Find Your Happy Place

Moving to Austin?

Austin, Texas, is a wonderful place to live and has been a go-to location for people looking to relocate from other states for quite some time. Greater Austin was the fastest-growing large metro area in the United States for 12 years, from 2011 to 2023 (in 2024, it slipped to the number 2 slot).

The draw is easy to understand because Austin has a lot to offer. In addition to no state income taxes, a lower cost of living than many U.S. states, and some outstanding public schools, it is also naturally beautiful, with rolling hills; rivers, streams, and lakes; and many trees and foliage (not what you would imagine for Texas). Austin is also a fun place to live, with a wide variety of outdoor activities, great food and nightlife, and tons of live music - hence the title "The Live Music Capital of the World." As the Texas State Capital and home to the prestigious University of Texas, the city also exudes a sense of culture and progress.

Austin has been considered cool and interesting for a long time, just on a smaller scale. As recent as the 1980s, Austin had a low-key, artsy, small-town feel, and people liked it that way. Residents prided themselves in being more liberal than the rest of Texas and coined the phrase "Keep Austin Weird." With the help of incentives and active recruiting, Austin has experienced a considerable business boom, particularly from the technology sector. As companies relocated, the population surged, the downtown skyline grew, and developers built lots of housing beyond the city center.

Greater Austin now spreads north to Round Rock (home to Dell Computers), south to San Marcos (home of Texas State University), east to Bastrop (home to several of Elon Musk's companies), and west to the Lake Travis area. The enlargement of the area is still underway. Samsung Computers is building a large campus in Taylor, Texas, north of Round Rock, and the corridor between Bastrop and San Antonio continues to fill in. Similar to Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin-San Antonio will someday be a recognized metroplex. Austin suburbs extend west to Lake Travis, and developments continue to spring up west along Highway 71. In a nutshell, Greater Austin is sprawling and continuing to expand.

This Quickstart Guide aims to help Californians understand Austin real estate better. Since I made this move in 2023, I know how hard it can be to understand the housing and lifestyle options available. There are many great places to live in Greater Austin, but I have highlighted the areas most appealing to people moving from another state for this guide. It will help you get a lay of the land and have the knowledge needed to have more informative discussions with your real estate professional. The areas I highlight are of my own making and intended to give you a quick overview of your housing options within proximity to downtown Austin. Ultimately, nothing substitutes getting "boots on the ground" to check it out for yourself.

Enjoy!

Property Taxes

Texas handles property taxes differently from California. Although Texas has no state income tax, Californians can expect to pay more property taxes. The concept is the same: the area in which you live has an established property tax rate, which is applied to the assessed value of your home to determine the annual property taxes owed. This is where the similarities end!

Because of Proposition 13, property taxes In California remain relatively steady from year to year and don’t differ significantly from county to county (most homeowners pay 1.25%). The home's purchase price remains the basis on which the tax rate is applied. Additions or significant improvements will increase taxes, but homes are never reappraised. Therefore, Californians who have owned their homes for many years retain the benefit of lower taxes. Property taxes in California are prepaid in six-month increments.

The way Texas handles property taxes is rather complicated. Some of the key differences are as follows:

• Texans pay their property taxes in arrears. Homeowners receive a property tax bill in October for the current year (due no later than 1/31).
• Property tax rates vary significantly depending on where you live. The county, city, and community all charge a percentage, and entities like county health organizations, independent school districts, and water districts also add their percentages.
• Every home in Texas is reappraised each year. If property values are rising, then you can also expect your property taxes to increase. Some exemptions can help minimize these increases, and homeowners can dispute the reassessment yearly, yet a Texan’s yearly tax bill is not static.

Things to Know

• The Colorado River (not THE Colorado River) meanders through Greater Austin. Famous sections like Lake Austin and Ladybird Lake look more like rivers than lakes. Lake Travis is the only part of the river in Travis County that actually looks like a lake (although the water level is quite low now due to drought).

• Austin is called the “Allergy Capital of the World” because of its high level of airborne allergies year-round. The winter can be problematic for those prone to allergies due to our vast supply of cedar trees and bushes. We call it “Cedar Fever,” and it can leave people feeling quite under the weather. Luckily, Austin is also home to a lot of allergists. Allergy shots can help a lot!

Austin Single-Family Home Basics

• The Colorado River (not THE Colorado River) meanders through Greater Austin. Famous sections like Lake Austin and Ladybird Lake look more like rivers than lakes. Lake Travis is the only part of the river in Travis County that actually looks like a lake (although the water level is quite low now due to drought).

• Austin is called the “Allergy Capital of the World” because of its high level of airborne allergies year-round. The winter can be problematic for those prone to allergies due to our vast supply of cedar trees and bushes. We call it “Cedar Fever,” and it can leave people feeling quite under the weather. Luckily, Austin is also home to a lot of allergists. Allergy shots can help a lot!