Anyone here live in the Eastern outskirts of Austin?

[Keystone]

I could use some info on what the area is like. I'm in the mid stages of interviewing for an engineering position with a company that has a large factory just outside of Austin. This is a company everyone has heard of. The job itself sounds fantastic and the pay would be very good.

At first I was a little discouraged after looking at the housing options. The properties close to Austin, like Hornsby Bend, Manor, etc. seem very over priced and the houses are on absolutely tiny lots, jammed together in high density neighborhoods. However when you go further out, like Elgin and Bastrop the options get much better. There you can get at least a half to one acre lot, and some places even more than that, but of course the prices are significantly higher too.

The whole region seems to have grown very fast. I’m wondering what the commute would be like with all those people heading towards the city in the morning and then away in the evening. I wouldn’t actually have to drive into Austin, the factory is just to the East of the airport, but I’m guessing I’d still be stuck in the rat race to some extent.

Anyone live in the area that could give me their thoughts? Is it still nice or has it gotten too crowded?

 

[Demonracer]

Just about anyplace in the greater Austin area is expensive to live. There are a bunch of tech industries that moved there when it was cheap and they were give a ton of tax breaks. I have a nephew who moved there from New Hampshire with a tech group. He said the housing costs were over triple what he was paying in New Hampshire.

 

[MidnightSwinger]

I’ve had two vehicle stolen from me in my lifetime, one was in Las Vegas, the other was Bastrop County TX.

If the president is in town, or there is a race at COTA or some type of event, plan on an extra 45mins just to get home.

They are also in the middle of expanding the airport, and Amazon is out there now. Total clusterfuck.

If you are set on moving to Austin, buy once and cry once, stay in town. The money, time and frustration are not worth it.

My wife is a 9th generation Texan, and I spent 5 years in the Austin/Bastrop area. 2 of those years were in Cedar Creek, which is the outskirts of Bastrop. I do not recommend moving east of Austin.

 

[1WildRT]

Does the job have any flexibility as far as working hours? If you can set it up so you don't commute at the same time as everyone else then the drive gets much easier....

I work at a facility just east of Bergstrom Airport 4-6 weeks per year... Lotta folks who work there live in Buda.... At least one guy drives in from La Grange every day...

 

[MOPAROFFICIAL]

Wherever people had fleed to from California and New York, places like that.. are now expensive and crowded.
Where it was cheap to buy... is now too expensive to live. Food,goods,taxes.

 

[Keystone]

Thanks for the replies guys. I figured things would be expensive. People moving in that sold places in their fomer homes, then having high paying jobs are going to drive up prices. What was shocking to me though were the property taxes. One of those small houses on a lot that's not even a quarter acre is on the hook for over $6000 a year.

I guess a very good salary offsets that, but it still seems wrong some how. I think the biggest deal for me would be traffic/congestion. I'm in a very rural area of central Pennsylvania right now. I do have a 30 minute drive into work, but there's really no traffic. I'm moving the whole time except for one light which if I'm not the first car at, I'm second or third. I actually like my drive into work right now.

I guess that's why I'm asking. Trying to weight the pro and cons. I appreciate the honesty.

 

[MidnightSwinger]

Thanks for the replies guys. I figured things would be expensive. People moving in that sold places in their fomer homes, then having high paying jobs are going to drive up prices. What was shocking to me though were the property taxes. One of those small houses on a lot that's not even a quarter acre is on the hook for over $6000 a year.

View attachment 1716068411

View attachment 1716068412

I guess a very good salary offsets that, but it still seems wrong some how. I think the biggest deal for me would be traffic/congestion. I'm in a very rural area of central Pennsylvania right now. I do have a 30 minute drive into work, but there's really no traffic. I'm moving the whole time except for one light which if I'm not the first car at, I'm second or third. I actually like my drive into work right now.

I guess that's why I'm asking. Trying to weight the pro and cons. I appreciate the honesty.

You will be on county highways and thinking you are still on the interstate, and I moved away in 2019, before Amazon. I can only imagine now.

Property tax is insane, it use to be no big deal when your house was worth less than 100k. Now? You can get an Agriculture exemption if you grow food or raise livestock and it knocks it way down.

Move as close to your new job as possible.

 

[Demonracer]

In the realty ad you posted, it shows an HOA quarterly fee. If you have ever dealt with and HOA's you know they are a PITA, especially some of the ones here in Texas. BTW, my house is about the same square footage as the on listed, we paid 90,000 for it around 7 tears ago.

 

[Keystone]

Maybe some context of my situation now would help. This is my house at the top of the hill here

This is my backyard

And the pole barn where I get to spend some quality time working on the old car. Concrete floor, insulated, wired, lights, and it has a heated/air conditioned workshop inside.

I've got 12 acres here now. This is my backfield where I get to cut up the trees that come down for firewood. I didn't even have a chainsaw before I bought this place almost 10 years ago, but I found there's something strangely enjoyable about cutting up firewood.

And for comparison, my property taxes here are $2900 a year. And I have less than 2 years left on the mortgage.

I could realistically expect to get about mid 3's for this place, which won't buy me anything even close down there. The more I think about this, the more it doesn't make too much sense. The job sounds like a dream job, but I don't know if the rest of the deal is worth it.

 

[Keystone]

In the realty ad you posted, it shows an HOA quarterly fee. If you have ever dealt with and HOA's you know they are a PITA, especially some of the ones here in Texas. BTW, my house is about the same square footage as the on listed, we paid 90,000 for it around 7 tears ago.

A friend of mine bought a house over 20 years ago in a development in PG county Maryland, kind of inbetween Baltimore and DC. He knew nothing about HOAs but quickly found out when he tried putting up an American flag on his house after 9/11. No good. He went as far as trying to hire a lawyer to fight it but found out you couldn't. So yeah, thanks for pointing that out.

 

[Keystone]

Hey I promised I'd help my younger brother put a power steering pump on his BMW (this ought to be fun) so I have to run, but I'll be back later to catch up. Thanks again for the reality check.

 

[MidnightSwinger]

I would never leave what you have for Austin.

 

[67Dart273]

I visited Austin for about a week some time back, before my old engineer friend died. Did not like it. Landscape is mostly scrub brush that passes for trees. Austin is pretty solidly liberal, and Texas is not immune. This is the state that fostered "Ma Richards"

 

[Keystone]

I would never leave what you have for Austin.

Alright, I think I'm decided this isn't a good move for me. There's more to life than a big paycheck.
To be honest I was really liking the idea of relocating to TX, but reality has now set in that that particular area is not like what I was at first imagining.

 

[MidnightSwinger]

Texas is awesome, great food and the natives are warm, welcoming people. But Austin has been overpopulated for 10+ years and it hasn’t slowed down. Too expensive, too much traffic and too many assholes from out of state. I know several people who left to find exactly what you already have. I wish I could raise my kids on a property just like yours.

 

[joel d. snyder]

Maybe some context of my situation now would help. This is my house at the top of the hill here
View attachment 1716068415

This is my backyard
View attachment 1716068416

And the pole barn where I get to spend some quality time working on the old car. Concrete floor, insulated, wired, lights, and it has a heated/air conditioned workshop inside.
View attachment 1716068417

I've got 12 acres here now. This is my backfield where I get to cut up the trees that come down for firewood. I didn't even have a chainsaw before I bought this place almost 10 years ago, but I found there's something strangely enjoyable about cutting up firewood.
View attachment 1716068423

And for comparison, my property taxes here are $2900 a year. And I have less than 2 years left on the mortgage.

I could realistically expect to get about mid 3's for this place, which won't buy me anything even close down there. The more I think about this, the more it doesn't make too much sense. The job sounds like a dream job, but I don't know if the rest of the deal is worth it.

i'd never move.

 

[Dartsun]

My best friend from the army lives in Austin. He’s been having trouble finding a place reasonable to buy in Austin area or within 30 miles. He’s just living in an apartment.

 

[barbee6043]

I lived in Mo. for37 years been in Texas six but is native Texas and from 5 generations back. Raised in Llano an hour or so from that Liberal chit hole. Llano is the real rural Texas. A place the typical Austin resident would visit for their bar b q and laugh at it on their way back to the city!

Austin. The meca for high tech industry, liberal, younger Liberal generation types. High cost partially due to people moving in from Ca. West Coast. Been going on decades. It keeps growing (outward) and getting more expensive. Then the outward communities become the new Austin.

There is Austin and there is the rest of (the real) Texas basically.

Quality of life???? Not the same thing as a bigger pay check. You have quality of life where you are, but too damn cold and all that friggin snow!!!!!!

 

[Steve welder]

I lived in Mo. for37 years been in Texas six but is native Texas and from 5 generations back. Raised in Llano an hour or so from that Liberal chit hole. Llano is the real rural Texas. A place the typical Austin resident would visit for their bar b q and laugh at it on their way back to the city!

Austin. The meca for high tech industry, liberal, younger Liberal generation types. High cost partially due to people moving in from Ca. West Coast. Been going on decades. It keeps growing (outward) and getting more expensive. Then the outward communities become the new Austin.

There is Austin and there is the rest of (the real) Texas basically.

Quality of life???? Not the same thing as a bigger pay check. You have quality of life where you are, but too damn cold and all that friggin snow!!!!!!

You people just cant help yourselves. So now Austin is the new "**** hole" of Texas (says you) because you think it's full of "liberals" and of course that automatically makes it a **** hole
If Austin is the place for high tech, id think that would be a good thing, jobs opportunities bring revenues.
More business's means more economy, more growth to support all those tech industries
There's a lot of **** holes in Texas just like any other state I suppose, Austin isn't one

 

[Cuda416]

Thanks for the replies guys. I figured things would be expensive. People moving in that sold places in their fomer homes, then having high paying jobs are going to drive up prices. What was shocking to me though were the property taxes. One of those small houses on a lot that's not even a quarter acre is on the hook for over $6000 a year.

View attachment 1716068411

View attachment 1716068412

I guess a very good salary offsets that, but it still seems wrong some how. I think the biggest deal for me would be traffic/congestion. I'm in a very rural area of central Pennsylvania right now. I do have a 30 minute drive into work, but there's really no traffic. I'm moving the whole time except for one light which if I'm not the first car at, I'm second or third. I actually like my drive into work right now.

I guess that's why I'm asking. Trying to weight the pro and cons. I appreciate the honesty.

We don't have income tax so it's "mostly" a wash, until property values go crazy like they are. Assume the max increase over the next few years an plan accordingly.

 

[Cuda416]

Maybe some context of my situation now would help. This is my house at the top of the hill here
View attachment 1716068415

This is my backyard
View attachment 1716068416

And the pole barn where I get to spend some quality time working on the old car. Concrete floor, insulated, wired, lights, and it has a heated/air conditioned workshop inside.
View attachment 1716068417

I've got 12 acres here now. This is my backfield where I get to cut up the trees that come down for firewood. I didn't even have a chainsaw before I bought this place almost 10 years ago, but I found there's something strangely enjoyable about cutting up firewood.
View attachment 1716068423

And for comparison, my property taxes here are $2900 a year. And I have less than 2 years left on the mortgage.

I could realistically expect to get about mid 3's for this place, which won't buy me anything even close down there. The more I think about this, the more it doesn't make too much sense. The job sounds like a dream job, but I don't know if the rest of the deal is worth it.

Holy crap. I'm in South TX, on 1.5 acres, 20 mins outside of San Antonio. Wanna trade? I would never leave what you have....

 

[Steve welder]

I could use some info on what the area is like. I'm in the mid stages of interviewing for an engineering position with a company that has a large factory just outside of Austin. This is a company everyone has heard of. The job itself sounds fantastic and the pay would be very good.

At first I was a little discouraged after looking at the housing options. The properties close to Austin, like Hornsby Bend, Manor, etc. seem very over priced and the houses are on absolutely tiny lots, jammed together in high density neighborhoods. However when you go further out, like Elgin and Bastrop the options get much better. There you can get at least a half to one acre lot, and some places even more than that, but of course the prices are significantly higher too.

The whole region seems to have grown very fast. I’m wondering what the commute would be like with all those people heading towards the city in the morning and then away in the evening. I wouldn’t actually have to drive into Austin, the factory is just to the East of the airport, but I’m guessing I’d still be stuck in the rat race to some extent.

Anyone live in the area that could give me their thoughts? Is it still nice or has it gotten too crowded?

There are many things that factor into a career move like you describe......Your age, children, current job, financial situation. If your job has a questionable future, if there is no chance of promotion, if the salary is low, your financial future, only you can decide what's good for you
Is the weather a factor, going from season changes to hot and hotter.
Best of luck in what you decide

 

[Just Send It]

We're originally from Dripping Springs, TX (west of Austin/Weird). Moved out of there in 2014. My 8 mile commute on Hwy 290 took 1.5hrs every day. It wore me down. Constant traffic 24/7. I cannot imagine what the commute is like there now.

Before you pull the trigger on anything, I'd really take some time and prioritize what is important to you. While money is crucial, having an intrinsic income from where you live has to be accounted for as well. I don't think you'll find what you have now down there. So if you like what you have now, just stay put. You're at a fork in the road

 

[barbee6043]

We're originally from Dripping Springs, TX (west of Austin/Weird). Moved out of there in 2014. My 8 mile commute on Hwy 290 took 1.5hrs every day. It wore me down. Constant traffic 24/7. I cannot imagine what the commute is like there now.

^^^^^^ OK N.Y. (ie Steve welder!!!!) guy, the above constitutes my idea of a "chithole" and does not matter how big the salary is, but that is just me. Add in the usual big city crime, screwed up big city school systems, high prop tax,etc. and everyone that must buy a bigger house than the next guy.......

 

[Big Dad]

I lived in Texas for 15 years , lived near Denton , right by Texas motor speedway and worked in Fort Worth , I liked most of my experience a lot ..

July and August are quite warm , don't let the shiny part of the seat belt touch your soft underbelly after being parked in t he sun for about 5 hours.

mark won't leave for days ( lol )

I had lots and lots of fun in Austin, traffic was bad then too but, not as bad as it is now !

Car scene is pretty strong in the area , the hill country is beautiful. .. lots of good BBQ around there


I always thought I'd return at some point to live again but , doubtful anymore now