More detailed info on whats going on East of I35

[ehutch79]

But when someone says all people on the East side of 35 smoke, have tattoos, bad mannered kids, live in ghettos, let their kids play outside unsupervised and without car/booster seats, and go to gang infested schools, I do take that as a personal jab.

I didn't say all of East Round Rock, I said my neighborhood, and even then it is the families that are the problem, not the older couples, newlyweds, or singles. I just meant that the west is a safer bet. To move to the east you have to be more careful about where you choose. Even Forest Creek, a very nice area, feeds in to a bad, by my standards, high school. I doubt the OP can afford the Forest Creek area anyhow. And I honestly don't know of any decent apartments on the east side. There are some decent ones, like in the La Frontera area, on the west side though.

Wcharm, clearly you, Jenbar, and the friends you speak of are not the kind of people I am referring to. I went to graduate school with some like that and didn't have a problem in the world with them. Well, until some of them started trying to force their political views on me, bash the military (fully aware my husband is in the military), and bash Christianity. I am not exaggerating! So maybe this jaded my views of Austin. Believe it or not when I moved here 4 years ago I was not this angry or yes, judgmental. I was a pretty open minded person who respected others opinions. It was when I, or my opinions, were criticized, over and over, that I became angry, and I admit, defensive. And it may seem awful that I referred to children as trash. I am sorry but when they are mean and hateful to my little girl, who, like I used to be, is kind as can be and wouldn't hurt a fly, I become angry. I do not feel, however that my problem with my neighborhood is in any way unique to the Austin area. And the kind of people in my neighborhood are in no way similar to the kind of people in Austin who are "weird". I'd take them as neighbors any day over what I've got. I think I was insulting a particular "breed" of people (I don't know what to call them, trailer trash?) and a completely different "breed" got offended.

When I first moved to this area I loved it. I loved the open minded and accepting attitudes. BUt then I learned that many people in Austin are open minded about what they believe in, but not about beliefs that contradict theirs. In fact it was not me trying to push my beliefs on others, but the other way around. I tried to be non-judgmental and simply learn more about others. But eventually I got tired of their smug attitudes. You know, not to get political, but in our society, especially areas like Austin, it is okay to speak your mind as long as your beliefs are liberal. More conservative opinions better be kept to yourself. And I have followed that rule for most of the time I have been here. Listen non-judgmentally to what others have to say and keep my mouth shut. I guess the internet felt like a safe place to let everything out that I have been holding in, so it came off rather harsh. So I am sorry to those I offended. Chances are, in the real world, we would have been friends.

Okay, I know that had nothing to do with neighborhoods and I am very sorry I have allowed myself to stray so far away from the topic at hand. I will try to let it rest now

[love roses]

Noone can fault you for things that happened that made you angry. The problem with political views is, no matter where you go, it's gonna be hard. Politics and religion are tough topics anywhere. And who wouldn't get angry for their child getting bullied or picked on. I never like to see that and try very hard to teach my daughter not to do that. Venting is good for the soul. Just put it down as that and noone's gonna give you a hard time. I vent on here all the time.
There are bad mannered people of every race and creed. Seems that the old adage "one bad apple spoils the whole bunch" always holds true. East Austin is probably the sketchiest area East. Overall, it's still pretty rural out here East OF Austin, even though it's growing. We can just agree to disagree on the seediness of certain areas of round rock.

[TheHarvester]

Originally Posted by ehutch79

Like I said "our interpretations are colored by our own experiences and background".

That can't be disputed. However, we tend to see what we expect. If we believe in a generality then our minds filter out contrary information and focus on confirming information. Experiences are thus subjective and have no objective quality about them. The best scientists struggle to design experiments in which they eliminate most bias, but it's impossible to achieve. Any good scientist will admit that all research is biased and subject to error. The history of science is marked by constant revolution, with each new generation updating or obliterating the "truths" of the past. In your experience of people who smoke or have tattoos or who eat beef jerky, you're going to bring your prejudices and your observations will not reflect reality very accurately. It's the same for ALL of us, I'm not singling you out. We all do the same thing, it's the way our brains are wired and it helps us to organize the world and make sense of an overload of information.

Originally Posted by ehutch79

I have made poor choices that put me in this God forsaken town where people want to save the raccoons, but will fight for partial birth abortion.

Even though our views are very different, we're mirror images of each other. I cannot begin to recount all the bad choices I've made. It's hard to overcome a lifetime of errors that traps you in a situation that you don't like. I wish you the best in finding a place that is more suited to you. Honestly, I don't understand your perceptions about Austin, unless you're living in the Bouldin neighborhood, the most liberal area in town (and thus one of my personal faves.) There are a lot of very conservative Christian-friendly areas within Austin and especially in the suburbs. This isn't Berkeley. But even in Berkeley there are happy conservative Christians who don't mind their social surroundings. I'm curious about the experiences you've had that have made you so hostile towards what you perceive to be the culture of Austin. If you want, send me a PM because I'm quite surprised and would love to know what created these impressions.

[iguanas4]

Originally Posted by ehutch79

I have also observed on this board and anywhere else that our interpretations are colored by our own experiences and background. What is trashy or bad mannered to one person may seem completely fine to another.
...snip...
Every mom smokes and many have a tatoo. Sorry, to me that says lower intelligence.
...snip...
If you smoke or have tatoos then you probably would like the East side and would get along just fine.

I'd agree that what's trashy or bad mannered to one person is not to another. Your comments also remind me of the saying... The only difference between a person with a tattoo and one without is the person with the tattoo doesn't care that you don't have one.

Not all tattoos are as aesthetically pleasing as others, but I don't see how having a tattoo (or smoking, even) relates to a person's intelligence or preference in neighbhorhoods.

[blusteel]

Originally Posted by ehutch79

....... BUt then I learned that many people in Austin are open minded about what they believe in, but not about beliefs that contradict theirs.

Do you mean like some of the attacks you have received in this thread? You don't need to apologize for your opinions. Ironically, I think some of the posters have demonstrated very well what you are describing.

[TheHarvester]

Originally Posted by blusteel

You don't need to apologize for your opinions. Ironically, I think some of the posters have demonstrated very well what you are describing.

I assume I'd be one of those posters, and what I want to defend is my right to feel annoyed towards people who make generalizations about groups of people based on their race, gender, sexual preference, smoking habits, tattoos, and other aspects of their individuality.

It's one thing to have the opinion that tattoos are ugly. I happen to dislike them myself. But it's quite another thing to characterize individuals as being trashy (especially CHILDREN, for goodness sake!) just because they have different habits from yours.

I'm highly tolerant of diverse views, but I feel no shame when attacking someone for the blatant bigotry which I see from so many people on this forum. Bigotry isn't an opinion, it's a socially destructive state of willful ignorance.