DC to Austin or Portland or Seattle or San Diego

[achtungpv]

Originally Posted by stargzr

I've seen that some people say it gets really humid in Austin, while others say it doesn't?

It's not as humid as Houston or New Orleans, but it is very humid. I guess those that say it's not don't do yard work or leave their house.

Originally Posted by stargzr

Anyone have any thoughts on San Diego?

San Diego is fabulous. I spend about 2 months a year there for work and will move in a heartbeat once my job allows me to be full-time there. I have no experience with the burbs so all I know about is SD proper. If you are near the coast, it is a low of 55 and high of 75 11 months a year. The one winter month is 50-70. Some people hate the lack of weather variety but I love it since my ideal wardrobe is cargo shorts, flip flops, and a long sleeve t-shirt. SD gets a rep for being conservative but if you are in the city (especially downtown or near the coast) it is at least as liberal as Austin. SD is very laid back and no one moves that fast for anything. If getting fired up over politics and social issues is your thing, SD probably isn't for you since people really do have a surfer lay back and enjoy the scenery attitude. Point Loma is my favorite area and I would love to live there since you have quick access to downtown (10 minutes in rush hour) and you have all the restaurants and shopping you could ask for. The job market isn't that great since real estate was huge there and everyone worked in the financing business. Now that real estate is falling quickly there, it'll be a prime location to move to (assuming you can get a job) and buy in 2-3 years when the market bottoms out. Be prepared it is lowering paying than other major CA cities though...about on the scale of Austin pay.

[jwb123]

I hear San Diego is expensive - but probably the most city with the best weather, in all of the states! People love it.

I guess those that say it's not don't do yard work or leave their house.

I still do yard work, and leave my house every day. I dress for the heat - and I haven't had a problem with it yet. This could be a "different" year in regards to humidity/heat though. I think DC is more humid than Austin. Austin is HOTTER - but DC is more HUMID... that's my opinion...

You will need to plan to drive in Austin, even if you live in the middle of all things hip, South Congress area. It's really spread out here, and the public transportation is poor compared to any other city, especially DC.

[achtungpv]

Jenbar,

You're right DC is worse but Austin is bad and stifling on some days.

I don't know why people brag about Austin's public transportation. It's very poor compared to other cities. The only bright spot, IMO, is the Dillo downtown. That is convenient. When I worked at Braker/Mopac, one of my employees would alternate driving/biking/riding the bus from North Campus. It was 15 minutes driving, 40 minutes biking and 60-75 minutes riding the bus. Not a lot of incentive there to not drive.

[atxcio]

Originally Posted by achtungpv

Jenbar,

You're right DC is worse but Austin is bad and stifling on some days.

I don't know why people brag about Austin's public transportation. It's very poor compared to other cities. The only bright spot, IMO, is the Dillo downtown. That is convenient. When I worked at Braker/Mopac, one of my employees would alternate driving/biking/riding the bus from North Campus. It was 15 minutes driving, 40 minutes biking and 60-75 minutes riding the bus. Not a lot of incentive there to not drive.

I don't think anyone brags about Austin's public transportation. At least, I've never seen anyone do so... it's far behind any other city of it's size in that regard.

[readymade]

I've visited Portland, San Diego, & Austin. My personal opinion:
Portland: Too rainy (VERY high depression rate there, too). Other than that, I liked it very much. I'd never be able to live there, though, because of the rain.
San Diego: Too expensive. Parts of it can be quite conservative. Quite beautiful. GREAT weather.

My pick is Austin. Yes, it gets hot (I went in August), but not oppressively so. 'Course, I wouldn't want to do anything majorly physical outside in 90 degree weather (but I saw lots of other people jogging & biking). House prices are MUCH lower than the other places you mentioned. I also liked the general feel of Austin better than the other places. SUPER friendly. Has the liberalism of Portland. I found it to be quite beautiful. I loved the river running through it.

By the way, you might also want to check out Eugene in Oregon. A couple of hours south of Portland. It's much smaller and doesn't have as much of a city feel, but I liked it quite a bit. House prices were reasonable and you can live in a totally woodsy area but still be less than 10 minutes to the downtown area. You'd still have all that rain, though. I was told it rains about 9 months out of the year in Portland & Eugene.