Dallas or Austin???

[artsyguy]

I am in Austin now and don't really feel this is "the place" to live. It is ok for the while that I will be here but it doesn't flood me with energy like Dallas does.

Originally Posted by lizziebeth

Love it!

Austin reminds me of a group of incoming freshman I worked with at UT in the 80's. We had the group of 40 introduce themselves. One of the first women to introduce herself told the group she was a non-conformist. Then the guy sitting next to her said he was also a non-conformist. By the time we finished with the group, about half of the group were self-defined non-conformists...which makes them conformists.

Shopping at Whole Foods, wearing ugly yet comfortable shoes (yes, I'm talking Birkenstocks and their sibs) and driving a Prius doesn't make you a member of the Keep Austin Weird sect. It just means that you're willing and able to spend more money on what may be higher quality food, aren't a fan of heels and like small, pro-environment cars. That's the problem with Austin...now you're really just an ordinary, middle sized city that lost it's unique vibe years ago. Now you're just a conformist. There's nothing wrong with that..."conformist" isn't a bad word. Yes, I get that not all Austinites shop at Whole Foods/Central Market, wear ugly yet comfy shoes and drive hybrids. Yes, I understand that I made a huge generalization. Take that aspect out of the city and you're talking a smaller Dallas or Houston.

Austin is a great place to visit because I went to school there. I'm not into music, can get great TexMex in Dallas and have enough green areas in Dallas to keep me happy so I'll visit a few times a year and be happy with that.

[fallof09]

You should check out Ft. Worth. It isn't the red-headed step-child like it used to be. It holds it's own compared to Austin (and Dallas) and the cost of living is about 30% cheaper than Austin, even more if you are wanting to live in an a more historic area. I am moving to the Arlington Heights neighborhood (craftsmen style homes) in FW over the summer. The whole area around TCU reminds me of Tarrytown and Travis Heights but the price is affordable. If you are a "hippy" that can swing a 2k a month for housing, then by all means choose Austin.

[texastea]

fallof09,

I can see how that area would appeal to people interested in Austin...I was in the area a few weeks ago and ended up eating at a vegan restaurant; very Austiny feel, complete with Ron Paul campaigners in the parking lot

[imaterry78259]

Dallas is a major player, you can't compare the two cities