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Comment by bluedevil2k | Hacker News Reader

Austin, TX if you're a Rails programmer. $100-$120k salaries, homes about $100/ sq ft.

Not to mention the dating scene is much better for guys in their 20s in Austin than it is in SF.

Where would you put Austin in terms of racism compare to SF/LA ?

Let me preface this by saying this doesn't reflect on the technology scene or any technology companies therein, only the town itself. But you've got to live in the town so its important.

By comparison to SF and LA its high. If you're not white you'll feel it and every now and then if you like the bar/ club scene when you try to get in the bouncer will say "Your pants are too low" which in my opinion is code for "your skin color is too dark"

Having lived in the south most of my life I've figured out its mostly from Austin's sad and hardly talked about lack of diversity and the xenophobia that generates.

For what it feels like to be a minority in Austin here's really good read

http://www.texasmonthly.com/story/what-nobody-says-about-aus...

seriously?

Looks like you have not experienced racism in your life.

Home prices in Austin are climbing though. It won't be too long until homes in that price range come with a minimum 45 minute commute.

Another big factor is that Texas also has no state income tax. Total cumulative property taxes around the Austin area are generally around 2-4 percent of assessed value[1].

[1] http://www.jbgoodwin.com/taxrate.htm

Yup. $100/sqft is what you pay in the weaker school districts and for older homes. In the newer homes with better schools, it's closer to $120-130/sqft.

Houses sell really quick too. If the current trend continues for another few years in Austin, it will be at Boulder, CO levels for housing (which isn't that far off from Bay Area housing prices).

A lot of people are moving from the Bay Area to Austin, paying crazy prices for real estate, displacing locals.

Prices in Austin for housing have always been high.

Umm, no, they have never been high, when compares to other tech spots in the US. $100/ sq ft is not expensive.

Well, everything seems cheap when you compare it to the Valley or SF.

Now compare Austin to Houston or San Antonio. (Besides, $100/SF is low unless you are talking about the East side.)

Pflugerville is $65, Round Rock and Cedar Park are around $100.

High WRT rural areas, and Houston, Dallas, etc. But not such a huge premium as now.

Maybe if you work down town but a lot of tech companies are in north Austin where housing is very cheap.

Or live in RR, Buda, Leander etc. and telecommute parttime.

You can get quite a large house in Buda for $150K

Home prices are rising rapidly, but rent--even in central areas--is still quite reasonable for tenants.

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