Moving from Provo to Austin

[Trainwreck20]

Originally Posted by mjacobson7

[...]I would like to live in an area that's family friendly. I'm looking at living in-around south-west Austin.

Then you are probably good to go with any of them .

West of Mopac is slightly more sought after, and as you go any significant distance east of Mopac you end up in a feeder pattern to Crockett HS, which is significantly below Bowie or Austin HS (where most of that area feeds).

Circle C, Western Oaks, Villages of Western Oaks, Meridian are all in the 'near' SW Austin area.

I am assuming family friendly means parks, good schools, and above average number of kids. I can't say I am aware of an area that is actually family unfriendly, but some areas do have more kids than others....

[centralaustinite]

Good things are happening at Crockett HS though! I wouldn't rule it out especially for a family with very young kids now. It is improving rapidly and has some great programs and teachers. It won't ever be Bowie with its huge size and more homogeneous students and Westlake-lite vibe but Crockett seems poised to become more like McCallum, smaller school, diverse students (ethnically and economically) exceptional fine arts and good academic achievement. They seem to be well on their way and will only improve over the next 10 years.

OP, what is your price range? SW Austin, Circle C etc all sound like good fits.

[Trainwreck20]

Originally Posted by centralaustinite

Good things are happening at Crockett HS though! I wouldn't rule it out especially for a family with very young kids now. It is improving rapidly and has some great programs and teachers. It won't ever be Bowie with its huge size and more homogeneous students and Westlake-lite vibe but Crockett seems poised to become more like McCallum, smaller school, diverse students (ethnically and economically) exceptional fine arts and good academic achievement. They seem to be well on their way and will only improve over the next 10 years.

I hear the talk all the time and have for many years now; however, the people I know that went to school there still say 'no way' to sending their own kids there. I also hear lots of empty-nesters and private school aficionados are moving into the area as opposed to traditional public-school families. I have no idea if it is accurate or to what extent, but I am not setting a time-frame for Crockett to become a 'good' school.

As for diversity, I guess you could say it is more diverse - it is less ethnically diverse than Bowie or Austin HS, though - Crockett's largest ethnic group is Hispanic (75%), followed by Caucasian (16%) and AA (7%), Austin HS is 45% of both Hispanic and Caucasian, AA (5%), and Bowie is 51% Caucasian, 35% Hispanic, 5% Asian, 5% mixed, 4% AA.

Economically, Crockett is 62% disadvantaged, vs 28% for Austin and 12% for Bowie.

[Angie682]

Originally Posted by Katzpur

The OP never even mentioned his religion. Why make an issue of it if he's not even LDS? And even if he is a Mormon, it's entirely possible that he doesn't wish to make his religion a point of discussion here. There are Mormons in all 50 states and in more than that number of foreign countries. The idea that they are entirely unadaptable is complete nonsense.

Utah native here..."tpyical Utah family" = Mormon. Clearly they are not interested in hanging out on 6th street.

Austin is a nice place to live. I lived there for several years when it was cheaper... Lots of fun things to do. Traffic, property taxes and summer in Texas not so great... Summer in Texas is like winter in Utah.

The biggest difference is the weather. I left Utah 20 years ago and am still not used to it. It does not cool down here at night like in Utah and I still miss the mountains...Austin is more scenic than DFW and other parts of Texas. Most people are friendly.

[earthisle]

I would stay in Provo unless there is something you really like about Austin. If you like your church and if you like the outdoors and if you like small town life, stay in Provo

[dbsteel]

Originally Posted by mjacobson7

I'm a software developer in Provo, UT. Recently I've been presented the opportunity to work for a software company in Austin (soco area). The company is flying me out there next week for a face to face interview. I've spoken with their team on numerous occasions. Just wanted to get an idea of what life is like out there and see if would be a good fit for my family. We're your typical Utah family (we are in our late twenties with two kids, and we don't drink). I don't mind humidity and I prefer heat over cold, so I like the idea. I'll know more once I get a chance to visit. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

If you don't drink, that cuts the entertainment options in Austin in half

[DCtoTejas]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

I hear the talk all the time and have for many years now; however, the people I know that went to school there still say 'no way' to sending their own kids there. I also hear lots of empty-nesters and private school aficionados are moving into the area as opposed to traditional public-school families. I have no idea if it is accurate or to what extent, but I am not setting a time-frame for Crockett to become a 'good' school.

As for diversity, I guess you could say it is more diverse - it is less ethnically diverse than Bowie or Austin HS, though - Crockett's largest ethnic group is Hispanic (75%), followed by Caucasian (16%) and AA (7%), Austin HS is 45% of both Hispanic and Caucasian, AA (5%), and Bowie is 51% Caucasian, 35% Hispanic, 5% Asian, 5% mixed, 4% AA.

Economically, Crockett is 62% disadvantaged, vs 28% for Austin and 12% for Bowie.

Just wanted to add that not all SW Austin is Bowier or Crockett. Further east of MoPac neighborhoods feed into Akins as well. I think it has similar demographics to Crockett but is a newer school. I don't have kids, so I have no first hand experience with any of them.

[Trainwreck20]

And Travis High School .

[lighthouse2000]

Hello,

We Love it here!! We came from Utah, we have twins who were 9 year old when we moved here 3 years ago, and we love it, better public schools than in Utah, more activities for families than in Utah, the weather is great even that some people complain about the summer but even when it hits 100 for several days in a row we did not mind it. Humidity is tolerable because is not as high as the Texas coast or Florida.

There are several families who have moved from Utah living all over the place, probably the biggest concentration is around Round Rock and Georgetown. We live in the Lake Travis School district, it is beautiful and super safe. We have friends and relatives who came from Utah in Steiner, Lake Travis, Georgetown, etc..

Food is great, traffic can be bad but not like California, depending on where you live.

We own our business working from home. Very entrepreneurial city with great people.

Originally Posted by mjacobson7

I'm a software developer in Provo, UT. Recently I've been presented the opportunity to work for a software company in Austin (soco area). The company is flying me out there next week for a face to face interview. I've spoken with their team on numerous occasions. Just wanted to get an idea of what life is like out there and see if would be a good fit for my family. We're your typical Utah family (we are in our late twenties with two kids, and we don't drink). I don't mind humidity and I prefer heat over cold, so I like the idea. I'll know more once I get a chance to visit. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

[lighthouse2000]

As we say we came from Utah, but we are not LDS, however, some of our friends are, there are 6 LDS chapels through Austin, We have one just 3 miles from us, and my sister in law who lives in Georgetown has her just a couple of miles away.