Is Austin Still A Desirable Place To Live (Houston, Dallas: home, tech jobs)

[SiddharthaGautama]

Can anyone comment on whether or not Austin is still a desirable place to live. For the record: only been to Austin one weekend years ago to visit a friend at UT. It seems that 10 years ago Austin was secret hidden town that nobody knew about. A time when the prices were down, traffic wasn't as bad, and it was really desirable. Today it is no longer that hidden place and everyone knows about it. Thus causing many people from all over to move there. I'm not sure about the highway structure but I would think that the city itself is having a hard time dealing with the influx of traffic. Is Austin still a good place to live today or is it becoming an undesirable place to live?

[love roses]

I think it's still a good place, but yes, traffic is bad and getting worse and prices are going up. I agree with what some people on the board say when they say Austin wasn't intended to be a major city along the lines of Dallas or Houston or L.A, so the infrastructure isn't there right now. Even here in Hutto, northeast of Austin. Just a few years ago, the population was abt. 12/1500 and in just a little over a year, it was 17,000. So you can just imagine closer in to Austin now.

[HappyTexan]

Originally Posted by california???

Can anyone comment on whether or not Austin is still a desirable place to live. For the record: only been to Austin one weekend years ago to visit a friend at UT. It seems that 10 years ago Austin was secret hidden town that nobody knew about. A time when the prices were down, traffic wasn't as bad, and it was really desirable. Today it is no longer that hidden place and everyone knows about it. Thus causing many people from all over to move there. I'm not sure about the highway structure but I would think that the city itself is having a hard time dealing with the influx of traffic. Is Austin still a good place to live today or is it becoming an undesirable place to live?

10 years ago so many of these towns were gems but they were still small.

Round Rock pop was about 34K
Hutto was at about 600
Pflugerville was 7K
Georgetown was considered the boonies but the drive on I35 wasn't bad
I don't recall what the pop of Austin was.

The highway structure has not kept up pace with the growth and the newer highways are now toll roads.

But one thing hasn't changed..Mopac is still the highway to nowhere

[car957]

I've been here for over 30 years. Yes, traffic is bad. But you didn't tell us what you are looking for. I can't answer your question. Since your from CA I am assuming your whole life is centered around the commute - too bad for you.

If you are looking for a good community to raise your children, come to Austin. If you are looking for a town that is fun, friendly and funky, come to Austin. If you are looking to improve your skills and become educated, again come to Austin. It's not cheap, it's hot in the summer, and some of our newcomers (and old farts) are pretentious. It's a good place to call home.

But it is home for me. I will now eat a peanut butter and honey sandwhich, drink some tea and go to bed. I'm sure the Austin bashing brigade will offer some thoughts to presuade you otherwise.

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by california???

Can anyone comment on whether or not Austin is still a desirable place to live. For the record: only been to Austin one weekend years ago to visit a friend at UT. It seems that 10 years ago Austin was secret hidden town that nobody knew about. A time when the prices were down, traffic wasn't as bad, and it was really desirable. Today it is no longer that hidden place and everyone knows about it. Thus causing many people from all over to move there. I'm not sure about the highway structure but I would think that the city itself is having a hard time dealing with the influx of traffic. Is Austin still a good place to live today or is it becoming an undesirable place to live?

it doesnt seem that different from 10 years ago to me

[julrey]

It's pretty much a cold hard fact that anyplace desirable is eventually going to become known to the world and have people flock there, at which point it's no longer the quaint mecca it once was. That said, it puzzles me why people pick on Austin in particular, since every other city in the US that was "the place to be" several decades ago has experienced similar if not worse growth pains. I don't know if it's naivete, and people want to believe that if they can just get out of Austin than similar havens like Portland and Santa Fe will remain forever unspoiled or what... it's certainly understandable to pine for simpler days, but to not acknowledge that this is going on everywhere and there is really no reasonable way to stop it seems kind of unrealistic to me. All you can do is do what you can to keep the fire burning, unless you just don't mind moving every few years when gentrification inevitably encroaches on your turf.

[HappyTexan]

As Julrey stated, once a place becomes known as a desirable destination the influx alone of people seeking it will change it. There is nothing you can do about that.
You either adjust to what it is today or you go seeking the next "best place to live".

For me..I think I need to find a town that will never show up in Money magazine as one of the "best places to live"

[julrey]

Originally Posted by HappyTexan

For me..I think I need to find a town that will never show up in Money magazine as one of the "best places to live"

Good luck!

Actually it also bears mentioning that often what made a town desirable in the first place - artists & creative types, students, tech jobs, etc. - was built on the backs of an incoming populace and is rarely 100% homegrown. Take the Austin music scene, for example... even though we pride ourselves in growing talent whenever a local band makes good, most of the time those band members moved to Austin from somewhere else. That doesn't make it all just an accident that we have a good music scene, though... they chose Austin for a reason.

So it depends on why people are moving in in the first place. Some come here to contribute and participate in the local love of counter culture, some for other reasons. Currently I think there are a lot more people moving to Austin for jobs and the cost of living than the unique culture, and yes, in that scenario Austin does lose a little bit of it's weirdness and old school funk. Take a look at the north side, where most of the newcomers are settling. Chain restaurants and strip malls everywhere. That's fine with me. I'd rather people who prefer to shop at Target and eat at Chili's have their own little area anyway. The better to preserve the rest of the city.

[HappyTexan]

I would also add that the type of people coming have a big impact as well. When the artists, musicians, students came here..their income level affected how the city dealt with them. They did not drive massive subdivision development or more schools or big box. Now replace that with your typical yuppie family that has some money and wants "new" and is willing to pay for it. This type of person will drive big changes.

[wehotex]

Originally Posted by HappyTexan

I would also add that the type of people coming have a big impact as well. When the artists, musicians, students came here..their income level affected how the city dealt with them. They did not drive massive subdivision development or more schools or big box. Now replace that with your typical yuppie family that has some money and wants "new" and is willing to pay for it. This type of person will drive big changes.

how does austin accomodate them these days? it would seem to me that many of them would prefer to live in central/downtown, but can they afford to do so these days considering that many with $$ want to live there too?