Visiting Austin in December to see if we could live here :) (Houston: apartments, rentals)

[stephanie214]

My husband and I, and our 1 year old are coming out to Dallas for me to do a professional development course, and while we are in Texas we plan to come down to Austin for about 3.5 days (outside of the drive time). We are born and raised San Diegans, but the cost of living is just getting too much to bare here. We live in a 1 bedroom and pay $1400 a month and are scraping by. We both work in the fitness industry; i am a Pilates instructor and my husband is a personal trainer and a volleyball coach. We have never been to Texas outside of Houston when I was in highschool, but we have heard so many great things about Austin. The vibe of the city, the outdoor activities, and the fact that it's still relatively affordable and a good place to raise a family. We will be coming into town Monday December 4th and leaving Thursday December 7th. I would LOVE to know some ideas of places to check out that would give us a sense for the city life, culture and family atmosphere. I don't really want to do typical touristy stuff, but rather to spend those days as if we live there. We have a close friend that just moved to Leander and has said Cedar Park is a great family area. I know our timing isn't long but it's all we could afford to be away from work (in our line of work there really isn't any PTO lol). Our friend will tour us around a bit on the 5th but I want to hear some suggestions. Also, we are looking into an AirBnB... what areas should I target my search to really get a small feel for what it would be like in a place we may raise a family (outside of Cedar Park which is already on my list). Thanks sooooo much!

[centralaustinite]

Oh boy! Austin isn't really a low cost of living destination any more!

From Rent Jungle" "As of October 2017, average rent for an apartment in Austin, TX is $1406 which is a 3.98% decrease from last year when the average rent was $1462 , and a 0.5% increase from last month when the average rent was $1399.

One bedroom apartments in Austin rent for $1229 a month on average (a 4.23% decrease from last year) and two bedroom apartment rents average $1562 (a 3.84% decrease from last year)."

Almost certainly jobs in the fitness industry pay less in Texas than in CA. Please be sure to check into local salaries before making a move. Your best definitely is to look at the far suburbs (Leander, Cedar Park, Liberty Hill to the north, Buda and Kyle to the south) to reduce your rent costs -- just be careful you don't end up with a killer (and expensive commute).

[Austinite76]

Originally Posted by stephanie214

My husband and I, and our 1 year old are coming out to Dallas for me to do a professional development course, and while we are in Texas we plan to come down to Austin for about 3.5 days (outside of the drive time). We are born and raised San Diegans, but the cost of living is just getting too much to bare here. We live in a 1 bedroom and pay $1400 a month and are scraping by. We both work in the fitness industry; i am a Pilates instructor and my husband is a personal trainer and a volleyball coach. We have never been to Texas outside of Houston when I was in highschool, but we have heard so many great things about Austin. The vibe of the city, the outdoor activities, and the fact that it's still relatively affordable and a good place to raise a family. We will be coming into town Monday December 4th and leaving Thursday December 7th. I would LOVE to know some ideas of places to check out that would give us a sense for the city life, culture and family atmosphere. I don't really want to do typical touristy stuff, but rather to spend those days as if we live there. We have a close friend that just moved to Leander and has said Cedar Park is a great family area. I know our timing isn't long but it's all we could afford to be away from work (in our line of work there really isn't any PTO lol). Our friend will tour us around a bit on the 5th but I want to hear some suggestions. Also, we are looking into an AirBnB... what areas should I target my search to really get a small feel for what it would be like in a place we may raise a family (outside of Cedar Park which is already on my list). Thanks sooooo much!

Your #1 challenge is going to be finding employment that pays anything close to what you make now, and balancing that with the fact that central Austin (the hip cool vibe-y part you’re hearing about) is just as expensive as San Diego. Add in utility bills that will easily be triple what you’re currently paying, car insurance that will be double, and you’re right back where you started.

If you’re dead set on it, check out Wells Branch, Pflugerville and SE Round Rock.

Just don’t expect to find jobs in those fields easily, unless you’re going to go the Lifetime/Golds/LAF/24HR route.

[stephanie214]

Originally Posted by Austinite76

Your #1 challenge is going to be finding employment that pays anything close to what you make now, and balancing that with the fact that central Austin (the hip cool vibe-y part you’re hearing about) is just as expensive as San Diego. Add in utility bills that will easily be triple what you’re currently paying, car insurance that will be double, and you’re right back where you started.

If you’re dead set on it, check out Wells Branch, Pflugerville and SE Round Rock.

Just don’t expect to find jobs in those fields easily, unless you’re going to go the Lifetime/Golds/LAF/24HR route.

Thanks for this, we've already started researching and pay is surprisingly on par (not at the big box gyms). My question is what should we do/see/try/explore while we are there? I will concern myself with more logistics after we have visited the city and have a better feel for if we can see ourselves living there. we would most likely be starting our own training business wherever we end up moving.

[stephanie214]

Also, I get that it's getting more expensive in Austin (as many cities) but I just did a Zillow Search for homes in Austin under $260,000 and got over 500 results (including surrounding areas). I did a search in San Diego County, and got 1 result in the whole county.

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by stephanie214

Thanks for this, we've already started researching and pay is surprisingly on par (not at the big box gyms). My question is what should we do/see/try/explore while we are there? I will concern myself with more logistics after we have visited the city and have a better feel for if we can see ourselves living there. we would most likely be starting our own training business wherever we end up moving.

learn about the neighborhoods , check price ranges for rentals on austinhomesearch.com (you might have to dig to find the rental option) to find where you can afford to live.

Then drive around those areas. Drive the highways during rush hour.

[ClaraC]

Hi Stephanie. I agree that Cedar Park and Leander are good places. Round Rock also.

And if you want a feel of the Austin "vibe" of Central Austin, check out the brand new Public Library (I'm not kidding, it's spectacular) at Lamar and 1st st. Go up to the 6th floor garden outdoor balcony and check out the kid's library room and exploration building room.
From there you can walk around downtown if the weather is pretty, and walk up Congress Ave a little bit. You can see straight up the street 14 blocks to the capitol and it's a cool old vibe.

Check out the Mueller Area, which is a planned living community with The Thinkery children's museum. Fabulous area, kind and patient people. It's a little walking community with homes and shops and restaurants and on the weekends a farmers market.

The Old Downtown Round Rock is also new and freshened up and makes for a fun walk.

Twin Lakes Park in Leander is a fun place to go, right behind Twin Lakes YMCA that a lot of families belong to. On 183 in Cedar Park.

The Domain on Mopac in North Austin is a fun walking community also. RockRose street has fun and interesting restaurants.

The Oasis restaurant is ENORMOUS and offers fabulous views of the lake. An Austin Icon. Heated balony seating and indoor seating.

[hound 109]

Originally Posted by stephanie214

Also, I get that it's getting more expensive in Austin (as many cities) but I just did a Zillow Search for homes in Austin under $260,000 and got over 500 results (including surrounding areas). I did a search in San Diego County, and got 1 result in the whole county.

Del Valle, Lockhart and Giddings. Fake search.

OP......Why Austin? (Why not Dallas, Fort Worth, OKC, Nashville, Charlotte or 12 other cities?)

[CarnivalGal]

I would advise visiting again in August. A lot of those "outdoor activities" you talk about are off the table for a lot of folks (like me) for half the year because of the heat.

[ashbeeigh]

Haha. Houses under 260k. 90% are probably tear downs on the east side and the other 10%, as said before, are not Austin proper. Feel free to come down and “explore” Austin in December. But, also know you aren’t catching Austin in peak “Austin.” If you search other relocation threads many will say to come in the summer when the weather is hot. It can be kind of warm in December, but you also won’t see the heat.

In regard to starting your own training program/gym in the area...it may be tough. We’re a fitness minded city and have boot camps, running groups and speciality stores left and right. When someone mentioned Mueller, I cringed. There are at least three small business fitness spots, a barre gym, orange theory, a small gym and then camp gladiator that runs camps all day from 5am until 7pm six days a week, please do some more research about the city and have some other options.