Escape from New York to Texas - Help (Dallas, San Antonio: big house, job market)

[Brownpine]

I just returned to NYC after living in Austin for 3 years. I agree with others that the OP should rent a few months before committing to an area. I continue to scratch my head at how people can just buy their way into a city that they know very little about. The market is so hot in Austin that unless you're there, you can only view a home through Zillow videos and your realtor's Facetime. Lastly, "wokesters" are all over Austin - check the voting record for the city over the past several years. Not all of Texas is deep red and conservative. Good luck on your relocation.

[QueenstoLI]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

I am not sure how your location will affect your kids commute in 5 years...unless they are living in your basement .

But there are pretty much no basements here, so never mind.

Anyway, there are a lot of options, since it sounds like both kids will be out of high school, so schools are not an issue (I assume?). It is kinda of hard to narrow down without more criteria, other than very broadly that westerly is more into the hill country. The further you get out of the city of Austin property, the less expensive it becomes. How rural are you looking for? Do you want some land? Also, you are going to lose a lot in the restaurant scene no matter where you end up. It isn't world-class in Austin (especially compared to NY). Are you coming from NYC? Or elsewhere in NY?

Make sure you look at the property taxes, they are New Jersey-ish in rate and you do not get the retiree 'discounts' until you are 65. There's lots of minutiae to get into - water supplier, propane/gas supplier, electric provider (muni, coop, or market, HOA (or not).

There are many greenbelts around for decent hiking, but not a whole lot of public land outside the state parks.

Some places to consider - Dripping Springs, Wimberley, Buda, Georgetown for a bit more outside Austin. Leander, Cedar Park, Plugerville, Round Rock for right near Austin. Do you want a lake house or near a lake? Burnet is a bit further out, but Lake Buchanan draws quite a few active retirees. Or Fredericksbug, although it is 1.5 hrs from Austin and maybe 1 hour from SA?

I grew up in NYC (Queens) then moved to Long Island. Other than the food it is a horrible place to live and raise a family. Cost of living is ridiculous, traffic, weather and people leave a lot to be desired. Thanks for the suggestions.

[QueenstoLI]

Originally Posted by atxcio

Interesting take. Why do you think that? Is it in response to the OP's requirement that there should be good hiking nearby? Because if so, I'd certainly include 78704 (Barton Creek Greenbelt) and 78731 (Bull Creek Greenbelt/Mt Bonnell). And to a lesser extent, several other areas within 1 hour west of Austin.

But if not for the hiking requirement, there sure seems to be a lot of out-of-towners opting for Downtown and East Austin.

The real question I would have for the OP is, you will be in your 50's. How long have you lived in NY or on the East Coast? If you have always lived in that area, there will be severe culture shock moving here. Maybe it won't be so bad in close-in Austin areas, but once you venture out of about a 20-mile radius, you are going to see a very, very different world than you are used to. I'm not saying it's bad, but it will be very different, and change can be tough as you get older.

Lived in NYC my whole life but the past 10 years moved to Long Island (not exactly rural) but less congested. It is just a horrible place to live. I do not want me kids staying here. You need to make a minimum of 75K just to be able to rent a 1 bedroom in NYC metro. A small home in decent area is 500k..

[CarnivalGal]

Originally Posted by atxcio

Interesting take. Why do you think that? Is it in response to the OP's requirement that there should be good hiking nearby? Because if so, I'd certainly include 78704 (Barton Creek Greenbelt) and 78731 (Bull Creek Greenbelt/Mt Bonnell). And to a lesser extent, several other areas within 1 hour west of Austin.

But if not for the hiking requirement, there sure seems to be a lot of out-of-towners opting for Downtown and East Austin.

The real question I would have for the OP is, you will be in your 50's. How long have you lived in NY or on the East Coast? If you have always lived in that area, there will be severe culture shock moving here. Maybe it won't be so bad in close-in Austin areas, but once you venture out of about a 20-mile radius, you are going to see a very, very different world than you are used to. I'm not saying it's bad, but it will be very different, and change can be tough as you get older.

There is no way the OP is going to get 2700+ square feet for that price in either of those zip codes.

I do agree with the culture shock. As someone who is from the Northeast myself, I can not stress this enough. It is more than just weather and topography.

[whereiend]

Seems like a questionable fit overall. Austin won't be less traffic than NYC, and it won't be much of a cost savings either, assuming that you aren't in Manhattan. (I doubt living in Austin is much cheaper than Long Island). IMO you get a lot more for your money in NYC from an amenities standpoint. In Austin you'll get more land, but personally I don't know that land provides much happiness, particularly given the heat and mosquitos.

For conservative, close to nature, and good for retired people, I'd suggest New Braunfels, Wimberly, Dripping Springs, Marble Dallas, Lakeway, Lago Vista perhaps?

[JT24hr]

Originally Posted by whereiend

Seems like a questionable fit overall. Austin won't be less traffic than NYC, and it won't be much of a cost savings either, assuming that you aren't in Manhattan. (I doubt living in Austin is much cheaper than Long Island). IMO you get a lot more for your money in NYC from an amenities standpoint. In Austin you'll get more land, but personally I don't know that land provides much happiness, particularly given the heat and mosquitos.

For conservative, close to nature, and good for retired people, I'd suggest New Braunfels, Wimberly, Dripping Springs, Marble Dallas, Lakeway, Lago Vista perhaps?

I kind of question this response.

Austin traffic is much less than NYC, California, etc.. Those who say Austin traffic is worse, have not really lived in high traffic areas in LA\the Bay\OC, or NYC.

The house value is tremendous as you get a substantially larger house and a larger lot than you would in the aforementioned places. Even what people in Texas consider a small lot are pretty large compared to those places. Amenities are a very subjective thing as we all value things differently. I'll take the Texas heat over northeastern winters any day. Actually, I'll take Austin's heat over NYC's humidity as well. California has better weather, hands down, but the cost of living is much more there.

[Need4Camaro]

Yeah traffic wise NYC has Austin beat handily no contest. I hate driving in NYC, I avoid at all costs, take transit instead. Driving in Austin is a breeze by comparison. CoL gets subjective but you get more house for the same dollar in Austin than you do in NYC. At the same token what you sacrifice in square footage in NYC you gain in urbanity, amenities, transit, ect. But you can surprisingly find comparably priced homes, you just get more out of that home in Austin. Lately though with the massive RE boom though prices have heavily inflated and Austin isn’t as easily the bargain it was years past. Coming from NY with a budget of $700k one can still get a much nicer home. I don’t know about those square footage though. That definitely isn’t happening close to downtown. In some of the suburbs it’s a maybe but you most likely will not have the views given the current RE climate.

[whereiend]

Originally Posted by JT24hr

I kind of question this response.

Austin traffic is much less than NYC, California, etc.. Those who say Austin traffic is worse, have not really lived in high traffic areas in LA\the Bay\OC, or NYC.

The house value is tremendous as you get a substantially larger house and a larger lot than you would in the aforementioned places. Even what people in Texas consider a small lot are pretty large compared to those places. Amenities are a very subjective thing as we all value things differently. I'll take the Texas heat over northeastern winters any day. Actually, I'll take Austin's heat over NYC's humidity as well. California has better weather, hands down, but the cost of living is much more there.

Obviously NYC has worse traffic, but it also has a world class public transit system...

My point is that if you are moving to Austin because you don't like traffic, you should reevaluate that decision. Particularly if your budget/desires are not compatible with living centrally.

Re: real estate, depends what we are comparing. Far suburbs of Austin are cheap; Manhatten is super expensive. Long Island vs. Central Austin, however, I don't think Austin is much more affordable if any. If you adjust for things like walkability, NYC is likely straight-up more affordable. If you want a big house with space to breathe, Austin is going to clearly win.

[Roadking2003]

Originally Posted by riaelise

While not uber liberal austin not particularly conservative either and is probably getting more liberal by the year.

Hmmm.....yes, the city of Austin is uber-liberal.

[Roadking2003]

Originally Posted by whereiend

Seems like a questionable fit overall. Austin won't be less traffic than NYC, and it won't be much of a cost savings either,

You are joking, right? Have you ever driven in NYC? Austin traffic is miserable but still no where near as bad as NYC.

And the cost of living??????? Get real.