move to Austin (Chicago: home, find a job, neighborhood)

[chicagomom]

Anyone out there a transplant from Austin? Thinking about moving out there with the family and was wondering what you think I should know before moving out there?
Any advice is appreciated!

[gardengeek]

Austin Texas or the Austin neighborhood of Chicago?

[chicagomom]

Originally Posted by gardengeek

Austin Texas or the Austin neighborhood of Chicago?

Yes, Austin Texas!

[gardengeek]

Austin TX is the last place I lived before Chicago. I love it, and still visit at least once a year. It's a beautiful, weird, crazy, congested city. Plenty of parks and green space, but also plenty of people and insane traffic. They've got a vibe like no other place I've lived, and an amazing assortment of independent businesses. No state income tax in TX, of course, so the cost of living is a bit less, but home prices are only slightly less than Chicgao.

It's true what Texas tourism claims, "It's like a whole other country." If you live in TX, you either love it with a passion or hate it fiercely. Austin is kind of it's own little pocket of different from the whole state, a "blue" town in a very "red" state. You must be prepared for a much different way of thinking when you leave the Austin enclave, at least in many other areas of the state.

I must admit, I love Chicago almost as much, it's my adopted hometown, it's more diverse than Austin, and of course much bigger, so you have more culturally in the classical areas of museums, libraries, etc. Having lived in both, I can honestly say I would happily live in either. And there's a lot of back-and-forth between Illinois and Austin, so you'll run into plenty of Chicago ex-pats in Central Texas.

If you have any other specific questions, I'd be happy to help.

[chicagomom]

thanks so much! Do you have any allergies which you found to get better or worse here in CHicago?

[gardengeek]

Don't really have any allergies other than cat, so I couldn't tell you. Sorry!

[sophieschoice]

What would there be to hate about Austin,Tx? My husband and I are seriously considering moving there also, but oddly have never been there. We have a realtor we are working with and Rachael ray says it's awesome. Her husband John's band plays there sometimes.I was wondering about hayfever. Mine is really bad here in the burbs of Chicago and wondered if they would be better or worse in Austin?Any other info. would be great too!

[Mrs. Carly]

I just happen to see a post about Austin, TX. If you can get a job in Austin I would say YES move there. I think most forums complain about their cities/states, but it is very rare that you see a complaint about Austin. The ONLY reason that I left is because of the hiring freeze. I couldn't find a job and my husband was about to be getting out of the military. I didn't want him to re enlist and head back to Iraq.

I would go back to Austin in a heartbeat. LOVE LOVE LOVE it there and I left behind some wonderful friends. I agree with the above posting.