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I'm a native Texan so I pretty well knew what Austin was like before I got here.....but I DO regret the move here because of:
1) Traffic. It is horrible. I dread driving to and from work every single day. I drive 17 miles and it takes anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour, and occasionally more! Only by sheer luck have I not been in an accident, because I've had to dodge idiots so many times!
2) Taxes. They're absolutely ridiculous and are almost half of our monthly mortgage payment...about 2.5% of the home value. In the country, outside of Tyler, my mother pays in one year what I pay in two months here, and she has hundreds of acres, a barn, and a 2300 sf house.
3) The anti-police sentiment. While I'm not a law enforcement officer, my husband and my brother are, and the attitude around Austin seems to be very anti-police and pro-criminal. It probably isn't as widespread as the media makes it seem, but there is always some issue where the "poor child" (who was roaming the streets at 3am carrying a loaded weapon who then points it at police and gets himself shot) is defended and the police officer is blamed for protecting himself and the public. You don't get that sentiment most other places in the state.
Other than that, Austin is prettty cool. Lots of shopping, good restaurants, lots of green spaces and outdoor activities, very dog-friendly, and generally the people are very friendly too.
There in lies my point. People in the northeast can live in the worst corner it has to offer and be convinced they are still better off than other people who live in the South, especially Texas, regardless of the fact that they are miserable and probably have never been anyplace near texas. If you've seen the movie 'The Fighter', people from Scranton are a little better than that, but the NE has alot of them in each state, not just in it's armpits. There are a dozen Scrantons, one is just more famous than the rest.
I ran into some people from Boston (probably my favorite NE city) who were watching the bats here in Austin, and when they found out I was from the NE they confessed over and over that Austin blew them away because they thought it would be like spending a week in an Episode of King of the Hill. They were nowhere as obnoxious as the worst Scrantonians, but they still had some of the same malady: There they were from Boston and they didn't have the "Pawk the caw in the yawd" dialect and that never tipped them off that people in other places might not be walking stereotypes either.
They were still nice people, don't get me wrong. But if I had to identify the one thing that spoiled the NE for me and made Austin so appealing is that it seems like up north people don't ever analyze themselves (like the Boston people). The ones I'm thinking of are like Cats or other animals. Anything bad that happens around them is the fault of whoever else is around them... no matter how many times,,, the same damn bad thing happens to them,,, and only them. They don't learn, fix things, change habits. Just run into the same wall over and over. Austin is more 'Maverick-ey'.
NYC, Scranton, numerous locations high and low have this reoccuring character I kept meeting. It's the guy you don't know who walks up to you and tells you his life story like he's high as a kite on cocaine and never looks you in the eye once. He usually has a NYC accent even if he lives elsewhere. I sometimes wonder if that guy has EVER had an existential thought in his life. He seems like a reaction more than a person. I'm sure he's the same guy who puts out 4 orange construction cones to save his on street parking spot, and when you mention that's actually not allowed, on street parking isn't paid parking and it's not guaranteed, he proceeds to tell you his life story, how life works, and why you are a moron at the speed of a meth amphetamine addict. He's also definetly the neighbor who doesn't wave back when you drive past. There's also the guy you looked at once by accident becasue you thought he was somebody you know and he stares at you for about 3 hours after that no matter what you do. He's under the broader character description "guy who holds a grudge until he dies because everything is a travesty." There's also the italian guy who comes up to you and starts giving you unsolicited advice about life while waving his cigar around. I miss that guy sometimes. You just don't find that in Austin.
I think my main complaint up there was that people have social anxiety disorder for whatever reason and instead of dealing with it they lean really hard on just acting out on all the symptoms. They are freaked out about being in public so they confront it head on by being obnoxious to everybody they assume is judging them and practially starting fights with people for no damn reason. I was almost in a fight at a movie theater because I was laughing at the jokes. The guy was offended by the perverse nature of the movie so he wasn't finding it humourous. Rather than just leave the movie he hated, he just steeped in his victim tea and assigned blame to me for what Chuck Palahniuk wrote (The movie was 'Choke' from the book of the same name.)
I guess in Austin people wear a smile on their face and their problems in their back pocket,, in the NE people scowl and swing their problems around and hit eachother with them. It all goes back to my original point, in response to his thread, I sincerely don't regret moving here lol. But if you were from a place that kicked ass, you had a great job, your house was totally boobs and your friends ruled and there was no traffic and you had San Diego weather, you might regret moving to Austin, but you could do so incredibly worse.
Oh, I agree that you can do worse than Austin, no doubt about it. But people in Austin seem to think that you can never do better; that there is absolutely no place on Earth that even compares. That bothers me as much as the Northeastern attitude bothers you. I spent the first 20 years of my life in Philadelphia and the last 20 years in Texas (2 in Houston, 18 in Austin), and I can honestly say that a lot of the Texas stereotypes are true. I will also say that a lot of the stereotypes of the Northeast are true too, but I have found that most folks up there at least admit to it.
3) The anti-police sentiment. While I'm not a law enforcement officer, my husband and my brother are, and the attitude around Austin seems to be very anti-police and pro-criminal. It probably isn't as widespread as the media makes it seem, but there is always some issue where the "poor child" (who was roaming the streets at 3am carrying a loaded weapon who then points it at police and gets himself shot) is defended and the police officer is blamed for protecting himself and the public. You don't get that sentiment most other places in the state.
Wow, I do not see that at all! What's going on up there in CP? I live very central and we (neighborhood associations -- NOT HOAs) work very closely with the police. We have citizen patrols trained by the police, email lists that include police officers etc. In many areas of Austin officers attend quarterly NA meetings and provide on the spot police updates. I rarely if ever hear anyone dis the police. Now, there have been some dubious uses of force and times when the cops didn't activate their cameras etc. And in some places being brown and young gets too much automatic suspicion from the police . . . there are valid criticisms to make of APD but I'd hardly call it bold-faced anti-police sentiment! Austin is not Oakland!
Wow, I do not see that at all! What's going on up there in CP? I live very central and we (neighborhood associations -- NOT HOAs) work very closely with the police. We have citizen patrols trained by the police, email lists that include police officers etc. In many areas of Austin officers attend quarterly NA meetings and provide on the spot police updates. I rarely if ever hear anyone dis the police. Now, there have been some dubious uses of force and times when the cops didn't activate their cameras etc. And in some places being brown and young gets too much automatic suspicion from the police . . . there are valid criticisms to make of APD but I'd hardly call it bold-faced anti-police sentiment! Austin is not Oakland!
Oh it definitely isn't Cedar Park to which I'm referring. It is Austin. It is pretty obvious if you read the articles in the Statesman and see the responses by the citizens (of course, not everyone and probably not even the majority, but moreso than in other cities). I've lived all over the state and have NEVER seen such antagonistic attitudes toward police as I see here. (And yes, I've lived in Austin proper so I do not just have CP as reference)
Oh, I agree that you can do worse than Austin, no doubt about it. But people in Austin seem to think that you can never do better; that there is absolutely no place on Earth that even compares. That bothers me as much as the Northeastern attitude bothers you. I spent the first 20 years of my life in Philadelphia and the last 20 years in Texas (2 in Houston, 18 in Austin), and I can honestly say that a lot of the Texas stereotypes are true. I will also say that a lot of the stereotypes of the Northeast are true too, but I have found that most folks up there at least admit to it.
Who thinks this?! I think you read C-D too much. There's TX pride for sure, which can get annoying (I'm a transplant too) but it's not like people walk around saying it's the best place on earth....I've never met a single person who thinks you can never do better, and I'm having trouble picturing a scenario where that would come into conversation. All I've heard is people be positive about living here, which I can't fault them for.
SlunkMonky you are correct: They were still nice people, don't get me wrong. But if I had to identify the one thing that spoiled the NE for me and made Austin so appealing is that it seems like up north people don't ever analyze themselves (like the Boston people). The ones I'm thinking of are like Cats or other animals. Anything bad that happens around them is the fault of whoever else is around them... no matter how many times,,, the same damn bad thing happens to them,,, and only them. They don't learn, fix things, change habits. Just run into the same wall over and over. Austin is more 'Maverick-ey.
This IS what it is like!!!!! I want out of this illogical way of thinking. It really is all around me.
Okay, I think all of you informative people have made up my mind. Round Rock, TX here I come!!
Where do I look for apartments or houses for rent? Need to find a place that I have room to keep my motorbike. I looked on Craigslist (only apt complexes and a lot of them had bad reviews), I tried to find local papers on line but no classifieds (not even for a job). Tried looking for dental temp agencies and couldn't find any.
I'm a native Texan so I pretty well knew what Austin was like before I got here.....but I DO regret the move here because of:
3) The anti-police sentiment. While I'm not a law enforcement officer, my husband and my brother are, and the attitude around Austin seems to be very anti-police and pro-criminal. It probably isn't as widespread as the media makes it seem, but there is always some issue where the "poor child" (who was roaming the streets at 3am carrying a loaded weapon who then points it at police and gets himself shot) is defended and the police officer is blamed for protecting himself and the public. You don't get that sentiment most other places in the state.
This is something I hear way more often in austin than othe places I've lived. I had a guy at work utterly convinced that police are evil because his girlfriend was driving drunk, got arrested, and wasn't given access to her diabetic supplies. People have shot themselves up with lots of insulin before to either attempt suicide or just try to make the polices job hell for arresting them,, also they have nurses for when you pass out in teh holding cell. And really, that's about as much courtesy as you get when you decide to drive around drunk without checking your blood sugar level. But the way the guy went on about it, you'd think not only that the cops were jerks for not letting her use needles while drunk, but even just for giving her a DUI in the first place. To me, driving drunk is bad enough, driving drunk with a medical condition that is effected by alchol is worse.
I also got pissed when so many occupy protesters kept saying a 16 year old girls 'constitutional rights were violated' by APD when they detained her for breaking curfew. They ended up letting her go,, but my point of view is, if none of the adults in that crowd were willing to say they were her guardian for the evening, then who there was really looking out for her? 16 isn't 12 but it's still under 18. If an adult had knowingly invited her to come sleep out under the stars with them and was not a family friend or legal guardian,, uh,, they could have faced some charges.. But APD didn't try to go that far,, and they let her stay.. I'm for the occupiers,, but jeez, dont' be so quick to judge authority when some of the stuff they do makes sense.
Oh it definitely isn't Cedar Park to which I'm referring. It is Austin. It is pretty obvious if you read the articles in the Statesman and see the responses by the citizens (of course, not everyone and probably not even the majority, but moreso than in other cities). I've lived all over the state and have NEVER seen such antagonistic attitudes toward police as I see here. (And yes, I've lived in Austin proper so I do not just have CP as reference)
I have seen this in instances like the Nathaniel Sanders case. He was painted out to be a "good kid" and the city gave his family a hefty sum of money after he was shot. In fact he was a convicted felon and had quite a lengthy and violent criminal history, especially for an 18 year old. But the situation was made out to be the police totally abusing their power and killing an innocent man.
I have seen this in instances like the Nathaniel Sanders case. He was painted out to be a "good kid" and the city gave his family a hefty sum of money after he was shot. In fact he was a convicted felon and had quite a lengthy and violent criminal history, especially for an 18 year old. But the situation was made out to be the police totally abusing their power and killing an innocent man.
Exactly. The Sanders family was very willing to sacrifice the thug of a kid for a large settlement. The family that was ruined was that of Officer Quintana. That whole ordeal was definitely a witch hunt to ruin him and his career. Very sad.
Okay, I think all of you informative people have made up my mind. Round Rock, TX here I come!!
Where do I look for apartments or houses for rent? Need to find a place that I have room to keep my motorbike. I looked on Craigslist (only apt complexes and a lot of them had bad reviews), I tried to find local papers on line but no classifieds (not even for a job). Tried looking for dental temp agencies and couldn't find any.
When you check craigslist make sure you see if any of the realty people are posting their card in the add. See if they advertise working primarily in the neighborhoods you are looking in. Some people who show apartments have daily mailing lists or websites that will show you stuff in a certain range of price or in a certain area with photos and such, then when you tell them what you need they can make suggestions. These are free services. They usually are nothing like car salesman where you fear talking to them or they pressure you. It's really laid back so dont worry about reaching out to them. I've met people at their office, then we go in their car on their gas to see all the places and I've ended up renting from someone else anyway. No hurt feelings. Plenty of people are moving here so the 'hard sell' is just a waste of their energy IMO.
Depending on your funds you may want to fly down and not just look online but if you do that, honestly, just try to google street view all the places. I've been looking at houses and googled them and there was police tape in the yard, notices on teh doors, windows smashed out etc but the advertisement looked like Pleasantville. When that happens, just look in another neighborhood haha but there's not to many bad hoods around here.
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I think you read C-D too much. There's TX pride for sure, which can get annoying (I'm a transplant too) but it's not like people walk around saying it's the best place on earth....I've never met a single person who thinks you can never do better, and I'm having trouble picturing a scenario where that would come into conversation. All I've heard is people be positive about living here, which I can't fault them for.
