Austin suburbs → Bay Area with a newborn: worth the COL hit?
We’re seriously considering a move from the Austin suburbs back to the Bay Area and would love input from anyone who’s made a similar long-distance move, especially with a young kid.
The situation: married couple in our mid-30s, both work in tech and are fully remote, with a new baby. We’re settled in the Austin area — recently bought a house here — but with our first kid, being close to family has become a much bigger priority. One side of the family is in the Bay Area, the other in SoCal, so moving back to California would put us much closer to support on both sides. Income-wise we’d be fine either place; this is more about whether the move itself is the right call and how to do it well.
A few things we’re trying to figure out:
• For those who relocated to be near family after having a kid — did it actually deliver day to day, or did the move’s downsides (cost, logistics, leaving an established life) overshadow it?
• We’re considering renting for a year or two in the Bay before buying, to feel out neighborhoods and commutes before committing. Worth it, or better to just buy and settle in once?
• We own a few rental properties (some in Texas, one in California) that we currently self-manage. For anyone who’s moved away from properties they managed themselves — how painful was it remotely, and did you end up switching to a property manager?
• How did you handle the timing — selling/buying, moving with an infant, the gap between leaving and being settled?
• If you made a similar move, would you do it again?
Especially interested in hearing from families who relocated after their first child. Thanks in advance.