Maybe Moving to Austin

[bluedogok]

Originally Posted by arbeiter

As someone who grew up in Washington and moved to Austin, I will tell you that you should check out the heat first. It's really unbearable for a lot of people. And there are plenty of cute little houses in Austin, but not as nice or affordable as Portland. That's the thing about Austin - housing is affordable, if you want to live in the dreary, ugly, lower-middle-class suburbs. Anything in a neighborhood with real character will set you back at least $250,000, in my opinion.

Portland is a better choice in my opinion - rents are actually cheaper. I know people who live in the Alberta arts district area and rent a huge bungalow for like $1200 - in Austin, that'd be unheard of unless it was a deteriorating shack.

Nice to know that I live in such a "horrible" area only 6 miles from downtown

Not everyone needs to live in the gentrified areas adjacent to downtown to feel "special", too many of those types live in those areas so they can say they live in [insert overpriced "cool" neighborhood here]. Those people are paying a premium for living in a "name" neighborhood, don't get me wrong, I like those areas but would never consider paying the ridiculous prices those people want when they buy and flip those houses. I live in a regular house with a $700 a month house payment in a nice quiet neighborhood with some good neighbors. Not too bad if you ask me, but then I grew out of the "pretentious" stage of my life many years ago.

[PuyoPiyo]

Thanks for the informations again lol

[arbeiter]

Originally Posted by bluedogok

Not everyone needs to live in the gentrified areas adjacent to downtown to feel "special", too many of those types live in those areas so they can say they live in [insert overpriced "cool" neighborhood here]. Those people are paying a premium for living in a "name" neighborhood, don't get me wrong, I like those areas but would never consider paying the ridiculous prices those people want when they buy and flip those houses. I live in a regular house with a $700 a month house payment in a nice quiet neighborhood with some good neighbors. Not too bad if you ask me, but then I grew out of the "pretentious" stage of my life many years ago.

You misread my comments. This wasn't an attack on your lifestyle choices or any others, it was simply my opinion. And one that should count, as I have lived in both the Pac NW and Austin (went to high school and college there.)

They're paying a premium for several reasons: location is one of them, but let's face it, a 1920's bungalow with a porch and mature trees with nice sidewalks and the ability to walk to Dolce Vita or Mother's Cafe is simply a superior option to many people. The reason these neighborhoods are "name" to begin with is because there was something about them that made them popular.

It's as simple as this: Austin has a very small core of older housing stock, smaller than many cities its size. If you look at Portland, which is similarly sized, classic pre-war housing radiates from the center for miles and miles, whereas Austin basically becomes postwar suburbia about 20-30 blocks from downtown. I'm glad you like your neighbors and $700 mortgage, but I was merely explaining a major difference between Austin and Portland. Price isn't everything.

[M1EK]

Originally Posted by arbeiter

It's as simple as this: Austin has a very small core of older housing stock, smaller than many cities its size. If you look at Portland, which is similarly sized, classic pre-war housing radiates from the center for miles and miles, whereas Austin basically becomes postwar suburbia about 20-30 blocks from downtown. I'm glad you like your neighbors and $700 mortgage, but I was merely explaining a major difference between Austin and Portland. Price isn't everything.

Agreed 1000%. Look, Allandale, Crestview, even Zilker are close in, but they aren't urban neighborhoods; they were built as car-dependent sprawl.

[bluedogok]

The way that I read the original post is that he would be a first time home buyer and I wanted to relay the fact there are opportunities out there in nice areas for that type of buyer other than the overpriced "cool" areas that aren't terribly far away from downtown (i.e. the burbs of Kyle and such places) or the Texas School for the Deaf area. If someone is wanting a change from a Portland/Vancouver type of place, Austin seems to be a good place to do that. Affordable housing can be found unless you are looking exclusively in that very small niche of housing.

I was just giving you a hard time about the thinking that Austin doesn't "exist" more than a few blocks outside of downtown that many have. Yes, the "cool" areas close in are very nice but the way they have become is out of the reach of most home buyers and especially the first time buyer. I know some feel that way, but there are some nice areas outside of there which are nice and affordable but may not be "urban" in nature, but nice nonetheless and not in the "new suburban style". We have sidewalks (that are used) and a bus line running through our neighborhood, so it is not like the newer types of subdivisions out there.

We have looked at some of those areas but $400,000 for a 60 year old 900sf bungalow is just ridiculous, but maybe my thinking has been skewed by the fact that I can buy the same basic house in the same type of neighborhood in Oklahoma City for around 100K, living there will make you think everything is overpriced. But then I am a F.O.F. who would rather have land outside of the city than live in the urban environment like I did when I was younger. My hobbies (woodworking and I want to get into metalworking and cars) are not conducive to the urban life unless I were to buy a commercial building and convert part of it into residential space. So my priorities changed over the years.

[arbeiter]

Well, I was in Colombia and found a luxury aparment on sale for $40,000. My point? Well, there's always somewhere cheaper and with better bang for the buck. Not suggesting he buy a house in Hyde Park either, but he should be aware that once you get out of the central core, the housing options are cheap but largely ugly and poorly-built.

[bluedogok]

Well, I would agree that our mid 70's was probably built by a contractor with an inspector on the payroll but I have seen some newer houses that aren't built any better. In fact I think many of them will not last as long, I guess you could call that planned obsolescence . It is just good that there is a decent variety here at many income levels.