I won't be moving to his state! Although I thought that Austin was VERY cool, I bagged the plans to move. The tax basis is a killer. The $12K in taxes on the home we wanted would fund a LOT of mortgage anywhere else. Buying at the top of the market scares me. If the property prices take a big dump, I could be upside down in 12-24 months. If the prices boom and double in 8-10 years, I'd be sitting on a $20K+ tax bill! Coupled with the time to deal with all of the logistics of a move that I really do not have time for, it's impossible to pull off a move at this time (Get the house ready to rent, sell the rental, etc., etc.). I'll just stay in Hooterville for now and spend the money in upgrades to my primary residence.
Don't be a California weenie and get scared off by the property taxes, calculate your ENTIRE tax bill in TX vs CA and you'll see a pretty significant difference. On second thought, never mind....
No, I did the math and you are close to being right. I just freak out that if Austin goes through a crazy boom and the house doubles in 8-10 years, it would be more than I would want to pay in taxes. I even hate paying for heating gas! I pay the same in firewood to take place of the propane and feel better about giving the money to a guy that really needs it, not the local propane company. Propane here runs $2.40 a gallon delivered!
So don't buy a half million dollar house. That's simple enough. And no, property values in Austin (or Dallas, or Houston) aren't doubling in the next 8 years. There's too much open land here
Buying in Texas is not buying at the top of the market. Real estate here did not participate in the bubble happening elsewhere in the country. Like Tillman said, too much land around to build new stuff on. There is no crash waiting to happen. Work on doubling your income in 8-10 years and sit back and enjoy the state income taxes you won't be paying. There are lots of reasons not to live in Texas but the cost of living is not one of them.
Well said. Goods and services are less expensive here as well. If this is really a cost of living analysis I think your numbers are flawed. Look at this cost of living calculator and you will see it. http://www.bankrate.com/brm/movecalc.asp
Tru dat. I lived in Sacra-tomato for three years during the late 80s. I lost money on my house in Texas when we moved there. I made $100,000 on the house I sold in California when we moved back. However, the total tax bite, property + income tax, was the same in both places. If the left one doesn't git ya, the right one will. Dale
I can't speak for Austin, but after living in San Diego for forty years I was transferred to Dallas ten years ago and I can summarize this for you: after all expenses are considered and everything is added and subtracted between living in Calif and living in Tx, you will save ten percent of your GROSS wage living in Texas. Oh yes, if my company said to me tommorow we are closing the Dallas office and you have a choice between transferring to Austin or San Diego, that would be a VERY VERY hard choice!
