Texas - Looking to move; austin, maybe?

I moved back to Florida 4 years ago from New orleans, and I just don't like it. St. Pete is just not what I'm looking for, and the wife and I are looking to move. We sort of settled on austin because we're looking for a better sense of community, some culture, to stay in the south, and hopefully get a little bit of horse property. Can anyone here clue me in on the reality of Austin living? We're early 30's, she works with foster kids, and I work in the Financial industry. Thanks!

There's a lot of Austin members that frequent the Southwest Regional forum. If you don't get much response here, I'll move this thread over there for you if you'd like.

I haven't visted Austin much, but it is a nice area from what I've seen and would like to visit the area again soon. I live up in Dallas and if I were to move to another city in Texas, Austin would likely be near the top of the list.

Consider Charlotte, NC. Good climate, mountains, coast. Lotsa green in the city. Financial mecca. Post a question to the Regional Discussions, southeastern forum to get some more opinions about living here. I've been many places, but this is the best I've known. There's a number of BF'ers here, BTW, and we're gonna try to organize an occasional BF/Foo ride, just to socialize, leaving the serious training ride for another time. There's also a lot of greenway, and some serious MTB'ers around here. You didn't say in your profile which way you swing. I'm a roadie.

While I love Austin and it is a cycling friendly and socially progressive community, it is expensive and there is a significant amount of traffic. Additionally, you will have to buy property pretty far out if you want a decent amount of land at a reasonable price.

I'm not saying that it is a bad choice by any means, those are just some things to be aware of.

While I love Austin and it is a cycling friendly and socially progressive community, it is expensive and there is a significant amount of traffic. Additionally, you will have to buy property pretty far out if you want a decent amount of land at a reasonable price.

I'm not saying that it is a bad choice by any means, those are just some things to be aware of.

+1
Add to that if you're a bicycle commuter, you'll want to plan your residence carefully. We have lots of bike lanes, but there are significant sections of the city that don't quite connect up. They're doable (I've crossed 183 on a bike, but I dislike it) but they aren't my favorites.

Happy New Year, wherever you end up!

Austin's full. Try elsewhere.

Collin county is good. Just north of Dallas. There's enough room for horses and youre close enough to hit the town.

Coming from Philadelphia, in the North East, Austin is not that bad on traffic and the cost of real estate, while rising steadily is pretty low. It's all perspective and relative to where you come from I guess. Also, I'll take a house with a nice yard over a little condo in south florida. Been there, checked that out. Not the diversity in people I was used to in the NE cities either. For what it's worth...


While I love Austin and it is a cycling friendly and socially progressive community, it is expensive and there is a significant amount of traffic. Additionally, you will have to buy property pretty far out if you want a decent amount of land at a reasonable price.

I'm not saying that it is a bad choice by any means, those are just some things to be aware of.

Think Austin South---like from So.Austin to North San Antonio.Lots of great little towns in between.Land is pricy to us locals but depending on where you come from it might be a bargin.Come take a look.---sam

well, pricey is a relative term. average (median) income here is about 33k, I bought my house 4 years ago for 106, it's near impossible to touch anything here for less than 250 now, I mean 2 br 1 ba, 1100 sq ft. Wages haven't gone up at all. I live in a kind of working class neighborhood, it's not fancy by any means. It's more about a quality of life issue for me. I'm doing alright, I'm just not all that happy with my surroundings. South florida has a very strange culture due to the huge influx of people from elsewhere (michigan, ohio, new Jersey), and the very transitory nature of the area.

I want to thank everyone for their responses.

Watch out forthe costof rent! 2bdrm $800 a month. Nice town otherwise unless rent has came down. Loved it there!