Desperate situation calls for desperate measures! (Austin, Howe: rent, crime, employment)

[^Eagle^]

Hey guys

I'm a northerner (yankee I guess) who relocated to Florida in November seeking a better quality of life and an easy place to network and start fresh -- Id been living near family most of my life in a dead end state.

I did ok for a while but the place I picked was too seasonal and small and now Im looking at the rest of the state of florida and none of it seems to come without huge drawbacks.

The crime is high so it's hard to find a good room in a good location that is close to the action, people have their guard up.

In south florida people tend to be very glamorous, superficial, and snobby which makes it tricky to meet the right people and get a good restaurant job. Their season is also in low season which means it's even harder to find work in the industry.

Im in Orlando now but find it hard to find work and hard to find housing, and while the people are much better Im not sure I will ever find a room close to downtown that is affordable and jobs are just as hard to come by, even harder than south florida in some ways because there are less of them.

I have a business degree but getting out of the restaurant industry with that is impossible in Florida as most jobs pay minimum wage. 9 dollars an hour is a high paying job entry level!! Thats why restaurants are my best chance to make good money. Ive looked at schools but most colleges are not ranked too well overall.

I have 2 grand right now and am starting to think crazy. My current job only pays 200 a week which isnt enough to cover all expenses and Im thinking of taking off, that maybe this state isnt for me.

Austin ranks high over and over for young people.

My priorities is to find a fun place to live with laid back easy going people where it's easy to make friends. I also want a chance at landing a good job that will be stable for me and maybe even allow me to save some money. Finally I'm looking to live within a cheap cab ride or a walk to a thriving downtown with lots of nightlife and clubs/bars.

Help me figure out if I should make the drive?

[twange]

Howdy,

You would probably like Austin (at least at first) but I must warn you: there are THOUSANDS of people your age coming here for the same/similar reasons. That can be both good and bad. Good because I think you would be able to find a good room-mate with similar goals/interests but bad because the competition for jobs will be greater. But I don't think you'd have a hard time finding a restaurant job and it should be more consistent as Austin is not "seasonal" like Orlando. What I'm not sure about is the net possible income difference comparing Orlando and Austin: Orlando might be slow now but during the busy season, you could probably make waaaay more than at any time in Austin.

Good luck!

[^Eagle^]

Originally Posted by twange

Howdy,

You would probably like Austin (at least at first) but I must warn you: there are THOUSANDS of people your age coming here for the same/similar reasons. That can be both good and bad. Good because I think you would be able to find a good room-mate with similar goals/interests but bad because the competition for jobs will be greater. But I don't think you'd have a hard time finding a restaurant job and it should be more consistent as Austin is not "seasonal" like Orlando. What I'm not sure about is the net possible income difference comparing Orlando and Austin: Orlando might be slow now but during the busy season, you could probably make waaaay more than at any time in Austin.

Good luck!

Well I heard from someone that Austin has a 3 percent unemployment rate or job growth rate. Orlando unemployment rate is 12 percent and florida ranks 5th to worst state for employment numbers. I also heard that Austin has other stable fields to pick from for entry level jobs outside of the restaurant industry while in Florida it's either construction (even thats hurting) service industry or health care. With health care you need the (insert your degree) degree. Also in Florida most call center jobs are cold calling sales, there's very little normal call center jobs.

Not looking for people to tell me what I want to hear by any means, if you have some stuff to say then say it. Last thing I need is to drive all the way over there and fail. It would be much easier to just stay here but if I think that I would be happier there and have a better shot at success I may just pick up and go.

[centralaustinite]

Austin is knee-deep in college students. Many entry level employers are able to pick from a large pool of both degreed applicants and students.

I'm not sure if the prevailing wage is any higher for entry work in Austin, it may well be lower. Thankfully, it has been a while since I had to look for entry level jobs, hopefully someone will chime in with recent experience. But be aware that Austin has always had a huge number of college students and recent grads trying to stay in town -- that keeps wages down and jobs fairly scarce.

[G Grasshopper]

A quick check on Google showed several references to the unemployment rate in the Austin area to be around 7 to 7.5%. That was for February, 2010.

[orbius]

Its actually 8.4% in Austin but thats under counting the real rate since Texas doesnt count out of state people as unemployed until they've had residence here for a year.
I'd say the real unemployment rate in Austin is at least 10% if not higher because of all the out of state people here. Really unless you want low paying retail/waiting/bar work or have very specific highly technical qualifications theres not that much in Austin.

[^Eagle^]

Ok then.

So it sounds like Austin is no better off than florida.

Thanks.

[austinitelookingtohelp]

Originally Posted by ^Eagle^

Ok then.

So it sounds like Austin is no better off than florida.

Thanks.

I wouldn't necessarily say so, and I also wouldn't listen to those statistics from orbius, he is very biased against anything Austin. Here is a link to a file from the TWC website that shows the current percentages of unemployment for every area in Texas. Austin for March 2010 was at 7.1%.

http://www.twc.state.tx.us/news/pres...1610epress.pdf

You would enjoy the night life here as well, as it is pretty active Thursday-Sunday, and somewhat even on Wednesday.

Good luck!

[^Eagle^]

Well I do have to admit I was surprised to hear the discouragement but if Texas doesn't report unemployed people who have lived there less than a year than that would entirely explain their lower unemployment numbers when compared to the rest of the country.

As far as competition from college students, I would think that's a problem anywhere one might go and look at colleges in the area as a bonus. I am a graduate myself as well. I can't think of too many places one could happily live without competition for jobs unless you live out in the sticks with nothing and then the problem is no jobs period. lol.

I just figured with the lower unemployment and more diversified and stable economy (more so than florida for sure) that it might be a good move, but it looks like Im outnumbered.

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by ^Eagle^

Ok then.

So it sounds like Austin is no better off than florida.

Thanks.

That is not accurate. The economic downturn has effected Austin far less then most any other place in the US. Property values have remained fairly stable and Austin will probably recover from the downturn better then most places. However, a lot of people have learned these things and are looking to move to Austin. If too many move here it could become very difficult to find housing or jobs for all the newcomers who may arrive. Cost of living and rent is lower in Austin.

Here is a comparison I did of Austin Vs. Orlando:

https://www.city-data.com/forum/10110887-post12.html