I finally moved to Austin! (Houston, Dallas: how much, houses, school)

[artsyguy]

First off the traffic is not near as bad as everybody whines about. The traffic is not near as bad as the traffic in Dallas and the traffic there isn't always that bad to start with. The traffic in grapevine -Denton area was horrible and annoying and much worse than here in Austin. I am very thankful for the flowing traffic in Austin

The night life - hmmm well I am a young adult gay male and it is pretty cool but not that great by any means. Dallas has Austin beat by a long shot. Dallas has a lot of gay bars/dance clubs and so does fort worth. Well, at least Austin has gay bars/dance clubs to go to. There are only TWO hip gay dance clubs in the area and they are rather small and the scene is getting old already LOL. I know and I just got here. Maybe I am just sleepy and have an allergy headache?? Dance clubs here are hip and snobbish the kind you'd expect from da gay crowd. One dance club, I will not mention its name, was sort of lower class but the crowd seemed happy!

Lots of places to go shopping which is great.

Humidity is horrible here!! I can't remember if it was ever this bad in Dallas...but it sure stinks and it is ruining my hair style. The air smelt moldy today and I am allergic to mold...ick.

Traveling about the city isn't TOO difficult which is kinda cool.

Overall, I have to say that the city is cutesy poo compared to Dallas but far better than Denton in many ways besides the public library system which is old and stinky here in Austin and really modern and friendly in Denton.

Will I consider living here after I graduate after my masters degree is completed? Hmmm probably not...I think Dallas is way cooler and has much more to offer....either Dallas OR Denver...not sure yet. Which ever has the more awesome gay night life and job opportunities.

[love roses]

Denver is similar to Austin in that there isn't a gay "enclave" or a specific stretch of gay clubs anywhere.

[musicforme]

My wife and I can't wait to get out of DFW and move to Austin. I'm a native of the DFW area, and she moved here after getting a full scholarship to SMU in the early 90s.

We're tired of the rat race up here, how flat things are and how bland everything is around here. Our only saving grace is the smaller town feel of Grapevine and have some non chain options available to us.

Every time we visit Austin (at least once a year), we comment how much we like the city and wished we lived there. I'm waiting to hear the results of a job interview and may be living in the Austin area soon.

[artsyguy]

The traffic here is not as bad as dallas which is good. Also you get about equal amounts of shopping done BUT it is spread out. There is more nightlife in Austin for straight people. I am gay therefore dallas is much more hip for my lifestyle.

[TheHarvester]

Originally Posted by love roses

Denver is similar to Austin in that there isn't a gay "enclave" or a specific stretch of gay clubs anywhere.

I beg to differ. Two weeks ago I was in the gay bar district (around 4th and Colorado to 5th and Guadalupe) and I was "cruised" by at least 5 guys, plus I saw many gay couples.

It's a tiny scene, and the biggest complaint I hear from gay friends is that they have so few choices. Once you've been to all the clubs, it starts to be way too deja vu.

The gay population in central Austin is very high, much more than what the club scene suggests. Keep your ears and eyes open, keep your gadar tuned to the right frequencies, you'll find that it's a great place to be gay if you don't need a large club scene. It's not Houston, it's not Dallas... the scene is different here.

Caveat emptor: I'm not gay, I just know a lot of gays and lesbians, so most of what I'm saying is second-hand info from years of listening to the complaints and praise for the scene here. The best thing about it, from all I hear, is that Austin has a high "tolerance" factor. I know gay couples living in outlying redneck towns and they've experienced NO harrassment or prejudice. It's a "live and let live" culture, but there's no Castro District.

[artsyguy]

what is castro district?

I was over at the gay bars again and they were over-packed with gay men....lol...wow. Austin needs a larger gay dance club.

[TheHarvester]

Originally Posted by artsyguy

what is castro district?

You must be young, or you've never been to the west coast, or...



Just bustin' yer chops. The Castro is San Francisco's largest, most "out" gay community, and it's BIG. You wouldn't be complaining about a lack of options there, trust me.

And, it just so happens that the Castro district is ideally located to take advantage of one of the best micro-climates in SF, it's close to downtown, it's close to the Mission District and Noe Valley --- if you're ever in Cali, do pay a visit, you might just want to move there unless you hate 300 days of fog per year.

[jabbit]

dallas is bland and plastic and about the money. Denton has character and is about music and art. Austin is is Austin... its a lot of things. its always been cool. Dallas sux big time next to Austin... in my opinion. the counter culture parts in Dallas are the only cool things. Austin... its "the in thing" to move to. the trend. the easily accessible. almost riding up on socal dare i say. sounds like you are bitter about Denton... hating it left and right.

where else can one go in texas that has a kick a jazz school juxtaposed next to a hot and thriving underground indie music and art scene????

not one town in texas or city for that matter. for a small town... Denton is earing its respect.

sure Denton doesn't have a lot of things big cities have.. (and its not an Austin... what is? and thank God it aint a dallas) and some of these things are good.... but not all areas are without their negatives. Denton at least has its own thing going on and is not like all the other vanilla bland towns in texas.

[kigray]

I was talking to someone today and they use the phrase that Austin was not money conscious. I mean their are people in Austin with money but we are not hung up on how has money and who doesnt as much as Dallas.

[TheHarvester]

kigray, that used to be true about Austin (relative to Dallas) much more than it is today. Now we have such an influx of status-conscious wealthy people and so many trendy new developments and shopping options, it's getting to be a lot less like it used to be. There is a resistance movement against this materialism and status-oriented cultural shift, but it is being increasingly marginalized and pushed out of central Austin. Every city has its hip districts and I fear that is what will become of Austin, it will have "cool places" with artists and musicians and quirky coffeehouses, but they will be like artifacts in a museum, where the museum is the opulent ostentatious context within which the quaint trinkets of "those interesting people who used to be here" will be displayed and patronized by the rich.

The old Austin is dead. People have been telling me that for a long time, even when I moved here in 1990 they were saying it was gone. But the changes I've seen since then have been monumental. Yet I still LOVE it here because it balances my elitist tendencies with my desire to live a simple bohemian life.