Finally visited Austin- was very disappointed (Houston, Dallas: condos, theater, universities)

[brattpowered]

Originally Posted by AK123

Is this viewpoint what people are talking about when they say someone has "austitude?"

I always thought it meant the person thinks Austin is the best place to live in the US, including places like Seattle, Portland, NYC, SF, etc.. If it means thinking Austin is superior to other Texas cities based on that person's preferences, then well... so be it! I've seen plenty of Housitude and Dallitude show up on the Austin board as well.

[AK123]

Originally Posted by brattpowered

.. If it means thinking Austin is superior to other Texas cities based on that person's preferences...

But that's not what you said. You said the rest of the state was boring and ugly.
I just don't get that... it's like someone in Sacramento CA saying the rest of CA is boring / has nothing going for it (i.e. acting like SF and L.A. basically don't exist).
This rather unrealistic boosterism is why some people come to Austin with such unrealistic expectations!

[mm57553]

I have to agree with the OP. I like Austin, but I think it is overhyped.

Two points I whole-heartedly agree with:

The weird thing - what's ironic about this is that what's considered weird here is so common in other places that it's not weird. What that says to me is that the vast majority of the population and areas are so mundane, that any slight variation is considered an oddity.

The hill country - the first time I drove through the Hill Country, I asked when we were going to get there. I actually laughed when I was told that we were smack-dab in the middle of it. From all the hoopla I had read about the Hill Country, I was expecting hills like I had never seen before, not hills that would not even be noticed in other parts of the country.

[cabolissa]

I think it's kind of funny when people expect mountains in Hill Country... It's not the Sierra Nevada or the Rockies. That's why they're called hills!

[jobert]

Originally Posted by mm57553

the first time I drove through the Hill Country, I asked when we were going to get there. I actually laughed when I was told that we were smack-dab in the middle of it.

I don't see the humor, but I'm dry as West Texas.

[atxcio]

Originally Posted by mm57553

The hill country - the first time I drove through the Hill Country, I asked when we were going to get there. I actually laughed when I was told that we were smack-dab in the middle of it. From all the hoopla I had read about the Hill Country, I was expecting hills like I had never seen before, not hills that would not even be noticed in other parts of the country.

I felt the same way when I visited the Ozarks! But they call them mountains... which is a bit more misleading IMO.

The Hill Country moniker makes total sense if (like so many things) you are comparing to Texas. It's called the Hill Country because the rest of the state to the N/S/E is so flat -- it definitely stands out compared to that terrain.

[TVC15]

Originally Posted by AK123

But that's not what you said. You said the rest of the state was boring and ugly.
I just don't get that... it's like someone in Sacramento CA saying the rest of CA is boring / has nothing going for it (i.e. acting like SF and L.A. basically don't exist).
This rather unrealistic boosterism is why some people come to Austin with such unrealistic expectations!

AK123 I understand your frustration very well but I have come to realize that it is a HUGE waste of time trying to add insight to a narrow mind! At least we are well traveled and be thankful that not everyone is so narrow...unfortunately as you read a lot are

[JohninAustin]

I have lived in the Bay Area (in SF, Oakland, and Berkeley) and in Austin. I loved the urban planning, architecture, and living without a car in the Bay Area. Austin has a long way to go before it is as walkable as the Bay Area (maybe the most pedestrian friendly city in America).

That being said Austin has the more friendly and open minded people and a much better nightlife. The amount of bars, clubs, live music venues packed into downtown is overwhelming and the people inside the bars are super friendly. I can not imagine a better place to be single. The natural beauty also seems much more accessable with Town Lake, the Greenbelt, and various dog parks stretched throughout the city.

I can see where the OP is coming from and congragulate them on being open minded enough to consider a move to "Texas", seeing as how most of the people I met while attending Berkeley loathed the thought of even entering the state.

[mm57553]

Originally Posted by cabolissa

I think it's kind of funny when people expect mountains in Hill Country... It's not the Sierra Nevada or the Rockies. That's why they're called hills!

But I really wasn't expecting mountains. They just aren't very big hills. Maybe they are for Texas, true. But for people coming from other places, they are really not impressive, even for hills.

[centralaustinite]

I think you should have to drive across either flat east Texas or flat west Texas first, then when you encounter the Hill Country, it will seem hilly!

And it is called "The Texas Hill County" not "the most perfect example of the concept of hilliness ever witnessed"

It is what it is.

It took YEARS for Austin and Texas to grow on me. And now, we'd never leave. We could transfer to SJ/SF in a heartbeat, but now, nowhere else feels like Austin. And Austin feels like home.