Non Immigration related: how is austin

O

over

Registered Users (C)
Hi I need some input from the gurus in this forum.

I have been looking to move to a different place for the north east (NJ) after GC.

I am told Austin TX is a great place to live:
affordable housing.
no state tax.
green
plenty of high tech companies.
nice weather.
good university (UT)
etc.


I you have any input, I will appretiate it.
thanks
over and out :)
 
Don't know much about you or your industry.

No doubt Austin is a great place to live and raise kids. But as far the economy goes - It just SUCKS. Most of the companies there have had a hiring freeze for a long time. But yes, if you already have a job offer or don't care much for it, then it is my most favourite place in the country.
 
Thanks

Yes I have an offer.
This raises a question. How badly was job market hit during this down turn. Is the job market still hurting in austin. I dont want to land up in a place where things are doing too badly.
I am in the semiconductor industry and understand there are plenty of companies there.
over
 
I am in the same industry and know couple of people in austin in this industry.

One of them is trying to sell his house but he couldn't get the price he paid 1.5 years back.

Raju
 
I have been living in Austin for 6 yrs

No comeback as yet....in terms of jobs. Still a sad story. Semi conductor sector- Worst hit in last 2 yrs. So far no good signs.

Check the last few lay offs of the firms you plan to join.

IF u have a steady job....NO BETTER PLACE
 
Thanks guys

Does Austin have a higher rate of unempoyment as compared to the rest of the country.
This is a big company (8000 employes) and have not had major layoffs for some time, at least that is what i believe. Is there a way to find out how many people have they laid off. I did a search on the web and got nothing.
Their financials look good. The last 8 quarters they have been doing good business.
The cmpany looks good, but I am hearing all these stories about austin which scares me , I am really confused if i should take the offer.
I have been wanting to buy a house and settle down.

Any opinions are welcome.
over and out
:confused:
 
one more thing

What is a good salary to negotiate for with 4-5 years of experiance in texas. Is $75,000 - $80,000 too much to ask for.
How are the unemployent benefits in texas. Any one know the weekly amount.

Really appretiate all your input
Thanks in advance.
over
 
There is Texas and there is Austin. Austin is more expensive as far as standard of living is concerned than say Dallas or Houston. Its because of UT, the companies and all the things to do around here. It more friendly and has more character than the concrete jungle they call Dallas.

Factor all that into your decision.

HTH
 
Re: one more thing

Originally posted by over
What is a good salary to negotiate for with 4-5 years of experiance in texas. Is $75,000 - $80,000 too much to ask for.
How are the unemployent benefits in texas. Any one know the weekly amount.

Really appretiate all your input
Thanks in advance.
over
Click to expand...

Living in Austin I have to agree with most of the feedback. Austin is a nice place to live if you have a job. Make sure you can stand hot summers! I think it's less expensive than many places on the east coast or west coast. Personally, when it comes to Texas, I'd only want to live in Austin or San Antonio but not Dallas nor Houston.

IMHO, unless you have very specific (i.e. desperately needed) skills and/or experiences, $75k-$80k seems a little high for an individual contributor (i.e. not a manager). This is were the job market comes into play. There's a lot of talent out here and companies don't have to make many compromises. At least that's been my experience over the last 2 years or so during which I have been involved in hiring of a number of people. So, $65k may be more realistic. Then again, this specific company may pay more than what I'm used to. ;) Fortunately, I haven't had to inquire about unemployment benefits yet. Good luck!

Achim
 
over:
Long time, Me and my family lived 3 years in Austin
Till today the kids can not forget how beautiful that city is and they wish to come back to it.

Go for it. You will have so many choices where to spend each weekend.
 
thanks moja

It is scarry to make such a big move from the north east to Austin.
I understand the austin economy is largely dependent on the high tech industry, which is not doing too well. But then it isnt doing well any where in the country either.

If the home prices are down in austin, then may be this is a good time to buy a house.

I have heard some great things about austin, hence my desire to move there. I have a stable job right now. I hope I am making the right decission moving to austin, just because of the better pay, lower cost of living , affordable housing, and like every one says great place to bring up kids.
Hope all goes fine.

over and out.
 
over

Some of the major employers in Austin are IBM, Motorola, Dell, AMD, NI and a few others. Most of these have had layoffs in recent past. I think Dell is bouncing back. A friend of mine who works for Motorola is being relocated to Phoenix since his division is being shutdown. The only options given to him were either move or quit. His house which is a little over 220K has been in the market for a few months now but no buyers.

Generally speaking the economy is picking up just like the rest of the country. But the problem is that this city is in the middle of nowhere. If you get laid off, companies in East or West coast don't even want to talk to you when you say I am in Austin, TX.

Another story - A friend of mine quit a job in California, joined Lettice Semiconducter a few years back and moved to Austin. Brought a beautif house on a hill for $350K. After a year got laid off. Could not find a job in Austin. Finally found one in Houston. Now his house has been in the market for over a year - No buyers.

Now please don't get discouraged by this. The positive side is that this is a great place. It is green, got hills, lakes, parks, good schools. The downtown life is great. A very living city due to UT. If your job is stable, there is no place like Austin. One last thing - The allergies are quite high in Central Texas. Keep that in mind since doctor visits will be a regular expense :D
 
???

WaitinginQ,

> If you get laid off, companies in East or West coast don't even want to talk to you when you say I am in Austin, TX.

Could you please shed a little more lights on this? Thanks.

Lea
 
Damn

Now allergies too......
I already have allergies. It never stops.

Any one know if the Austin economy is picking up. Are IBM, morotola, etc still laying off people.
I am not going to be working for any of these companies. Who knows if the job is going to be stable. The manager told me that the prices of homes have come down and this will be a good time to buy an house. This sounded nice.

I am not hearing great things about the job market there. But if you look at other high tech hot beds, there is nothing much happening.

CA- I dont want to go there. To expensive.
NC- RTP still no jobs there.
Boston- no jobs and very expensive.
all the places right now look the same to me.



I am hoping that once the Big firms start to hire, Austin will pick up fast.
But then Dell has more jobs outside US than in the US. IBM is also outsourcing.
Now add allergies to the picture.

The reason I am considering this position is:
Nice place to live.
low living cost.
good pay
nice company.

Every time i write this, I feel I just answered my own question, but then I hear all these horror stories about the job market in Austin.


:confused:
I hope I make a decission soon.
over and out
 
Allergies for sure! I have never had any allergies in my life except for the 10 months I was in Austin (not entire ten months -- just spring and fall). So much so, I had to see a doctor.

Just do a pollen index check on weather.com and you will know. Boston had something like 6 and austin had 60 in December when I checked last (safely from Boston). :)

PS: My 1-2 yr old (then) daughter would have one eye watering during peak allergy season. It was both funny and sad seeing her with a tear in one eye all day long. (Well, it is funny now, it was sad back then.)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
leahwang

Originally posted by leahwang
WaitinginQ,

> If you get laid off, companies in East or West coast don't even want to talk to you when you say I am in Austin, TX.

Could you please shed a little more lights on this? Thanks.

Lea
Click to expand...

It's the distance issue. These days there is plenty of talent available locally in East & West coast. So they don't want to consider candidates that have an extra burden of relocation. When you talk to someone in New York about Austin, they react as if this place is somewhere in Europe or Mexico.:D
 
I would not move to Austin.

Been there once - really not worth considering.

Most town is around I35 for 5 mile stretch.

Once you cross 5 miles - you are middle of no where.

There are 100,000 unemployed engineers in Austin.

Hot

Small place but expensive as compared to Dallas

Most roads are broken.

Traffic is mess - you see a lot of trucks also

No real inner road - only I35
 
They do have US-1 that runs parellel to I-35 for the most part. (Forget what the Austin-ites call it though.)

But you are right. Having lived in north-east now, that place seems like a small town in the middle of a huge jungle.
 
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