WHY ARE PEOPLE LEAVING CALIFORNIA
Below, we share the top six reasons why Californians are moving to Austin.
Reason 1: Relatively Low Living Cost
If there’s one reason to move to Texas, particularly Austin, it’s the low cost of living. The living cost in the metropolitan city is 3% lower than the national average. The preceding is based on a system that calculates living costs based on career, average living cost, and real estate in a particular area.
The cost of living in Austin is significantly lower than that of California. A rating system that uses 100 as the average living cost in the United States placed the cost of living in California at 149.9. This shows that it is way cheaper and more cost-effective to move from California to Texas.
Also, Texas has a more flexible tax system than the west coast state. California has one of the highest taxes in the country. Its sales tax rate is 7.25%, and the income tax can be as high as 12.3%, depending on your income. Texas has no income tax, with its sales tax rate at 6.25%. With what Californians stand to save by moving to Texas, it’s no surprise they are migrating to Austin.
Reason 2: Affordable Housing
The Golden State may have a lot of sunshine all year round and excellent career prospects, but its expensive housing seems to shadow all that. Imagine working all year only for a massive chunk of the money to go into paying rent or mortgage. In May 2020, the median price for a single-family home in California was $588,070. Of course, it also doesn’t help that the average rent for an apartment is $1,488.
But the story is different in Austin. The boom of the real estate market in the city has made housing more affordable, thereby making it the ideal place when relocating to Texas. As a result, several young families can afford to buy a home if they choose, and the rent is lower than what’s obtainable in California.
Reason 3: Awesome Weather
Low cost of living and affordable housing are not the only reasons to move to Texas from California. Several other factors make Austin more appealing to Californians than other cities in the U.S. with similar benefits. One such factor is the weather.
While the Golden State has endless sunny days, Austin has a similar climate. The city gets about 300 days of sunshine yearly, making it the perfect place for west coasters who love clear, bright days. Furthermore, Austin boasts of a humid climate. During the year, the temperature typically shifts from 43°F to 97°F and is rarely below 30°F or above 102°F.
Reason 4: Vibrant Job Market
The high-paying jobs on the west coast have not stopped people from moving to Texas from California. This is because the Golden State capital offers similar opportunities. Plus, it has less competition than the California job market.
One appealing fact about the Austin job market is that it is a thriving location for tech companies and innovators. The city has a location-tagged “Silicon Hills,” like the Silicon Valley in California. It is home to about 5,500 startups and major tech companies like Apple and Cisco.
While it appears that Austin has cemented its place as a tech domain, the tech sector promises more growth, especially in high-demand and high-pay areas. So, it’s no wonder that techy Californians are making a move to Texas before the job market gets as competitive as Silicon Valley. In addition, manufacturing, financial services, and space technology offer attractive career options.
Furthermore, Elon Musk describing Austin as the “biggest boomtown” America has seen in 50 years could be a significant reason why Californians are moving to Texas. Austin is already booming, ranking as one of the top ten cities for startups in the US. In addition, the state capital ranks as one of the top ten cities for job growth and is the fifth city with the lowest unemployment rate.
Reason 5: Active Lifestyle
Californians are known for their vibrant and outdoorsy lifestyle due to their perfect weather. So, when they move from California to Texas, they are not leaving their way of life behind. This is because Austin offers a vibrant lifestyle much like what they had on the west coast. Californians moving to Austin also enjoy parks, fitness centers, drive-ins, boating, skydiving, golf courses, etc.
Reason 6: Numerous and Diverse Activities
Let’s be honest; no one wants to live in a boring city without any form of social life. While a vibrant job market, low-cost living, and affordable housing are excellent prospects, a city needs more than that to attract people. Thankfully, Austin offers numerous and diverse activities to the thousands migrating to it yearly. People moving from California to Austin find that they don’t have to change much about their lives. So adapting to their new environment is not hard.