All About Austin, Texas
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June 10, 2007
In 2004, I had decided that I was going to move out of New Jersey. I had lived in New Jersey all my life, but it wasn't the place where I wanted to spend the rest of my life. The environment was not how I wanted to live. I wanted to be someplace warm enough to ride my bicycle or do outdoor activities year round. I wanted someplace less crowded and less expensive to live.
I was fortunate enough that I no longer had any ties to New Jersey anymore. I had finished a 9 month consulting job and didn't have to stay for work. I never had any relatives there besides my parents and since they divorced in 2000, family wasn't keeping me there either. I only have a few very close friends, so there wasn't a large social burden keeping me there either.
I could have gone anywhere in the country or even perhaps the world, but I choose Austin, Texas. Austin is by no means the perfect place in the world. It certainly has its share of problems, which I will cover briefly here. But for me, the positives outweigh the negatives.
Austin is a mid-size city, the state capital of Texas, and one of the fastest growing city in the country for its size. It is large enough to offer most of the conveniences and job opportunities of a large city, but small enough (at least so far) not to be overwhelming or excessively expensive. It is the most expensive city in Texas, but still very inexpensive for people coming from the Northeast or West Coast. The culture here has a definite Mexican feel to it, which gets stronger as you head further south towards San Antonio where it's very Mexican. If you enjoy Mexican food, you definitely will enjoy it here.
A good place for basic statistics to get started are:
 | Austin Chamber of Commerce - The Chamber of Commerce has a lot of good facts and statistics about Austin. Of course, be aware that their job is to cheerlead and put Austin in the best light. |
| Wikipedia Entry - I love Wikipedia's entries on places all over the world. |
| City Government Website - There's a lot of useful information on the city here. |
Most people that I have met here absolutely love this city with a passion. I feel its the combination of high paying jobs, relatively low cost of living, great weather (if you like it hot), lots of outdoor recreational activities, and the beautiful hill country scenery immediately to the west of the city that makes Austin a great place to live. It's not a particularly great place to visit. There aren't really too many things here to attract tourists. I wouldn't come here for a vacation. But it's a great place to live with a high quality of life factor.
As of this writing, I have lived here for 2 years and I can say that I've been happy with my move. Of course, no place is perfect and there are some negatives that I would like to point out that might be deal breakers for some people.
| It's hot! I mean it's really, really hot in the summer! Starting from June thru the end of September, the day time 95 degrees every single day. In August 2006, it was at least 100 degrees every single day of the month! Personally, I'd rather deal with the heat and the freezing temperatures we have in New Jersey, but everybody is different. |
| Allergies are pretty bad for many people. So far, I do not have any allergies, but many people here suffer enough to go see a doctor and get some shots. |
| There is a very large homeless population here. You will see them at every major intersection holding up a sign asking for money. They are usually not aggressive and will leave you alone, but they may approach you asking for money or other assistance. I recommend not to give any money and to be cautious if approach. Austin has a reasonably low crime rate for a city of its size, but you never know what their intentions are. I do not quite understand why there is such a large homeless population here. I did not see this many in Dallas, Houston, or San Antonio. Perhaps it's because of the political situation? |
| Property Taxes are high. Property taxes here run between 2.2% to over 3% of the market value depending on the location. Since Texas does not have an income tax, all of the government's revenue comes from the 8.25% sales tax and property taxes. Keep the property taxes in mind when looking at real estate prices here. |
Those are pretty much the major negatives I have experienced here. So if those things are not deal breakers for you, do recommend everyone that is looking to relocate to come and visit for a few days. Austin is consistently ranked as one of the best places to live by many publications that do such studies.
This page was last modified: Sunday, June 10, 2007 02:21:49 AM