7 Tips for Moving to Austin

It’s been almost a year since we left our home of 15 years in Reno and became Austin-ites. To say it’s been a whirlwind of a year is an understatement; so much has happened that if I didn’t blog, I’d have no clue where the last year went!

Moving was way more difficult than I thought it would be. I figured that since I’d moved so much before that this would be a breeze. What I didn’t factor was the fact that we’d been settled in one place for over a decade. We moved to Austin knowing just two people. {Actually, that’s one of the reasons I signed on to be an AMB contributor: to make friends!} Todd was going to start a new job. I was going to dabble in writing while being a stay-at-home-mom. What could possibly have gone wrong when moving to one of the most consistently-voted “Best Cities in America for __________?”

Pretty much EVERYTHING. Needing a job; not many friends from the start; bugs; humidity; crappy pre-school because my rigorous search entailed saying, “Well, it’s right down the street!” Etc.

But that doesn’t have to be the case for you if you’re planning a move in the near-future. I’ve compiled a list of my top tips for moving to Austin, though they can pretty much be applied to any big move.

1. Find a Mommy Group. Even if you’re not much of a joiner, meeting moms can be a good way to find out how sorts of things in your new home like what pediatrician to go to and which park has the most sex offenders nearby. Start at the Austin Moms Blog Facebook page; somebody on there is sure to point you in the right direction. MeetUp.com is also a good resource for newcomers. Or be more organic and start stalking the moms at your local park who are wearing the same yoga pants you are.

2. Planning. I’ll say it again. Planning. Make lists, keep a calendar, keep all of your logins and passwords handy, find out who your utility companies are right away and set up billing, figure out where the nearest bank-post office-school-drugstore-grocery store-coffee shop-urgent care center-hospital-Target is BEFORE you move in. Once we were in escrow on our new Austin home, I spent the last few weeks in Reno with a paper map next to Google maps spread out so I could at least figure out how to get to Whole Foods. I may not have been able to find my way home but I at least could get to the sketchy Target before I realized there was a better one nearby. Also, the billing is very important. Triple-check that your accounts are set up because you never know when a clerical error has been made until they show up to cut off your gas because they think you’re the previous owner of the house.

3. Get a GPS. Todd drove to Austin from Reno but Lucy and I flew here. When he picked us up at the airport – before we even went to our new house that I hadn’t even seen yet – I made him stop to buy a GPS. Despite this, I’m still embarrassed by the number of times I’ve gotten lost. Pro-tip to future Austin-ites: Roads here have like three names each. Mopac and Loop 1 are the same. So are Capital of Texas Highway and Loop 360. Just when you think you have I-35 pegged, you realize there’s an IH-35 for the frontage road. Forget about figuring out which way is north your first few months here.

4. Meet your neighbors. This will come in handy for when you travel or hear a strange noise in the middle of the night. If your neighborhood has a listserv or social network – like NextDoor – get on it.

5. Know your climate. If I’d been smarter about the Texas heat and humidity, I would have sold my winter coats at our Reno garage sale.

6. Get some subscriptions. We like to know what’s going on so we subscribed to Austin Monthly and the Statesman. If you’re new to a place, you may not know too much about the goings-on so you’ll have to do your own research.

7. Lower your expectations. This move isn’t going to be the end-all-be-all cure for happiness. It’s going to be a lot of work in the beginning and if you go into it with the right frame of mind, it will save you a lot of hours being curled up in a ball on your couch because you saw a cockroach in the bathtub.

Moving doesn’t have to be all stress. There are the fun decisions to make like which yard art to purchase and where the closest day spa is. So keep your chin up.

I’m sure there are hundreds of other tips – like this service – to make your move more seamless. What tips would you give someone who’s moving to Austin – or anywhere?