Dallas verse Austin Update

Donna - From what I know, Austin is definitely more pricey than Dallas with regard to housing.  I was born and raised there in Dallas (I may have told you that before - not sure), but I have been here in Austin since 1988.  It's a wonderful place to live, but so is Dallas, frankly.  I know you were not looking forward to moving and starting all over with regard to your business.  If you stay put, you can just send me referrals, right?  :)  Whatever happens, I'm sure it will work out fine for you.

I will say a little prayer or you.

Good luck!!

Donna:  I am sure there is more to just comparing home prices of what you have and what you made the offer on, and the salary there as compared to the salary here.  In which place would you be better of living in... in five years, for example ?  Also... Drees is a great builder... I used to work for them... but they are "very proud of their homes."  I am sure you could probably still get a great home, but with more square footage with a builder other than Drees.  Now, I don't mean a drop in quality... it's just that I know Drees often can be above the market.

And, resale in five years is a concern, too.  Where would you guess the better appreciation would be ?  Hopefully you were using a local Austin Realtor with super market knowledge to assist you ?  That would be worth a lot.  Whatever you do decide... I wish you the absolute best !  I hope my ideas were not too off-base... I just had some thoughts that I thought I'd share with you.  Take care...

Donna, good luck with this decision.  My sister lives in Dallas but has sometimes thought about a move to Austin.

Donna, glad you ran the numbers. When we have people move to MI, they get a large raise. Then they come for a visit and realize it was not really a raise. Taxes are higher, insurance higher, gas higher, state income tax, it goes on and on.

My husband and I have moved several times and of course had to weigh the pros and cons just like you did. Sometimes, it's not about the dollars and cents. Sometimes, the best decision is a lateral move or even to take a pay cut, if the position is a stepping stone to some future desired position. Personally, I try to take the number crunching out of it and focus on what would make me (and my family) happier. Either decision will be the right one, because you've taken the time to really think things through! :)

LOL.... the sisters. ugh

i will tell you all about it. that realtor is pulling his hair out

Donna, is that what they consider a shot in the dark? lol. Hope you are feeling better.

Duane

Donna, good luck in whatever you and your husband decide. I don't have stats on either area but having lived in Texas since 1979 I think the median sales price of a home in Austin is significantly higher than Dallas, the traffic I think now is worse in Austin than Dallas, but Austin definitely has the plus of the Hill Country and the nature. That's my thumbnail sketch of the two places. Air travel around the country naturally is better out of DFW.

Donna - Thanks for the update!  I bet that you will be so happy when this is settled one way or another.

As I tell my clients who move to the Austin area from other cities, Austin is the most expense city int the state. We are constantly increasing because the high volume of relocation's to the Austin area. When I am driving around, I see a lot of CA, FL, WA, CO, NY and DC plates on the road. With the constant relocation's to our AREA, the homes are going up in value, especially in the downtown area. Just to give you an idea, downtown Austin is no longer central Austin anymore. The Arboretum area is central but as people from the south call it (South Dallas) because it takes them about 40 to 45 mins drive to get there without traffic. Suggestions from Austin area, yes falconhead is the lowest tax area us, but knowing what I know and selling in Austin for about 8 yrs that area is changing so fast because of the toll road that opened not to long ago. It is about 30 to 40 mins drive to downtown without Traffic and with Traffic, your looking about 1 hour. I know this because I live close to Falconhead. In regards to Drees, the builder here in Austin is struggling really hard to stay open and maintain their prices. The higher homes are not selling that much but everything is the middle between $180,000 to about $350,000 are. Good Luck and if you do decide, welcome to my city, but I am glad that you have done your home work.

Cool, and good luck. Have you decide on what office that you might be transfering to in regards to RE/MAX? I used to be with RE/MAX for 6 yrs. I know all the offices very well and brokers, too. Maybe, I can give you some advice on them.