Possible relocation to Austin (Houston, Dallas: coop, movies, income)

[earthgal]

Hey all! I'm looking at Austin as a place to live and start my business. I run a mind/body/spirit studio that will have yoga, Nia, and also metaphysical type workshops and movies. Is Austin a good fit for this kind of thing? Obviously I need a community that is progressive, liberal, and dare I say it--"New-Agey".

My other concern is the heat. I'm in NC right now and LOVE the weather here. I am originally from Ohio where I hated being cooped up indoors for months on end because the winters were so cold and gray. I don't want to get into the same problem in Texas, where I have to be cooped up for a big chunk of the year because it's so hot. So how bad is the heat? Do you spend most of the year indoors in the AC? I'd love to hear input and get a better feel for what it would be like to live in Austin.

Peace!

[TexasHorseLady]

As for your kind of business, yes, it will be (and is) readily accepted here and has been for as long as I can remember (and I've been here since 1969!).

As for the heat, yes, it gets quite hot here. Whether or not that will coop you up depends on you, individually. Some folks can't deal with it at all. Others go out in the early morning and late in the evening. Others are out in it all day. It all depends on their individual tolerance for heat. Myself, I don't do cold well but have little trouble with the heat (and we do have air conditioning pretty much everywhere to get out of it for periods of time).

[Aquitaine]

I can speak from the POV of a business owner -- TX is light years ahead of most states these days as far as being business-friendly is concerned. However, NC is up there too, so you'd be looking at a marginal improvement as far as the business climate, even though Texas' income tax (personal and corporate) is lower than North Carolina's (there isn't one).

Austin is probably the most New-Agey of any city its size in Texas (and famous for it) though in some respects it won't compare to a huge city like Houston or Dallas. I doubt you'd have a problem though.