Looking to relocate from NY to Austin (Round Rock, Spring: 2013, condo)

[DainaMarie]

Hello everyone!

I am a 30 year old teacher looking to relocate from NY to Austin. I have visted the Austin area once before and fell in love with it! I am into the artsy, liberal, free spirited feel of the area, but I also LOVE the city life!

My questions are:

1. How is the hiring market in the Austin school district? I am certified birth-6th grade special education as well as 1st-6th regular education. Ideally, I'd like to be in a public school with the lower grades, but I am also interested/ experienced in early childhood (intervention and schools) as well.

2. Are there many nearby water-related activities such as lakes and rivers?

3. Where would be the best place to look in order to live in an area that is safe, young (20s and 30s), and easy to reach the city life?

4. How is commuting to outside of Austin? I have been speaking with an early intervention center in Round Rock.

Thank you all so much for any and all advice you can give! I need to make this decision within the week and I am SO indecisive!!!

[clarksvillemom]

Hi, hope it works out! I personally wouldn't live or commute to RR since it doens't feel like Austin to me (but I'm biased towards central Austin/city life). I commute to RR sometimes, and getting there from downtown takes about 25 minutes which is not bad. Getting back home takes an hour at least. But my schedule is such that i'm leaving when everyone else is. Based on your description I'd say central Austin would be good for you - look at my post to the person asking for investment properties for specific neighborhoods. There are tons of water activities here - if you live close to downtown or in central, you can easily get to Town Lake (now called Lady Bird Lake) to hike, bike, canoe, stand up paddle, etc. Of course there's Lake Austin and Lake Travis nearby. I can't say what the public school teacher market is like here. Texas in my opinion, doesn't put a lot into education. Lots of cuts, esp. with our lovely leadership in this state. Again, my opinion. However, there are some really good elem. look at Mathews, Bryker Woods, Pease, Zilker, Casis. And there are some really cool private schools like St. Francis (non-denom. despite the name), Primavera, The Children's School, St. Andrew's, Austin Montessori, etc.

[austin_res]

1. How is the hiring market in the Austin school district? I am certified birth-6th grade special education as well as 1st-6th regular education. Ideally, I'd like to be in a public school with the lower grades, but I am also interested/ experienced in early childhood (intervention and schools) as well.
I'm not too familiar with the job market in education. Texas doesn't seem to allocate much of its budget on education. Check out school districts in Austin area: Round Rock, Pflugerville, Eanes to name a few.

2. Are there many nearby water-related activities such as lakes and rivers?
There is Town Lake (now called Lady Bird Lake), Lake Austin, and Lake Travis. There is also Barton Springs pool. Plenty of opportunities for swimming, hiking, biking, kayaking, boating.

3. Where would be the best place to look in order to live in an area that is safe, young (20s and 30s), and easy to reach the city life?
Downtown area and central Austin. Northwest Austin is also a good spot - it is 15-20 minute drive to downtown and there is also the train and several express bus routes.

4. How is commuting to outside of Austin? I have been speaking with an early intervention center in Round Rock.
I would try to live as close to your job as possible. Traffic during rush hours is often congested.

[passionatearts]

Now is a terrible time to be looking for a job as a teacher in Texas. The state just made huge budget cuts to education, and school districts have been slashing jobs. I know several teachers who have barely hung onto their jobs while many of their colleagues were laid off.

[hsc2]

I would look at private schools for jobs - in addition to the above Abercorn International, Magellan, Steiner Ranch Montessori

[passionatearts]

Also, it's back to school time now, so it's too late to be looking for a job as a teacher in the public schools. You would have had to begin your search much earlier in the year.

[lbktm]

I relocated from NY to Austin in April 2011. I had a very difficult time relating to the cultural change, but I truly love living here. The sun shines every day, the traffic is nothing compared to major metro areas, and cost of living is really low. I just bought a much bigger condo than I could have on my own before.

[DainaMarie]

Thank you all SO much for your input!!!!

[rogramjet]

I moved here from New York about five years ago. And I can't wait to get back to New York. Austin has lots of positive things about it, but don't get fooled by the hype. The weather is extreme, in all seasons. But mainly, it's just hot. It rarely rains here, too. If you are susceptible to allergies, you will feel like you've died and gone to hell. The level of customer service, whether it be restaurants, stores, dry cleaners, you name it, really is poor overall. Nordstrom's even sucks here. If you plan to buy property, the taxes in Austin are crazy high. And we're about to get socked with big increases in property taxes from all the multiple taxing entities for 2013, and there's at least five taxing entities for my house. This highway robbery is offset somewhat by no state income tax, but you still feel the burn every month if you own a house. BTW, don't get too carried away by the notion that Austin is liberal. I would equate an Austin liberal to a New York republican, e.g. George Pataki-like. And don't even get me started on the hoardes of homeless zombies that wander the whole city. A truly progressive city would attempt to do something about this problem. I would definitely spend some time down here in the summer to see if you really want to leave New York.

[sxrckr]

Originally Posted by rogramjet

I moved here from New York about five years ago. And I can't wait to get back to New York. Austin has lots of positive things about it, but don't get fooled by the hype. The weather is extreme, in all seasons. But mainly, it's just hot. It rarely rains here, too. If you are susceptible to allergies, you will feel like you've died and gone to hell. The level of customer service, whether it be restaurants, stores, dry cleaners, you name it, really is poor overall. Nordstrom's even sucks here. If you plan to buy property, the taxes in Austin are crazy high. And we're about to get socked with big increases in property taxes from all the multiple taxing entities for 2013, and there's at least five taxing entities for my house. This highway robbery is offset somewhat by no state income tax, but you still feel the burn every month if you own a house. BTW, don't get too carried away by the notion that Austin is liberal. I would equate an Austin liberal to a New York republican, e.g. George Pataki-like. And don't even get me started on the hoardes of homeless zombies that wander the whole city. A truly progressive city would attempt to do something about this problem. I would definitely spend some time down here in the summer to see if you really want to leave New York.

SF is considered progressive and they have lots of homeless....
The problem, I think, is that progressiveness isn't what it's cracked up to be, but that's another topic.