|
|
| *Travel Tips>>>Austin Travel Tips |
Transplants only, please...what's the best thing about having moved to Austin? |
Travel Info I am planning on moving to Austin this summer from California. I was just curious about what people found as the best part about moving there. Are you satisfied with your decision or do you regret it? How has your experience been? Every time I visit, I really enjoy the area. Any thoughts? Travel Tips I noticed that you asked this question 8 hours ago and had two answers, neither of which answered your question - one is a scam answer and the other just made a complaint about 4 hour trek during rush hour, which is also exaggerated. I am not a transplant at present. I was a transplant, lived there for 8 years (I have sons who are 33 and 35 who live there now.) I married and moved away with my husband, am currently getting happily divorced and will be moving back to Austin in a few months and cannot wait to get back to civilization! The things that I found when I lived there that I loved: a wonderful, accepting of peoples of other places, races, and nationalities. Austin is an interesting, intellectually "educated" city with people attracted from all over the world. The climate is great (except awfully hot in August). There are good school systems in the area. Good job opportunities with decent wages. High property costs outweighed by really nice quality places to live. No state income tax. No sales tax on food or pharmaceuticals. Loads to do - festivals, concerts, bars, jazz clubs, country music huge dance clubs, everything from hiphop to classical played live in many different venues on any night of the week. (More live music played in Austin on any given night than any other city in the country!) Great theater (live) for reasonable prices. Good University opportunities for regular students and for just regular citizens - UT, St. Edwards U., Austin Community College (many different campuses around the city) Lutheran College, Huston-Tillitson College - training schools for every topic you can think of. Churches, lots of them and of all denominations, ready to welcome new attendees. Great volunteer agencies - get involved. Really good medical facilities. Lakes, lakes, lakes. Auditorium Shores has many different festivals on the banks of Town Lake. Lake Austin, Lake Travis sunsets. Months of good weather each year which allow you time to enjoy outside activities. Great health clubs all over the city. Many in apartment communities as part of the amenities. Eclectic, liberal views which welcome newcomers and include them quickly. Austin is not a snooty city or one which incorporates the "good ole boy" networks of some cities which require you to live there for 20 years before being accepted. In short, Austin is a great place to live. I will enjoy moving "back home" although I have lived other places longer, this is my favorite and I plan to live out the rest of my life there. Your neighbors may be Scottish transplants from another State (as am I), or they may be the 35 year old tech with his Aztec Mexican wife met over the internet and friends for 3 years before marrying (now married 5 years), or the avid reader,sort of hippy artistic type professional theater stage hand who rigs lighting and other things 60 feet above the stage so you can enjoy the latest Broadway show come to town - this when he is not being Daddy to his three year old son and playin' "Trains" (yes, these are my sons!). Your neighbor may be from Pakistan, India, Mexico, China, Japan, Peru, England, Africa or a Pacific Islander. We had neighbors and friends from all these places. My son in law was a fourth generation Mexican American who had a huge family who still celebrate the holidays and culture of Mexico. I went to a Multi-cultural church where peoples of all colors and political persuasions sat next to each other on the pew on Sunday, stood to sing and praise and knelt to pray to help get through the next week in the best way we all could (check out St. James Episcopal Church on MLK---wonderful people, great welcoming church) or visit any of your choice. There are great singles groups, great couples groups, all kinds of activities. Call or check on line with the Austin Chamber of Commerce. They will send you all kinds of info. I truly hope you enjoy Austin as much as I have and will be looking forward to enjoying again. If you are young, I tell you that Texas youth look at Austin as Mecca - the place to go. You also will be in driving range of lots of other Texas cities which make great getaway weekends without stretching the budget for exotic vacations. San Antonio, just an hour away on the freeway is a great day trip. It is also a good city to visit although it is a very different, more industrial city than Austin, and is a great tourist city. Visit San Marcos, New Braunfels and points south on the way to San Antonio. Fredericksburg is a quaint great weekend trip - interesting and fun. Dallas and Houston are only a few hours away. Corpus Christi, Padre Island on the Gulf Coast - the citrus fields in the Rio Grande Valley. Texas is a BIG state with lots to see and do. You will love exploring, but Austin is my favorite city, centrally located and just a wonderful city to live in - ENJOY. The best thing is the interested, interesting attitude of the people you will meet there. People are involved in what is going on there. It is not a lazy atmostphere, although there is certainly enjoyment of leisure, but I guess if I had to say what I liked most there I would have to say the "atmosphere of interesting, smart, active people doing things to make their lives and their neighbors' lives better and the openness and friendliness of the city. Others I have the best answer for your question "Transplants only, please...what's the best thing about having moved to Austin?". Please click the link below to check my answer: http://hometown.aol.com/sexyjoycjfriend/... Prepare yourself if you have to Navigate I-35, in rush hour it takes 4 hours to travel it. Before I answer your question, let me say that you definitely don't want to idealize Austin as a place before you come here. People read beautiful things written by locals about the vibe, and, though it indeed is plenty of fun and open-minded, it has the same problems all big cities have. First, it has grown hugely the last 10 years, so the roads are very overcrowded. They are at least 25% behind what they should be, so the major roads and expressways are overflowing 24/7. Second, there is crime . I was a little taken aback by the amount of it when I came out here. Higher than the national average. Not quite as much as Dallas or Houston, but more than one would think. A fair share of murders and shootings, and not rare to hear police sirens. A fair share of road rage as well. Third, remember that you are indeed in Texas. Though they make it out to be this liberal oasis in a sea of Red State, you still see tons of BBQ places, pick-up trucks for days, and hear thick y'allisms, which increase as one gets furthe away from the entertainment district. Fourth, job opportunities here are skewed differently than the rest of Texas. As the other answerer said about San Antonio, the other major Texas cities are far more industrial. That means that Austin is a service industry economy. You have to look far and wide to find a factory around here. This means that jobs here in Austin typically don't pay as well. Very heavily skewed towards restaurants, bars, entertainment, gov't , University, and tech. You can forget the gov't unless you have connections. Unless you plan on teaching, forget the University jobs. That leaves tech and waitressing, bartending, cutting hair, and maybe selling real estate. So, after all is said, unless you are coming here for tech jobs, of which there are a fair share, you will find yourself bartending, waiting tables, cutting hair, or selling real estate. Be VERY careful that you have a reasonable job plan BEFORE you come here. Lots of people, especially recent UT grads, like to hang around here and grab whatever job lets them extend their college years for a while. You'll see 20-somethings applying for whatever jobs they can get their hands on all over just for the chance on living the good life(6th st. and partying) for a few more years, so its not always easy even to get a relatively crappy job. That being said, it IS a really fun city. Always something going on. Pretty much nirvana for someone under 35. It does have its problems, but come here, if you do with realistic expectations and a job plan. Most important is a job plan. If you come here prepared, you could have a very wonderful life here, but if you come on a wing and a prayer, you'll be like the college grad slummers that last a year or so and end up going back home. Best of luck to you! |
| Tags |
| General - Travel Atlanta Austin Boston Chicago Cincinnati Cleveland Dallas |
Travel Info Categories--Copyright/IP Policy--Contact Webmaster |