Is Austin really that different from LA? (West: fit in, renting)

[mistersocks]

We are considering leaving LA and relocating to Austin, among a few other cities. We visited Austin for a wedding 7 yrs ago and loved the city. After pouring over the threads on city data, I am concerned that Austin has become so popular and expensive that a move for our family might not be worth it. I think the south or southwest areas of Austin would be best for us from what I have read. We would like to live in a smaller city where we can buy a 1500 sq/ft home for less than $400K in a liberal neighborhood with good public schools from elementary through high school. We also prefer a small town vibe or a walking neighborhood with trees, cultural diversity, and creative types, and friendly people. We are aging artists/ hipsters (sort of) in our 40s with three young kids, 3, 5 and 7. We are also not from California originally. I know it is a bit of a cliche for Californians to relocate to Austin. We have lived in LA for 10 yrs and we are tired of the competition for everything...jobs..homes..parking spots at Trader Joe's. Does Austin really offer a different lifestyle?

[Austin97]

austin is conservative you probably wouldnt like it if you are liberal

1) texas is about to pass open carry, you will see people carrying guns
2) small towns are even more conservative, your kids will probably end up being conservative or ostracized
3) austin doesnt have much cultural diversity, mostly white people especially in your price range
4) religion, they can still talk about christmas and jesus etc in schools here.


400K for a 1500 sq ft could put you virtually in the center of town so that isnt an issue, you can live almost anywhere. Although many areas outside of town wont have as much below 1800-2000 sq ft.

schools will be better than LA in your price range

Austin is much less expensive than LA, especially with time spent commuting or just being stuck in traffic.

[centralaustinite]

Plenty of liberal folks in Austin! But in a more libertarian sense.

Although I have always thought I'd live the rest of my life in Austin, if open carry passes, I might start looking elsewhere.

OP, walkability will be the toughest thing to find. You need a great realtor and about 3-4 days to visit and check out specific neighborhoods. Have you considered Oregon?

[Novacek]

Austin97 is either joking or intentionally trying to steer you wrong.

Austin is liberal (suburbs less so).

Austin is very diverse. Non-hispanic white is a minority (barely, 48% in 2010, probably a little lower now). Austin (city) QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by mistersocks

We are considering leaving LA and relocating to Austin, among a few other cities. We visited Austin for a wedding 7 yrs ago and loved the city. After pouring over the threads on city data, I am concerned that Austin has become so popular and expensive that a move for our family might not be worth it. I think the south or southwest areas of Austin would be best for us from what I have read. We would like to live in a smaller city where we can buy a 1500 sq/ft home for less than $400K in a liberal neighborhood with good public schools from elementary through high school. We also prefer a small town vibe or a walking neighborhood with trees, cultural diversity, and creative types, and friendly people. We are aging artists/ hipsters (sort of) in our 40s with three young kids, 3, 5 and 7. We are also not from California originally. I know it is a bit of a cliche for Californians to relocate to Austin. We have lived in LA for 10 yrs and we are tired of the competition for everything...jobs..homes..parking spots at Trader Joe's. Does Austin really offer a different lifestyle?

There are threads about this in Austin, too....although I've seen the competition for a TJ's parking spot FIRSTHAND !

[Novacek]

Originally Posted by Austin97

1) texas is about to pass open carry, you will see people carrying guns

Since the legislature isn't in session, I don't know how you can claim it's "about to pass".

[787]

Try the Zilker/Barton Hills track to Austin High. It's south. The north equivalent would be the McCallum track.

[austin-steve]

Originally Posted by mistersocks

We are considering leaving LA and relocating to Austin, among a few other cities. We visited Austin for a wedding 7 yrs ago and loved the city. After pouring over the threads on city data, I am concerned that Austin has become so popular and expensive that a move for our family might not be worth it. I think the south or southwest areas of Austin would be best for us from what I have read. We would like to live in a smaller city where we can buy a 1500 sq/ft home for less than $400K in a liberal neighborhood with good public schools from elementary through high school. We also prefer a small town vibe or a walking neighborhood with trees, cultural diversity, and creative types, and friendly people. We are aging artists/ hipsters (sort of) in our 40s with three young kids, 3, 5 and 7. We are also not from California originally. I know it is a bit of a cliche for Californians to relocate to Austin. We have lived in LA for 10 yrs and we are tired of the competition for everything...jobs..homes..parking spots at Trader Joe's. Does Austin really offer a different lifestyle?

You want things that are mutually exclusive in Austin, so you'll need to prioritize.

If you want your kids to receive great public school education K-12, and you want to have at least a semblance of your cultural wish list, SW Austin 78749/78739 is, I think, your only choice if you rule out more distant suburbs.

If you leave your judgements and labels about others and whether they fit into the boxes you want to put them in behind (hipster, artist, hippy, liberal, etc), and just meet them and talk with them as they present themselves to you, as parents, neighbors, co-workers, friends, artists, others in the gym, the grocery store, etc., you'll find that, for the most part, those labels don't matter in Austin. We all mix with each other, not separate.

Nobody really gives a rats *ss whether you are this or that, how you vote, what you think, your religion, etc. Coming from a place where the opposite is true, like L.A., that's hard for some to understand when considering Austin. We don't automatically rate, rank and sort those we meet. We just get to know them.

Yes, SW Austin leans Conservative, somewhat, but it's by no means a Liberal dessert. If there are unhappy liberals in SW Austin, it's not because they are judged harshly by others, or don't "fit in", it's because they themselves judge others harshly and can't get past their own prejudice and bias, and they don't actually get to know people. Like I tell my kids, the best Vitamin for having good friends is B1.

The age of your kids dictate that the next 15 years of your life will revolve around their upbringing and the social circles that the schooling, birthday parties, sports, activities, etc put you in. You'll find, in most of those circles, that other parents, no matter their "label", share your general parenting values, provided you are not out on some extreme edge of something, and that you actually like 90% of the people you meet despite not knowing which "category" to which they belong.

Raising 3 kids in a sub-2000 sqft home might be doable, but will get crowded as they grow. You'd be better off in a home you can grow into rather than one you grow out of. That will be very doable in your price range.

Welcome, and good luck.

Steve

[Idlewile]

Originally Posted by Novacek

Austin97 is either joking or intentionally trying to steer you wrong.

Austin is liberal (suburbs less so).

Austin is very diverse. Non-hispanic white is a minority (barely, 48% in 2010, probably a little lower now). Austin (city) QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau

Sorry, Austin97 is right on and I'm from LA. The OP specifically asked how different Austin is from LA; on those points, it's VERY DIFFERENT. Compared to LA , the Austin area, is conservative in it's beliefs and point of view. It is not as liberal as the media makes it out to be.

Compared to LA, Austin is not diverse by any stretch of the imagination.

My daughter came home from school yesterday singing a song about the Lord that she learned in her music class -- one that they sign every class time -- at a (top rated) PUBLIC school.

[theSUBlime]

Originally Posted by Idlewile

Sorry, Austin97 is right on and I'm from LA. The OP specifically asked how different Austin is from LA; on those points, it's VERY DIFFERENT. Compared to LA , the Austin area, is conservative in it's beliefs and point of view. It is not as liberal as the media makes it out to be.

Compared to LA, Austin is not diverse by any stretch of the imagination.

My daughter came home from school yesterday singing a song about the Lord that she learned in her music class -- one that they sign every class time -- at a (top rated) PUBLIC school.

Mostly agree. Most people here in Texas will not get that. Compared to the East and West Coasts, Austin has more of a conservative/libertarian streak. It's not because Austin is so conservative really, but because the coasts are a liberal to an extent unheard of in Texas, largely limited by the state itself. Self-contained, by comparison, it becomes more of a blue oasis.