According to a recent study conducted by bizjournals of the largest 50 metropolitan areas in the country, Austin was named among the least stressful places to live in the United States. As an Austin-area resident for the past 20 years, I am not surprised to hear this, as I have always described this town as laid-back and optimistic with a youthful spirit.
Included in the criteria for this ranking were the following:
- Unemployment rate
- Days of unhealthy air per year
- Commute time
- Deaths by circulatory-system diseases
- Rate of per capita income growth
- Families living below the poverty level
- Homeowners making monthly house payments of $3,000 or more
- Murder rate
- Robbery rate
- Days of potential sunshine
Austin tied (at zero) with the lowest number of unhealthy air days annually. We also had the lowest number of circulatory-system deaths. Additionally, although it is a dubious honor, we had the lowest murder rate out of the top 50 metros.
They indexed all of the cities on a scale from most stressful to least stressful, with zero as the median. Austin's stress index was actually negative, at -4.76. Cities that ranked better than Austin were Virginia Beach-Norfolk, Salt Lake City, Phoenix, and Oklahoma City. To see the entire article and the charts, click here: http://www.bizjournals.com/edit_special/62.html?page=2#l.
Clearly, this is one more reason to consider Austin if you are looking to relocate or to retire. Why not come and enjoy the good life here in Texas? It's affordable, fun, and low stress, too!
If you are considering relocating to the Austin area or investing in real estate here, please feel free to give me a call anytime on my cell phone at 512-796-7653. You can also email me at jason@austintexashomes.com. I have over 11 years of full-time real estate sales experience in Austin, and I would love the opportunity to help.
Our Austin real estate website is located at http://www.austintexashomes.com/. Thanks for reading, and I look forward to hearing from you soon!
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