Austin experience: bore, expensive and ... (Houston, Dallas: airport, best, quality)

[theloneranger]

Originally Posted by thedude72

san diego - Google Maps

Well that was informative.

[austinite45]

Originally Posted by austin-steve

I agree.

The airport is exactly like those in small rural areas, minus the smell of manure.

the smell of manure is there. Just drive around slowly with the windows down. If you don't fly often, a stroll along the bike trail around Townlake might be a reasonable substitute ... and you can see the stuff on the ground.

The 30+ story condos have "small rural" written all over them, though they do succeed in tricking people into thinking of them as "city" highrises.

small rural towns are allowed to have 30+ story condos. A few high rise condos, especially ones that were built during the real estate speculation fever, doesn't change the overall picture, just as the expensive, red-granite walled Capital building didn't make Austin an imperial town.

The drive on Mopac and IH35 at 5PM is so small town rural I can almost hear the cows moowing.

you don't see cows while driving thru Lincoln, Nebraska or other corn field towns on interstate highway there.

I especially like how all of the approaching vehicles provide the the rural "hello" wave with the lift of their index fingers from the steering wheel as we pass each other.

this is even less relevant than seeing cows, but if you make yourself look like a Mexican, you might get some rural "hello" waves.

Finally, the pickup trucks and young kids who hang out at THE dairy Queen every Friday night before and after the football game further prove that Austin is a small, rural town.

you mean rural towns don't have ice creams?

[austinite45]

Originally Posted by theloneranger

Yes, because EVERY rural area has one and a half million people.

some rural areas in India and China have over 3 million people ... and lots of 30+ story high rises.

[theloneranger]

Originally Posted by austinite45

some rural areas in India and China have over 3 million people ... and lots of 30+ story high rises.

Those are not rural areas, those are cities surrounded by rural areas. There are some densely populated areas where rural workers live, but those areas are by the very existence of the high population density "urban."

There is not a single area that would be defined as "rural" by the census bureau or any other American group that has one-and-a-half million people.

[austinite45]

Originally Posted by theloneranger

Those are not rural areas, those are cities surrounded by rural areas. There are some densely populated areas where rural workers live, but those areas are by the very existence of the high population density "urban."

There is not a single area that would be defined as "rural" by the census bureau or any other American group that has one-and-a-half million people.

you may write new/alternative definitions of your own but China and India call them rural areas.

[TVC15]

His post is OLD!

[mithy92]

HEY....I have just moved to Austin from the UK- and all i can say is that this place is GREAT. The music scene is amazing the weather is beautiful (even the heat wave), and i dont know who that brit/yorker/welsh guy met but everyone i have come acoss has been really friendly and everyone is 'game for a laugh', and in party mode. and i havent even been to a festival yet....

Also I've been told its get bigger and wilder during college time...
I came across this post when searching for austin blogs for the local 'goings on' and saw a few negative comments. But all i can say as a brit just moved over here, its a really cool place and i look forward to staying here..... and keeping Austin weird ofcourse....

[inthecut]

Originally Posted by mithy92

HEY....I have just moved to Austin from the UK- and all i can say is that this place is GREAT. The music scene is amazing the weather is beautiful (even the heat wave), and i dont know who that brit/yorker/welsh guy met but everyone i have come acoss has been really friendly and everyone is 'game for a laugh', and in party mode. and i havent even been to a festival yet....

Also I've been told its get bigger and wilder during college time...
I came across this post when searching for austin blogs for the local 'goings on' and saw a few negative comments. But all i can say as a brit just moved over here, its a really cool place and i look forward to staying here..... and keeping Austin weird ofcourse....

Mithy, are you on a work visa?..............presuming you were transferred to a job out here from a UK corp.........

[eepstein]

Originally Posted by austinite45

While Austin is the capital of Texas (a big state), it's still a small rural town. It's definitely not a 24-hr city with a vibrant nightlife and other cultural amenities (big museums, art galleries or concert halls and theaters). Things are changing, but not exactly for the better ... crimes have gone up, lots of trees are being cut down to make way for super ugly California-style houses, more illegal Mexicans (who don't speak English) are cramming into the streets, and playing their loud, tasteless music everywhere ... in cars, in their apartments, even in parks.

Yes I would agree. Austin is rapidly growing and I have yet to understand why. It's nothing more than an overgrown small college town with virtually nothing to offer its residents. Austin's idea of entertainment is the 6th street area which they somehow think is unique. Nearly every college town and larger city has an equivilant of 6th street.

6th street is by and large nothing more than a collection of lousy bars filled with boisterous young people.

Yes very true. 6th street is extremely basic and doesn't stand out from any other city.

Austin's real estate sector has seen the equivalent of a suckers' rally on the NYSE and nasdaq. I suspect that the realtors (agencies) here are "cooperating" (short of colluding) with each other in setting high prices/rents despite high vacancy rates. It's not just downtown; student housing around campus are being dominated by a few "managing companies" like 512reality, campuscondos, presidio ... etc that have increased the rents by 40% to 80% without any corresponding improvement in the quality of apartments, maintenance or service. An antitrust investigation may be in order, but I suspect the Realtors already have influential officials in their back pockets.

there has been an oversupply of realtors in Austin. if they are to survive, they will need to make a killing at every opportunity. I wouldn't be surprised if their quotes are 3-4 times higher than what is reasonable.

Yes, the real estate market in Austin is really quite interesting. It pretty much divides the classes quite well. All the poor reside east of I-35, the wealthy reside west of 35. And all of the middle income people must move out to the faceless god awful suburbs to make ends meet. Austin is a very unfriendly family town and almost forces you to move far away from your job to make ends meet.

that's a common complaint against Austin's bus service. Most buses run on 30-min intervals ... ridiculous by major city standards. Moreover, it's my opinion that well over 70% of the bus drivers are utterly incompetent and have no business driving any motor vehicle.

Haven't you heard? Capitol metro is run by mostly high school and junior high school students. It is without a doubt one of the worse run transit systems in the country. They will soon open a DEATH TRAP light rail system which will almost certainly end up crashing and killing innocent people because of it's incompetant high school drivers. Most of the bus routes are poorly designed and thought out.

Avoid coming to Austin, Texas.

You didn't comment about the Austin airport, known by locals as the "largest airport in the country with no planes!!"

You wanna get somewhere quick. Better enjoy flying through Dallas or Houston, or any other hub city. Service is being cut into Austin like you wouldn't believe.

Mark my words sir. Austin's hayday will soon end. The infastructure is about as bad as it gets and people will soon leave their beloved "Austin." Sorry little Austin. Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio will kick your a$$ in virtually EVERY catagory every single time!! Get used to being the 4th best in everything!!!

[texasboi]

Originally Posted by vk999

Hi,

I live in New York City. I had the opportunity to visit Austin for 2 days, possible job transfer. The job would be located in South East Austin, near E Oltorf Street. My experience of Austin is:

1) As compared to New York, found it quite boring, not much to see in downtown, there are many major department stores, museums, theaters in Manhattan, but couldn't find any except Whole Foods store. Even famous 6th street did not have much excitement.

2) Renting a 1 bedroom apartment in downtown is expensive(at least $1600 a month). I know it is cheap as compared to Manhattan, but I live in one of the borough of New York, and can 1 bedroom apartment in decent, elevator building for about $1300 per month, with subway within 1-3 blocks.

3) I was told by realtors in Austin that downtown apartments with elevator would cost at least 500K, which is cheap as compared to Manhattan, but in outer borough, can buy for about 250K, which would be roughly 20-30 minutes subway ride to Manhattan.

4) It is inconvenient. Need to drive, although can take bus, but would have to wait for at least 15 minutes in uncomfortable hot weather.

Can anyone comment on above, and suggest how to overcome above issues. If the job is going to be in South East Austin, is that a decent place to live(need an elevator building, but found only walkups). Also, did not see any houses/townhomes in that area to buy.

I relocated from Manhattan as well and I doubt anywhere in Manhattan, Brooklyn, etc you are getting a one bedroom for $250 ANYWHERE I don't care what you say.