Relocating to Austin

I'm from San Diego and we moved to Houston a year ago. The government is so different here in a good way for me. Low taxes, non-intrusive, low waste, etc. I hear Austin is a bit more liberal in a CA way but nowhere near as bad as CA. The cost of living is so much cheaper too.

I am looking at a job in Austin right now so we may relocate there. So maybe seeing you at some events.

 

I think the tech companies are on that side and that is mostly what is coming from CA. I'm looking at an Austin job for a software company the recently moved from CA.

 

No question some of the newer companies to the area are up there and on the west side in general.

For us it was mostly geography and weather.

I grew up in the next town over from Berkeley so the politics of the county are not than big a problem. Could be better but I have been around so much worse for so long it isn't a big deal. At least in Austin I won't see a 6'6" guy in a tutu roller skating down the street. And it wasn't even Halloween.

 

So, I work in high tech and the bottom line is that companies are opening offices and relocating employees from all over the country to Texas. My sister works for Caterpillar in Peoria, IL and they are little by little telling the tech workers that they need to relocate to the San Antonio area offices or they will lose their job. We are talking about thousands of jobs. Many other companies are following this same model. I'm guessing it is all tax related.

For me, personally, I have a specialized set of technical skills and business knowledge that keep my demand high andIm constantly getting calls for employment opportunities. I usually ignore them, but when a job that was high paying came up in Austin - I returned the phone call.

 

Not just tax but all costs and regulatory.

My business requires 7 licenses and permits in California and they all breathe down my neck and charge me money annually. Texas? 0. There was a guy on the news a couple of years ago who wanted to put an awning on the front of his building. Just an awning. About $10,000 to make the place look better. Well the permit process required him to do seismic and ADA upgrades (some federal) and the cost went to $50,000. He moved to Nevada and took all the jobs with him. That sure made the state a better place to live.

Insurance
Cheaper

Gas
Cheaper

Housing
Cheaper

Tax
No brainer


When as an employer you don't need to pay enough for your employee to cover all of those you can pay him less and you both still win. California, NY and Illinois have still not figured that out.

Toyotas national headquarters has been in California since they started importing cars. When they moved to Texas the Mayor of Torrance essentially said "I don't blame them". Jerry Brown and the legislature are going to continue and keep ramping it up. A new gas tax is coming and is going to be between $.60 and $1 a gallon, mostly to pay for his stupid train to nowhere. He has announced an intention for a cap and trade program in the state. State agencies like Consumer Affairs which regulates half of the businesses in the state were always intended to just collect fees to run themselves are being turned into revenue generation agencies. And the scary part? When whack job like Jerry Brown is the voice of moderation in the Capital among all the lifer politicians, that is bad news.



Don't get me started.

 

Hey Brian? Welcome to Texas!

 

Too true on the regulatory climate in Ca compared to Tx. My company had two locations, one in San Jose and one in Austin. I was responsible for all the permitting and associated costs so I saw and had to pay for idiotic Ca permits and fees that were one tenth of what they are here in Tx. We ended up closing the San Jose place, too costly to do business. One of our customers has a site in Malibu and it takes 18 months to just get the permit to install a piece of equipment so the customer is going to install it at my company where we can do it in weeks. No wonder companies move away...

Enough of "politics," glad you'll both be joining the Austin family. Put on your list of things to do the 3 sisters (rt335, 336 & 337), rt16 south of Kerrville, the Apple Store in Medina. And of course COTA.

Definitely come to the f1 party on Halloween at Camp Mabry downtown if you are in town by then. PM if details are needed.

...b


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Don't want to seem rude, but what industry are you in, Bob?

On an unrelated note, my car insurance is going to almost double from CA to TX. I was surprised, but apparently the laws there aren't as favorable towards the auto insurance companies in Texas and that cost filters down to the policy holders. Apparently, Texans pay a lot to cover the uninsured in that state.

 

Thanks. I have the info. We should be there.

 

Computer chip stuff


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You're in for a surprise.

 

Too bad Leslie isn't around

 

Which Leslie?

Mine?

She is supposed to be there too.

 

LOL, no not YIUR leslie. google "leslie Austin" One of our colorful personalities, who is no longer with us...

 

Ditto. Just wait until Brian finds out he ran for mayor once and got ~8% of the vote.

 

Look up Emperor Norton.

 

Hey, at least Rick's leaving office this year. But them glasses do make him smarter.
Can't wait for him to have to pay the $7-9MM for security for a prez run that he stuck state with last time. Nobody said a word. Guy makes W look like a Rhodes scholar.
Gonna have to get up there to see y'all. Dollar goes a long way here, and flights are cheap.
Stop using your blinkers and always drive 20-30 over and you're one of us.
BTW, tutu pales compared to 500# stuffed into 200# sweats. TX, home of the pannus.
OK, TMI, but Google page one had one that tops most I've seen. Sorry.
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Strange, my car insurance went down a bunch when I moved from San Diego last year (homeowners went up but house is bigger and y'all get thunderstorms here).

Cars also suffer from storm damage here. Maybe up your deductible can be adjusted? I carry max high deductibles on my collision/comp and dump it on cheaper cars (sub $10k fmv).

Maybe shop around on those car quotes?

 

Sister in law is ER Doc in southern Indiana. When talking to Helo evac guys they use the term Hoosier units. That guy looks like about 4 1/2 Hoosier units.

 

Agreed. Throw a rock on 6th street and you'll hit a tutu wearing roller skater. LOL

 

Actually, throw a rock and someone will pay you to throw more

Wife and daughter went to iHeart radio. Took son karting, then headed back downtown to eat. Nothing funnier than 10yo gazing upon AUS street life. I did suggest he "never date a woman (we thought) that can bench press more than you can".

 

BTW, that's similar to how Texans judge distance. Counting empties in the pickup bed. Case and a half to DFW from AUS.

 

That just means you're speeding!

 

You have to think of it as free entertainment. I must be jaded though. Spent a few evenings down there. It still looks a little tame but I'll give it time. Kind of a Tex/Mex version of Telegraph Ave in Berkeley but from what I have seen the weirdo ratio is low. Not as many Tat parlors in Berkeley. Don't want to desecrate the body don't you know. I guess hardware is good, ink is bad??

 

No worries, you'll get the hang of Austin quick enough.
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