I'm thinking about moving to Austin....any thoughts........?

I live on Long Island NY and I'm sick of the cold, rising prices, and constant stress. I'm 23 and want to feel like there's hope of owning a house one day and I hear Austin is beautiful! Please anyone! I would love some insight on the living down there since I've never been. Thanks:)

Hi. I just moved from Austin after 12 years. If you are wanting to buy a home I must warn you that prices in Austin are skyrocketing. Austin has a motto, "keep Austin weird". Austin lost it's weirdness when the population more than doubled in 6 years. Traffic is a nightmare, the beautiful hill country is being torn down to put in malls and 6000sf homes, one right on top of the other. Service is rude, drivers suck. Sorry, I'm a native Texans but it's really been heartbreaking seeing this happen to the great town Austin was 12 years ago. I may be a a little resentful. You are young though, and Austin does have tons of nightlife and great schools. I don't mean to turn you off of it, just wanted to warn you.
P.S. The economy has not been so great lately either. You may want to have a job in place before you move there. Good ones can be hard to come by.

you may

awesome idea Austin is a great place you'll love it

good riddance2 bad rubbish

it is awesome, you should definatly do it. It is beautiful, and there is such an aray of diffrent people, music and sights. DO IT! I would if i could.

Austin is great but you might consider living a few miles out of austin i live about 1 hour away and go there often but have the peace and quite i need

Austin was actually voted one of the best places to live in the US for people in their 20's. It has an amazing night life, friendly people, nice weather. It was also voted as one of the best cities to meet someone if you are single.

Great city and also has The University of Texas.

Good move and good luck.

Go down there for a weekend and do some research. Texas is a great state to live in, no state income tax, best home prices in the nation, and Austin is a beautiful area.
Traffic is crazy, but coming from NY you'll probably find it not as bad as you have it there...living conditions are great - we see the sun more than we ever see clouds, and we have mild winters...no 20 inches of snow here (well, not in that part of Texas anyway...Amarillo's a different story).
Best of luck to you!!

TEXAS can get cold at times I am from a towm called Center,TX Austin is pretty. If you do move down there I hope you will enjoy the place. GOOD LUCK!!! I hope you will be happy there.

Austin is Great! The colleges are great, the nightlife is good, and the demographics are in your favor as well as income per capita.

Austin is a wonderful place for young people. Lots to do and great people. Just don't expect it to be cheap...cause it ain't!

Austin is a great place to live. Lots to do indoor and outdoor! It isn't the cheapest place in Texas, but it's worth it! Good Luck! I don't blame you for not wanting to be in the cold anymore either. I am a lifelong Texan and I can't stand it!! Our winters are bad enough, I couldn't imagine yours!!

My family and I moved to Austin from Fairbanks, AK. We lived in the city for 18 months. I offer the following as my impression of the city.

It is beautiful. The city is loaded with trees, broad streets and some very classy buildings. Shopping is good. I can't address current prices due to the fact I moved from Austin in 1990.

The summers were very hot and humid. I found it quit uncomfortable. Winters can have some cold snaps with snow and icy roads. It doesn't occur often enough for people to learn how to drive in marginal traction situations. Coming from Fairbanks it was not a problem for me or my wife but the locals handled it badly. When I left it is possible that the only other person capable of driving on an icy road left with me.

The BIGGEST negative for me was the education level. IMO there are entirely too many educated idiots, per capita. The people elected to represent the citizens seemed intent on micro-managing every aspect of the lives of the citizens. I have heard San Antonio, a few miles south, is much better in this arena.

Personally I prefer the area around Phoenix, AZ. If you can locate far enough outside Phoenix to be exempt from the SMOG testing I think AZ is the ideal place. I will grant you, it gets HOT in the summer. But, an evaporative cooler will work at absolute peak efficiency for all but the last four to six weeks of the summer. During that time the monsoons move in and the humidity climbs requiring the use of Air Conditioning. The remaining eight to nine months of the year are heaven on earth.

Good luck, and I hope this helps some.

LOL don't listen to them saying it's not cheap.. it may be a bit much compared to other Texas cities but we are talking like $750 rent compared to the $1000+ I am sure you pay in NY and that I pay in L.A... And homes in Austin are 100k-200k compared to what like a million dollar apartment in NY?