Considering relocating to Austin from San Diego (Corpus Christi, Spring: where to stay, fit in)

[AK123]

I think you can find jobs in those areas, and it will meet most of your other requirements.

You don't need to worry about snow.

Beaches? Isn't Galveston closer than Port A and some of those other places mentioned? A lot of people frown on Galveston, but maybe they're thinking of it from several years ago before it cleaned up.

http://www.galveston.com/beachphotos (broken link)
http://www.galveston.com/historicgalvestonphotos (broken link)

[fishinfly]

My wife and I moved here 6 months ago from North San Diego (Fallbrook) and we love it here. Yes the summer its hot but you just learn to work around it. The people here are very nice and we were made to feel at home everytime we meet anyone, "welcome to Austin" was all we heard for the first 2 months!! We looked all over and settled North in Georgetown and we really like it. We are 30 minutes from downtown and yet we feel like we are in the country. Housing prices here are reasonable for what you get and with the budget you are talking you will find a very nice home. Although we have no kids we are told that the school's here are great. If you can make the move I would say go for it. Aside from missing some of our old friends we have not looked back once and just tonight we were saying that even after only 6 months it really feels like home here. Happy new year!!

[austin_or_sd]

I also appreciate Tashina's post.

I am struggling to make a decision whether or not to accept an offer from Dell. Being in San Diego for so long, I am a bit unsettled to move anywhere else especially after seeing the post on mosquitos and hot and humid summer.

[austin_or_sd]

I am a single professional working in San Diego with a good paying job (in the lower $100). Currently I am renting. With the consideration of starting a family and the future wife staying home, for the pay that I have, it is also a stretch to buy a decent house in a good school district in San Diego. Then, Dell called for an unsolicited interview. I got the offer. Now I am struggling to make the move for a few reasons:

1. I had to take about 10% pay cut. With the pay cut and single income for a family, will I afford better living in Austin than in San Diego?
2. I lived in Michigan for a long time. I definitely hate the cold winter. That's why I moved to San Diego. But I have never lived in a place with temperature over 95 and high humidity for an extended period of time. I just wonder what you do in Austin during summer time? Are you basically confined in your A/C house for a few months? With the A/C on constantly, how much do you have to pay for the utility bill for a house of, say, 3000 sqft?
3. I also heard the mosquitoes and fire ants are pretty bad in summer. Even if you can tolerate the summer heat to play outdoor, will these bugs eat you alive?

Any opionion is welcome!

[AustinGuy]

Originally Posted by austin_or_sd

1. I had to take about 10% pay cut. With the pay cut and single income for a family, will I afford better living in Austin than in San Diego?

If you take housing costs into account, you will afford a better living in Austin. Also consider that you are getting taxed approx 10% in income taxes from the state of California. In Texas, you will have no state income tax.

Originally Posted by austin_or_sd

2. I lived in Michigan for a long time. I definitely hate the cold winter. That's why I moved to San Diego. But I have never lived in a place with temperature over 95 and high humidity for an extended period of time. I just wonder what you do in Austin during summer time? Are you basically confined in your A/C house for a few months? With the A/C on constantly, how much do you have to pay for the utility bill for a house of, say, 3000 sqft?

I say, count on approx $300ish a month during the worst part of the summer for the electric portion of the bill. You also have to consider your water bill if you plan on watering your lawn since that can get very high as well during the hot months.

Personally, I think San Diego has the best weather in the country, so you will definitely need to make an adjustment. In San Diego, the weather makes you want to be outside as much as possible. During the bad months in Austin, you will probably want to be in a nice air conditioned home.

One surprising thing about Austin, is that even during the hottest times of year, many Austinites love to be outdoors. We hold some of our biggest festivals and outdoor events during the absolute hottest portion of the year. After a year or two of adjusting to the weather, you may feel comfortable being outside more often during Aug/Sept.

Originally Posted by austin_or_sd

3. I also heard the mosquitoes and fire ants are pretty bad in summer. Even if you can tolerate the summer heat to play outdoor, will these bugs eat you alive?

Fire ants are a menace, but it is more a problem for a homeowner dealing with his/her lawn than something you are likely to deal with on a constant basis. Mosquitos are a hit or miss proposition. I actually had more trouble with mosquitos when I lived in Ohio than I do in Austin, so I think it has more to do with where you are in Austin and if there is standing water nearby.


I think I said this earlier in the thread, but I feel that a move from San Diego to Austin requires the biggest negative weather adjustment of any move to Austin from within the continental US. People moving from most other cities to Austin are actually gaining in the weather department. You are giving up a great thing in San Deigo, but you will be gaining some different great things in Austin (i.e. cheaper housing, lower cost of living, interesting city) so you need to decide which will make a bigger impact on your life.

[austin_or_sd]

Hi Austin Guy,

Thank you for your reply. Like everything in life, you gain some because you lose some.

Was it a hard decision for you to move to Austin from Ohio?

[AustinGuy]

Originally Posted by austin_or_sd

Was it a hard decision for you to move to Austin from Ohio?

Well, I didn't move directly from Ohio to Austin. I lived in both Northern California (SF bay area) and Southern California (Los Angeles) after I moved to Ohio but before I moved to Austin. I've also moved from Austin to Los Angeles and back to Austin again for work reasons. Phew....

Moving from Ohio to Austin would be a really nice move in my opinion. I'm trying to get my mom to do the very same thing right now. It isn't nearly as difficult a decision as moving from San Diego to Austin.

[ericbramlett]

Does anyone have suggestions about some nice and affordable (housing in the $200-350K range) areas (preferrably not in the boondocks and with a little bit of a city feel).

Check out The Courtyard & MLS Area 1A - you can still find some stuff under $350k there. The Courtyard is 10 minutes from downtown & has a neighborhood boat ramp onto Lake Austin. Pretty killer.

[AustinTraveler]

Are you talking about the Courtyard area off 360? If so, can you actually make it to downtown in 10 minutes from there? I would say it's more like 20 at least. I live near Central Market on N. Lamar and it takes me 10 minutes to get downtown.

[ericbramlett]

I live off 2222/Mopac & it takes me 5 minutes to get to the 6th st. ramp. 5 minutes to get to the 360 bridge ramp.