Anyone from the NE who relocated to Austin... (Houston, Galveston: school, living in)

[orngkat]

My boss, a native New Yorker, moved here from Boston six years ago. I told him at the time that in five years, you will either love it here or hate it. He announced the other day that he is moving back to the NE. He came here as an uptight, unfriendly guy and leaves with a new attitude - he now knows how to slow down, have a good time and chat with everyone you meet.

[maestro9]

Originally Posted by Weatherguy

MABARR, please pvt message me and I'll email you some photos of Austin (particularly west Austin) to give you a feel for the area. I also have some great downtown/river photos.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned that for people into outdoor activities, there are greenbelts all over the city for hiking that are like being in a remote wilderness, but right in the city (e.g., Barton Creek and Bull Creek greenbelts). There are nature preserves in the hilly part of west Austin, the river running through downtown is always full of rowboats, and Lake Travis on the far west side is a boaters and swimmers paradise. Unfortnately, with the drought, Lake Travis is extremely low and most if not all of the boating ramps are closed for now.

Publish those photos over here. Us people that WILL be moving here would like to see them and give us an idea of the area.

[Willsson]

Originally Posted by maestro9

Publish those photos over here. Us people that WILL be moving here would like to see them and give us an idea of the area.

Speaking of access to water, be sure to include some recent photos of beautiful Lake Travis...

http://www.statesman.com/business/dr...s-1919845.html

http://www.statesman.com/multimedia/dynamic/01164/rbz-Lake-Travis-Dr_1164453c.jpg (broken link)

[texastrigirl]

Originally Posted by Weatherguy

One thing that hasn't been mentioned that for people into outdoor activities, there are greenbelts all over the city for hiking that are like being in a remote wilderness, but right in the city (e.g., Barton Creek and Bull Creek greenbelts). .

Not so sure I agree with the remote wilderness comment above. It all depends on where you are coming from. I lived in CO before I lived in Austin and WA after. The green belts can be a nice feature and we utilized them excessively because we love the outdoors but being in remote wilderness? NIMO. When both creeks have water, it's enjoyable to hike but both paths are heavily used by hikers, climbers and mountain bikers.

It's also a dry, scrubby landscape with rocks and cedars. Not exactly lush when compared to parts of NE. I spent a good bit of time looking for rattlers, corals, etc. I believe four types of poisonous snakes live those greenbelts and because I was always hiking with little ones, my snake radar was on full blast.

But for TX, it is really pretty.

[cBach]

Originally Posted by texastrigirl

Not so sure I agree with the remote wilderness comment above. It all depends on where you are coming from. I lived in CO before I lived in Austin and WA after. The green belts can be a nice feature and we utilized them excessively because we love the outdoors but being in remote wilderness? NIMO. When both creeks have water, it's enjoyable to hike but both paths are heavily used by hikers, climbers and mountain bikers.

It's also a dry, scrubby landscape with rocks and cedars. Not exactly lush when compared to parts of NE. I spent a good bit of time looking for rattlers, corals, etc. I believe four types of poisonous snakes live those greenbelts and because I was always hiking with little ones, my snake radar was on full blast.

But for TX, it is really pretty.

Some people actually prefer the rough and rugged desert look to a greened over landscape.

[cBach]

Originally Posted by tofurkey

Speaking of access to water, be sure to include some recent photos of beautiful Lake Travis...

Drought hurting Lake Travis businesses

But it is misleading to publish this saying this is how Austin is. This is the worst drought on record. Why don't you publish a picture of when the water is high in Lake Travis?

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by cBach
But it is misleading to publish this saying this is how Austin is. This is the worst drought on record. Why don't you publish a picture of when the water is high in Lake Travis?

Originally Posted by tofurkey

There is a poster - previously - who has offered to provide photos to the OP. Photos of the wonders of Texas and Austin can be found anywhere. It's reality that sometimes gets hard to find.

And all of that to assist the OP in deciding whether to move to Texas. The included hyperlink is to the Statesman article about businesses at Lake Travis, the photo included.

I agree that your post is misleading.

I have lived here for 35 years and during most of that have kept a sailboat on Lake Travis, and always had plenty of water for sailing a deep keeled sailboat. The "current" drought has lake levels down to 33% of their normal capacity. Your photo shows one of the many shallow water marinas along the shores which have dried up during this "exceptional" drought. It makes for exciting journalism, but is not at all reflective of what one can normally expect for the region.

And it is not at all reflective of the large area of water surface that remains available for boaters use on the lake, if you already have a boat at a marina on Lake Travis.

If anything, the lake use is much more placid since most of the "public boat ramps" are high and dry.

[Willsson]

So I've deleted my explanation. I'd delete the post if it weren't too late. The photo will probably disappear as soon as the Statesman refreshes.

Hope you're satisfied. I'll stay out of Austin.

[love roses]

Wouldnt it be deceitful to promote the Lake as something it isn't at the time? I think it's fine to say it isn't always like that, but my husband was out there 2 days ago and said that it looks like you can walk across the Lake, and that was at Mansfield dam. He said he hasn't seen it that low right there in the 6 years we've lived here, or any of the previous years we camped at the Lake before. Of course, knowing him, there may have been a touch of exageration.

[homeinatx]

Frankly, it does not matter how low Lake Travis is, the outdoor recreational opportunities within an equivalent distance from Manhattan are infinitely superior. The Catskills, never mind the Adirondacks make the hill country look like a small bunch of termite mounds. The Hudson valley, which starts in the Bronx is much more picturesque than anything within 50 miles of Austin. The beaches on Long Island from Fire Island to Montauk are spectacularly beautiful. There is a reason that waterfront in the Hamptons is some of the most expensive real estate in the world. It is gorgeous and much closer to NYC than the comparatively VERY UGLY Texas gulf coast from Matagordas through Port Aransas to Corpus. Even the trashy parts of the Jersey Shore have way better beaches and comparable fishing. I love Austin. I have a great life here, but it is not NYC. It is very different from it, but by most indices I can imagine, it is also lesser: smaller, dumber, uglier, less to do, but considerably cheaper, easier to navigate and more friendly. To be fair, i think the bigger Texas cities look even worse compared to New York, they have very little of Austin's distinctiveness, and their amenities while a little better still look tragic next to NYC. IMO ( and I have been around), NYC is easily the most cosmopolitan city in the world ( London would be a distant second), and one of the most sophisticated ones (Tokyo, Mexico City, Hong Kong would be other contenders from cities I know), Austin is a nice, weird, little hill town. Let's keep it it this way. Fight the sprawl!!