Top Place to Live - HUM
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1/20/2010
Crime is high though it is closely guarded away from the newspaper and public. I live near Town Lake and in a matter of two weeks there was one rape, one person killed and two other people attacked - a slight mention of some of this in the newspapers. And let us not talk about all the shootings, break-ins and drugs rampant in this town. Note: please do a ride out with an Austin police officer and you will be packing your bags!
Education - well mediocre at best. Again no mention of the drugs and teen pregnancies rampant in Austin District middle and high schools. I was darn near dragged out of the school meeting for pointing out the fact that the school primary goal was to only teach the Texas State Test - Lake Travis District. In Lake Travis District, advance classes are only the regular classes with more homework (as per the teacher). Almost every school just wants that exemplary rating and do not go beyond that in teaching. My experience has been Round Rock and Westlake offer the best education for kids. These schools teach beyond the state test. I am from California and I have found that the schools and what they offer are about the same. You, as the parent, just needs to decide what is important in the education of your child and place yourself within that school district. Note: ask a lot of questions about drug usage and teen pregnancy. I talked to a kid who was first introduce to drugs at Anderson High School and from his experience I knew this was not the school for my kid. I talked to the kid after he had been revived from a drug overdose - he is now 21 and still has a problem. He stated the pressure to do drugs is great. Another girl, who got pregnant thought it was cool. Again the mentality of the school environment.
Traffic - worse than LA. If you live in South Austin and have to go to North Austin leave prior to 7am to get to work by 8am. Normally the drive is around 15 minutes. No one does the speed limit on the freeways and I am not talking over I am talking about driving under the speed limit. Mo Pac is 65 miles per hour the average speed I usually end up doing is 45 -55 miles per hour if I am lucky. Normally from around 7:15am until 9:30 am you will sitting on the Mo Pac doing a crawl from South Austin to Downtown Austin then again from 4pm until 6:30pm. It is bad everywhere and forget about going any where on Friday afternoon. If you avoid it - do not work that day. My advice is move close to work.
Weather is awful and clean air - hum where! Presently it is around 70 degrees (in January) when on a couple of weeks ago we were freezing in the 20's. The temperature is insane. It could be 70 in the afternoon and not only a couple of hours later it is 30. You need layers for clothing. If you enjoy the outdoors - well you had better get use to doing it in 100+ and humidity 100+. Like someone commented you have to take numerous showers in one day. And what fun is running with temps like that. Austin does have some really cool electrical storms - we didn't see much of that in California. Allergies are the worse ever that comment was spot on. I do not think I have had a clear nose since moving here. Allergies are mold (due to humidity), cedar, ragweed and etc.
Housing is expensive. I pay over $1,400 for a two bedroom in a nice area - hello these are CA rates!!! As another commented, the housing is the most expensive in Texas. And let me tell you the place is not a palace - no granite tops, no fancy wood floors just old appliances and old carpet. The average home price is stated as $175,000 on most sites - again incorrect - that would be in the geto of Austin (and yes, Austin has a few of those). In a nice area, you are probably going to spend around $250,000 for an average home. And yes, this is much cheaper than California - I read your mind there. I am not a homeowner and choose not to be. Owning a home in Austin is cheaper than renting but then again high utilities and taxes. You are going to need that AC and for many months.
Jobs - As someone commented the town is saturated with college students who are willing to work for $14 to $16 per hour. They just shack up with more than one person. If you do your research you will find that the average salaries for Austin are lower than Dallas and Houston and National averages. Yet, our cost-of-living is much harder. Note: if you have a degree in one the college saturated markets - good luck finding a good paying job. A good point to remember is that there is no state tax so it is like you making a bit more. I am in accounting / finance and it is a nightmare finding good paying job in Austin. Senior Accountants are now making around $45 to $55 if you are lucky. I am told constantly by recruiters that I need to go to Dallas or Houston to find a job.
Families - I have kids so the choices on what to do are limited. I find we spend more time in Houston or Dallas or San Antonio. Austin is a college town so its main focus is on the students. Austin is a very liberal town so be careful going downtown at night because you may not like what you see. I had to cover my kids eyes. There is the Children's Museum, boating on Town Lake, swimming at Town Lake (when not closed) and the IMAX. It is pretty limited for kids.
Like any place you decide to live or move too - you really need to decide what is important to you and what you can or cannot live with. Personally - Austin is not for me and I will be headed back to California. In a lot of ways, Austin reminds me of Sacramento - however Sacramento is a very family orientated town -even with the college. And of course, Sacramento has the mountains not so far away. Texas beaches are not real beaches - sorry!
LL | Austin, TX