Danielle Austin moved to Austin for work in 1997, shortly after graduating from college. Two years later she met Ron Austin, who had moved from Miami, and they later married. They bought a home in North Austin in 2004, but as their family grew and their needs changed, the Austins moved to Pflugerville with their two children, where they have lived for about six years. “We needed more space and wanted to make sure we found a school district with good education programs and where athletics and extracurricular activities were active and built up,” Ron Austin said. More Austin families have started to move to neighboring Central Texas cities over the past decade, and local leaders attribute that to a combination of factors, including the rising cost of living in Austin, the tightening housing market, the desire for more space, and the importance of good schools and welcoming communities.