So, you have good school districts? That's more than 90% of the country can claim. Congratulations.
This sounds like a case of the 'grass is greener'.
Austin....so over it
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This sounds like a case of the 'grass is greener'.
Everyplace has pros and cons. Thankfully we are free to move where we want in USA. Complaining does little to help the place and puts your focus on negative.
Embrace what you do have and guessing you won’t complain about Austin when you sell your likely massively appreciated home.
Embrace what you do have and guessing you won’t complain about Austin when you sell your likely massively appreciated home.
They have their grime too. You don't see that on YouTube but some part of Tokyo can look like 3rd world as well.
I think you just described a normal large city anywhere in the world. You can have small towns that nobody cares about but the locals and then once it becomes big so would the housing cost and the lower social class folks hitting a hard time there, then start the downward spiral. As a percentage of population they are not increasing but all it takes is a few of them to ruin a place, so large cities especially will take the hit worse than a small town.
I don't think it is a political thing, unless you have a dictatorship but even then they too have crime and are just "managed" under the table between those in power and the criminals in the middle.
I don't think it is a political thing, unless you have a dictatorship but even then they too have crime and are just "managed" under the table between those in power and the criminals in the middle.
SF's problem is usually Tenderloin + a bunch of homeless minding their own business outside of Tenderloin, the car break ins and store raiding not being prosecuted. I don't think having window smashed is something that minding your own business could prevent, but staying indoor and laying low is a must in part of SF since a long time ago.
I think that's pretty much the case anywhere near a bigger city nowadays. Restaurants can't find staff unless they pay more, and so the cost is passed to the customer.
It's the Boulder Colorado of Texas.
No. Retirees as group alone are not moving home prices skyward-throughout the Western U.S.
Servers have been underpaid for decades. Yes-all of us must pay. But then again-going out to eat is not a right nor mandatory to survive.
Yep great post!
I looked at land farther out, but it would have involved being in far out rural school districts like Burnet. That was a bridge too far. But there was a nice 10 acre parcel for $200K that I really wanted. Just wasn't practical at the present time.
One place I looked at pretty closely from a general perspective was Goldwaithe. It is 100 miles from Austin, but compared to many rural districts that have middling schools at best, they have excellent schools in Goldwaithe. In the end though my wife wasn't good with being that isolated, there isn't much between Lampasas and Brownwood. I told her we'd plant some merlot grapes and make some wine, but she wasn't swayed.
Something I started doing to get out of some of the rush hour traffic when I go to the office, is take the train. That won't help you in Dripping Springs, but it is pretty nice for those of us who can use it. It definitely takes longer, but I always pull out my laptop and do some work on the way down there, so I can kind of justify the extra time. For me it's defintely cheaper because I am too impatient to not use 183A and my Navi gets about 15mpg. I hop on in Leander at the 0731 departure and at first I was jumping off at Crestview and transferring to the North Lamar bus, but now that it's cooler I've been taking my bicycle and getting off at Highland, then riding the rest of the way in, it's about 2.5 miles on back roads.
Moreso for me than the HOA is the MUD situation. I'd rather just pay my share of the MUD development costs upfront but there's not really any way out of it. I guess having the MUD allows the developers to get their money all up front. But anyway.
I thought restaurant prices were pretty much high everywhere, but maybe I'm missing something. Regardless, I rarely get out of a sit-down restaurant anymore for less than $60 and that is for 2 adults and an elementary aged child who always orders the kid meals.
Overall there are definitely worse places to live. It just rubs me wrong when people fawn over it as a top place to live.
Well, if you look at it like a bell curve, at least 30% must have good schools.
I suppose the counterpoint might be that they've moved the goalposts closer to make it easier for low performing populations.
My dad was born in 1932 in Indian Gap, not too far from there. We go there for a city reunion every now and again. There isnt much left but a few run down buildings, a cemetery, and a few folks. It is beautiful country. Hamilton is somewhat bigger and worth considering.
If you don't mind crappy winter Wx, South Dakota is full of nice places to live.
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He already said... "my wife wasn't good with being that isolated". I have been to S. Dakota several times and found that 2/3 of the state has almost nothing in it. The City of Austin has 25% more people living in it than the entire state of S. Dakota. Then there is the brutal winter, as you already mentioned.
I was in the Lakeway / Cedar Park / Leander area earlier this year. The entire greater Austin region is growing very quickly. Lots of traffic and building of new roads has not kept up with the population and business growth.
I stay out of downtown Austin area unless it’s to go to a good restaurant.
People like to move where the jobs and opportunities are.
The winter is what it is, but you can live near a city in SD and not be isolated. City life without all the things mentioned in the opening post:
-overpopulation
-high cost of living
-homelessness
-definitely no tech bros
Just imagine how bad the rest of the cities are!
TBH I don't really get why so many people like to live in most large cities at all? I've read a few article/studies that find cities in the 50-100k size tend to have the best quality of life, with short commutes, nearly all big city services, a sense of community, usually cheaper housing relative to income, fewer "big city" problems.
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