Where do Austinites fed up with Austin move? (Waco, Round Rock: insurance, how much)

[tomchard]

Originally Posted by homeinatx

Paris: Paris, France or Paris, Texas or Marfa.

Kinda-like ... All The Rage in Paris

[watertank]

Originally Posted by unihills

Hah! You are a transplant. Can't run away from yourself.

Under 50 miles? I know people that commute further than that!

[austin-steve]

Originally Posted by CBB_bear

To be honest, any city that has an older central urban core and a reasonable job market is expensive these days. I think if people want to live in Austin, and not out in the burbs, like any other city they need to adjust their space expectations for families. In my field, a lot of jobs exist in expensive areas like SF, San Diego, Washington DC, the New York metro area, and Boston, so comparatively housing isn't so bad. Then again, I'm still a renter, so I don't need to deal with property tax issues.

Agreed. My wife and I are in our 50s, becoming empty nesters this year. We could sell the business, relocate and "retire". We can't do that yet if we stay in Austin, but we could if we found a cheaper place to live.

But I really don't know what "retire" means, as I don't wanna be sitting around for the next 40 years chillin'. So more likely we'll just slow the business way down to a part time effort, and do more traveling.

I have thought about this a lot though. For me, it comes down to two choices:

1) Relocated to within 2 hours of Austin where the cost of housing and pace of life is cheaper/slower. No daily grind. Then just come into Austin for entertainment and nights out. Maybe San Marcos, New Braunsfels, even San Antonio. Or out to Johnson City, Llano, Burnet. Perhaps even up near Waco or toward Houston. I haven't researched or zeroed in on the "sweet spot", it's just a concept that bounces around in the back of my mind.

2) Leave Texas for a lower cost area that has a) Southwest Airlines less than an hour drive to airport, b) Medium to large College, c) Good amenities/medical, d) Temperate climate. We're thinking ABQ, or Florida. Though still haven't fully zeroed in.

Steve

[tom331]

I checked some condo at San Diego downtown when I visited San Diego last year. The price is not too bad comparing the property price at downtown Austin. It is about $500 per square foot that is about the same price as downtown Austin. However, the property tax is 1.25% in San Diego vs 2.58% in Austin. It actually costs less to live at Downtwon San Diego than Downtown Austin.

[Novacek]

Originally Posted by tom331

I checked some condo at San Diego downtown when I visited San Diego last year. The price is not too bad comparing the property price at downtown Austin. It is about $500 per square foot that is about the same price as downtown Austin. However, the property tax is 1.25% in San Diego vs 2.58% in Austin. It actually costs less to live at Downtwon San Diego than Downtown Austin.

Where do you get 2.58 ? Looks like 2.37 to me (checking traviscad).

However, the extra income tax on the income to pay for $500 /ft more than makes up for it, I'm sure (assuming you still have income and aren't retired).

[HappyTexan]

Originally Posted by tom331

I checked some condo at San Diego downtown when I visited San Diego last year. The price is not too bad comparing the property price at downtown Austin. It is about $500 per square foot that is about the same price as downtown Austin. However, the property tax is 1.25% in San Diego vs 2.58% in Austin. It actually costs less to live at Downtwon San Diego than Downtown Austin.

You are only looking at property tax here though and CA has low property taxes.
But what about the entire tax bill ? Still cheaper, tax-wise, to live in San Diego when you take the entire tax liability into account ?

[ctr88]

Originally Posted by austin-steve

Agreed. My wife and I are in our 50s, becoming empty nesters this year. We could sell the business, relocate and "retire". We can't do that yet if we stay in Austin, but we could if we found a cheaper place to live.

But I really don't know what "retire" means, as I don't wanna be sitting around for the next 40 years chillin'. So more likely we'll just slow the business way down to a part time effort, and do more traveling.

I have thought about this a lot though. For me, it comes down to two choices:

1) Relocated to within 2 hours of Austin where the cost of housing and pace of life is cheaper/slower. No daily grind. Then just come into Austin for entertainment and nights out. Maybe San Marcos, New Braunsfels, even San Antonio. Or out to Johnson City, Llano, Burnet. Perhaps even up near Waco or toward Houston. I haven't researched or zeroed in on the "sweet spot", it's just a concept that bounces around in the back of my mind.

2) Leave Texas for a lower cost area that has a) Southwest Airlines less than an hour drive to airport, b) Medium to large College, c) Good amenities/medical, d) Temperate climate. We're thinking ABQ, or Florida. Though still haven't fully zeroed in.

Steve

ABQ is super cheap right now as their economy is in the doldrums. You can buy a house for $175k in decent close in older neighborhood say comparable to Crestview AND the property tax is 1% vs. 2.2%. That same house in Crestview would be $400k+ with a 2.2% tax. You can start getting into really sweet houses probably for about $300k in ABQ that would be maybe $700k (or more) I imagine in the older Austin core. Very little traffic there too. Of course ABQ does not have even close to the atmosphere of Austin and it's still rough around the edges. I would say ABQ has much better outdoor recreation options (hiking, skiing, etc...). I would personally probably take ABQ over San Antonio. ABQ is also not as hot as Austin in summers.

[austin-steve]

Originally Posted by ctr88

ABQ is super cheap right now as their economy is in the doldrums. You can buy a house for $175k in decent close in older neighborhood say comparable to Crestview AND the property tax is 1% vs. 2.2%. That same house in Crestview would be $400k+ with a 2.2% tax. You can start getting into really sweet houses probably for about $300k in ABQ that would be maybe $700k (or more) I imagine in the older Austin core. Very little traffic there too. Of course ABQ does not have even close to the atmosphere of Austin and it's still rough around the edges. I would say ABQ has much better outdoor recreation options (hiking, skiing, etc...). I would personally probably take ABQ over San Antonio. ABQ is also not as hot as Austin in summers.

I think Albuquerque (I always call it Alba-Quirky) would be an excellent home base for an "active travel" lifestyle because it's a close shot, 1-2 day drive to so many interesting places in the Southwest US and has a very easy in/out airport like Austin. My wife loves Santa Fe and would like to live there but it's too small for me and I think it's over priced.

Rio Rancho seems like a nice outskirt of ABQ.

Steve

[JT-3]

Haven't been there, but Waco looks somewhat attractive and on the upswing.

[creeksitter]

To be honest, any city that has an older central urban core and a reasonable job market is expensive these days.

Have you looked at Louisville and Cincinnati? How about St. Louis & Kansas City?