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> It’s too damn hot and only going to get hotter. I'm a native Michigander who moved to Austin from Seattle 4 years ago - the summers are absolutely brutal her

> It’s too damn hot and only going to get hotter. I'm a native Michigander who moved to Austin from Seattle 4 years ago - the summers are absolutely brutal here, and like you say, only getting worse with climate change. Have my first kid due in April, wife and I started earnestly looking into buying, and with a 6 figure salary I don't feel like I can afford to live within Austin city limits. The schools all suck where we could theoretically afford a total rebuild project home, at the very top of our price range. Went to Buda to see what suburban life would be like, and it was my own personal hell. 6k sq ft lots for miles on end, everyone crammed in on each other snagging their tiny slice of the American dream. No tree coverage - summers there would be absolutely awful. With 0 signs of climate change slowing buying a house in Texas feels like a gamble on a 20 year timescale. Austin is a lovely city in many ways, but when I think in 20 year increments I don't see this growth being sustained, I think there will be an exodus out of Texas and other southern states for cooler climates within my lifetime. Taking my family back to where I grew up - Grand Rapids Michigan area. Winters aren't exactly fun, but it's a simple thing to get warmer - you just bundle up. Summer heat there is no escaping without air conditioning, there's weeks on end where you really can't go outside.

ghaff 6y ago
I feel the same way about heat and cold. I actually lived in New Orleans for 3 years and, when I was in the city, it was pretty much a matter of going from AC to AC for multiple months a year. I didn't really do outdoor activities. The one time I was in Austin over a weekend relatively recently--I had events on either side--I did go up to Fredericksburg one day but mostly I just hung out until evening when the bats came out. The only thing that really bugs me about snow is commuting/traveling. Fortunately I don't have to commute any longer and, as you say, you can always add a layer or two.
- selimthegrim 6y ago
  Is NOLA still on your hip cities list?
  - ghaff 6y ago
    Never was. Was a good job out of engineering grad school. Actually spent a fair bit of time on offshore rigs and in shipyards. Fairly fun place to spend a few years but very little real culture--some jazz aside--as the wealthy were too busy planning their Mardi Gras balls. And to a local, Mardi Gras was mostly a zoo. Left after a few years to get another grad degree, which was pretty much my plan from the start.
jelliclesfarm 6y ago
I am working on an homestead design plan for someone near Buda/Kyle. Still gathering research material about climate/water etc but won’t start working on it before June 2021. Out of curiosity, would it be possible to build an underground home(earth sheltered) in the Buda area? Should be cooler..and tree cover above.
- godtoldmetodoit 6y ago
  I'm not sure - I'm sure it is possible. I do know that basements are not common in central Texas. Near the hills there's a ton of limestone, and farther east I think there's a lot of clay. Both make digging (or sealing) a basement more expensive then in other parts of the country.
  - jelliclesfarm 6y ago
    Thanks. That’s useful information.
    - sn9 6y ago
      Without knowing anything about how the cost compares, it might make sense to look into building a home out of some thick dense walls of cement or something for natural insulation. And you can look into some of the passive temperature regulation of traditional architectures from parts of the world with similar climates or newer green architectures that accomplish similar. There are probably architecture firms in Central Texas that could help you with the last one.
      - jelliclesfarm 6y ago
        I have found someone in Colorado who specializes in underground/earth sheltered homes. But local Texan expertise is even better as they’d know what has and hasn’t worked for local conditions.
throw0101a 6y ago
> I'm a native Michigander who moved to Austin from Seattle 4 years ago Did you leave Seattle for work? Would it, or the PNW generally, be another option? (Just curious.)
- godtoldmetodoit 6y ago
  I was working at Microsoft in Seattle, met my wife to be there, when we met her family already had plans of moving down to San Antonio, so we followed to Austin. I work fully remote for NTT now. PNW is an option, and that area has a lot going for it, but affordability isn't one of them and we no longer have any family up there, whereas I have family in Michigan. I had initially moved from Michigan to the PNW, wanting to get away from the snow, but in many ways the constant drizzle in Portland and Seattle made the winter even worse. I do love the PNW though, in the summers it is so majestic with the mountains, rivers and ocean.

ghaff 6y ago

I feel the same way about heat and cold. I actually lived in New Orleans for 3 years and, when I was in the city, it was pretty much a matter of going from AC to AC for multiple months a year. I didn't really do outdoor activities. The one time I was in Austin over a weekend relatively recently--I had events on either side--I did go up to Fredericksburg one day but mostly I just hung out until evening when the bats came out. The only thing that really bugs me about snow is commuting/traveling. Fortunately I don't have to commute any longer and, as you say, you can always add a layer or two.

selimthegrim 6y ago
Is NOLA still on your hip cities list?
- ghaff 6y ago
  Never was. Was a good job out of engineering grad school. Actually spent a fair bit of time on offshore rigs and in shipyards. Fairly fun place to spend a few years but very little real culture--some jazz aside--as the wealthy were too busy planning their Mardi Gras balls. And to a local, Mardi Gras was mostly a zoo. Left after a few years to get another grad degree, which was pretty much my plan from the start.

jelliclesfarm 6y ago

I am working on an homestead design plan for someone near Buda/Kyle. Still gathering research material about climate/water etc but won’t start working on it before June 2021. Out of curiosity, would it be possible to build an underground home(earth sheltered) in the Buda area? Should be cooler..and tree cover above.

godtoldmetodoit 6y ago
I'm not sure - I'm sure it is possible. I do know that basements are not common in central Texas. Near the hills there's a ton of limestone, and farther east I think there's a lot of clay. Both make digging (or sealing) a basement more expensive then in other parts of the country.
- jelliclesfarm 6y ago
  Thanks. That’s useful information.
  - sn9 6y ago
    Without knowing anything about how the cost compares, it might make sense to look into building a home out of some thick dense walls of cement or something for natural insulation. And you can look into some of the passive temperature regulation of traditional architectures from parts of the world with similar climates or newer green architectures that accomplish similar. There are probably architecture firms in Central Texas that could help you with the last one.
    - jelliclesfarm 6y ago
      I have found someone in Colorado who specializes in underground/earth sheltered homes. But local Texan expertise is even better as they’d know what has and hasn’t worked for local conditions.

throw0101a 6y ago

> I'm a native Michigander who moved to Austin from Seattle 4 years ago Did you leave Seattle for work? Would it, or the PNW generally, be another option? (Just curious.)

godtoldmetodoit 6y ago
I was working at Microsoft in Seattle, met my wife to be there, when we met her family already had plans of moving down to San Antonio, so we followed to Austin. I work fully remote for NTT now. PNW is an option, and that area has a lot going for it, but affordability isn't one of them and we no longer have any family up there, whereas I have family in Michigan. I had initially moved from Michigan to the PNW, wanting to get away from the snow, but in many ways the constant drizzle in Portland and Seattle made the winter even worse. I do love the PNW though, in the summers it is so majestic with the mountains, rivers and ocean.