I'd argue the people moving here are upwardly mobile professionals who can afford to move somewhere on a whim. I've met a few people on airplanes who's jobs can be anywhere and just choose to live in Austin.

[austin-steve]

We are most interested in putting our family first and not have every decision we make for our family be dictated by money. Thus, I will put my career on hold until our kids are in school (we then wont have to pay for childcare), cut our net income in half, buy a 250K house in Austin AND have exemplary schools. While still living in a distinctive, cool town with a good quality of life.

This sums up a lot of what we see/hear when working with inbound buyers.

And you may not realize it but there is an enormous amount of pent up relocation activity as people remain "stuck" where they are because they can't/won't sell the house they wish to leave behind. This was pointed out again by an economist at an economic forecast I attended this week. People AND businesses want to move to Austin and are waiting for things to shake out a bit more. In a couple of years we will again have strong housing demand and job growth, and the cycle will continue.

But I was up outside my neck of the woods last week in a neighborhood near the new Vista Ridge High School in Cedar Park and the Ronald Reagan Elementary. Man, there are some really nice neighborhoods up there and $175K to $250K gets you a lot of home. You pay $30K to $50 less than the same home in SW Austin, but if you don't need to commute downtown or need to come downtown often, and you have kids and want great schools, who wouldn't want to come to Texas in general, and Austin in particular and live on one income and enjoy all we have to offer?

Steve

[inthecut]

Originally Posted by mimimomx3

I think people move to all kinds of cities for all kinds of reasons...family, money, jobs, personal interests, health, the list goes on and on. Inthecut, if you peruse the other city boards I believe you'll find the same kind of discussions we see here- growth vs. non growth, suburbs vs. city, locals vs. newcomers, etc. For every person who comes to Austin in search of a low cost of living and sunshine, you'll find another who can't wait to get out for a more sophisticated enviroment and four seasons. I know you find this speculating interesting, but I hope you're not searching for a kind of 'universal truth' or anything.

It's a little more than that...yes, other cities attract people for largely the same universal human needs/wants, but Austin is the #1 relo destination in the USA right now, and by a long shot.....that is what intrigues me, and why I'm so curious about why so many people are gravitating here RATHER than the older standby's that have lost ground in the recession(fla, az, cal,
vegas)......

Frankly, you have to wonder WHY Austin is the only city still attracting such a percentage of relos, pretty much the same that Vegas was drawing during IT'S boom...and then ask what factors make it so, and how long they can last before they ebb here as well.......

Simply, why is Austin the only city still pulling the relos in?....Is our local economy that great in comparison to the ones the relos are fleeing?
Is our Q of L than great to still attract so many people....

Or is it just great PR(smoke and mirrors)

[inthecut]

Originally Posted by austin-steve

This sums up a lot of what we see/hear when working with inbound buyers.

And you may not realize it but there is an enormous amount of pent up relocation activity as people remain "stuck" where they are because they can't/won't sell the house they wish to leave behind. This was pointed out again by an economist at an economic forecast I attended this week. People AND businesses want to move to Austin and are waiting for things to shake out a bit more. In a couple of years we will again have strong housing demand and job growth, and the cycle will continue.

But I was up outside my neck of the woods last week in a neighborhood near the new Vista Ridge High School in Cedar Park and the Ronald Reagan Elementary. Man, there are some really nice neighborhoods up there and $175K to $250K gets you a lot of home. You pay $30K to $50 less than the same home in SW Austin, but if you don't need to commute downtown or need to come downtown often, and you have kids and want great schools, who wouldn't want to come to Texas in general, and Austin in particular and live on one income and enjoy all we have to offer?

Steve

Steve, we need a strong national economy and financial market if the relos, pent up or not, will relocate.....commercial real estate is imploding all over, including Austin. Where will the money for growth, or the impetus for growth, come when our greed and stupidity, and myopic loans/paper, have
shut down the lending?

Sometimes it seems like we expect Austin growth to continue on and on like magic, regardless of national indicators or financial solvency.....as we type here, several states, including california, are on the brink of fiscal insolvency....many large cities cannot fund city services, and are digging holes of deficits......the sunbelt, almost in its entirely, of which Austin is a part, has tanked, from California, Az, and Vegas west, to the deep south and Florida east.....

Where will Austin stand when all that surrounds it is struggling? Where will it tap into capital for growth when finance has been largely tapped out?
Like Vegas and Fla, Austin's rapid growth depends on the solvency of the rest of the nation....Vegas and fla are now struggling because the rest of the USA is struggling....

How the hell does Austin stand to maintain mega growth while the rest of the nation tanks? Are they planning on printing their own currency?

[mimimomx3]

Originally Posted by inthecut

Or is it just great PR(smoke and mirrors)

Yes.

Most people who move to Austin are moving to the suburbs- and our suburbs are pretty much like everyone else's. In my opinion, we have awesome PR to attract people to our suburbs rather than, say, Dallas.

[orbius]

Same thing happened to California when it was growing. There were industrial jobs available in the NE back then but a lot of people were willing to do menial work in California and live in a nice/vibrant/sunny place.

Austin has great outdoors recreation, sunny weather, a youthful attitude, and is not polluted or ugly.

With a huge amount of the country in flux its not surprising a lot of people are moving here.