If you're planning to move to Austin (especially from a bigger city)... (Houston: homes, living in)

[centralaustinite]

You have realized that you are a big city person. Houston is the 4th largest city in America with one of the very largest concentrations of medical schools, hospitals, and research centers in the world!

Did you not realize that Austin does not have a medical school? (In part because the medical resources of the state have always been focused on Houston/Galveston) that the entire metropolitan area is maybe 1.5 million people!?

Austin is like the capital of many states, a center for state government and universities. Madison WI is a proper comparison for Austin. Compare Houston to Chicago or NYC or Atlanta or Dallas.

Research your choices better next time

[TVC15]

Originally Posted by centralaustinite

You have realized that you are a big city person. Houston is the 4th largest city in America with one of the very largest concentrations of medical schools, hospitals, and research centers in the world! Way to go I am impressed that you know this. Not one person in any of the labs where I worked in Austin had ever heard of The Texas Medical Center! No I did not just realize that I am a big city person...I realized that Austin is not what it seems and is not a city that I care to live in.

Originally Posted by centralaustinite

Did you not realize that Austin does not have a medical school? Yes I knew that before I moved there. Actually do you know why they changed the name of Brackenridge Hospital to University Medical Center Brackenridge? Go do your research! (In part because the medical resources of the state have always been focused on Houston/Galveston) that the entire metropolitan area is maybe 1.5 million people!?

Austin is like the capital of many states, a center for state government and universities. You say universities? In Austin??? UT is the only University I am aware of there. Madison WI is a proper comparison for Austin. Compare Houston to Chicago or NYC or Atlanta or Dallas. I am not comparing Austin to any big city. I am only stating what I observed and experienced in Austin only to help those considering moving there. When one researches about living in Austin you pretty much find the hype of the Austinites that go around bragging how great Austin is. So we move there only to find it was a big lie!

Research your choices better next time

I am sorry you don't seem to get the message that I am trying to deliver. You are assuming a lot of things that I am not and have not even thought. It is OK I know how some folks get hurt or upset if you see anything wrong with their views. I am OK with what I think about Ausitn and I am OK with what everyone thinks about Houston.

[centralaustinite]

Yes, I know that they changed the name of Brackenridge to the University Medical Center, there is some medical training that happens there and the UT school of nursing is there, and there is some talk of building a medical school in Austin some day (but that day is a long way off). For more than a hundred years the state resources have been focused on medical education in Galveston and Houston, and that public investment has been multiplied by private efforts one hundred fold. Until Dell Children's Hospital opened most seriously ill children were taken to Houston and if I had cancer I would be at MD Anderson's as fast as I could get there.

The proper place for your anger seems to be whatever sloppy journalism gave you the impression that Austin had amenities as good as one of the major urban areas of the US.

There are roughly 100,000 university students in the greater Austin area (UT, Southwestern University, St. Edwards, Concordia, ACC, and a few other places).

Did you know that many capitol cities were deliberate set up in out-of-way places so that legislators would focus on law-making and would not be distracted by local concerns. Be glad Austin isn't Jefferson City Missouri or Carson City Nevada!

I enjoy visiting Houston. You will always find more work and better wages there. I never look at Top 10 lists for cities or Best of lists either. You will ALWAYS find that their criteria are influenced by their advertisers.

[carolinajack]

central austin, you said exactly what i wanted to say. cant compare big cities like NYC and LA or chicago to a smaller state capital. more like albany, harrisburg, madison, sacramento

[TVC15]

Originally Posted by centralaustinite

Yes, I know that they changed the name of Brackenridge to the University Medical Center, there is some medical training that happens there and the UT school of nursing is there, and there is some talk of building a medical school in Austin some day (but that day is a long way off). For more than a hundred years the state resources have been focused on medical education in Galveston and Houston, and that public investment has been multiplied by private efforts one hundred fold. Until Dell Children's Hospital opened most seriously ill children were taken to Houston and if I had cancer I would be at MD Anderson's as fast as I could get there.

The proper place for your anger seems to be whatever sloppy journalism gave you the impression that Austin had amenities as good as one of the major urban areas of the US.

There are roughly 100,000 university students in the greater Austin area (UT, Southwestern University, St. Edwards, Concordia, ACC, and a few other places).

Did you know that many capitol cities were deliberate set up in out-of-way places so that legislators would focus on law-making and would not be distracted by local concerns. Be glad Austin isn't Jefferson City Missouri or Carson City Nevada!

I enjoy visiting Houston. You will always find more work and better wages there. I never look at Top 10 lists for cities or Best of lists either. You will ALWAYS find that their criteria are influenced by their advertisers.

Thanks for the response...however I am not angry Maybe defensive when I get attacked for expressing my strong views about Austin.

[readymade]

Originally Posted by dldupuy

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 beg to differ. There are plenty of people who have lived in huge cosmopolitan cities (myself included) who adore Austin.

I also don't really understand people who say there's nothing to do here. What, exactly, is there to "do" anywhere? Movies, restaurants, hiking/biking, seeing nature, hanging with friends, bars/nightclubs, seeing bands... you can do all that in Austin.

I'm not much of a shopper or a museum frequenter, so I can't speak to that. I mostly work, read, watch movies, hang w/ friends, play with my dog, eat, swim, perform, play video games, & watch bands. I can do all that here.

What is it that you want to "do" that you can't here I wonder?

[carolinajack]

exactly, readymade-i think dldupuy speaks for himself. many of us have lived in big cities like Philadelphia and NYC and just love small towns or even small cities like Austin. I can say i do.

i can tell you that there is enough to do in Austin, as much as in most big places like Denver or Philadelphia. mostly people here go to movies, to sportsbars, to restaurants, to shops and and museums, all of which they do in Austin.

in the bigger cities they may have more restaurants and museums, but i dont what other things they have that Austin doesnt have. you someone can list what Austin doesnt have compared to a big city, please do so

[TVC15]

Originally Posted by readymade

I beg to differ. There are plenty of people who have lived in huge cosmopolitan cities (myself included) who adore Austin.

I also don't really understand people who say there's nothing to do here. What, exactly, is there to "do" anywhere? Movies, restaurants, hiking/biking, seeing nature, hanging with friends, bars/nightclubs, seeing bands... you can do all that in Austin.

I'm not much of a shopper or a museum frequenter, so I can't speak to that. I mostly work, read, watch movies, hang w/ friends, play with my dog, eat, swim, perform, play video games, & watch bands. I can do all that here.

What is it that you want to "do" that you can't here I wonder?

Alright here we go: Things that I missed or wanted to do while living in Austin.

Going to see a professional football game in Reliant Stadium

Going to see the Rockets play in downtown Houston

Being close to the coast. Galveston is not the prettiest beach but the ocean sounds the same there as it does anywhere. I missed driving to Galveston (it is not far from Houston) and walking along the seawall down to a jetty just to sit and listen to the ocean and watch the sun go down. Then go and eat at Clarey's seafood restaurant and on the Poop Deck to sit out and watch the moon over the ocean and all of the people walking along the seawall and play their awesome juke box. This was all pre-Ike. But now that I am back I ride my motorcycle to Galveston and sit on the seawall or jetties and listen to the ocean and watch the sun go down. I love being close to the coast! You really feel that loss living so far away from it...something I was very surprised I noticed while living in Austin.

Rollerblading down the seawall on a cool sunny day!

Visiting the shops at the Strand in Galveston.

I enjoy the museums and theater district in downtown Houston.

I enjoy the large concert attractions that come to Houston.

I enjoy the multitude of schools and colleges in this area with many many different disciplines to choose from.

I enjoy visiting the space center and Kemah boardwalk.

I enjoy the diverse culture and all of the many different cultural events that take place here in downtown Houston.

I enjoy meeting the people from all over this planet that come here to live.

Rollerblading in downtown. Downtown Houston is pretty and a lot to see there!

Riding my motorcycle downtown.

Being able to dress up and go to many excellent restaurants. Not just one or two good ones but any ethnic taste bud you can imagine you can find here in Houston. It is a wonderful thing to go out meet up with good friends/family or your loved one and sit down in a very good restaurant and share an excellent meal.

Walking around in downtown Houston in the theater district and just feeling the energy of the surroundings and looking at the wonderful architecture.

Taking the metro-rail into work everyday in the Texas Medical Center.

I missed being in a city with some of the best medical care in the world! I misssed walking through the Texas Medcial Center. It is very pretty there.

I missed the fast paced exciting energy.

I missed all of the resources this city has.

I missed the big salary and the advanced technology.

I missed my life long friends!

I missed living in a modern progressvie city.

Now there are things that I don't miss about Houston but at least there are many different things to see and do here.


[SIZE=3] [/SIZE]

[Jennibc]

Now, you see, the dearth of professional sports here is actually a bonus in my book! And those other things about the ocean, well, yes you have to live in a coastal city for that. But I think that has less to do with a size of city than geography. I used to live in Newport RI and you can do all sorts of things on the ocean but talk about a snoozefest.....

[Mdlx]

dldupuy, It seems you love Houston very much. Why did you ever leave in the first place?