Is Austin as great as the top 10 lists say? (Houston: how much, job market)

[scongress1234]

Originally Posted by 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.

Before you bash this person as well, realize he is a long term local, and seconds all that I mentioned. Again, you cannot double a cities population
in 10 years, and expect things to be the same. Austin's character was always geared more to a 300 -400K tops population. At 700K plus currently, it is just bursting and ruining all local color and ambience, and is now proceeding to destroy the last area with character - the central city.
The paving and high-rising of DT and south congress is the last step......

And people will still keep coming and coming and coming........none having any conception of what went before, and how truly wonderful and
singular the city once was, so long ago......



Austin in the 80's

[TexasHorseLady]

Is that Hamilton's Pool?

[AK123]

Originally Posted by scongress1234

Austin seems to be the poster child of all time on these lists. What affect has Austins eternal presence on these lists had in generating relocatees? I would say that at least half of all Californians came to Austin SOLELY on the basis of "top 10" lists, trendy as they try to be. This reassures them that they are making the rightmove, and are indeed reaffirming their "coolness" and "wisdom" in making that move to Austin. Just to prove how ridiculous these lists are, check out Kiplingers latest, which ranks Houston as the number one city for relocatees..


No. 1: Houston, Texas - Kiplinger.com

Now, 98% of the ex-Houstonites I've met in Austin loathed Houston, from the stench that emanated 24/7 from the ship canal, to the refineries that dumped toxic plumes like a pox over the metro, the humid stench from may to oct, and the off-the-charts crime, particularly post-Katrina. And this top 10 list placed Houston 1st, which makes you realize how meaingless they truly are....

So, what do you folks out there think of top 10 lists, and Austin's claim to fame on making so many of them?? Pure marketing tools? Just PR for cities? Or is there a certain objective reality about it that I'm missing, that really does guide a large mass of relocatees to herd about enmasse to "hot" destinations they are told are the next big thing?

Yes, I do think many of these top 10 lists are fleeting and based on a trend factor.

People from CA are moving to TX because of cost, not as much because they heard some place was "cool".

Not surprising 98% of the people in Austin you meet who moved from Houston don't like Houston... you are getting opinions from a very limited group of people. For every person in this category, there are probably 5 people still in Houston because they like Houston. I've lived in both cities and I actually prefer Houston for many reasons, but most of all because I'm more of a big-city person and want world-class amenities... being the nation's 4th largest city, Houston offers that.

[ricanmama]

I too have read many posts from scongress1234 and agree that his posts are RARELY something worth reading. They are so one-sided and based on a period LONNNNNG ago, as if he really expected the world to stay the same forever. There are plenty of people who use this forum to vent how much has changed from when they moved to Austin and no one has a problem with what they've written. But your posts are full of venom, sarcasm and callous.

News flash... change is EVERYWHERE! Development and growth is not exclusive to just Austin. I have lived in the same city for almost 30 years and seen it change for better AND worse. But I, by no means, am trying to convince people NOT to move to the city....IT'S NOT MINE. And a city to one person is not the same to another person. So I don't try to SHOVE my opinions down anyone's throat. I give them BOTH sides and let them decide for themselves. THAT is what people are looking for when asking questions here.

The post from TerryDactyls is not even in the same realm as the overly obsessive and WHINY rants from scongress1234. They have stated their opinion and moved on like most normal folks would. They have listed what has changed since they moved here and that's that.

Scongress, you complain, complain and complain some more about people talking on the net (why sign on and subject yourself then), development and growth in the city (nothing you can do about it, it's everywhere), etc. I've read other member's responses to your posts about how "cranky" you are and "negative" and "grumpy", so there must be some truth in that. You've even gone so far as to apologize for it, so nothing that was said here was a stretch by any means.

scongress1234 wrote: "Only a healthy person can handle self-criticism."

Doesn't sound like he's taking criticism all that well, now does it.

[AK123]

Originally Posted by scongress1234

Now, 98% of the ex-Houstonites I've met in Austin loathed Houston, from the stench that emanated 24/7 from the ship canal, to the refineries that dumped toxic plumes like a pox over the metro, the humid stench from may to oct, and the off-the-charts crime, particularly post-Katrina. And this top 10 list placed Houston 1st, which makes you realize how meaingless they truly are....

Rather, all the above "observations" about Houston are major exaggerations. Unless one lives right across the street from the refineries in Baytown or something. I've been living in different areas of Houston for many years after moving from Austin. Much the same, the post-Katrina crime has been mostly limited to apartment complexes in areas of town that were already bad.

In truth, Houston is one of the most underrated large cities in the country, and some of the worst detractors are Texans themselves. It's just amazing to me how ignorant and negative some of these people are. It's really too bad.

[TexasGirl@Heart]

I lived on Galveston Island back in 1994 and always drove into Houston for "fun". It's a great city, although extremely humid It's like any other large metropolitan area...there are pockets of crime. You have to know where to go and where not to go.

[Jennibc]

We are moving for quality of life issues, plain and simple. We ended up in Austin the last time because it is where my husband found a job following the completion of his Masters program. We had one friend that had moved here from the Midwest that couldn't stop singing it's praises. Truthfully, in his enthusiasm, he oversold it a bit, but that's not why we ended up leaving (see my scorpionphobe post for the real reason<laugh>)

Anyway, we currently live in a city that I moved to in the mid 80's left in the mid 90's and came back to in 2001. It is another city that regularly makes the top 10 lists (Seattle), but I moved here long before top 10 lists were all the rage or before I knew of their existence. That said, this place doesn't hold the same appeal for me that it once did because it's changed and my needs have changed.

I could sit here and be bitter about the increased traffic, increased cost of living, the somewhat cold culture, the miserable weather (it's cloudy and 58 on June 2!) etc. or we can get pull our equity out of this cold, damp hovel and move elsewhere. I've been bitter, that's not working well for me, so now we are trying the latter!

We are choosing to relocate to Austin because it is one of the only tech areas in the country that has affordable housing. Additionally, we lived there before and have several friends there. No, it's not perfect. Yes, it tends to be somewhat hyped. That said, it does provide a sane standard of living and despite it's growth since we moved away, a visit in April demonstrated that people are still Texas friendly. My six year old son commented after a stranger on the street said hello to him and asked him how he was doing, "Mommy, that lady talked to me so goodly" Me:"yes people here are very friendly" Him: "yes because in Texas, people sure are friendly, in fact, I think all the cranky people in Texas go to Seattle."

Yup. (Well, maybe they are not all from Texas!) Seriously though, the first day I was down there I counted four times when people held the door for me. When I was six months pregnant people would not give up their seat on the bus for me here. If you're friendly and outgoing here, people immediately suspect you want something from them. It's just a completely different culture. I'll give up proximity to the mountains and the Sound, for sunny skies and sunny dispositions! I think it is all a matter of priorities.

I don't frequent boards like these much but have been lately because of our impending move. What I don't understand is why people are so quick to anger over the posts of others. Really, how much can be personal on these forums, nobody knows each other, if you don't like someone's posts just don't read 'em. It seems like flaming one another is a terrible waste of energy and when trying to find information related to a post topic it gets a little tiresome to read personal attacks. So ease up on each other y'all....

[scongress1234]

Originally Posted by JJP

Yes, I do think many of these top 10 lists are fleeting and based on a trend factor.

People from CA are moving to TX because of cost, not as much because they heard some place was "cool".

Not surprising 98% of the people in Austin you meet who moved from Houston don't like Houston... you are getting opinions from a very limited group of people. For every person in this category, there are probably 5 people still in Houston because they like Houston. I've lived in both cities and I actually prefer Houston for many reasons, but most of all because I'm more of a big-city person and want world-class amenities... being the nation's 4th largest city, Houston offers that.

I don't doubt that. Just the fact that they don't make top 10 lists their claim to fame should put it over and above Austin. In another sense, you can be pleasantly surprised, as you expect sprawl, and don't expect to encounter world class art districts, museums, three pro teams, and a pretty decent library district, not to mention a cosmopolitan nature, and quite high-paying and plentiful jobs, particularly in the finance and energy sector.........I do stand corrected per Houston, and true, in a tautalogical sense, those who moved out just didn't fit, and of course will rag against it.

[Rose Red]

Originally Posted by ricanmama

I too have read many posts from scongress1234 and agree that his posts are RARELY something worth reading. They are so one-sided and based on a period LONNNNNG ago, as if he really expected the world to stay the same forever. There are plenty of people who use this forum to vent how much has changed from when they moved to Austin and no one has a problem with what they've written. But your posts are full of venom, sarcasm and callous.

News flash... change is EVERYWHERE! Development and growth is not exclusive to just Austin. I have lived in the same city for almost 30 years and seen it change for better AND worse. But I, by no means, am trying to convince people NOT to move to the city....IT'S NOT MINE. And a city to one person is not the same to another person. So I don't try to SHOVE my opinions down anyone's throat. I give them BOTH sides and let them decide for themselves. THAT is what people are looking for when asking questions here.

The post from TerryDactyls is not even in the same realm as the overly obsessive and WHINY rants from scongress1234. They have stated their opinion and moved on like most normal folks would. They have listed what has changed since they moved here and that's that.

Scongress, you complain, complain and complain some more about people talking on the net (why sign on and subject yourself then), development and growth in the city (nothing you can do about it, it's everywhere), etc. I've read other member's responses to your posts about how "cranky" you are and "negative" and "grumpy", so there must be some truth in that. You've even gone so far as to apologize for it, so nothing that was said here was a stretch by any means.

scongress1234 wrote: "Only a healthy person can handle self-criticism."

Doesn't sound like he's taking criticism all that well, now does it.

In my opinion, he can't let the subject go and needs to keep dwelling on it and talking about it. Sometimes I wonder if he's crying while he's typing. The way he goes on and on you would think he is Stephen Austin himself. He alone discovered Austin, TX and it's his alone and he gets to decide how many people play in his playground. I'm over it.

[scongress1234]

Originally Posted by TexasHorseLady

Is that Hamilton's Pool?

Yes, it is....







Beautiful place, eh? I never said I hated Austin.....I'm actually in love with the city, but heartbroken at what its become......and that it will lose that ambience forever soon......