I have a family member moving from the UK to Austin, TX in a few months. While they are getting suggestions from a few coworker, they want to expand their search to several areas. Sounds like they will rent for a few months if possible before committing to something long term. They are in their early 30s and thinking about an area where there will be others with young children as they are hoping for kids shortly! One will be working in town; not sure about the other at this time.
They will work with an agent assuming they decide to buy, but I would love to hear from anyone that either lives in Austin, or has an adult child there.
Austin is big and getting bigger, so long commutes are the norm. Think city of over a million people and sprawling suburbs. Best to get here, rent near work for 6 months while they figure out best commute plus good area.
Try city data’s site, it will be more useful. Do they have relo assistance? Will they have a green card? Will the company have financial guarantee if they buy on a shorter term visa? This is for high paid professionals?
Agree with both suggestions of city data and trying to live close to work. Austin is a great place to live but due to lack of infrastructure, the traffic can be crazy.
I’ve lived here (Austin area) for 35 years. Houses in the city of Austin are getting insanely expensive; lots of suburbs are more reasonable. You almost certainly have to have a car; there is bus service mostly within Austin city limits and there is a commuter train from the northwest side of Austin but it’s very limited in where it goes. Definitely agree with renting for six months to a year (and even rent will be expensive) in order to get a feel for the city, commute times, and areas of town or the suburbs, and the school districts.
As the couple lives and owns a flat in London, they are very familiar with big city cost and traffic! The only difference is they currently have the tube for transportation. They are well aware they will need cars; that is not a concern as one is from a large US city and is use to the daily traffic.
While city data has been viewed in the past, I personally don’t find the housing information to be as helpful as I would like. I guess due to the difference in people posting, sometimes a few posters are very opinionated and not as truthful as I would like.
@Sybylla The one with the job transfer is an American; the other will have a green card for an immediate relative as they are married. She has traveled often to Austin for work the last 2 years so a bit familiar with the city, but not enough to select a place to live long term. I do not have details of the work contract, but I know it has been reviewed and acceptable to both.
Hopefully they will rent longer than a couple of months, but the thought was to Airbnb so they do not have to buy cars, furniture and household items all upon arrival! If they can find something furnished until they find what they want, that would be the best. Since it is just the two of them, they don’t need anything big; plus they are use to a London flat!
The best school district in Austin is Eanes hands down! So look in West Lake Hills it’s close to downtown. If I had it to do over again I would have pushed for a smaller house in a better school district, closer to downtown over a larger house farther out. I had no idea how much the traffic would increase or that my kids would want to go from homeschool to public for high school.
Also keep in mind property taxes. They are very different from location to location. We live in an ETJ and have lower taxes but even though we have an Austin address we don’t pay taxes that feed into the the Austin Community College so except for some very specific class for DE we are considered out of district which is the same as out of state tuition! It’s cheaper for my kids to take some classes at UT Austin than ACC also we have to pay a fee to use the Austin public library.
I went to school in the Eanes district. Look up the Westwood neighborhood, which abuts the city of Westlake Hills. Since it’s not part of the city, taxes aren’t as high, but kids still attend Eanes. My parents have lived there since 1973. One advantage to the neighborhood is that there is a “back door” route into Austin so you avoid a lot of traffic.
Rollingwood is also a nice area, next to Westlake Hills. Those kids go to Eanes, also.
My parents will be selling their house before long. I will miss it.
While they are getting to know the area, they might enjoy renting for awhile in one of the beautiful high rises in downtown and environs. It would be a fun experience for a couple with no kids yet! The South Congress area is also a fun, funky area that they also might enjoy.
I would highly recommend that whatever house/rental they consider that they travel the area at rush hour to see what the commute is like. You couldn’t pay me enough to take some of those routes!
They added a toll lane to one of the main roads through town. The amount of the toll varies depending on the speed of traffic. When traffic is backed up, friend tell me the toll can be as high as $5. They feel that it hasn’t improved traffic much. I wish they’d made it a high vehicle occupancy lane, instead.
The toll lane is a rip off, you never really know if it will help. Many times I’ve seen the toll lane move SLOWER than the regular lanes! And there is no cap on how high the toll will be at any given moment.
I live in Cedar Park and have been driving downtown for 23 years. The schools are very good and you get a lot more house for the money. A lot depends on where they will be working.
For those that live in Austin, might you be aware of a small company that handles short term furnished rental? The corporate rental companies are known to be more than hotel stays, and they can not pay that amount. The thought is to rent for 3 months to give them time to search for where to live and buy furniture and cars. Ideally, they are looking to be downtown or within a bus ride away. Coming from the UK they will only be bringing their personal belongings; furniture will be left in their flat as they will be renting that out.
They should try AirBnB. My friend who is leaving on a year long around the world trip has put her house on it. According to her many people do that as opposed to listing house with a rental agency.
For short term rental, they should just AirBnB or rent an apartment instead of a house. Less upkeep. There must be apartment complexes that are furnished with short term rentals.
Looks like they were able to find an Airbnb that was cheaper than they expected. This of course makes me worry that there might be something wrong with the unit or owner as there is only one review. It is possible it is a new rental, but I tend to overthink and research and would not jump on a unit without a lot of research.
Ha, the first place DH and I rented in Maine had electric heat. We left the thermostat at 45 degrees overnight. We took turns jumping out of bed in the morning to turn on the bathroom heater. We survived!
Look up the Westwood neighborhood, which abuts the city of Westlake Hills. Since it’s not part of the city, taxes aren’t as high, but kids still attend Eanes. My parents have lived there since 1973. One advantage to the neighborhood is that there is a “back door” route into Austin so you avoid a lot of traffic.