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My wife has more or less secured a position in the health care field in both Glendale, Az and Austin, Texas. She will be making decent buck, but in both places I will still have to work at least part-time if not full-time.
We have read all the hype on these forums of Austin being a great place to live and raise kids, we have three. We are heading out to visit one of these two places, don't really have enough money to take everyone to both at this point.....
What's the honest opinion of these two areas?...
In looking at the photos I've seen Austin seems kinda run down southern area, dirty streets, old buildings ect....no offense, but we live in NW Pennsylvania and we've seen our share of dirty areas, cloudy skies and humidity.
I have a brother that lives in Las Vegas which we have visited several times. We loved the desert area and the dry open arid feeling. I see both places get really HOT and we know that, but blue sunny skies is what we're aiming for.
Schools are a top priority and it seems like that about compare in both places. Austin seems to promote there's better, but I spoke with a friend that lives in North Phoenix who says the schools there are trying and his kids are getting a good education despite all the negative hype.
Basically it comes down to we are relocating to a new place and Austin, Tx and Northern Arizona on on the Radar screen.
In the past we looked at moving to the Carolinas and we DID NOT like it....the area was to humid and just not out cup of tea...
I am not intentially bashing either place, just trying to find out if they really are a hours a piece depending on your taste?
Basically it comes down to we are relocating to a new place and Austin, Tx and Northern Arizona on on the Radar screen.
WAIT a second. Don't you really mean you are comparing Austin to Phoenix,(or more precisely, an area of phoenix that is a reasonable commute to your wife's job in Glendale.)???
Here's my advice. Make trips to BOTH cities. Leave the kids home. It's an important and ADULT decision. (I'd guess the kids don't want to move away from their friends anyway.)
WAIT a second. Don't you really mean you are comparing Austin to Phoenix,(or more precisely, an area of phoenix that is a reasonable commute to your wife's job in Glendale.)???
Here's my advice. Make trips to BOTH cities. Leave the kids home. It's an important and ADULT decision. (I'd guess the kids don't want to move away from their friends anyway.)
Agree with this. And, if you don't like humidity, I'd suspect that Austin won't be comfortable either. By the way, Phoenix area is not "northern Arizona".
Yes, she would be working in the Glendale area. We r comparing Phoenix and Austin Texas. Phoenix is more our type area as we liked las Vegas. We will check Austin, just the wife and I if Phoenix is not what we expect.
Location: Baghdad by the Bay (San Francisco, California)
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Austin is sunny too, but does get occasional thunderstorms and is considerably more humid than Phoenix. Phoenix seems to run 8-12 degrees hotter in the worst of summer, though, and sustains its heat for longer throughout the year.
Honestly, both places present climate challenges and will require about a year of acclimation. Once you get used to them, I'd give a slight edge to Austin for livability. Its considerably greener in Austin and the Spring and Fall are more pronounced, though short lived. Both Austin and Phoenix seem to go from extended summers right into brief and abruptly cold winters, with Austin having this slight period of adjustment at the seasonal changes -- a product of the higher humidity in Austin.
Don't underestimate the effect of that greenery. I think that, while I also love the desert, I might miss the greenery after awhile. Austin has a nice mix. It is semi-arid in spots and is fairly rocky and rough, but transitions into green rolling hills. It's pretty, but lacks the kinds of breathtaking landscapes Phoenix has. So, for landscape and environment, I think the two are pretty even.
Austin is a more progressive and growth-minded in its business climate. Phoenix seems more focused on quality of life issues and coping with a massive population boom that occurred a decade ago and has leveled off. Austin is still on the upside of its boom. When it finally starts to level off, we will most likely see its attitudes shift more like those of Phoenix, in terms of urban issues, planning, politics and infrastructure. In other words, Austin seems more lively and vibrant these days because Phoenix is about 6-8 years farther along in the boom cycle and is cooling off and cleaning up after the party with a slight hangover. Austin just ordered another round of shots of JÃ¥ger. It makes it difficult to understand property valuations, trends and investment opportunities in Austin real estate. You know some kind of correction is probably coming. Phoenix, on the other hand should have a lot of bargains and deflated values out there.
On the more subjective side, Phoenix is a much larger metropolitan area and ultimately offers a bit more sophistication, in my opinion. Austin is still growing from a large college town into a city. For many, that's a big part of its charm. It hasn't totally embraced its character as a major city, though, while Phoenix seems to have taken on a kind of LA Lite attitude. Austin is a really nice regional city. It has pretty good shopping and decent local cuisine. Phoenix is more of a national level city, with a bigger, busier airport, better national-level retail and cuisine. Austin enjoys its proximity to Houston and Dallas for easy access to the things Phoenix has that it does not. Phoenix isn't close to anything, so what you see is what you get.
I think, for sheer beauty, outdoor lifestyle, change of scenery fro Pennsylvania and urban amenities, I'd pick Phoenix. I love the desert and I think the timing is right to get a great value in real estate to enjoy living in a beautiful part of the world. However, if I were raising a family and putting down long term roots in a community on the grow, where I would enjoy making my family part of that growth, I would choose Austin. I think its the more livable city in the end. I think it offers similar, though lesser opportunities for outdoor and urban living, while presenting certain intangibles that Phoenix can't match.
I'm a native Texan living in Phoenix. Eventually, we'd love to end up in Austin but that's just not in the cards. I think both places have run down areas and REALLY NICE areas as well. You need to find the right fit for you and your family.
I'm not going to go into pros/cons about either but I will say one thing: living in Austin, you're kind of "stuck" in Texas. I mean that in the sense of if you like taking your family on road trips. Granted, there's a lot of places to visit and explore but for a day trip, you really can't go out of state, especially Austin since you are kind of smack in the middle.
I'll always be a Texan but it is nice to be able to visit another state. We love visiting San Diego and Vegas on a yearly basis. I'm not particularly fond of where we live 'cuz we're so far from everything but we make do with what we've got in our area and stay positive.
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