Austin, TX vs. Phoenix, AZ

[d373rm1ned]

I'll be graduating from college in May and am completely sick of cold weather. I'm looking to move somewhere that I can golf 365 days/year if I wanted to. I've narrowed my choices down to the Austin or Phoenix areas. Just wondering, which area you guys would recommend and why? Weather, living costs, housing costs, job market (I'm in Physical Therapy), etc. should all come into play.

I know the Phoenix area is loaded with courses just about everywhere but which suburb/part of Phoenix would you recommend to reside in? What about Austin? I don't need different courses to choose from. I would completely happy living close enough to 5 decent courses that I could go play around at whichever I preferred after a day at work.

Thanks for any information you guys may share.

[max power]

In Arizona my heart belongs to Tucson, but I'm also a fan of Phoenix. Best part of Phoenix is Scottsdale/Tempe, unfortunately Scottsdale is also the most expensive area of Phoenix, but I think Tempe is relatively affordable, especially in the last year or so.

[wedge player]

i know a guy that lived in pheonix he likes texas better but said the heat is alot worse in texas.

[Shindig]

I'm graduating in about two years and I'm getting sick of Los Angeles. Phoenix, AZ is high on the list of places to work, but I have to admit that Austin isn't on the radar (maybe it should be).

Other cities on my list are Irvine, Santa Barbara, and Palm Springs, all in California.

[uttexas]

Phoenix has great golf courses, but is lacking in character. PHX is one big slab of concrete strip mall. Most of the houses look the same. Its the freakin desert. Over the summer (5 months) you are trapped by the heat. You've gotta drive a long way to find a not so crowded lake to enjoy swimming/fishing/boating. You do have some nice ski areas within a 3 hour drive (Sunrise in north east Arizona is great)

Austin has great golf courses (especially the ones just out of town in the Hill Country and Bastrop). Austin has great music, arts, movie festivals, and food. Austin also has some nice springs and lakes to cool off in over the summer. Austin has nice trees and a green belt.

Both cities are congested with traffic, so ideally, I'd live just outside of Austin in Bastrop, Marble Falls, or Burnet.

[uttexas]

Economically, I'd say Texas has the advantage (especially in the medical field). Your payor mix will not be so medicare weighted in Texas. The medicare fee schedule in Texas is typically better than PHX. If you are a DPT, you can open your own therapy center in Texas and do well. Texas has no state income tax. The PHX housing market is susceptible to wild swings, while it's steady in Texas. Your home is a protected asset in Texas (only up to 250K in Arizona).

[ryohazuki222]

Austin is windy in general. This summer is freakin hot.... but would you be up for playing in 100-110 temps at least a quarter of the year? The winters actually do get cold... lowest ive seen is 20s. You're probably more used to cold weather.... but not sure what your cold weather limit for golf is. Then again..... despite having snow this year.... we also had several high 70s in the winter days this year.

I think the city is very different in the summer compared to the rest of the year because it loses like 40k students in the summer and, imo, it's noticebly nicer that way.

There's really never a shortage of things to do in austin if you feel like doing anything. But it is a different type of people... like compared to houston/dallas for example. Not sure if you've visited... but I'd just make sure you're happy to be around the austin-type of people.

I've never been west... but personally, I find it hard to believe that austin is a top place to live weather-wise. Ideally, I'd move somewhere else to enjoy all year round good weather in the states..... but thats just a theory.

[ryohazuki222]

Further... the location is actually pretty good. it's in central texas... soo within a few hours you have dallas/fw, houston, san antonio.

And I'm just gonna say it cuz it's my biggest gripe with austin. Austin has the crappiest chinese food. Maybe my standards are too high... but that's what i think.

[d373rm1ned]

Thanks for the comments so far guys. it's really helping to paint a clearer picture.

Phoenix has great golf courses, but is lacking in character. PHX is one big slab of concrete strip mall. Most of the houses look the same. Its the freakin desert. Over the summer (5 months) you are trapped by the heat. You've gotta drive a long way to find a not so crowded lake to enjoy swimming/fishing/boating. You do have some nice ski areas within a 3 hour drive (Sunrise in north east Arizona is great)

Desert courses would probably get old playing them day in and day out. I've never been to Phoenix so I cannot comment on the heat compared to Austin. Is the less humid Phoenix weather really that much different than more humid Austin? I'm sure I can find plenty to do in either city. Give me a golf course and a sports team to follow and I'll be continent.

The traffic situation would get pretty annoying I'm sure. I'll more than likely be working in a hospital setting, so having several hospital's within a short drive from my house would be ideal. Not sure I'd like to commute any more than 30 mins 1 direction.

Economically, I'd say Texas has the advantage (especially in the medical field). Your payor mix will not be so medicare weighted in Texas. The medicare fee schedule in Texas is typically better than PHX. If you are a DPT, you can open your own therapy center in Texas and do well. Texas has no state income tax. The PHX housing market is susceptible to wild swings, while it's steady in Texas. Your home is a protected asset in Texas (only up to 250K in Arizona).

Tx does indeed seem to be the more logical chose based on economy.

Austin is windy in general. This summer is freakin hot.... but would you be up for playing in 100-110 temps at least a quarter of the year? The winters actually do get cold... lowest ive seen is 20s. You're probably more used to cold weather.... but not sure what your cold weather limit for golf is. Then again..... despite having snow this year.... we also had several high 70s in the winter days this year.

Not a fan of wind while on the golf course. I love playing in calm conditions. How noticeable is the wind near the Austin area? You say it probably isn't an ideal place to live for year round golf...just wondering if you have other considerations?

Further... the location is actually pretty good. it's in central texas... soo within a few hours you have dallas/fw, houston, san antonio.

That's probably what I like most about Austin. It's centrally located with major cities in all directions. I'm a chinese food buff also. It's comments like these that get my attention lol.

[ryohazuki222]

basically... wind is the norm. I play mostly inside the city so I can't vouch for the many courses on the outskirts. A lot of times it's a pleasant breeze.... but there are tons of days that I can't walk the course without my hat cutting off my circulation just to keep it from flying off my head.

I don't have any better considerations based on reality for year round golf. My THEORY is that cali is the place to go for year round stuff. I play a lot of tennis too.... so I've given it a lot of thought over the years. I think texas may be second on the list.... but just find it very hard to believe that I can't find a better year round climate in the states.

Austin does have some very nice and fresh air! Coming from south east texas with alll the refineries and chemical plants it is VERY noticible.

I was gonna mention abuot the sports situation actually. Personally, I dislike college sports other than tennis. Austin has no pro teams. And it seems to be because they want to keep it a Texas Longhorn town.

There are tons of hospitals within a few miles of downtown/campus area... the problem is you would either have to deal with traffic and leave somewhere further and probably nicer and cheaper and more affordable. Or you can try your hand at the ridiculously expensive real estate that is the middle of austin and live close by.

[Shindig]

Desert courses would probably get old playing them day in and day out. I've never been to Phoenix so I cannot comment on the heat compared to Austin. Is the less humid Phoenix weather really that much different than more humid Austin? I'm sure I can find plenty to do in either city. Give me a golf course and a sports team to follow and I'll be continent.

This is a

very very important question in distinguishing the two: how do you like your humidity? I hate humidity, but love dry heat. I'll put up with the extra humidity on a golf course, for obvious reasons. That's why Phoenix ranks higher on my list of cities to move to than Austin does. Try out Phoenix before moving there. I don't mean go there for the FBR. I mean, try to get there for a weekend or something like now-ish, or in the next few weeks . If you haven't tried summer in Phoenix, you will be ill-prepared for it after setting roots there, and it won't be a happy result. (also, you'll be content , which means not upset, kind of mildly happy. A continent is a large land mass, such as Australia)

I'm a chinese food buff also. It's comments like these that get my attention lol.

A friend of mine, Chinese, just got back from Phoenix and reports that there wasn't any good Chinese food. First thing she said when she got back (to Los Angeles) was that she could now go for good Chinese food. So if it isn't in Austin, and unless someone speaks up about Phoenix, you may be SOL on this.

Good news: Chinese cooking isn't as tough as it seems. I make pretty good fried rice and egg drop soup. You may want to just buy a wok and a rice cooker for when you need Chinese food.

[d373rm1ned]

Thanks for the input guys. It's way more difficult than I ever imagined trying to find someplace in the continental USA to call home for "year round golf".

[A_Duke]

Austin all the way.. great food, 2-3 hour drive to the beach (corpus christi) and from what I heard it has some real nice courses. Austin has a very fun and lively crowd, great music scene, the weather is dry, but it does get enough rainfall to stay green year round. 45 minute drive to San Antonio which also has many great courses.

[bogeyhitter25]

New England. Who says you can't play in the snow in below freezing weather?