Living in So Cal and can't decide whether to move to Austin or Portland (for sale, real estate)

[bianca0]

Ok, so this is the situation that I am currently in. I lived in a northern Kentucky suburb of Cincinnati OH all my life (I am 28 years old, married 7 years, husband is 33, 2 dogs, no kids). For the past 11 years or so we have wanted to move to San Diego, CA. In December of 2006 we finally put our house up for sale and sold just about everything we owned to move to San Diego. Well, it back fired, it took us 5 months to sell our house and my husband did not find a job for 4 months. Our plans of living here and owning a home have been shot. We are currently looking at either Austin, TX or Portland, OR but can’t decide. Here is a list of some things we are looking for:


1. Good Weather and Good Air – I have bad asthma, so I have to have good air quality. We also want good weather. I love San Diego weather (who doesn’t though?). I hear it rains A LOT in Portland, and I hear it is super hot and humid in Austin. I can’t say which is worse, KY had both, PLUS cold winters. Main thing that we do not want is snow and freezing rain.


2. Affordable housing – living in KY spoiled us for housing I cannot live in a 600 sq ft condo any longer. We are looking for a home around 1500 sq ft or more at $200k or less. Combined we make about $50k - $60k. Living is the suburbs in fine but no more than 20 minutes from any major city.


3. Good music scene - I know that most people will say Austin right away to this one, but, I am afraid that Austin is all country. My husband is a rocker, and we are looking for that type of scene.


4.Open minded people - we want to live next to friendly people, but, we don’t have kids so we are not big on families and we are not religious.


5.Safety – I do not want to have to worry about my car or house being broken into. I know that this can happen anywhere, but I do not want it to be a common occurrence.


6.Good scenery – we love the mountains and oceans of San Diego, but it can be sacrificed if we must.


7.Traffic – the less the better

Well, that is my list. I am open to any suggestions that anyone may have. If you know of any other city that you think would be a good fit please let me know. We are open to just about anything. San Diego was a mistake that I am sure a lot of people have made. It’s a great place to visit, not so much to live (unless you are a multi millionaire).

[lucero32]

Originally Posted by bianca0

Ok, so this is the situation that I am currently in. I lived in a northern Kentucky suburb of Cincinnati OH all my life (I am 28 years old, married 7 years, husband is 33, 2 dogs, no kids). For the past 11 years or so we have wanted to move to San Diego, CA. In December of 2006 we finally put our house up for sale and sold just about everything we owned to move to San Diego. Well, it back fired, it took us 5 months to sell our house and my husband did not find a job for 4 months. Our plans of living here and owning a home have been shot. We are currently looking at either Austin, TX or Portland, OR but can’t decide. Here is a list of some things we are looking for:


1. Good Weather and Good Air – I have bad asthma, so I have to have good air quality. We also want good weather. I love San Diego weather (who doesn’t though?). I hear it rains A LOT in Portland, and I hear it is super hot and humid in Austin. I can’t say which is worse, KY had both, PLUS cold winters. Main thing that we do not want is snow and freezing rain.


2. Affordable housing – living in KY spoiled us for housing I cannot live in a 600 sq ft condo any longer. We are looking for a home around 1500 sq ft or more at $200k or less. Combined we make about $50k - $60k. Living is the suburbs in fine but no more than 20 minutes from any major city.


3. Good music scene - I know that most people will say Austin right away to this one, but, I am afraid that Austin is all country. My husband is a rocker, and we are looking for that type of scene.


4.Open minded people - we want to live next to friendly people, but, we don’t have kids so we are not big on families and we are not religious.


5.Safety – I do not want to have to worry about my car or house being broken into. I know that this can happen anywhere, but I do not want it to be a common occurrence.


6.Good scenery – we love the mountains and oceans of San Diego, but it can be sacrificed if we must.


7.Traffic – the less the better

Well, that is my list. I am open to any suggestions that anyone may have. If you know of any other city that you think would be a good fit please let me know. We are open to just about anything. San Diego was a mistake that I am sure a lot of people have made. It’s a great place to visit, not so much to live (unless you are a multi millionaire).

Not to be a downer, but your second point regarding housing pretty much makes your decision for you. Austin or bust!

But seriously, the housing here is simply not that inexpensive. Heck, you would be hard pressed to find a tiny condo within 20 minutes of downtown for under 250K.

Best of luck to you in Texas.

p.s. I'm curious...what was your expectation regarding housing in San Diego? As pricey (spendy) as Portland is, it's got nothing on San Diego.

[bianca0]

Moving to San Diego we thought we would be able to buy a house around $300k. The problem was, it took so long to sell our house in KY and we took such a loss that the $30k we hoped to profit didn't happen (we only profited about $2k). Also, we expected to find better jobs. I am making a little more than I was in KY (which by So Cal standards is nothing), but my husband took a pay cut and it took several months for him to find a job. Things just did not go as planned. We are not struggling, we just can't afford to buy a house... which is something we want to be able to do again. I have looked into Portland real estate and it looks some what affordable. Is this just because the neighborhoods are bad? I am willing to live in the burbs, is it still that expensive?

[oldtintype]

Maybe if you moved to Vancouver, WA you could find those prices...otherwise you'll be way out there or in a major fixer upper. Besides, with bad asthma all the mold here might cause a lot of problems for you.

[Tesaje]

I have relatives from CA who moved to Austin and really liked it. I'm told that it is the best place in TX for non-Texans. It is considerably more open-minded and liberal than the rest of TX, it has a university, and neat kind of downtown. 2nd best would be San Antonio. If you are worried about the gloom and rain, Austin would be a better fit. It does get freezing rain sometimes, but so does Portland and probably more often. As far as scenery goes, it is in the prettiest part of TX with some hills. It is also much warmer than Portland. From what I have seen, the Portland housing prices are more than you want to spend. If snow and ice are out, look to FL, southern TX, NM, AZ. Housing prices are higher in all of the coastal states than in the middle of the country so it will always be harder moving from the middle to a coast.

I don't really understand why people are indecisive over sunny southern places and cool cloudy northern places. It seems to me if you like one you won't be all that happy in the other. I also don't understand moving to a very high cost of living area without a job already lined up. But that's just me. I like to eat.

[Txstar]

Where did you hear that the music in Austin is mostly country? The kind of music you hear at "Austin city limits" and "SXSW" festivals are the kinds of music you will hear around austin too.

Also make sure you check Austin home prices, while they might be less expsensive than Portland, Austin is the most expensive place to live in Texas ( I mean Austin proper, not the suburbs).
Good luck with your decision.

[bianca0]

I am very familiar with both music festivals. The only reason I asked is because when my husband went online (craigs list) to find a band, it seemed like the only bands that were looking for members were country or blues.

[Redrover]

Given your wants and needs, there seems to be no contest - welcome to Texas. On your list, the only thing I can't really define is the traffic. Since I live in Houston, anything that isn't Houston or LA has better traffic as far as I'm concerned. The one thing you didn't mention was jobs and I think most definitely that Austin is more likely to have those although I don't know what it is you both are looking for. I just hope you do a whole lot of research before you move again because it sounds like you should have done a little more before striking out for San Diego. I just came back from there and LA (spent "fire week" there) and although they have nice weather most of the time, housing costs are anything but affordable. Plus, they are running out of water - as it is, they import more than 90% of their water supply from the northern part of the state.

Don't get me wrong, I adore Oregon. I've made many trips up there and we are even going to move there in another couple of years when we retire but then my criteria is very different than yours (except for the traffic thing). I'm fed up with heat and I want a wet, green and lush landscape. The wineries in the Willamette are a biggie for us too. Jobs won't matter to us and my idea of live music is very different from yours - opera, symphony etc. and Portland has all that. The cost of living will definitely be higher up in Oregon so that is another plus for Austin as far as you're concerned - no state income tax. So all-in-all, take a look at both but it sounds like Austin is what you're looking for. Good luck!

[roneb]

Not to be a downer, but you listed the need for good air quality because of asthma. The air quality in both cities is pretty decent, but if your asthma is allergy induced, you should be aware that both cities are known for having horribly high pollen counts. Depending on the allergy, one or both cities can be bad for you.

[PeacePlease]

Good point about allergies. I know many people (including my wife) who struggle with the allergy situation in Austin. I agree about the housing prices even though Austin is not cheap anymore (less expensive than Portland). For $200k, it will get you a 3 bedroom house in Cedar Park. The schools are good. What you will hate is traffic from these areas into Austin. I guess it depends where you work, but if you have to get into Austin during rush hour, it will be bad. My recommendation is to visit first, then rent for 6 months then buy a house. The good news is that you can find a house for $200k.

Yes it gets hot in the summer. We learn to do our outdoor activities early in the morning or the evening during the summer. The fall and spring are incredibly beautiful in Austin. Business (for high tech) is great. Country music is not common.

Austin has nothing to do with Texas. LOL