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Babies on the Brain
Do you live in Texas or California?
I am doing all this crazy research for the idea of a huge move. Could you tell me some pros and cons of either one? We are looking at Austin area or Southern California.
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Re: Do you live in Texas or California?
I live in Central California, it's hot - the housing market has gone wayyy down so now would be a great time to buy...unless your house value is tanked and would need to sell first!!
DH is from southern california and I love it down there. He's from a smaller town about 45minutes north of San Diego. We would totally move there if he could find a good, safe job. His parents live there still and I love to go visit.
I live in Texas. Formerly in the Hill Country/Central TX/San Antonio area (SA and Austin aren't all that far apart).
Love it, wish we could move back there, would in a heartbeat if we had guaranteed jobs. Sigh.
Pros: Neat area, cultural opportunities, fun vibe, lots of recreational activies of all kinds (Sea World, 6 Flags, Schlitterbahn - #1 waterpark in the nation, Enchanted Rock, antiquing, music festivals, etc), housing is affordable, lots of growth and expansion, friendly people, etc.
Cons: Austin itself is pretty liberal, but Texas in general is pretty conservative. People can be a bit . . . backwards . . . in their beliefs and not afraid to say so. IF testing coverage is mandatory but treatment coverage is not. It's hot as Satan's shiithole down here. Central Texas is not terribly humid, but they do deal with a fair amount of drought and water restrictions.
Gabriel Ross - August 24, 2009 * Vivienne Rose - May 1, 2012
My Blog
Well, not where I currently am, but back home? Mostly, yeah, I'd be fine with that. But there is a difference between the big cities (Houston, San Antonio) that I've lived in and the suburbs . . . and that makes a difference. It's another thing that makes me sad about living here.
There are a lot of drugs out there, from what I understand, but it's a pretty nice place to live.
Oh, I'll try to send Liz_E over if I see her online tonight, she's in the Austin area and more up to date than I am.
Gabriel Ross - August 24, 2009 * Vivienne Rose - May 1, 2012
My Blog
I live in Texas. Pros: low COL, no state taxes, lots of variety in landscape throughout the state, pretty stable economy/real estate market. Austin is a very cool town, and you won't be lacking in culture there like you might in some parts of the state.
Cons: hot as hell in the summer, tornados, typically very conservative values (closeminded people abound) - although this is much less of a problem in Austin, high car insurance prices, idiot drivers, ridiculous standardized testing
I agree with the "now is a time to buy". I live in the Sacramento Valley and it is hot. I hate hot weather. I am from way far northern California and I love it up there. It is nice and cool and beautiful.
No. There isn't a lot of crime. And Dh and I used to rent in some pretty weird places. I would feel completely comfortable with my kids playing out in the yard. Dh and I both walked to and from school starting in elementary school.
I live in SoCal - San Diego area. I have lived here all my life and would never leave, I love it. Things can be more expensive than what you might be used to, it depends on where you are from. Example: I have family in MD and things cost just about the same there as they do here.
Housing prices have gone way down so now is a perfect time to buy although along the coast prices are still how, but if you go inland 15-30 miles the prices drop dramatically.
The weather is nice, never really gets colder than 40 at night in the winter although there are exceptions. The summer time can get up into the low 100's but it is a dry heat and no humidity.
Earthquakes happen very rarely and I'd take random earthquake every 7 years or so over tornado & hurricane watches every year.
In one day you could have breakfast at the beach, lunch in the mountains and dinner in the desert. there is a lot do do, biking, hiking, watersports, beach sports, snow skiing.
Cons
The drought - the scenery gets to be brown by August and brush fire hazards
The budget - The state is broke
We have an immigration problem but so does Texas I think, just make sure you have uninsured motorist car insurance.
Things might be more expensive than what you are used to, but the wages are typically higher so it evens out
Depends on your area, crime isn't bad but I will worry about pediphiles and not let my children play in the front yard unsupervised when they are young.
I live in Texas. Currently I live in Dallas/Fort Worth but I have lived all over the state including Houston and College Station. I love Texas, but of course I was born and raised here. I guess the only cons I can think of are the heat - it is really freaking hot here in the summer and the fact that there isnt a beach nearby. We have Galveston but it isnt the best. Most people here hang out on lakes or rivers (we love to float rivers
)
My cuz moved from TX to Boston to CA and she likes CA b/c of the weather, but the cost of living is RIDICULOUS and there is no way she can afford a home. From what I hear $500k in CA will buy you a shack and in TX it will buy you a pretty big home or a lot of land w/ a decent sized home.
Anyways, good luck in your decision. My vote is for TX!!!
I live in Southern California.
Pros- the weather. I also have access to beaches, mountains, deserts, cities all within an hour/two hour drive.
Cons- the traffic!! Absolutely horrible every single day, including weekends. The 91 freeway is nasty. Another con is the price of houses. Even with the prices going down, it's still incredibly high for most people.
We are looking at moving to middle california soon.
I do what eas tells me to do! I am here to answer Austin-related questions.
I really love Austin. Texas in general is low COL, and so is Austin - although prices in the city center are getting higher, there are lots of very very affordable areas and close by suburbs.
People in Austin will tell you traffic is bad, but mostly they are just used to not having any traffic at all. You can get prety much anywhere in Austin in under 30 minutes.
I feel very safe in Austin, but as with any city there are areas that are a little more sketchy than others. But overall, in almost any neighboorhood I would be very safe with my kids being out playing.
There are tons of things to do in and around Austin. A great music scene if you're into that. A huge hike and bike trail right in the center of town around a lake. There are 2 lakes. Lots of really cool, local restaurants. And it's really kid-friendly in my non-kid-having opinion.
Let me know if you have any more specific questions.
Oh, and everyone's right. It's hot as hell from May-Sept.
Sorthern Ca is awesome... San Diego. I lived there for 4 years and my husband and I moved back to our home town in central Ca. We moved back to central Ca because my husband has a better paying job.
Once we get all our bills paid off and our lease is up on our house we really want to move back. It has awesome weather and seems like a pretty safe place. It is expensive but the weather is worth it!
Having spent some time living near Austin I agree with this post. Plus Austin has 6th street
. It does get hot here (more so down here in South Texas) but once you've been here for a while you just get used to it. I have lived here pretty much my whole life.
I live in southern california called the Inland Empire (Riverside and San Bernardino counties)
hour from the beach, hour from the mountains, and close to multiple theme parks.
LA is an hour for me.
It can be beastly hot in the summer, and if you are an urbanite, it can get suburbanish, but there are a lot of good communities.
There are a lot of good beach communities between LA and San Diego.