Is Austin as great as the top 10 lists say? (Houston: apartment complexes, crime)

[scongress1234]

Originally Posted by ILOVEAUSTIN

The OP said,

"and realize that if any city truly lived up to this, it would be by default one of the greatest cities in the history of mankind"

Well, it just may be on of them!

Really though, Austin is great but everyone is different. I moved here sight unseen and haven't regretted it one minute!

My only point is, could Austin live without everyone raving how "great" it is? Does it really need that extra push, if it indeed IS that great? I think it stems ultimately from an inferiority complex of sorts. Deep down, Austin knows it is a provincial college town, and will never be on the same playing field as Houston, Dallas, and such, so they trump what they have to trump, and, ironically, take the chance of killing the golden goose by enticing TOO many people to come. Right now, the infrastructure is bursting at the seams. There is definitely a point in which is becomes so large that it destroys its ambience. Tht point is pretty much right now, as we speak........let them hype, and ruin it all if they want.......

[scongress1234]

Originally Posted by ILOVEAUSTIN

The OP said,

"and realize that if any city truly lived up to this, it would be by default one of the greatest cities in the history of mankind"

Well, it just may be on of them!

Really though, Austin is great but everyone is different. I moved here sight unseen and haven't regretted it one minute!

Trust me, it isn't one of them! LOL! Great cities have tremendous cultural districts, museums, great public squares and meeting places, and great design and public grids/transit. Austin has none of those, so it is not a great city, but it is one of the better college cities, a la Madison, Wisc., which is not an awful thing....

[thirdtimesacharm]

scongress1234 says,
"Deep down, Austin knows it is a provincial college town, and will never be on the same playing field as Houston, Dallas, and such,"

I personally don't think Austin wants to be on the same playing field as Houston, Dallas and such!

And scongress1234 also says,

"Great cities have tremendous cultural districts, museums, great public squares and meeting places, and great design and public grids/transit."

It is your opinion that Austin doesn't have these and also that this is what makes a great city. I have been to many, many cities and I do believe Austin has most of these things and then some. Maybe I wouldn't use the word tremendous to describe them but it is also not a massive city... like say Dallas or Houston. Tokyo outdoes Dallas in all these areas because it is just huge. So, you also have to look at the city size!

[texdav]

In the 70's austin was the listed #1 by many magzines as to places to live overall. It has become bogger and loss alot of it samll town with alot of big cites attraciotns since then but not all.

[borikwa69]

If you all would but allow me to post my reply to the discussion that Scongress has started...

I am one of thoese that took into account the top 10 lists when considering moving my family to Austin. It was not the major factor but a helpful tool. It prompted me to submit my own forum question concerning Austin and its attitude on racism since web sites dont generally give detail as to the mentality of a city.

My first response came from Scongress to which I replied to myself, "Is this idiot serious with his response?"

I DO NOT like bashing people but I took it on myself to look into other replies from Scongress and to be blunt, you sir, are in fact an idiot. I have read most of your post and replies where you are under the impression that "big words" make a statement.

Do you NOT remember your post back in April of this year where you apologized to the masses of the criticism and responses you posted concerning Austin in which you admit to "over criticize" your city and that maybe you should just relax and look at YOUR city as a whole?

Other than the post concerning bugs and other criitters in your locale, you are the ONLY negative thing I see about Austin. My wife and I are planning our research trip for next week and I pretty much have an idea on how we will like YOUR city. My point, however, is if you dont like your own city you have but 2 options. GET OUT or SHUT THE HELL UP about it. You CHOOSE to deal with it....then please stop crying about it.

I have seen several honestly posted questions concerning Austin only to have you rant like an idiot on the CONS of YOUR city. In my 16 +years as a police officer we had definitions for people like you. "Wannabe Intellectual Idiots." Those who speak a lot but say nothing. In each of your posts and replies you use "big words" that mean NOTHING. Not that we dont understand the negative point you are attempting to get across, but you really present yourself as "stupid" while attempting to sound intelligent. Its actually a smoke screen for someone who has NO common sense at all.

So I leave you with this. Follow your OWN post that you sent in April and leave the criticisms of your city to those who actually KNOW about your city and not your judgements of what you see from your front window as you plainly admitted. Either get out and LEARN your city, or just get out.

I have heard nothing but good of the people of Austin and its exceptional hospitality. Then I have to read idiocy from you. PLEASE, take a step back and LEARN before you speak.

Peace

[scongress1234]

Originally Posted by ILOVEAUSTIN

scongress1234 says,
"Deep down, Austin knows it is a provincial college town, and will never be on the same playing field as Houston, Dallas, and such,"

I personally don't think Austin wants to be on the same playing field as Houston, Dallas and such!

And scongress1234 also says,

"Great cities have tremendous cultural districts, museums, great public squares and meeting places, and great design and public grids/transit."

It is your opinion that Austin doesn't have these and also that this is what makes a great city. I have been to many, many cities and I do believe Austin has most of these things and then some. Maybe I wouldn't use the word tremendous to describe them but it is also not a massive city... like say Dallas or Houston. Tokyo outdoes Dallas in all these areas because it is just huge. So, you also have to look at the city size!

As I said, it is just fine as a mid-sized city, with Indianapolis and Columbus offering at least as much, if not more so, per the same metro size. Madison has all the cultural amenities with 1/4 the size, so take it from there. Austin really has to work on public infrastructure like libraries, parks, public squares/meeting places and such, rather than just expecting people to hang out either at one tiny entertainment district, with masses of drunk college kids and tourists, or an overused park that charges three bucks to park on week-ends(Zilker)......a few more museums or pro teams wouldn't hurt either.

case in point....Indy...same size, has a 20 mile bike trail going through the entire city....Monon trail....

Monon Trail, Indy Greenways

I lived there and rode the trail.....so beautiful, and goes through all the neighborhoods.......hundreds of folks of all walks using it 24/7...special lights
at intersections just for the bikes....

20,000 capacity outdoor stadium for those summer nights
Verizon Wireless Music Center Indianapolis Official Site. Find Concert Tickets, Schedule, Seating Charts, Information for Verizon Wireless Music Center Indianapolis, A Live Nation Venue

living history museum for the kids
Conner Prairie Living History Museum

and on and on......and they don't toot their horn whatsoever, and could care less.....

[TexasGirl@Heart]

Originally Posted by borikwa69

If you all would but allow me to post my reply to the discussion that Scongress has started...

I am one of thoese that took into account the top 10 lists when considering moving my family to Austin. It was not the major factor but a helpful tool. It prompted me to submit my own forum question concerning Austin and its attitude on racism since web sites dont generally give detail as to the mentality of a city.

My first response came from Scongress to which I replied to myself, "Is this idiot serious with his response?"

I DO NOT like bashing people but I took it on myself to look into other replies from Scongress and to be blunt, you sir, are in fact an idiot. I have read most of your post and replies where you are under the impression that "big words" make a statement.

Do you NOT remember your post back in April of this year where you apologized to the masses of the criticism and responses you posted concerning Austin in which you admit to "over criticize" your city and that maybe you should just relax and look at YOUR city as a whole?

Other than the post concerning bugs and other criitters in your locale, you are the ONLY negative thing I see about Austin. My wife and I are planning our research trip for next week and I pretty much have an idea on how we will like YOUR city. My point, however, is if you dont like your own city you have but 2 options. GET OUT or SHUT THE HELL UP about it. You CHOOSE to deal with it....then please stop crying about it.

I have seen several honestly posted questions concerning Austin only to have you rant like an idiot on the CONS of YOUR city. In my 16 +years as a police officer we had definitions for people like you. "Wannabe Intellectual Idiots." Those who speak a lot but say nothing. In each of your posts and replies you use "big words" that mean NOTHING. Not that we dont understand the negative point you are attempting to get across, but you really present yourself as "stupid" while attempting to sound intelligent. Its actually a smoke screen for someone who has NO common sense at all.

So I leave you with this. Follow your OWN post that you sent in April and leave the criticisms of your city to those who actually KNOW about your city and not your judgements of what you see from your front window as you plainly admitted. Either get out and LEARN your city, or just get out.

I have heard nothing but good of the people of Austin and its exceptional hospitality. Then I have to read idiocy from you. PLEASE, take a step back and LEARN before you speak.

Peace

Borikwa69,
ENJOY your research trip to Austin! You and your family are going to LOVE it! Most people on this forum are very helpful so please ask if you have any questions after your trip! Try to ignore the ones that are negative and not helpful. They are just bitter with their own life! (And the sad part is yes, they are serious in their responses). So as for your deductions..."if it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck...it must be a duck!"

[scongress1234]

Originally Posted by borikwa69

If you all would but allow me to post my reply to the discussion that Scongress has started...

I am one of thoese that took into account the top 10 lists when considering moving my family to Austin. It was not the major factor but a helpful tool. It prompted me to submit my own forum question concerning Austin and its attitude on racism since web sites dont generally give detail as to the mentality of a city.

My first response came from Scongress to which I replied to myself, "Is this idiot serious with his response?"

I DO NOT like bashing people but I took it on myself to look into other replies from Scongress and to be blunt, you sir, are in fact an idiot. I have read most of your post and replies where you are under the impression that "big words" make a statement.

Do you NOT remember your post back in April of this year where you apologized to the masses of the criticism and responses you posted concerning Austin in which you admit to "over criticize" your city and that maybe you should just relax and look at YOUR city as a whole?

Other than the post concerning bugs and other criitters in your locale, you are the ONLY negative thing I see about Austin. My wife and I are planning our research trip for next week and I pretty much have an idea on how we will like YOUR city. My point, however, is if you dont like your own city you have but 2 options. GET OUT or SHUT THE HELL UP about it. You CHOOSE to deal with it....then please stop crying about it.

I have seen several honestly posted questions concerning Austin only to have you rant like an idiot on the CONS of YOUR city. In my 16 +years as a police officer we had definitions for people like you. "Wannabe Intellectual Idiots." Those who speak a lot but say nothing. In each of your posts and replies you use "big words" that mean NOTHING. Not that we dont understand the negative point you are attempting to get across, but you really present yourself as "stupid" while attempting to sound intelligent. Its actually a smoke screen for someone who has NO common sense at all.

So I leave you with this. Follow your OWN post that you sent in April and leave the criticisms of your city to those who actually KNOW about your city and not your judgements of what you see from your front window as you plainly admitted. Either get out and LEARN your city, or just get out.

I have heard nothing but good of the people of Austin and its exceptional hospitality. Then I have to read idiocy from you. PLEASE, take a step back and LEARN before you speak.

Peace

Peace to you as well, brother. I don't know you, and you don't know me. You've read a few of my old posts, and I just read yours. Other than that, I don't think you know me anymore than I know you, regardless of the names you have for anyone. Per the internet, I think it a quite awful way to communicate, and totally lacking as a communication device. Not even close to replacing face-to-face communication. And sadly, it seems to lead to flaming, just like road rage, in that we hide behind anonymity, with no reason to put up a false veneer of friendliness. I would be the first to agree that I'm somewhat opinionated about Austin, while at the same time, I think I have every right to air my views without being censured or admonished for the same. I do think that if we are at the stage when we depend on top 10 lists, and berate each other for boosting or berating cities, we are pretty much screwed anyway. Face it......our social skills enmasse are pretty much shot. We can't even drive now without flipping someone off, or mumbling under our breath. We go though life without saying 3 words to our neighbor in our subdivision, yet get all steamed up about someone we never met, who could be a computer program as far as AI goes, and spill out our guts for the world to see.

The fact is, if I wasn't tapping into the truth about Austin, no one would really care less about my comments. The truth is, the metro is overcrowded, overhyped, and oversold........and it didn't have to be that way. greedy developers have essentially destroyed the ambience, and each new resident at this point pushes it that much farther past that edge. If you speak to locals, most are not terribly keen on masses of new residents and traffic, and would be happy to tell you so. The only reason you don't here it on city-data is that the locals on here are selling real estate. Few long timers are on here.....

With all the repressed anger in that rant, I'm sure you'd fit right in the Austin road rage traffic zeitgiest.......I can easily see you slamming the wheel in frustration, and then realizing what I'm speaking of!

Peace!

[TerryDactyls]

I've lived in Austin for over 15 years and visited my brother who taught at UT several times in the 1970s. Between then and now, Austin disappeared. It isn't the same Austin that most people knew and loved. It still has many remarkable things, but they are mostly geared to the under 30 and over paid crowd. For example, if you want to hear live music for which Austin is famous, most headliners come on stage around midnight. That's kept me from venturing to Sixth Street. Private industry is geared to the computer science grads and they are well compensated. But most other occupations are under paid. The traffic in the past 15 years has become horrible (and I moved here from Washington, D.C. so I know what horrible traffic is like). And despite what Dubya and his "scientists" will tell you, the weather has gotten worse. The summers are getting hotter, and with all the newcomers to town, the pollution is worse. If you like seasons, we have summer and a couple other days. And our current governor makes Dubya seem like a genius. Property taxes go up by leaps and bounds every year. There are greenbelt areas around Austin that have become the preferred sites for rapists. Outdoor activities consist of racing 400-horsepower boats around Lake Travis, riding bicycles on roads with no bike lanes, and walking your dog. Organized sports for adults are minimal. Gas is nearing $4 a gallon but no one will give up their "god-given right" to drive an Expedition or Suburban. If you watch the traffic (and you will have plenty of time for it), you will see almost all monster SUVs are occupied by a single person (usually on their cell phone and weaving between lanes). Austin has become Texas. It isn't the liberal oasis that people once knew.

[scongress1234]

Originally Posted by Texanwannabe

Borikwa69,
ENJOY your research trip to Austin! You and your family are going to LOVE it! Most people on this forum are very helpful so please ask if you have any questions after your trip! Try to ignore the ones that are negative and not helpful. They are just bitter with their own life! (And the sad part is yes, they are serious in their responses). So as for your deductions..."if it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck...it must be a duck!"

Listen to all views, good and bad....nothing is all good or bad. Not every place is great for everyone. Simply listen to the good and the bad, and weigh it for yourselves. Only a healthy person can handle self-criticism. Same for cities. If Austin plans on becoming a better city, surely they should be willing to accept criticism from all sides. If not, they are living in a hyped-up, best 10 list fantasia, which will not get them where they want to be in the long run.....