Living in Texas

[Van]

I have been considering moving my family to Texas around the Austin area because my wifes mother, brother, and sister are living there now. One of my wifes boards seems to recommend Texas more over other locations due to work and cost of living and the schools. I wont be doing this until August when Im able to transfer through my current employer to a facility in Temple unless I can secure a position with a better company in Austin sooner.

Whats it like in this area? is Texas really worth moving to and is the job market really that good? I have started looking and just based on something so trivial as craigslist it looks like there are alot of empty rentals in the area ( damn some are really pricey ). Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

 

[mdonnelly]

Texas *ucks! Okay, knee jerk reaction from a Sooner.

Austin is pretty nice, except for all those Longhorns . My son and his girlfriend are considering moving there when she graduates from OU with her engineering degree. Lots of electronics jobs in the Austin area. PM LER, I think he just relocated there last year.

http://www.satelliteguys.us/showpost.php?p=791161&postcount=1

 

[rad]

Van, moved to Austin last June from Chicago (wife said she wanted to be near the grand daughter so that was the end of that discussion).

Overall it's not bad. Traffic can really stink durning rush hours but there's building a bunch of toll roads up on the northern/eastern side of town to help with that. No state income tax but realestate and sales tax is higher then up north and they tax services such as labor charges and D*/E* service. Weather is what you'd expect, HOT in the summer, last Aug it was over 100 for all except a couple days, hottest Aug on record, then this winter was colder then normal, some nights in the upper teens and days didn't get out of upper 30's/low 40's. One thing I like about the Austin area is the hill country. After being to Dallas and Houston a few times on company business, and driving through the panhandle, I thought it would be flatter then Illinois, but the area is really nice with the hills and lakes. There's a lot of US government operations down here, IRS and veterans are a couple that come to mind, you might want to check www.usajobs.gov and see what's open that might fit your needs. Other then that don't know about the job front, living off the wife and loving it Hope that helps.

 

[Neutron]

Van, I will tell you now Texas is a good place to live.

My wife and I grew up in Texas. We moved to Indiana in 2002 and came back in mid-2005 because we couldn't stand all the little tax this and little tax that that Indiana has.

You couldn't convince me to move from Texas again.

Like Rad said, the taxes are a little higher here, but I'd rather pay higher property and sales tax than to have a state income tax.

One big advantage is regarding vehicles. Yes you do have to get yearly vehicle inspections, but depending on where you live it's only $15-40 for that, and vehicle registration is at most for us $80 a vehicle a year.

Austin is the tech capital of the state for sure. Dallas is a close second. My wife and I live in the Dallas/Ft. Worth metroplex.

I hope you don't mind a little humidity, as combined with the hot temperatures, it can make the heat index go in the 105-115 range.

 

[bnaivar]

The Texas hill country (Austin, San Antonio area) is a little piece of heaven. Many of the rivers ans streams there are fed from the Edwards Aquifer which filters the water through limestone springs. Theres places where the water is 50 feet deep but it's so clear you can see the bottom.

 

[Ramy]

Since I haven't been to any place other than Houston on several occasions I will hold off on the general blasting of the whole state. Houston sucks as a place I would want to live.

 

[WyrTwister]

I have been considering moving my family to Texas around the Austin area because my wifes mother, brother, and sister are living there now. One of my wifes boards seems to recommend Texas more over other locations due to work and cost of living and the schools. I wont be doing this until August when Im able to transfer through my current employer to a facility in Temple unless I can secure a position with a better company in Austin sooner.

Whats it like in this area? is Texas really worth moving to and is the job market really that good? I have started looking and just based on something so trivial as craigslist it looks like there are alot of empty rentals in the area ( damn some are really pricey ). Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Texas is God's country !

Can not think of any where else to live .

But I do not live in Austin ( Moscow on the Brazos ) .

Wyr

 

[KingofKaty]

Since I haven't been to any place other than Houston on several occasions I will hold off on the general blasting of the whole state. Houston sucks as a place I would want to live.

Whoa pardner! Them's fightin words. We've lived in the Houston area for 4 years and love it. I had visited the city maybe 100 times on business and swore I would never live here - until I was transferred. Now we are looking to retire here. The city is so big it takes time to know your way around.

It really depends on what your interests and hobbies are. If you like mountains and skiing you won't like it here. Maybe you like shovelling snow.

Houston has a lot to offer. We are a great restaurant town with perhaps more ethnic food diversity than anywhere in the U.S except NYC. There is a thriving theater district second only to NYC for number of seats in a central theater district. Houston is rated #1 in the world for advanced medical care. We have great museums, all major sports franchises (except NHL - coming soon), outstanding shopping,

The biggest downside is the summer heat, traffic, and too many strip malls type shopping. But traffic is getting better as they open more toll roads and expand the existing freeway system. The strip mall is gradually being replaced with a "downtown" type shopping/dining destination.

 

[navychop]

The Texas hill country (Austin, San Antonio area) is a little piece of heaven. Many of the rivers ans streams there are fed from the Edwards Aquifer which filters the water through limestone springs. Theres places where the water is 50 feet deep but it's so clear you can see the bottom.

Can you scuba there?


We might retire to Texas one day, but it would have to be where there's plenty of water.

Houston has a lot to offer- like New Orleans refugees.
-So when are they no longer refugees, but citizens, voting in Houston and not NOLA?

 

[Ramy]

Whoa pardner! Them's fightin words. We've lived in the Houston area for 4 years and love it. I had visited the city maybe 100 times on business and swore I would never live here - until I was transferred. Now we are looking to retire here. The city is so big it takes time to know your way around.

It really depends on what your interests and hobbies are. If you like mountains and skiing you won't like it here. Maybe you like shovelling snow.

Houston has a lot to offer. We are a great restaurant town with perhaps more ethnic food diversity than anywhere in the U.S except NYC. There is a thriving theater district second only to NYC for number of seats in a central theater district. Houston is rated #1 in the world for advanced medical care. We have great museums, all major sports franchises (except NHL - coming soon), outstanding shopping,

The biggest downside is the summer heat, traffic, and too many strip malls type shopping. But traffic is getting better as they open more toll roads and expand the existing freeway system. The strip mall is gradually being replaced with a "downtown" type shopping/dining destination.

They need all that medical care. They are rated in the top 5 fatest cities in the US. I have family down there and have been all over the city driving myself so I know my way around. It's just all the crime down there really makes me sway away from it. I don't mean to say that other big cities don't have their trouble too, it's just I have been there and know first hand that stuff can happen to you. Saw my uncle get mugged at gun point is what kinda did it.

 

[Neutron]

Can you scuba there?


We might retire to Texas one day, but it would have to be where there's plenty of water.

Houston has a lot to offer- like New Orleans refugees.
-So when are they no longer refugees, but citizens, voting in Houston and not NOLA?

Texas is bordered on it's SE side with the Gulf of Mexico. I've heard the waters near Corpus Christi are very nice to scuba in.

 

[KingofKaty]

I can confirm that property taxes are higher than in other parts of the midwest, but not as high as California or the northeast.

Can't speak for Austin, but in the Houston suburbs houses are running $80-90 / sq ft. Figure 2% per year average in property taxes. So a brand new 2,500 sq ft home will run you about $215,000 with property taxes of $4,300 per year. State and local sales tax is about 8%, but grocery food items are exempt from tax. There are NO state or local income taxes.

Texas is very affordable. Jobs are plentiful.

 

[Tom in TX]

But I do not live in Austin ( Moscow on the Brazos ) .
Wyr

The Brazos River doesn't even run through Austin!! It's the Colorado River!

Tom in TX

 

[KingofKaty]

They need all that medical care. They are rated in the top 5 fatest cities in the US . . . Saw my uncle get mugged at gun point is what kinda did it.

Sorry to hear about that. What part of town? When?

We definately have some crime and gang problems, but they seem to be limited to certain parts of town. Houston absorbed about 150,000 Katrina evacuees. Many of the located on the southwest side of Houston, which only made problems there worse.

The fat thing is bogus. Besides, Houston dropped to 6th in the 2007 survey. San Antonio is now 2nd. Go figure. Men's Fitness factors in outdoor recreation and air quality into the overall measurement. Yes, Houston has a lot of industry around the ship channel and traffic causes air problems. But we don't have "smog" like some cities. Today it is around 80 F and beautiful clear blue skies.

 

[Ramy]

It happened where he lives in the Braeswood area of town.

 

[KingofKaty]

Texas is bordered on it's SE side with the Gulf of Mexico. I've heard the waters near Corpus Christi are very nice to scuba in.

Yes, you can. Out of Freeport, TX you can catch an overnight dive charter to the Flower Garden Banks and Stetson bank. These are about 70 miles out into the Gulf. Runs around $250 for a 2-tank dive. See:
http://www.wolfcharters.com/page/page/267559.htm You can also dive some oil and gas rigs and abandoned rigs closer to shore for a 1-day dive.

Near the Austin/Hill Country area are numerous swimming and diving holes where the water is very clear. Aquarena Springs is the most popular. There are lots of dive holes around the Houston and Austin areas with limited visibility (10-20').

 

[KingofKaty]

It happened where he lives in the Braeswood area of town.

Southwest Houston - that is a problem area - south of Rice University/Medical Center and West of the Reliant/Astrodome area. They have lots of apartments and low-income housing in that part of town.

The area around the Southwest Freeway (I-59) from the Loop (I-610) to the West Sam Houston Tollway has become a bad part of town. I won't go down there at night.

 

[navychop]

Texas is bordered on it's SE side with the Gulf of Mexico. I've heard the waters near Corpus Christi are very nice to scuba in.

Can you scuba in that aquifer?

Yes, I was briefly stationed in the City by the Sea. I meant fresh water- I hate water restrictions with a passion. I had my own well for watering my yard and garden in Va Beach and they still wanted to restrict it's use. They actually came by looking for who's lawn was NOT brown.

 

[Neutron]

This link should help answer that: http://www.texasoutside.com/scubanavigate.htm

 

[rad]

Yes, I was briefly stationed in the City by the Sea. I meant fresh water- I hate water restrictions with a passion. I had my own well for watering my yard and garden in Va Beach and they still wanted to restrict it's use. They actually came by looking for who's lawn was NOT brown.

Depending on where you end up you may end up with water use restrictions. Currently the Austin area is in a multi year dought, lake levels are way down. Last summer one of the major lakes had only 1 boat launch that was still in operation, the others were not usable. While January was wet in Austin it rained in the wrong areas and didn't do anything to help recharge the highland lakes. They're saying if we don't start getting some rainfall there will be more restrictions put in place on water usage.