With an average of over 150 people moving to Austin every day, we get a lot of questions about relocation. As Austin experts, we sat down as a team to put together our top tips and advice for anyone planning to relocate to the capitol city.

Use all resources available- you do more than just live in your house. Find the right lifestyle fit.

Tammy Young –  “The biggest tip is to find local experts. Contact a realtor- we have a ton of resources on relocation, it’s what we do every day. Secondly, it’s never too soon. It may seem early but a timeframe of 6-9 months is perfect. It takes a while to figure out neighborhoods, schools, and really leverage all your resources and meet local people.  Our agents have all lived in Austin for 10 or more years so if you want to know what a school is like one of our agents is going to know someone at that school and can put you in touch. You can ask what the principal is like, what’s the community like, any research you can do. Do scouting trips, go see neighborhoods at all times of the day, and different days of the week. A neighborhood on a Saturday morning is very different than on a Tuesday afternoon. Go right when school gets out and drive through Dripping Springs at 3:30pm- see the traffic it’s completely different than the traffic at 10am. So go different times of day, leverage as many experts as you can find, online resources, neighborhood guides. ”

“[When meeting a relocating client] I start with a  very overview approach. I like to start with a series of questions like, “where do you have to be in the morning” and, “how long do you take to get there?”. Commute times are a really big consideration, a lot of people move here because they don’t want to have that commute anymore. I look at what are their school needs, do they want public schools are they interested in private schools. At SEED we’re more than just open doors and show you houses you saw online- I like to be a consultant for the entire relocation process. Most of our relocation clients start a year in advance, they’re doing scouting trips, and we wills how you every neighborhood you need to see but we want to fit your lifestyle. Like, what else do you do besides live in your house? When you’re not working we want to make sure the house fits the lifestyle.”

Get to know locals and explore before making a final decision.

Kam Mccoy – “If you have children and you’re worried about schools, there’s lots of great online resources you can look to check out the ratings. I definitely recommend driving through the neighborhoods, you know, getting to know if you can stop and have lunch someplace or if you can go to the park in that neighborhood and just get a feel for the vibe, you’re going to have a better sense of if it’s going to be a place that feels like home to you. The more people who live in Austin you can talk to the better, especially if you know them personally- which not everybody has the opportunity to do- but anybody really that you meet along the way. If you’re sitting in a restaurant and somebody is sitting next to you, and you can strike up a conversation, the personal anecdotes really tell you a lot. Anybody can google any city, but the reality is more about taking trips to Austin. Some people come to Austin and they’re like ‘oh I’ve got one day to pick someplace’- but maybe pick a rental. If you can get something short term to get to know the city before you dive into buying or if you have time to take a few exploratory trips before you decide.”

Keep an open mind.

Kristyn Lynch – “Just keep your mind open and know that Austin is special because it’s so different but there are just so many different areas of Austin that you’ll definitely find something that fits you perfectly. There’s no doubt in my mind wherever you end up you’re going to love it, because it’s Austin.”

Find your top three neighborhoods and narrow it down from there.

Karol Maki -  There’s numerous websites I share with my clients to let them know what kind of neighborhoods would fit them. It depends if they have a family, if they’re single, if they’re downsizing, whatever their needs are. Start with the basics, find your top 3 neighborhoods and go from there.

Visit first, and spend some time here before choosing a neighborhood.

Amy Mosier – “I think it’s important to come and spend time in Austin, and not jump into selecting a neighborhood right off the bat. I think that they need to come see what they’re drawn to and how they’re prioritizing how they want to live their day to day life.”

Dom Anderson – “I would say come visit. Tour different areas, tour schools, check ratings online, and just see what vibe you like. There’s so many different areas of town that can fit your lifestyle so you just need to come check it out and see what you jive with.”

Ready to move to Austin?

We have agents with expertise in every nook and cranny of Austin. Contact us to start your process today.