I'm not sure when they bought their houses for $150k but if it was any time recently, it was most likely in one of the cookie cutter suburban developments that look like the definition of suburbia and, if you're like me, dystopia. Some of them don't have anything near them other than houses. No stores, no amenities other than maybe a gas station-- just houses.

Source: I bought a house in one of these neighborhoods recently because it was so cheap. While there was absolutely nothing near me to do, going downtown still only took 15 minutes, so I had absolutely no problem with life there. I had my silence and my work-from-home office in my comedically large, cheap house and then if I wanted to catch a show or get dinner I would hop in the car and go downtown to meet up with friends.

I actually live in Boston now and am paying twice as much as my mortgage for a third of the space. Not an exaggeration. And it actually takes me twice as long to get out and do some things because Boston is so congested with traffic. Sadly, I think by the time I ever return to Austin, I'm sure it will have seen enough growth that it will be much the same cost to get culture from my suburban house.