[lava5000]

My husband and I are considering a move to Austin so he can go to UT for a masters degree. We really love it here, but think we are ready for a change. I have a couple of questions.

What is the cost of living compared to Las Vegas? It seems like housing is less expensive, but is the difference made up in property tax, sales tax, etc.?

How would you compare and contrast Las Vegas to Austin? For example, I keep reading about how bad Austin traffic is. Is the traffic about the same as Las Vegas, less, more?

Thanks in advance for any help!

[Chinadoll]

Austin is a smaller town. Utilities in Austin are higher, property tax is higher, sales tax is the same or higher in some parts, gas is higher. Traffic in Austin and Vegas aren't bad. Austin has freeways that lead to nowhere (literally). Austin is overcrowded. Many Californians are moving in and driving real estate to outrageous levels. It was more reasonable 10-15 years ago. Now many Texans are priced out of the market so they're pissed off at more people moving in from CA. Hard to find decent paying jobs in Austin since it's a college town. I have relatives living there who have to work in CA to pay Austin mortgages. If I was going to live in TX (which I wouldn't) Austin would be the first choice if I could make a living there.

[Buzz123]

Originally Posted by Chinadoll

If I was going to live in TX (which I wouldn't) Austin would be the first choice if I could make a living there.

Ditto. I have family there too and Austin or San Antonio would be the only places I would live in Texas...and then it would only be if forced to at gunpoint.

[lava5000]

My husband and I actually went to visit austin last month. I think our expectations were way to high from all the wonderful things people said about Austin. We checked out the Round Rock area. The homes were beautiful, but it seemed so far from the city, and the scenery was brown grass and shopping centers. To be fair, we were only there for a 24 hour period, and someone hit our rental car.
We had a blast on 6th street, and loved the university, but it was just not what we were expecting. We were ready to move this coming June, but have since changed our mind.

[ParkTwain]

Were you considering UT because it's actually a great university and it would be very helpful to your career? (if you're willing to build that career in Texas)

Maybe you should consider Tucson and U. of Arizona instead. As a city, Tucson is where Austin was 30+ years ago, and I'd say that's a good thing. I think most of Texas is quite overrated as a place to live unless you have family there. The natural environment around Tucson beats almost anything in Texas outside of Big Bend National Park.

[Austinman]

I live in Austin and I am planning on moving to Vegas. Traffic here is about 8 times worse than Vegas. If you move to Round Rock and go to UT you can plan on driving down death highway(I-35) for the daily trip. The poster who mentioned the street system had it spot on. Every major road has at least 3 names and sometimes they do lead to no where. I think that is one area I do not envy newcomers. The roads are not set up on a grid here nor are they set up in any logical fashion. It does take awhile to learn them.

Housing is steep but it is slowly coming down. There are MANY fun things to do here and I would recommend living here to anyone, at least for a few years.

Unemployment is low so finding a job my be difficult. As in any city, healthcare, waiting tables and exotic dancing are always viable options.

The weather is pleasant until it is not. It usually doesnt rain here..it floods. And if it doesnt flood we have a drought. Humidity is much higher than Vegas. We see snow about every 7 years.

As the poster said we do not like Californians here in the least bit.

Please seek housing west of I-35 if you choose to live in Austin. The housing is better the further west you go. So many condos are being built downtown if you are interested in that. Round Rock and Pflugerville are said to have good schools.

If there's anything else I can answer let me know!

[lava5000]

We were planning on moving there so my husband could get his masters degree in painting. And since we are both teachers, it seemed easy enough for us to both get a job there. For us though, the negatives outwayed the positives, so I think we are going to stick with Vegas. For a few more years anyways.

[clb10]

Is Austin real estate experiencing a new bubble like Vegas real estate or are prices only rising slowly.