According to the Austin Statesman's Jean Kwon, and just by virtue of visual confirmation after paying attention to the Austin or Central Texas Real Estate Market, it's not hard to see why Californian natives are migrating to Texas in droves.
The biggest reason is the discrepancy in Prices of property out in California in comparison to property Prices down here in Central Texas. The gap is phenomenal, and you are readily able to see that you can get almost twice the house for about half the price here in Austin, than you can in most, if not all the locales in California.
Other Reasons include
- Similar climate, it's hot there, and it's hot here too :)
- Natural beauty of the Central Texas Area, the Hill country is breathtaking to see, and live in
- The cultural Diversity, Austin's moto is "Keep Austin Weird" and basically what that tells you is that Austin has all kinds of people, the young, the older, the Artistic types, and Texas' version of silicone valley (Austin is a Big Tech-city).
- Less than 20% of Californian's can actually afford to buy a home out there; as compared to 50% of the rest of the country
According to the Department of finance, California is actually loosing more people than it is gaining, for the first time in almost 10 years; mainly because the owning a home is a dream that a lot of them will not be able to see if they stay there, or if they move there. Markets like Austin, Texas are very inviting to people who are looking to get more for their money in terms of housing. And because of that people and especially Californians are moving here in droves, they can come here and build mansions where that same money could barely get them a 2000sqft home in Cali.
Austin's a great place to be, and speaking from the perspective of a person who migrated here, herself from Chicago, I can tell you that it is worth it; because of it's charms, climate, scenery, and tech jobs, of course, but mostly if you want to own a home. :)
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Hi Funmi,
I noticed some more things that could be helpful for people who read this.
California is a large geographical area, including vast expanses where the terrain and weather don't lend themselves to a high quality of life for some people. Take the mojave desert for example, in California, but moving most anywhere else would be a great option in my opinion.
The Californian economy is such that once you adjust to an area that has a lower cost of living people will rarely if ever be able to justify the cost of living here again. For many of these people the move away is a permanent one way move. The economy in California has a higher cost of living, but so do Europe, and Japan. In many ways California has a GDP rivaling that of of other countries rather than states.
As far as the climate is concerned:
Here in Orange County, we don't really have any irritating bugs to speak of, (i.e. mosquitoes, and biting flies, etc.), we have the option of going for a swim in the Ocean. Many people make it their life goal to see an ocean, or live near the beach.
The cost of living may be more expensive, but there is something special about this place, and it is the right lifestyle for so many people. For some, the lifestyle available outweighs the cost, this is why you will find that people are highly motivated to do whatever it takes to earn their slice of the American Dream in California.
Having said all of that Austin has such a rich history of music, I can see why people would love to live there as well!