Should I relocate to Houston or Austin? (Dickens: live in, vs.)

[Jackie Clark]

Also, the average age in Austin is around 37.... it is a very young, vibrant, active city! It is a fantastic place to raise kids.

[TVC15]

Originally Posted by Altsycgirl

I need HELP!!!! I am a 27 year old single mother of a 2 year old little girl. I have lived in NYC my entire life and I am now looking to move. I definetly want to relocate to Texas but I am unsure of the best city for my needs.

I am very unfamiliar with the towns of Texas. I want to purchase a home, particularly a new construction, that is not to far from the city (app. 20-30 mins.) that will run me no more than $250-$270K.

I want to move to a town that is pretty diverse yet suburban. Education is very important and the job market as well. I was told that Round Rock and Plugerville in Austin is pretty close to the city. But after speaking to someone and being a city girl, Austin may not be the right place for me. What towns in Houston can you suggest that fits my criteria?

Hi there I have lived in Houston for 43 years. I arrived when I was your daughter’s age (and of coarse it is a much different city today vs. back then) All I have known is living life in the big city just you have done...however I am also well traveled. I used to be a flight attendant helped a lot with that not to mention that I love to explore and I did a lot of that on my own time. I moved to Austin last May thinking it was going to be a step up from Houston...wow was I in for a rude awakening. Austin is lame and boring and entirely overrated. It is not a diverse city at all. It is behind times in all things except the down town Whole Foods Market (that was awesome). On week 2 of living there I wondered what the big f'ing deal was. I did not see it because it is not there! I am a very adventurous soul and I was getting depressed without the big crazy diverse Houston energy. I even worked at the trauma center in downtown Austin as a blood transfusion specialist and that was more exciting then almost anything that I had experienced in Austin. I went out and about and explored and was not very impressed. Especially the restaurants compared to Houston were bad to mediocre. My boyfriend bought me a motorcycle and that helped to pacify me since there are great places to ride in the Hill Country and yes I give some parts of Austin the word pretty but not beautiful like Southern California. I could not wait to move back to Houston where I now have a newfound appreciation for the city. Houston may not be the prettiest or the have the best weather BUT it is a big city with a lot of diversity and better job opportunities with higher pay and slightly lower cost of living. You can find anything you want in Houston at almost anytime of the day...good luck with getting that in Austin. We have so many choices and restaurants as well as the Great Texas Medical Center and awesome concert venues and professional sports teams and awesome shopping, and museums, and theater district and I can go on an on. You WILL NOT find anything remotely close to this in Austin. Houston has a lot of diversity which I know you will miss leaving NYC and you will be bored out of your mind in Austin. It is a great place to visit but you would not want to live there unless you like watching the grass grow and all of the slackers slacking. Another thing they will say to you well thank God you moved out of Houston or NYC and aren’t you sooooo thankful to be out of there. That only told me that these were very narrow and not very well traveled folks. Visit Austin for a week and 2 ½ hours away come and visit Houston, visit for a week and call me if you need some help in wanting to see Houston and then you decide for yourself.
Sincerely,
Diana
[SIZE=3] [/SIZE]

[piyf]

Being from Houston for over 28yrs I'd say Austin and I've never been there.

[Topaz]

I lived in Austin for 8 years and now I've lived in Houston for a bit less than a year. When we moved to Houston, we thought we were doing so for the job opportunities and that we would want to spend as much time as possible in Austin. I still enjoy visiting Austin because I have so many friends there, but I like Houston a lot. I feel at home here and I really appreciate the big city vibe and energy. Houston overall isn't scenic but individual neighborhoods are quite nice and the city offers amazing restaurants, theater, museums, etc. By contrast, Austin is a big college town with huge underemployment challenges. UT Austin spits out thousands of graduates who never want to leave so Austin ends up with Ph.D.s driving cabs since they can't find local jobs in their fields. I agree with the posters who advise you to spend time in both cities...you will be able to feel which one is right for you.

[()_T]

HELLO! You guys acstygirl post is from march of last year.

Im pretty sure she lives in Austion or Houston already.

[txstate]

Houston you will have more of a NYC feel to it and its Houston the 4th largest city in the country.

[AK123]

Originally Posted by Jackie Clark

I am a realtor/broker and have lived in Texas all of my life. I grew up in Dallas and have been in Austin for over 30 years.

So you've lived in Texas all of your life. But have you ever lived in Houston?

Enough said...

I've lived in both Austin and Houston. I prefer Houston at this point in my life. But it's all personal preference. To say "Austin is better than Houston" is misleading; it's better in some aspects (scenery, college scene), and much worse in others (restaurants, museums, culture/arts, diversity of things to do). Houston is also short driving distance to a beach. Austin may have a highly educated population, but Houston has no lack of smarties either (between the Texas Medical Center, NASA, and all the engineers associated with the energy industry). I think Houston has a lot more to do and a lot more to offer; being the 4th largest US, this is not surprising though. This is almost like comparing NYC to Albany.

Oh, and I get tired of people saying the weather is so much better in Austin. The weather in both cities is really similar, especially to someone coming from out of state.

[AK123]

Originally Posted by Jackie Clark

Also, the average age in Austin is around 37.... it is a very young, vibrant, active city! It is a fantastic place to raise kids.

Yet, many Austin families drive into Houston to go to the aquarium, zoo, and Children's Museum. Houston's a great city to raise kids if you want to be able to take them places like this, expose them to multiple other cultures (since Houston is more international), or take them to pro sports games. Also Galveston is practically next door (beaches, Moody Gardens, history).

[Premont]

Austin has the avantage of outdoor type stuff - Town Lake, Lake Travis, Mt. Bonnell, etc. It also has a great live music/club scene with 6th street. It has kind of a progressive, younger vibe to it. Houston has the advantage of pro sports, much bigger restaurant selection and generally much more of everything. I compare Congress/Gaudalupe with Westheimer and Westheimer's much bigger and more dynamic. Houston's also underrated when it comes to the amount of parks and hike and bike trails we have.

[Topaz]

Originally Posted by ()_T

HELLO! You guys acstygirl post is from march of last year.

Im pretty sure she lives in Austion or Houston already.

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