4 ms·

It's strange to see Austin on this list. It says it takes nearly 50% of your income to buy a home. While all the other cities are nearly half that. Most of the

by b3b0p 9y ago

It's strange to see Austin on this list. It says it takes nearly 50% of your income to buy a home. While all the other cities are nearly half that. Most of the other cities are also Midwest/North and have seasons / snow except for all the other Texas cities. I'm in Austin, I like it, I don't see myself ever buying a home, but I'm happy renting. I've owned homes in the past and I honestly didn't like it.

hkmurakami 9y ago
One thing Austin has going for it vs more developed coastal cities is the capacity for additional sprawl, if that's the kind of arrangement you're looking for.
- swozey 9y ago
  Sprawl is awful in Austin because of our lake and highway system. "South Austin" (South of Town Lake/1st st) is 12 miles from my house but going there is basically like driving to another city. 30-45 minutes. What happens is people will live in Central/North Austin and will only take jobs in Central/North. Vice versa if you live South.
  - hkmurakami 9y ago
    Guess it's kind of like the Peninsula / East Bay divide in SV? Crossing any of the bridges is a nightmare. Hilariously, growing up 880 was known to be the worst highway wrt traffic but with increased employment in the peninsula, 101 has legitimately overtaken it I think.
  - b3b0p 9y ago
    Only 30-45 minutes? That seems like a good day. I have a 4 mile commute South (from South Congress/Barton Springs straight up South Congress) on my bike. I easily can beat traffic often times. Even without traffic it takes just a few minutes longer (lights, speed limits).
    - swozey 9y ago
      My 3 mile bike ride takes 15 minutes or 10 minutes by car. The stop lights are so abysmally timed, 5 of that is sitting at various stoplights.
swozey 9y ago
My honeymoon with Austin ended a few years ago. In 2011 I absolutely loved it. Pubtrans and traffic has become so miserable (oh boy, express lanes) that I have almost completely quit leaving my 3 mile bubble. I ride my bike sometimes but that's always nerve wracking. Everyone from LA will hop on here and say it's not bad, the problem is it's not getting better. The improvement projects are bad. The metro rail by me runs ONCE an hour. Also people are being priced out of homes. You know why there are hardly any townhouses here that were built after the 70s? COA banned building single family homes on lots smaller than 5750 sq feet. That regulation was removed LAST year. Your options for buying property here for anywhere near our median house value was basically buying a condo in a midrise or buying a 70s house up north (which is what I had to do). If you go to Dallas or Houston you can find really nice 2-10 year old townhouses in the middle of cool areas for $200-300k. Appraisals skyrocketing 30-50k/yr for the last 2 years has caused my property tax to rise $200/mo .. twice. And that's with homestead exemption. $800/mo in property taxes alone for my 70s regular-old-house. I'm sure it'll go up another $200 next year. Median household value is $400k now. http://kxan.com/2017/06/14/report-shows-austins-average-home-price-hits-record-400k/ http://kxan.com/2017/06/14/report-shows-austins-average-home... Been considering Olympia lately. Visited a few months ago and it was a really cool place. Felt like Austin probably 30 years ago. People still owned houses "downtown." Super walk/bikeable and a lot going on. I was shocked when I realized it only has 50k people. Also you're so damned central in TX that I can't go camping anywhere fun without a minimum 8 hour drive.
- b3b0p 9y ago
  The property taxes here to me are my main concern. Even if paying for a downtown condo in cash I still have a substantial monthly constantly growing property tax. It seems pointless to me. It is very bike (although all my friends disagree) and walk friendly. I got rid of my car and have been biking and walking every where (my apartment is downtown). Minus insurance, car payment and parking fee my rent is about what it was in Oklahoma, but in a much better location and quality of life. I came from Oklahoma a few years ago, where I owned a house in Tulsa and then Stillwater. Home prices are very similar to what you describe. For $200,000 to $300,000 you get a mansion, brand new even, in a very nicely kept up community with little to no H.O.A. fee (for keeping it up and access to the community amenities like club house and pool and trash). Edit: Do you mean Olympia, WA?

by b3b0p 9y ago

hkmurakami 9y ago

One thing Austin has going for it vs more developed coastal cities is the capacity for additional sprawl, if that's the kind of arrangement you're looking for.

swozey 9y ago
Sprawl is awful in Austin because of our lake and highway system. "South Austin" (South of Town Lake/1st st) is 12 miles from my house but going there is basically like driving to another city. 30-45 minutes. What happens is people will live in Central/North Austin and will only take jobs in Central/North. Vice versa if you live South.
- hkmurakami 9y ago
  Guess it's kind of like the Peninsula / East Bay divide in SV? Crossing any of the bridges is a nightmare. Hilariously, growing up 880 was known to be the worst highway wrt traffic but with increased employment in the peninsula, 101 has legitimately overtaken it I think.
- b3b0p 9y ago
  Only 30-45 minutes? That seems like a good day. I have a 4 mile commute South (from South Congress/Barton Springs straight up South Congress) on my bike. I easily can beat traffic often times. Even without traffic it takes just a few minutes longer (lights, speed limits).
  - swozey 9y ago
    My 3 mile bike ride takes 15 minutes or 10 minutes by car. The stop lights are so abysmally timed, 5 of that is sitting at various stoplights.

swozey 9y ago

My honeymoon with Austin ended a few years ago. In 2011 I absolutely loved it. Pubtrans and traffic has become so miserable (oh boy, express lanes) that I have almost completely quit leaving my 3 mile bubble. I ride my bike sometimes but that's always nerve wracking. Everyone from LA will hop on here and say it's not bad, the problem is it's not getting better. The improvement projects are bad. The metro rail by me runs ONCE an hour. Also people are being priced out of homes. You know why there are hardly any townhouses here that were built after the 70s? COA banned building single family homes on lots smaller than 5750 sq feet. That regulation was removed LAST year. Your options for buying property here for anywhere near our median house value was basically buying a condo in a midrise or buying a 70s house up north (which is what I had to do). If you go to Dallas or Houston you can find really nice 2-10 year old townhouses in the middle of cool areas for $200-300k. Appraisals skyrocketing 30-50k/yr for the last 2 years has caused my property tax to rise $200/mo .. twice. And that's with homestead exemption. $800/mo in property taxes alone for my 70s regular-old-house. I'm sure it'll go up another $200 next year. Median household value is $400k now. http://kxan.com/2017/06/14/report-shows-austins-average-home-price-hits-record-400k/ http://kxan.com/2017/06/14/report-shows-austins-average-home... Been considering Olympia lately. Visited a few months ago and it was a really cool place. Felt like Austin probably 30 years ago. People still owned houses "downtown." Super walk/bikeable and a lot going on. I was shocked when I realized it only has 50k people. Also you're so damned central in TX that I can't go camping anywhere fun without a minimum 8 hour drive.

b3b0p 9y ago
The property taxes here to me are my main concern. Even if paying for a downtown condo in cash I still have a substantial monthly constantly growing property tax. It seems pointless to me. It is very bike (although all my friends disagree) and walk friendly. I got rid of my car and have been biking and walking every where (my apartment is downtown). Minus insurance, car payment and parking fee my rent is about what it was in Oklahoma, but in a much better location and quality of life. I came from Oklahoma a few years ago, where I owned a house in Tulsa and then Stillwater. Home prices are very similar to what you describe. For $200,000 to $300,000 you get a mansion, brand new even, in a very nicely kept up community with little to no H.O.A. fee (for keeping it up and access to the community amenities like club house and pool and trash). Edit: Do you mean Olympia, WA?