Anyone move to Austin....and hate it? (Houston, Dallas: housing, rent)

[equus007]

I have lived in Austin for more than 20 years and can tell you firstly that you will hear many more gripes from "old" Austinites than people who have recently moved here.
To this I would like to add a new list...

Things You Will GROW To Hate About Austin:

1. The Homeless: Austin has a horrible homeless problem and is a seasonal stop for vagrants that feed off of UT students.

2. Parades/Marathons(Traffic): Austin has two major N-S roads through downtown; Congress and Lamar. Congress is a respected symbol of the city and the state as a whole and is regularly closed down for parades, marches, protests, marathons, etc. and Lamar is grossly underdeveloped and poorly managed. In the first few years here you will simply be confused by the traffic, around year 5 you get angry, after 10 years you just start to laugh at it.

3. The Image: Austin had acquired an image that does not in the least bit reflect its citizens and many companies try to cash in on this. It will begin to just anger you to no end. It leads many people to have a nasty xenophobic attitude towards anyone who hasn't lived here for at least a decade.

Having said all this Austin is still the nicest city I have lived in that still has a good level of diversity even given its historic E/W division which is more or less gone now. It is at the very least the nicest Texas city to live in.

[Nick1978]

I lived in Austin from 1978-84. I started out as a student at UT and couldn't bring myself to leave. I loved Austin. I have many fond memories, many good friends who remained, and sometimes I can see myself moving back when I retire and can no longer afford to live in the San Francisco Bay Area. But I think the following will stop me:

1. Austin is the "Allergy Capital" of the United States. Everyone who moves to Austin ends up with allergies within 2-3 years. And if you're unlucky like me, it can happen in a year and a half and living in Austin will quickly mean being constantly drugged. "Cedar fever" is real.

2. May through August are hot and humid -- not as bad as Houston, but pretty damned bad. Fine when you're a teenager or 20 something and can be scantily clad, but a lot harder when you're older. A pool would be a must for the summer.

3. Winters are inconsistent. It can be 70 degrees one morning and drop down to 35 within hours when a cold front blows in -- Texans call this a "Northern."

4. Austin no longer has an identity of its own. Ask any Austinite (meaning one who's been there for at least 20 years) what various parts of town are like, and they'll liken them to other parts of the country. I think this is due to people who moved in and tried to bring their New Orleans or Seattle, or what have you with them.

5. There's a strange vibe in Austin that wasn't there when I lived there. Suddenly, it's about driving the right car, living in the right neighborhood, having the giant home, etc. I have lived in the SF Bay Area too long. Here, real estate is so expensive that you can't judge others based on the size of their home. No one except the filthy rich have giant homes!

6. It's liberal for Texas and so was light blue in the 2004 elections, but it's still so unbelievably conservative compared to where I've been living. I would be surrounded by right wing conservatives!

7. Austin is in Texas - and Texas has some of the strangest laws on the planet. Fun place to visit, but after living in one of the most tolerant places in the U.S., Texas would be hard to swallow -- even Austin.

[TheHarvester]

Originally Posted by Nick1978

3. Winters are inconsistent. It can be 70 degrees one morning and drop down to 35 within hours when a cold front blows in -- Texans call this a "Northern."

That term is only used when it's a dry cold front with no rain, and the actual term is "blue norther" (no "n" at the end.) We get many other varieties of cold, such as over-running (cold air at ground level with Pacific and/or Gulf moisture streaming overhead, bringing constant cold drizzle), sleet a couple times a year, a rare snowstorm, frequent ice and freezing rain, and it's constantly changing from one thing to another. All of which I love! Certainly preferable to summer, for those who prefer cooler weather and more variety.

Originally Posted by Nick1978

4. Austin no longer has an identity of its own. Ask any Austinite (meaning one who's been there for at least 20 years)

I've been here 17 years so I guess I don't count. I think it has an identity of its own. What is it? I'd have to write a book to define it, just as a Seattle or New Orleans resident would in order to describe the identity of their homes.

The rapid growth does change the character of the place, so it's hard to retain the identity. But it's here if you look for it.

Originally Posted by Nick1978

5. There's a strange vibe in Austin that wasn't there when I lived there. Suddenly, it's about driving the right car, living in the right neighborhood, having the giant home, etc.

I don't see that at all, except on this forum, and it's all coming from people who want to move here with money from their west coast house sales.

And this annoys me endlessly because when I'm visiting friends/family on the west coast, they have the attitude that Texas is less progressive, when in fact it's the west coast migrants who are bringing the status-oriented materialistic mentality to a place that didn't have as much of it in the past. There are many neighborhoods here where the status symbol is to not have a car at all! Don't judge the city by certain areas or what you see on this forum.

If I were considering a move to Austin based on the endless threads about finding a nice safe generic neighborhood to move to with a ginormous house and a long commute in an SUV, I wouldn't dream of moving here. There's an over-representation on this forum of that type of "dreams of the old Orange County" chat and that is NOT what is representative of the character of Austin. However, that lifestyle can be found in many outlying communities, so people are moving here to find that lifestyle at a more reasonable price. And now a certain person might slam me but I am simply expressing a point of view, not saying my preferences are superior.

[Txstar]

Although I have lived in Texas all my life, I will be moving to Austin for the first time in a week. Lived in San Antonio, Houston, and the hill country. When I was in Austin, I felt a vibe that people don't care what kind of house your in, or what your wear, or what you drive. Everybody just seemed so laid back and carefree. Went to go eat at Shady Grove, and the people just seemed so different from other Texas cities. It feels good to go somewhere and not have to worry about other people judging you on what you wear (in Dallas, it's seems like it's a fashion show just to go out to eat). I haven't been much outside of central Austin so I don't know much about the suburbs, but when I decided to move to Austin, I wanted to live "in" Austin.

[manbehindthecurtain]

My wife and I moved to Austin a year and a half ago from Houston (where we had lived most of our lives). We had vacationed out here many times and loved the city and the Hill Country. So we decided to make the vacation permenant. That and Houston was getting WAY too big for us.

After living here for over a year we haven't cared for it much.

The job market isn't as great as we had believed it would be. Every job I have worked has felt temporary. I have had 3 jobs in the short time we have lived here - so has my wife. Every company I have worked for so far feels like it is about to be "bought out" (actually happened at Broadwing and I was cut) or is about to "cut back." Jobs in Houston just felt much more stable. I'm sure The Harvester will come in here and make this my fault somehow...

Austin has changed a lot in the 3 years since my wife and I made the decision to move here. This is mostly due to the large influx of people from other parts of the country. They are bringing their fast lifestyle with them where as the Austin locals (myself included) seem to like things at a slower pace. I'm growing very tired of having endless BMW 5 series and Hummer H2s crammed up my butox everywhere I go. The constant in-your-face requirement to move faster is filling the locals with a lot of resentment. From my observation; people aren't as pleasant as were even a year ago. That famous Texas/Austin hospitality is fading away at a rapid pace.

Contractors are raping and pillaging the land and the city government is looking the other way. The so called "green belt" is shrinking every day. My wife and I have a joke now. If we see an empty lot or hill somewhere we say, "Oh my... look at that empty space. They need to build something there." And of course, this will continue as long as people from other parts of the country flock here in search of quick money. The price of housing has really jumped as a result. My wife and I will never be able to afford a house here now... at least not in a decent part of town.

Austin is a beautiful town and I really want to love living here. There are some really nice people here, too. My wife and I will never move back to Houston but we have been seriously considering leaving Austin. I don't "hate" the city - I just don't care for it anymore.

[Phisch]

Contractors are raping and pillaging the land and the city government is looking the other way. The so called "green belt" is shrinking every day. My wife and I have a joke now. If we see an empty lot or hill somewhere we say, "Oh my... look at that empty space. They need to build something there." And of course, this will continue as long as people from other parts of the country flock here in search of quick money.

That's a concern. A huge reason for choosing Austin to move to (besides the strong creative vibe) is the trees. I'd assumed that there was a strong environmentalist bent around here, but it doesn't seem like that's the case if people complain about lack of recycling, etc.

[AustinTraveler]

Originally Posted by Phisch

That's a concern. A huge reason for choosing Austin to move to (besides the strong creative vibe) is the trees. I'd assumed that there was a strong environmentalist bent around here, but it doesn't seem like that's the case if people complain about lack of recycling, etc.

The people complaining about the lack of recycling don't live in Austin.

[Trainwreck20]

I would say that, techinically speaking, the 'green belt' itself is not shrinking - that land is not available for development. Also, there have been some additions to the green space, such as the Balcones Wilderness Preserve. I do agree that privately held open land is rapidly being developed, though...

[sberdrow]

Originally Posted by Torontonian

Far from hating but tend to agree with noplacelikeWA from the other thread (replace PNW with Ontario)

Originally Posted by noplacelikeWA
We moved to TX (actually live in SA but spend tons of time in Austin) from north Seattle in April 2006, my DH is a Snohomish County native and I lived in the PNW for 21years, so heres my view since moving.

1. It's really downright ugly, (when compared to the PNW)
2. The infrastructure is a joke which fuels the traffic and bad driver problems
5. Locals get all excited about wild flowers growing along the highway (they actually stop and take family portraits) because there really is nothing else to enjoy about the landscape (when compared to the PNW)
8. The property taxes are insane, and you will not save any $ over buying something here, you'll just get more house for your $
9. The best scenery they have to offer is in the hill country and it really is not impressive (when compared to the PNW)
10. The bugs also keep people indoors alot, mosquitoes and june bugs are everywhere

Yes, I have more money in the pocket now, but everything comes at a cost

Wow, did I write this? I laughed at every point.....So true...so true...someone actually agrees with me, Im not crazy. I just don't think someone from PNW should try texas. It might be the toughest adjustment in the country. They are so absolutly different. Its all about getting a nicer house. I think one should remember this however before you change from PNW to Texas....you can change the house, but you cannot change the view. This comment was not for texans, as I don't want to make you mad....I was hoping to get the eyes of those of us from Oregon, Washinton, Northern Cali, and even BC. It was hard to leave because the equity did not keep up with anyplace I wanted to move to. Just remember if you move here, you may not be able to move back because the prices are rising a lot higher in the PNW than in Texas.

[TheHarvester]

Originally Posted by manbehindthecurtain

Jobs in Houston just felt much more stable. I'm sure The Harvester will come in here and make this my fault somehow...

Stable jobs? See, this is exactly the problem with people, and furthermore, blah blah blah, I'm right and everyone else is wrong, and.... oh, wait, you predicted I would do this.... am I that easy to figure out?

Originally Posted by sberdrow

I just don't think someone from PNW should try texas. It might be the toughest adjustment in the country. They are so absolutly different. Its all about getting a nicer house. I think one should remember this however before you change from PNW to Texas....you can change the house, but you cannot change the view.

There's no "correct" point of view about something as multidimensional as a location. If we had 50,000 objective measures on which to compare locations, perhaps we'd start to get an accurate picture of the similarities and differences.

Our experience of life is 99% contingent on what we pay attention to. This is Psych 101 stuff. Attention, salience, relevance to our interests --- these are the factors that determine what we see and hear and perceive about a place or a person. I see a stronger connection between Seattle and Austin than any other pairing of cities because I'm focused on the cultural similarities and a lot of other intangibles. Sure, if you look at the landscape from the point of view of a photographer, there's absolutely no comparison. And as far as weather is concerned, they're worlds apart.

A person's ability to move from the PNW to Austin, or from Austin to the PNW, depends on a gazillion factors and every one of us has different needs, desires and perceptions. You cannot generalize your personal experience to others because I know many people who have happily moved from one place to the other (there's a lot of migration in both directions between Seattle and Austin.) As for the particular negatives about Texas that you selectively discussed, you're right. Except you're doing what I do with the Texas coast: not finding the beauty that is in a place. In Seattle the beauty smashes you in the face relentlessly, it's a spectacular location. In Austin, you have to notice it, pay attention to the subtle, small-scale aspects of beauty. Some people like that, some don't.

And for still other people, none of the above matters. They might be into going to clubs or starting a band, in which case you can move between Seattle and Austin and enjoy both places equally because they both have vibrant subcultures and music/art scenes. It just depends on what you're looking for.