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My friend mentioned that because so many people are moving to Austin, rent is going up. I saw she pays $840/month for a 1-bedroom (but very nice and very spacious) while we currently pay $779/mo here in Cle for a 2 bedroom. Though what we pay is definitely on the lower end of what we *could* be paying if we lived in some of the really ritzy suburbs of Cle, but for what we have it's a very fair price. So really, right around $800/mo is what we'd be expecting to pay for rent. We are lucky though that we don't pay any utilities except electric at this particular spot (though in the past we've lived elsewhere and had to pay electric, gas, and water/sewer).
So it sounds like you would like Austin especially coming from Ohio. However, your rental cost expectations might be a bit low. Is your friend's apartment complex acceptable to you as it sounds like she might be getting a very good deal. I would price out exactly what it would cost for you to move into your friend's apartment complex and try to lock in that lease price for as long as possible if you really want to give Austin a shot. Since the rental market is so hot around here, they probably won't give you a lease rate longer than 12 months.
We were paying $1400 for a 2 bedroom apartment in the Austin area that was nice a little over a year ago while we were in-between houses, but it wasn't upscale by any means and they wanted to raise it to $1675 per month if we signed another year lease or raise it to over $1800 for month to month. So be prepared for your first lease amount to be significantly lower compared to your renewal rate. Some complexes are being sold to different companies, remodeled, etc. and that makes it tough to predict what your rent will be moving forward. However, your friend can give you some valuable input if you ask her about her most recent lease renewal. If her renewal is coming up soon, then you'll get some really good information.
But I also agree with the other posters. I think the Montrose/Midtown area of Houston makes certain areas of Austin look pretty conservative overall in comparison.
First time poster here, very glad to have found this website!
I'm really sorry if this comes off as way too long and detailed - just trying to paint an accurate picture!
My husband and I are both 28, born and raised in a suburb about 20 minutes outside of Cleveland, OH. (A.k.a. one of the parts of Ohio that is NOT farmland, in case you're not familiar. People always think farms when they hear Ohio...)
Let's just say we're pretty much at the point in our lives where we've been saying "We've got to get out of Ohio!" for way too many years, and frankly, it's time to either dance or get off the floor. We've rented apartments since 2008, and have never opted to house search here in Ohio because we know this isn't where we want to live out our lives. Even though this is "home", it's not HOME. I swear, this winter was my last here in OH. No more. Anyways, both of us are in jobs that we absolutely hate, the job market here in Cleveland is not that great, and we're at a point where we feel we literally have nothing to lose. Our lease is up in July, and we're thinking it's finally time to pull the trigger.
A few weeks ago, we visited some friends who live in Austin (near 2222 and 620), and we really enjoyed our time there. We got a pretty nice intro to Austin, though the weather wasn't too cooperative (though still worlds better than what was going on at home!). We had a rental car so we were able to get a feel for driving around Austin and Round Rock, and got to see Downtown Austin one of the nights we were there. Such a difference from Downtown Cleveland. Our city admittedly is in a rebuilding phase, but you still feel very unsafe except for in a few places. Austin felt very different! (On that note, I've read that the crime rates are quite low in Austin.)
I've done quite a bit of research on Austin so far, and I've loved just about everything I've read. Live music capital? Check. Dog-friendly city? Check. Outdoor activities aplenty? Check. Liberal? Check.We're music people, dog people, and happy to be doing anything outdoors. And quite honestly, I don't really know if we'd fit well elsewhere in Texas since it seems like the vast majority of cities are very conservative.
I guess where I'm going with this post is that I'd really love any input or advice anyone would like to share. Natives, recent transplants, anyone - I'd love to hear what you have to say.
A lot of people mention traffic as a real problem in Austin, which, yes, we did notice, but despite being heavy, it really moves. If you saw how senselessly the highways are designed here in Ohio, you'd be shocked. We were unbelievably impressed with how logical and smart everything is set up in Austin. But definitely still a concern.
My single biggest concern is the heat. I actually downloaded the day-by-day weather data for 2014 for Austin (data doesn't lie!) and I can observe that June, July, and August appear to consistently stay in the 90s, but it seems like the nights cool into the 70s? If so, that must be very nice! On summer days in Cle, a hot day equals usually a pretty hot and muggy night too.
In terms of economy, I was speaking with a San Antonio native who had moved to Austin 2 years ago, and she said Austin was a way higher cost of living than S.A. My husband and I did some grocery shopping at HEB while in Austin, and the prices were either equal to or cheaper than home, so we felt pretty good about that! Gas prices were cheaper in Austin than home during our stay. My friend mentioned that because so many people are moving to Austin, rent is going up. I saw she pays $840/month for a 1-bedroom (but very nice and very spacious) while we currently pay $779/mo here in Cle for a 2 bedroom. Though what we pay is definitely on the lower end of what we *could* be paying if we lived in some of the really ritzy suburbs of Cle, but for what we have it's a very fair price. So really, right around $800/mo is what we'd be expecting to pay for rent. We are lucky though that we don't pay any utilities except electric at this particular spot (though in the past we've lived elsewhere and had to pay electric, gas, and water/sewer).
In terms of careers, my husband would ideally be looking to get into the video game industry, which I hear is huge in Austin, so that would be a major plus for us choosing Austin. I have a background in art, but my formal degree is actually English (which is why I'm the one on here writing this - ha!). However, my career path has actually taken me into Project Management, so I'd be looking for something more along those lines. Ideally, if we decide to make this leap, we both would start looking as we prepare to move, but in the event we have to move cold turkey with no jobs, we're financially stable enough to do so and exist for a while. Not like we want to have it play out that way, but well what are our options? Keep rotting away in a place we're miserable? The data I've looked at seems to indicate that the median salaries in Austin are way better than Cle, so that is encouraging. However, hearing that so many people move to Austin daily, I feel like part of herd. That's a lot of competition. Kind of scary. It also worries me that the city is going to change for the worse if too many people (myself included) keep flocking in. I want to live somewhere awesome, but don't want to feel packed in like sardines. Guess it's hard to have your cake and eat it too...
My husband and I are definitely nature, outdoorsy-type people, actually very water-driven since I'm a Cancer and he's Pisces, so we've definitely considered the obvious like Florida and California so we could be coastal, but for plenty of reasons these seem like way more illogical choices than Austin. Also, I've never heard someone say "I hate living in Austin". You hear natives bad-mouthing Ohio constantly. Most people who are here would love to move out if it were easier. I don't want to not do it because it's hard. I'm ready for change. I'm ready for a new chapter. We want a young, happy city with great weather. What's more, I want to LOVE my city. I want to be proud of my city. Texas pride (and Austin pride) is undeniable. I would love to be part of that.
What do you think? Comments? Things I should be concerned about but am missing? Am I right to worry about the things I'm worrying about?
Thank you SO much - I really appreciate any and all comments!
- Brittany
I think you would be ok living wise and career wise. Austin is good for videogames and project managers. Your combined income should be around 180-200k. Just dont work for the state even though it might be easy to get a job there. Once you do it can be much harder to switch to the corporate world.
Ive never heard anyone say that our roads are sensibly designed.. They are pretty crazy with no loops around the city, very few east/west arteries, mistimed lights, lights on major highways and confusing name changes.
Outdoor activities = you stayed indoors in the winter in OH and will stay indoors in the summer here. Heat is oppressive at times.
Good luck.
I strongly disagree with you on this. In the winter you simply cannot do things outside for any length of time. In austin you can sit outside with a cool drink, swim in a pool, tubing, boating, water park, even go jogging early morning or late evenings.
Up north I have played hockey on the lake, gone sledding and ice fishing. But you cant simply hang out outside.
Im acclimated so I play sports outside without trouble in 100 degrees.
When temps are below freezing with snow on the ground you cant just hang out. In austin lots of people are out doing things.
Thanks! What's crazy is that I clicked your link and also put in Cleveland, which churned out the lowest # of all - $54,000. So yes, to your point, it seems that while Austin *might* hold potential for improvement versus Cleveland, it would not nearly be as great as other cities. Point well made.
When temps are below freezing with snow on the ground you cant just hang out. In austin lots of people are out doing things.
Also, never in recorded history has anyone in Austin had to shovel heat off their driveway to get a car out. No record of sliding off a road due to heat.
If you can get in the shade, Austin is bearable outdoors almost any day. Our outdoor kitchen has a TV, and we sit out there many July and August evenings watching it. Also have to dress right -- shorts, flip flops and a Tommy Bahama shirt is as dressed up as you will ever see many Austin males in the evening from June to September.
I just don't see what the big deal is, but then I grew up in this crazy weather state. Can understand why many can't make the adjustment.
I think you would be ok living wise and career wise. Austin is good for videogames and project managers. Your combined income should be around 180-200k. Just dont work for the state even though it might be easy to get a job there. Once you do it can be much harder to switch to the corporate world.
Ive never heard anyone say that our roads are sensibly designed.. They are pretty crazy with no loops around the city, very few east/west arteries, mistimed lights, lights on major highways and confusing name changes.
LOL our combined income here is 66K. My husband and I (especially him) are both grossly underemployed. We both work for terrible small companies that are unbelievably cheap. We both could be doing SO much better. Although admittedly, since about November we haven't been job searching because we figured why bother if we're just moving out of Ohio in July anyways....that would look terrible on a resume to have only been at a job for like 6ish months then decide to move out of state.
We know we're done here, it's just the matter of where oh where do we go.
I strongly disagree with you on this. In the winter you simply cannot do things outside for any length of time. In austin you can sit outside with a cool drink, swim in a pool, tubing, boating, water park, even go jogging early morning or late evenings.
Up north I have played hockey on the lake, gone sledding and ice fishing. But you cant simply hang out outside.
Im acclimated so I play sports outside without trouble in 100 degrees.
When temps are below freezing with snow on the ground you cant just hang out. In austin lots of people are out doing things.
I definitely don't want to be a "grass is always greener on the other side" type of person, but my own personal logic agrees with you. I fully admit, yes, I have never had 90+ days for weeks/months on end, so I don't know what that would be like. But I have of course experienced those temps and know what it feels like. It's got its challenges too, but it's nothing like being in Ohio winters of literally a month where the high temps don't even hit 20, like February this year. Or literally having wind chills to -23. You step outside for less than a minute and you're in danger of frostbite of any exposed skin. Your dog is in physical danger just by going out to go potty. Plus, good luck getting your car door open when it's frozen, good luck scraping the ice off your windshield, good luck getting it started, and good luck driving to work in whatever treacherous conditions nature throws at you, since workplaces do not close here no matter what happens. I can't imagine how anything could be worse than that. I'm not saying 90s on end is pleasant, but it's got to be better than this!
Not to mention what winters like this do to the roads, and in turn, what the pothole-riddled roads do to your car. It's quite common here to have potholes 1 foot deep and several feet wide, and one hit can cause your car hundreds of dollars in damage to repair. It's not pretty!
Thanks all, for your input! I have to ask this...since some of you are mentioning that even you yourself are considering moving out of Austin, what's your suggestion? What other cities might be worth looking into? We have another friend in Houston. We got to see San Antonio during our trip and found it okay, but liked Austin much better. I regret that we didn't get to see any of the coastal cities. We had plans to go see Corpus Christi, but they fell through.
Thanks all, for your input! I have to ask this...since some of you are mentioning that even you yourself are considering moving out of Austin, what's your suggestion? What other cities might be worth looking into? We have another friend in Houston. We got to see San Antonio during our trip and found it okay, but liked Austin much better. I regret that we didn't get to see any of the coastal cities. We had plans to go see Corpus Christi, but they fell through.
Austin is changing dramatically and rapidly. I see condo's and new buildings being built in spots I have spent decades traveling around and they are going up in a matter of a few months. What you see in Austin on one visit may be completely different a few months later and its pretty obvious that "the change" will not be stopping in the foreseeable future. Not all of it is bad, east austin used to be a dive and now only north east austin is a dive. A lot of it is bad, we have already lost a small chunk of Zilker park and it is only a matter of time before the city council carves it up like a thanksgiving turkey and sells it to developers.
I honestly could not say I would be willing to live anywhere else in Texas, seriously. Texas has a lot of great things going for it (mostly food), but for me there are a lot more minuses than pluses. You will not find a better job industry than in Austin, but there are a lot more over qualified people applying. There are a lot of fun things to do in this city (almost said town, its not a town any more) for a upper middle class small family. But the infrastructure of the city is straining under the masses. It is still a fairly liberal city with a liberal mindset (for now), but remember it is a blue dot in a very very red state.
But I can reassure you that you will only have to deal with honest to god snow about once every 4-7 years, although what we playfully refer to as "snow days" happens a couple times during the winter, try not to laugh at everybody when they shut down the city due to somebody spilling a cup of ice on the ground in December. If Austin does get snow, dont go out on to the street or you will get run over by some maniac who has no idea how to drive on icy roads. As for the heat.....buy a box fan, get used to $200 ac/electrical bills and learn to love the life saving elixir known as Ice Tea.
My husband and I did some grocery shopping at HEB while in Austin, and the prices were either equal to or cheaper than home, so we felt pretty good about that!
FYI, the cost of living here is not high because of staples like groceries (which are plentiful, awesome, and cheaper than I had them on the East coast) but due chiefly to housing and property taxes. It's also 'high' compared to the rest of Texas. It's still a good deal if you're coming from NYC or LA or Chicago.
Remember also that you are getting a rather odd sample by looking at this board. Most people here have been here for a long time and they very reasonably have a complaint that Austin today is very different than it was 10, 20, or 30 years ago. Those of us (like me) who moved here within the last few years seem to be a little more positive about it, even if the things that brought us here then are slightly worse off now between traffic and COL. A good job and a good house and things to do all have less value if you have to sit on the highway to get to them or if there are hordes of people already at where you're trying to go out.
I still recommend Austin very highly but with some extra caveats. The value proposition is not as good as it was in many areas. If I had to leave, I'd probably try Dallas sooner than Houston, or else a place like Raleigh or Nashville. I'm not leaving anytime soon though!
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