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If your daughter could stand it for more than 5 minutes, The City-Data political forum could provide her with a wealth of topics for her dissertation. lol
I should've added this to my little humorous jibe in post #6: "Besides, he's also a concerned & interested dad".
FWIW, I have done a lot of research on the Interwebs for my sons and grandkids. Some of them are pretty busy and just don't have that much time - others do need some guidance. However, I never tell them what to do. Their decisions are theirs to make.... and to live with. I'm just the concerned bystander.
She already defended her prelim, but I find lots of things on CD to discuss with her. Both in the political part and in the psychology threads. The political stuff tends to be mostly extremists so, other than having fun provoking them form time to time there is not a lot there. Some of the psychology stuff I relay to her makes her laugh (because it is completely wrong, most often old psychology that has since been disproved.). I used to think all of psychology was basically a bunch of BS. Now I understand the reasoning and science behind it, I only think that half of it is BS. It has been an interesting journey.
It can be fun to help out with research. My daughter just bought a house near Denver. I told here there was a Walmart just five blocks away, she did not know that - so I was useful. Makes me happy (even though I despise and boycott Walmart - she was glad to have one nearby).
I do sometimes tell my kids what to do. If I want to make sure they do not do something, I tell them to do it. Thus, when my daughter moved to Denver, I repeatedly told her she really should at least give pot a try since it is legal. This assured she would never try it.
They are all still a few years away from the grand realizations that your parents actually did know what they were talking about after all.
For those people, have any of you spent much time in Boston? He has lived for a while in several different cities and so fr his favorite seems to be Boston. Does Austin compare to Boston in any way? Mostly I think he liked the fact there were hundreds of really cool things to see that were accessible by bicycle or running.
I lived in Boston for a couple of years and IMO Austin is very different than Boston. He won't exactly find "hundreds of really cool things to see that [are] accessible by bicycle or running" as easily. Geographically, Austin is much more spread out than Boston and it lacks good public transportation. While there are lots of runners and cyclists here, those activities are more for sport and scenic trails than for the purpose of getting to different places. You pretty much need a car to get around, unlike in Boston where walking or the T can get you to most places. However, since he plans to live near UT, he will fortunately be in the part of the city where biking and walking to some places is possible, so he will enjoy some of that, it's just that the radius in which he can do so will be a lot smaller.
Another difference- while Austin certainly has its own rich history, I think the sense of historical context (architectural, notable sights, Freedom trail) is much more evident in Boston. Walking around, you feel the sense of history there. In contrast, most of the homes you'll see in Austin were built in the 20th century. The history is here but not as obvious to a casual observer. Boston also has fantastic art and historical museums, which are lacking in Austin.
I find the people of Austin to be much friendlier and open than in Boston. Pretty much wherever I go---the grocery store, a restaurant, running errands--people strike up friendly conversation. In Boston, people kept to themselves more and were more abrupt in their interactions. There's also a more informal vibe here.
I just moved to Austin for a job and while I can't answer many questions as I haven't been here long, I absolutely love Austin. To me, it doesn't seem like a Texan city at all with the exception of the occasional star that you see on a highway overpass. It's very clean and well kept and there aren't many bad areas. For a smaller city it is very active and alive and this really surprised me. GREAT food here too. I'm from a major city (Atlanta) and I personally enjoy Austin a good bit more than Atlanta. I don't think you'll be disappointed.
Smog? He likes to run, ride bicycles, and row. He normally works out 4 hours a day.
Safe? (We live just outside Detroit, so probably safe by our standards, but what do you think applying your standards?)
It the area generally pretty or ugly? By way of example we have been to Dallas Fort Worth area, particularity north of Dallas and found it remarkably ugly. Is the Austin area better?
Thanks
Smog? What's that? That must be a Michigan thing. Your son will be able to bike, run, and row until his heart is content. There are lots of good runners and bicyclists and trails to run and bike on. And there are lots of rowers in Austin with plenty of water to row on. So he'll have plenty of people to do those activities with.
Austin is very safe. Nothing at all like Detroit. You can go anywhere in the entire metro area of Austin and not have to worry about being a crime victim. There might be a couple of blocks on the Eastside that you wouldn't want your car to break down in, but more than likely, you wouldn't be in that part of town anyway.
I would guess Austin to be one of the safest big metro areas in the entire country. It's nothing at all like Detroit where you have to roll up your windows and lock your doors pretty much where ever you go. Of course, anything can happen anywhere at anytime, but, "crime" is probably the last thing most people would say when asked "what is the 1st thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word "Austin"?
In Austin, you'll find that people have better manners than just about anyplace, including Detroit. For instance, it's not considered good manners to go into a city CD forum and trash a city that is in the same state as the city you are posting a thread in. You say Dallas is ugly. That's your opinion. It's not a fact. Dallas isn't ugly. It's a beautiful city with big wide boulevards and a skyline that sparkles in the daytime under the Texas sun and a crystal clear blue sky with tall, modern skyscrapers that glitters at night when it's all lit up. There are no ghettos in Dallas that can rival Detroit ghettos. I'd love for somebody to compare aesthetics between Dallas and Detroit. I'd also venture to say the Dallas suburbs are alot nicer and newer and more diverse and aestically pleasing than any of the Detroit suburbs. And that's my opinion.
Really, except for crime and dangerous ghettos, Detroit ain't got nothing over on Dallas.
Detroit used to be known thru out the country as the "Big D", but not anymore. That was then. Dallas is the city that is now known thru out the country as the real "Big D". This is now.
Last edited by Ivory Lee Spurlock; 06-22-2018 at 12:38 PM..
Smog? What's that? That must be a Michigan thing. Your son will be able to bike, run, and row until his heart is content. There are lots of good runners and bicyclists and trails to run and bike on. And there are lots of rowers in Austin with plenty of water to row on. So he'll have plenty of people to do those activities with.
Austin is very safe. Nothing at all like Detroit. You can go anywhere in the entire metro area of Austin and not have to worry about being a crime victim. There might be a couple of blocks on the Eastside that you wouldn't want your car to break down in, but more than likely, you wouldn't be in that part of town anyway.
I would guess Austin to be one of the safest big metro areas in the entire country. It's nothing at all like Detroit where you have to roll up your windows and lock your doors pretty much where ever you go. Of course, anything can happen anywhere at anytime, but, "crime" is probably the last thing most people would say when asked "what is the 1st thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word "Austin"?
In Austin, you'll find that people have better manners than just about anyplace, including Detroit. For instance, it's not considered good manners to go into a city CD forum and trash a city that is in the same state as the city you are posting a thread in. You say Dallas is ugly. That's your opinion. It's not a fact. Dallas isn't ugly. It's a beautiful city with big wide boulevards and a skyline that sparkles in the daytime under the Texas sun and a crystal clear blue sky with tall, modern skyscrapers that glitters at night when it's all lit up. There are no ghettos in Dallas that can rival Detroit ghettos. I'd love for somebody to compare aesthetics between Dallas and Detroit. I'd also venture to say the Dallas suburbs are alot nicer and newer and more diverse and aestically pleasing than any of the Detroit suburbs. And that's my opinion.
Really, except for crime and dangerous ghettos, Detroit ain't got nothing over on Dallas.
Detroit used to be known thru out the country as the "Big D", but not anymore. That was then. Dallas is the city that is now known thru out the country as the real "Big D". This is now.
We do not really have smog either except one specific area that most people avoid. However when we lived in Orange County CA. they sometimes had alerts telling you not to exercise due to smog levels. LA was worse. Glad to hear Austin does not have simlar issues. Thanks.
"what is the 1st thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word "Austin"? - Steve (you will not get that if you are under 40).
It is clear you have not visited the Detroit Suburbs. The City still has a way to go to be whole again, but the suburbs rival any metro area and provide more eclectic variety of completely different types of awesome suburbs anywhere. Sorry again Dallas is not even in the running. There are more than a dozen other metros with better suburbs, especially with more variety. Most of my wife's family is in the Dallas metro so we have been to much of it. We spend a week or three there almost every year for the past 25 years. Dallas we know. However we have not even been near Austin to my knowledge (maybe on the way to El Paso we went near Austin - not sure, I would have to look at a map).
Sorry, I can see you love Dallas with all your heart and want to defend it as the most perfect city in absolutely every metric, but you are focusing on the wrong things to adore. Now the Cowboys - there you can place your adoration. It has a great economy going. Some incredible restaurants. But natural beauty and architecture? Exactly nobody visits Dallas area for natural beauty or architecture, or to see its vaied and exciting suburbs. "It is big, but it ant pretty." (Wife's sister's husband - Texan from a Lone Star family. He loves Dallas too, but he is realistic about it).
Getting all frantic and repeating water cooler talk from the 1990s to attack Detroit because I dared to point out that Dallas is not pretty does not add to credibility. Even Dallas natives recognize it is not pretty.
You need to visit Detroit before you can pretend to be an expert on its qualities. You are relaying gossip (and some reality) from the 1990s or earlier. I just went for a two hour walk through downtown instead of having lunch because it is so beautiful today and there is so much going on. I listened to four or five street bands, watched a break dancing troupe doing demonstration dancing on the sidewalk, sat at the rivers edge enjoying the air, the waves and and the view as the freighters headed of to China or wherever they are going, talked to a few people, explored a lage sailboat docked at the port facility, watched kids frolicking in a fountain and enjoyed the architecture. Even though I have spent thousands of days wandering around Downtown I never get enough of the architecture, There is so much to see and I always notice something new. Very few cities can rival Detroit's architecture, but then very few cities were what Detroit was when architecture was at its finest. Detroit has its issues. It has a long way to go still. There are still many outlying neighborhoods in decay, but Downtown and Midtown (and now the Stadium District and soon Corktown) and several of the more intact neighborhoods, rival all but the very best Cities in the country, especially during the warm months. Austin it certainly isn't. It will probably never again be considered the most beautiful city in America as it was before our time, but it is still quite pretty and lively and fun.
You should come visit, unless you are so sold on the legends that you will be unable to see the beauty, the liveliness, history, and terrific balance (right now it has a just right amount of people out and about, not crowded but busy enough to be fun). Many of our suburbanites are like that. They are stuck in the past as well as the exaggerated but dramatic water cooler tales, and simply cannot see Detroit of today even if it is right in front of them. Usually it is people from out of State who tend to appreciate the City more than many of the suburbanites (except people who have not been here).
I have spent quite a bit of time in Dallas and Detroit is better (sorry, come here, you will see). I will even treat you to an Oberon and show you around some if I have time.
BTW is it still the Big D except maybe in Texas - well at least is is in California, much of New England, the Northwest, Colorado, Nevada, and all of the mid-west. Even our Dallas relatives call Detroit the big D. They call Dallas "Dallas."
However SE Michigan (where Detroit is located) is actually the least pretty part of Michigan. The rest is mostly stunningly gorgeous. So when I said Dallas is a comparatively ugly area, I was comparing the beauty of Michigan (one of the top five prettiest states), parts of California, most of New England, Colorado, Washington (Seattle area some other parts are really ugly), Oregon, parts of Utah, and the like. It is true if you compare Dallas to say Phoenix, or parts of Eastern Washington, most of Nebraska. or a lot of Oklahoma, the Dallas area is prettier. I have visited parts of 44 states for a weeks or longer. The Dallas area is one of the least pretty areas I have been in the United States. Not the worst, but in the bottom tier. That is the primary reason we do not live there right now. There really is nothing to get bent out of shape about, some places just lack natural and/or architectural beauty. Does not mean it is a bad place, but it is not pretty. Bland or ugly is fine. Ugly can be wonderful. I prefer super ugly dogs for example.
Anyway we are discussing Austin not Dallas and I gather Austin is considerably nicer. It is usually considered one of the best best cities in the US right now. I just want to find out why and see what tips I might pass along. No need to pick a fight with Detroit, especially when you have not been here.
"alot nicer" - a lot Sorry, pet peeve. Generally I ignore butchery ot English on CD, but a few things I cannot, it is a psychosis. My 12th grade English teacher had a sign on her wall that said "alot = E" and she followed it up. This stuck with me and led to me a personal crusade to wipe out the misuse of alot, which is not a word at all. "Allot" is a word but it has a different meaning and is a differnt form of word. Also the misuse of advise for advice. Those two things just bug me for some reason, not much else does. Well, there is also "No, just no" "Stop, just stop" and "Why, just why?" But other butchery of our language does not grate so much and I can ignore it. Those three things I cannot ignore. It is my personal goal to light the way to wipe out those abuses. They will not go away in my lifetime, but if I start the crusade, others will follow. Someday no one will ever say "No, just no" without ten people wincing or falling on the floor in agony while covering their ears to block out the horror; and every classroom in the United States will have an "alot = E sign" Then the world will be perfect.
Although I am still trying to figure out why some Texans walk up to a single person who is obviously alone and say "I am fixing to go to the store Y'all want to come along?" Who are the other people they are talking to?
Last edited by Coldjensens; 06-22-2018 at 02:40 PM..
Just got back from Detroit last week. Very disappointed. Probably the ugliest city I've ever been in. Underwhelmed by the food, lack of culture and unfriendliness. Other than the nice summertime weather and the more scenic surrounding Michigan woodland, I'll take Austin (or Dallas) any day over Detroit. I do agree about the architecture is being better in Detroit though.
austin is a young city and the architecture here is not very good.
Right now there is a trend for busy multi-colored/multi-material boxes.
We have about 5 different types of trees which are all small and scrubby except where they are watered or by a water source.
Based on your description of detroit you will like austin about as much as dallas.
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- a lot Sorry, pet peeve. Generally I ignore butchery ot English on CD, but a few things I cannot, it is a psychosis. My 12th grade English teacher had a sign on her wall that said "alot = E" and she followed it up. This stuck with me and led to me a personal crusade to wipe out the misuse of alot, which is not a word at all. "Allot" is a word but it has a different meaning and is a differnt form of word. Also the misuse of advise for advice. Those two things just bug me for some reason, not much else does. Well, there is also "No, just no" "Stop, just stop" and "Why, just why?" But other butchery of our language does not grate so much and I can ignore it. Those three things I cannot ignore. It is my personal goal to light the way to wipe out those abuses. They will not go away in my lifetime, but if I start the crusade, others will follow. Someday no one will ever say "No, just no" without ten people wincing or falling on the floor in agony while covering their ears to block out the horror; and every classroom in the United States will have an "alot = E sign" Then the world will be perfect. 
