Where do we all live?

[statsman]

Austin is one place we’ve considered if we ever leave So CA. How wound you compare the lifestyle?

Not sure how to answer that. For one, we really don't go into Austin much. We spend a majority of our time in the suburbs (Leander, Cedar Park, ...). I also think when I said "South Bay" that you might have thought I meant somewhere in So. CA. If that is the case, sorry. I am so used to "South Bay" being San Jose, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, Cupertino, Campbell, Saratoga ...

Since we arrived in Texas in late October 2018, we haven't lived through a Texas summer yet. Really don't know how that's going to go. Both my wife and I were born and raised in the Central Valley of California, which can get quite hot in the summer, but not like in Texas.

 

[MBAustin]

Since we arrived in Texas in late October 2018, we haven't lived through a Texas summer yet. Really don't know how that's going to go. Both my wife and I were born and raised in the Central Valley of California, which can get quite hot in the summer, but not like in Texas.

Make sure to get your A/C checked out by May

It's not the occasional very hot (105+) days that are the issue, it's the stretches of 10-20 days in a row between 99-104 that are the killers.

 

[statsman]

Make sure to get your A/C checked out by May

It's not the occasional very hot (105+) days that are the issue, it's the stretches of 10-20 days in a row between 99-104 that are the killers.

Our daughter did that in the apartment she lives in (Austin). Had a pretty warm day here a few weeks ago. Wanted to run the A/C for a little bit. Intermittent cold and warm air. It took the apartment's repair crew a week to determine they had a faulty thermostat that was sending erratic signals to the central air system.

We're renting a house that was built in 2017, and we've run the A/C a couple of times, mostly to reduce the humidity inside the house (definitely something we have to get used to). We're having a house built that is supposed to be ready by the end of May, so it will have a new A/C unit. But yeah, we'll still try it out first before signing for the house!

 

[skipro33]

Despite all the negative press California gets, we do quite well living here in a large, paid-off, 7 year old 2800 sq.ft. home on 5 acres with property taxes at $3,000 a year. Politics is politics and I don't care where you live. Costs are going to average out for expenses when quality of the community is also factored in. The news way over reports fires, floods, earthquakes, droughts, etc. If there wasn't some looming and eminent disaster on the horizon over dramatized, news wouldn't sell.

The one negative I do experience living in California is the population. Just so crowded to do all the fun things there are to do in this state. Now retired, I can do things mid week or off season most times and avoid most of that. But with grand kids and their schedules, sometimes it's a bit much.

 

[Accidental Retiree]

Not sure how to answer that. For one, we really don't go into Austin much. We spend a majority of our time in the suburbs (Leander, Cedar Park, ...). I also think when I said "South Bay" that you might have thought I meant somewhere in So. CA. If that is the case, sorry. I am so used to "South Bay" being San Jose, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, Cupertino, Campbell, Saratoga ...

.

You sound like my cousins, although they both live in South Austin: “We never go over the river if we can help it.”

But their mother lives just over the river, and so they have to get through all the traffic on 35.

Egads. Must be all those Californians....

 

[W2R]

Since we arrived in Texas in late October 2018, we haven't lived through a Texas summer yet. Really don't know how that's going to go. Both my wife and I were born and raised in the Central Valley of California, which can get quite hot in the summer, but not like in Texas.

Definitely get your AC checked regularly, as MBAustin suggested, even if it is new. But also remember that dressing in very skimpy clothing for the heat, not being too active, drinking lots (100+ oz?)of ice water each day, sticking with cold foods that don't need cooking, and taking cool showers several times a day can do wonders. I have lived through entire summers in New Orleans that way.

You are right to treat heat as a real concern while you are living in Texas. I also lived in College Station TX for 13 years, and it was even hotter than New Orleans IMO but doing the sort of things that I mentioned, really helps. Also one summer I bought a small window AC as an emergency measure when the main AC cratered, until we could get it replaced. It was nice to have that just in case.

 

[Huston55]

We live in Marin County CA and have great “AC”....it looks like fog and cools the house almost instantaneously when I use the “thermostat” (opposing windows on opposite sides of the house). It’s also very Green.

 

[Scuba]

Not sure how to answer that. For one, we really don't go into Austin much. We spend a majority of our time in the suburbs (Leander, Cedar Park, ...). I also think when I said "South Bay" that you might have thought I meant somewhere in So. CA. If that is the case, sorry. I am so used to "South Bay" being San Jose, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, Cupertino, Campbell, Saratoga ...

Since we arrived in Texas in late October 2018, we haven't lived through a Texas summer yet. Really don't know how that's going to go. Both my wife and I were born and raised in the Central Valley of California, which can get quite hot in the summer, but not like in Texas.

Oh, got it. I thought you meant the South Bay of So CA, BETWEEN LAX & Long Beach.

 

[NotYourAverageJones]

San Diego up until 2012, Dubai since then. Waiting to escape when my sentence is finished.

Still looking for a place to call "home" when we finally move back to the good ole USA. Poking all around NC when we make our annual trips back. Love the area. We definitely won't be going back west. Sadly, things have changed too much. Plus, we want to live where we have "mild 4 seasons" and lakes close by.

Here, we have 2 seasons: hot or hotter. Summers are April - Nov and we suffer through 115+ degree temps w/90% humidity. So yeah, seasons sound really nice about now.....

 

[calmloki]

About 6 months/year in a small rural town in Oregon - Independence. Lots of green and wonderful weather during the summer months. About 6 months in what looks like a movie set: La Quinta California during the dreary Oregon winter months. Lots of money down here getting splashed around; we benefit without feeling the need to fling bucks about. Good friends/family in both places make it hard to find a better location though it doesn't stop us from looking.