If you're planning to move to Austin (especially from a bigger city)... (Houston: movies, schools)

[shaxs]

Originally Posted by corntortilla

Ha ha! You believed us. Jokes on you, sucker.

Haha! That was pretty funny

[TVC15]

I totally agree with you as I grew up in Houston and moved to Austin last May to only realize WTF have I done and moved back to Houston 16 long months later. Austin SUKS!!! You will be attacked by all of the Austinites but remember these are not very well traveled folks...they can't be and think Austin is soooooo great! You also forgot to rant that they don’t pay very well in Austin. I am a medical technologist and took an 8K decrease in Austin doing the same job I did in the Great Texas Medical Center but in Austin I used primitive technology…you also forgot to mention the behind times technology and everything about that city. You are correct it certainly makes you appreciate where you moved from. I would never ever recommend anyone move to Austin unless you just want to step back in time and watch the grass grow or the slackers slacking and talking about how thankful you should be because you now live in Austin. There is nothing liberal about Austin either...just the pot smokers! May I recommend checking out the Whole Foods Market downtown...it is a really cool store. It was one of the few places that I really enjoyed shopping and eating at. You won't be happy until you leave that soul-less city. I was jumping for joy to get the hell out of that nothing place. You cannot grow up in a huge cosmopolitan city with a very diverse culture and way of life and ever find interest in a small town that prides itself as so great. I being from Houston even mistakenly thought that it was going to be a step up (because you hear the non truths from the Austin folks who really don't know any better)...wow what a total shock! Let them waste their energy attacking you and then me...it should make you more aware of how non-liberal that place really is.

[truckin54321]

Did anyone put a gun to your head forcing you to take that cut? Of course Houston pays more....you also have to breath in the fumes wafting over from the refineries and ship canal each day.....and deal with the post-katrina crime rate.........I can walk around in DT Austin at 2 in the morning and feel 100% safe..In Houston, you'd have to have eyes in the back of your head doing the same......Houston = 24/7 highway sprawl as well........Austin is so much better than that pollution spewing hellhole than words can describe.....safe, ambiant, intelligent, friendly, scenic,
tree-filled, etc.......and now that oil is below 40 bucks a gallon, and looks that way for a LONG time,
you can kiss Houston's energy sector bye-bye...........Houston HAS to pay more, per all the crime, traffic, and filth......

[Moonlady]

Anyone who comes to Austin thnking it's going to be like anywhere else is going to be disappointed. You have to love Austin for what it is and not hate it for what it's not. The people who love Austin love it for it's own charm, not because it's like Houston or NYC. Not everyone is going to be happy in the same place (thank goodness). I lived in Houston and I happen to prefer Austin - I don't expect everyone in Houston to share that sentiment. The reason wages are lower here is that there is more competition for the same jobs - it's a desirable place to live. Dallas and Houston both pay better than Austin and the cost of living is probably cheaper. So the only reason to come to Austin is if there is a lifestyle here that appeals to you, not because of the opinions of those of us who live here and like it.

[mimimomx3]

I really don't understand trying to convince anyone that Austin, or any other city, is better is than any other. This thread really summarizes my frustration with the CD Austin board. If you want to move to Austin, fine, but go in with your eyes open, realize it isn't NY, LA or Peoria. If you don't like it, don't come. There are many cities more interesting, larger, smaller, hipper than Austin. So what?

[twange]

Originally Posted by mimimomx3

I really don't understand trying to convince anyone that Austin, or any other city, is better is than any other. This thread really summarizes my frustration with the CD Austin board. If you want to move to Austin, fine, but go in with your eyes open, realize it isn't NY, LA or Peoria. If you don't like it, don't come. There are many cities more interesting, larger, smaller, hipper than Austin. So what?

Mimi,

Every board on city data gets like this to a point - especially for cities that are popular. With the exception of the other subforums(books, music etc), it's mostly a relocation forum. The % of people who spend time on here compared to the ACTUAL number of people who live here is small.

[mimimomx3]

Originally Posted by twange

Mimi,

Every board on city data gets like this to a point - especially for cities that are popular. With the exception of the other subforums(books, music etc), it's mostly a relocation forum. The % of people who spend time on here compared to the ACTUAL number of people who live here is small.

I guess you're right, although I would think that the relo people would want native/locals around to answer questions, but maybe not. If this is just a rah-rah forum of talking about how great it would be to live in Austin, then that's something I didn't know.

[Moonlady]

Actually, I don't mind posts that tell people what they don't like about Austin - it is good for people considering moving here to know that we are the allergy capital of the US for example or that we don't have a plethora of good Italian restaurants.

What's frustrating is that people move here with unrealistic expectations, or without doing their homework, or expecting it to be "just like back home" and then they want to tell everyone else how lousy it is. Austin is not for everyone, but those of us who have chosen it will defend it because we happen to like living here!

[iceshots]

I have lived in big cities, medium sized cities, and small towns. For my tastes, I will take a small down near a medium city. That is exactly what I have here.

Comparing Austin to New York is comparing apples to oranges, and an argument that Austin is better or worse than New York/LA/Chicago etc, only works if the preference for a certain size of city is taken into account.

Austin is Austin. It works for me. New York and LA may be big and exciting, but I have had my fill of big cities and do not need to live in them.

I learned a long time ago, visit the exciting, live in the boring and safe. In Austin we luck out because while it is safe, it is not boring if you know what to do and where to go.

The only "that sucks" thing I ran across when coming here for business was that the restaurants closed down too early. If you were stuck at work until 9pm you did not have too much choice on where to eat. We walked into a couple of places only to be told they were closing up for the night. This does not bother me now that I am living here. Double standards!!

[TVC15]

[quote=truckin54321;7402163]

Did anyone put a gun to your head forcing you to take that cut?


Not at all it was my choice but the point you seemed to miss is that Austin does not pay well for the same line of work compared to elsewhere in the country not only Houston. Medical Technologists really don't understand how bad they have it working in Austin. Austin has a higher cost of living then Houston. I have never breathed the fumes you are talking about...I don't hang around the refineries myself nor do I live anywhere near them. I have never experienced the amount of miserable allergy problems in my 43 years of living in Houston as I did in Austin. The main thing that I really want to share is that anyone considering moving to Austin especially from bigger cities is that they are going to be in for a rude awakening because it will be nothing like what you have heard it would be like. That is the real message. Spreading the truth about the reality of what Austin is about should not offend you. It is what it is.

Downtown Houston is very awesome and clean. Have you been to the theater district? OR the museum district?
Downtown Austin is a filthy drug and homeless infested dump. Not to mention the stupid young drunks! I worked at the Trauma Center in downtown Austin and believe me I could not even walk to the Brick Oven Pizza or the park right across from the hospital without the fear of a homeless person haggling me or attacking me. I have never experienced that in Houston and I go downtown all the time at night. That photo you put in your message looks a lot like the downtown crap I observed in Austin. Downtown Houston is beautiful. Check out the photos Official photo thread for Houston and surrounding communities. http://www.city-data.com/forum/houston/199416-official-photo-thread-houston-surrounding-communities.html

[
A lot of people have the impression that it is a modern progressive city because it happens to be the capital of Texas. That is the main reason people come there thinking it is going to be an exciting modern place. I did not go there thinking Austin better be just like Houston or I will not like it. I went there with the illusion of thinking that it would be a very exciting, progressive, modern city with great restaurants, awesome entertainment venues, great medical care utilizing modern technology and I found none of that to be true. It was rather shocking and downright depressing to me. If you’re a person that likes the big city energy and the multitude of interesting things to see and do you will be bored out of your mind in Austin for sure…that is something to consider if you are thinking about moving to Austin.

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