Racism in the area?? (Dallas, San Antonio: home, contractors, living in)

[Dcbrown2110]

My husband and I are looking for a good place to move to once he is out of the military. We have a son as of right now but still want two or three more kids, we are a biracial couple (I'm white and he is black). Just wondering if there is a strong problem with open racism? I know that people will be people and there will be hatred every where, but I just want to get a feel for what people say about the area?

[7ry1an3]

honestly you'll probably never get any comments or open racism in any big city in Texas. Some really small towns might give you strange looks but i doubt anybody will say anything. Where are you from?

[phone man]

If you go looking for it, I'm sure you will find it anywhere. The majority of us will not think twice.

[austinnerd]

Just like anywhere else, a lot depends on exactly where you end up living and your exact situation. As a general rule, the site of a mixed race couple in Austin is fairly common and not a big deal. However, there are likely to be certain situations/areas where you are more likely to have an issue (for example, my experience directly contradicts catholicdad's comments, not to say that his comments are somehow incorrect, just that he apparently hangs with a different crowd and lives in a different area than I do).

But overall, I think it's safe to say that it's generally not a big issue in Austin.

[Adamson865]

Having lived in Austin and some other major metro areas, I can say that Austin is no different than other big cities. Unless you go around all day long looking for a fight, people won't give you a second glance. That said, if you go out of town an hour or two into the boonies, there will probably be those who won't be as welcoming. But, that's the same way darned near everywhere - Texas or California.

I don't want to sound too sappy, but the natives I know there have hearts as big as Texas, and have always treated this minority with the utmost of love and kindness - and I can't wait to get back.

[JohnHenrySDM]

I agree with the popular opinion above. You won't have any problems that you don't go looking for. Of course there are exceptions, but there always are, so try not to worry about that much. Don't define yourself or your relationship by your race and others will be less likely to, too.

Originally Posted by catholicdad

I've lived in Austin for a month, and I stand by my earlier statement that I've yet to meet any native Texans. Every single person I've met at work or church was from somewhere else.

Your claim is very hard to believe.

[tfresca]

Look its still Texas but if you are looking at Austin you'll probably be fine and see little trouble. The farther away from a city center you get the more "Texas" you'll feel.

[hamjeepr]

I've lived all over Texas and there is little racism, even in smaller communities. You should have no problem at all.

I would recommend you consider San Antonio over Austin, though. It has a huge military community and many resources for retired to include many govt contractors who hire retired.

[80SC]

Originally Posted by phone man

If you go looking for it, I'm sure you will find it anywhere. The majority of us will not think twice.

Go looking for it? Who goes looking for racism?

[Aquitaine]

I may or may not meet any Texans while living in Austin.

That's just absurd, as even a token glance at statistics will tell you. This is not even atypical, it's unbelievable.

visit one thread: "Austin has no diversity! Dallas has more diversity!"

visit this thread: "Austin has no Americans! everybody is foreign"

Even after six years in NYC I never had the experience of meeting only foreign people and I work from home so run into fewer folks than most!