Austin suburbs Ex. Cedar Park, etc. VS. Dallas suburbs Ex. Plano, etc. (Houston: sales)

[Eastern-Wanderer]

Howdy Texans,

I'm planning to move from a Philadelphia suburb to either a Austin or Dallas suburb. I have a 4 month old baby. and a traveling job that takes me around the country every other week. Intent of this move is two-fold:
1. To be centrally located so reduce my flight times - so more time with family and
2. To gain more outdoor time (hiking, camping etc) by avoiding the NE winter time

I'm looking to move to an area with a good school district and eventually buy a home there (budget hovering around 300K). So would appreciate any advice in helping me make a decision between Austin & Dallas.

Also, I'm aware that there is no Earned Income Tax in TX, so curious how the state & counties get their funding -
> Is it from very high sales, property taxes? OR
> Maybe from wage taxes imposed by counties/ school districts?

Thanks much!

[ChristieP]

Property taxes in Texas are quite high when compared to other states, as are sales taxes. We do not have any form of state/county/city income tax here.

Austin airport is very small, and has few direct flights when compared to DFW and Dallas Love Field. If your travel is by air, then you need to move to Dallas or Fort Worth area.

[Eastern-Wanderer]

Originally Posted by ChristieP

Property taxes in Texas are quite high when compared to other states, as are sales taxes. We do not have any form of state/county/city income tax here.

Austin airport is very small, and has few direct flights when compared to DFW and Dallas Love Field. If your travel is by air, then you need to move to Dallas or Fort Worth area.

@ChristieP - Thank you! I checked flights out of AUS and its apparent that almost every flight connects either via DFW or IAH. Appears that I will need to focus my search on the Dallas area.

[Westerntraveler]

I think if air travel is priority, the Metroplex is your place.However, the Hill Country around Austin is an outdoors mecca.

[Eastern-Wanderer]

Originally Posted by Westerntraveler

I think if air travel is priority, the Metroplex is your place.However, the Hill Country around Austin is an outdoors mecca.

@Westerntraveler - A quick search for flight times indicates that every trip originating in AUS adds 150 mins (~2.5 hrs) of travel time in the best case scenarios and it could get worse. During peak business activity (which could last as long as 6 to 8 months) I travel almost every other week, so it is significant. That said, I do love to get outdoors, hike, camp... I'm now weighing my options with this in mind.

Originally Posted by ChristieP

We do not have any form of state/county/city income tax here.

@ChristieP - I took look at my PA tax returns and looks like my discretionary income will rise with moving to TX.

Would you happen to know how much savings could be had (in %) for people who moved to TX from PA/other states ?.... as I'm typing, realize this topic could use its own thread.

[ChristieP]

I have no idea about that. I've lived here all of my life, and my mom moved down from PA many decades ago.

[Westerntraveler]

Originally Posted by Eastern-Wanderer

@Westerntraveler - A quick search for flight times indicates that every trip originating in AUS adds 150 mins (~2.5 hrs) of travel time in the best case scenarios and it could get worse. During peak business activity (which could last as long as 6 to 8 months) I travel almost every other week, so it is significant. That said, I do love to get outdoors, hike, camp... I'm now weighing my options with this in mind.



@ChristieP - I took look at my PA tax returns and looks like my discretionary income will rise with moving to TX.

Would you happen to know how much savings could be had (in %) for people who moved to TX from PA/other states ?.... as I'm typing, realize this topic could use its own thread.

Well that sounds good....guess you will just have to decide whats more important.best of luck.

[texasdiver]

For outdoor rec you should be looking at Denver.

That said, another area to consider would be the north suburbs of Houston around the Woodlands area. More trees and green than Dallas. Lots of green space. And you would be quite close to Houston International. The the other popular suburban areas in west Houston are much much further from the airport.

However for frequent commuting by air I would chose DFW. It is by far the best airport in TX for quick easy flying because of the decentralized terminal design. You can drive up much closer to your gate and there are security screening areas spread out throughout the airport so you don't get funneled through giant lines with the other thousands like at other airports.

[Jack Lance]

Originally Posted by texasdiver

For outdoor rec you should be looking at Denver.

That said, another area to consider would be the north suburbs of Houston around the Woodlands area. More trees and green than Dallas. Lots of green space. And you would be quite close to Houston International. The the other popular suburban areas in west Houston are much much further from the airport.

However for frequent commuting by air I would chose DFW. It is by far the best airport in TX for quick easy flying because of the decentralized terminal design. You can drive up much closer to your gate and there are security screening areas spread out throughout the airport so you don't get funneled through giant lines with the other thousands like at other airports.

I would also recommend the Woodlands as well, BTW we have a coast line here and 2 International Airports. But I do have one correction texasdriver it is Houston Intercontinental (IAH), not International, and the other airport is Hobby International (HOU).