Why is Austin better that Dallas? (Lone Star: live, prices, moving)

[jobert]

no doubt, shortly before moving here I loaded up on the trips to Tx Stadium to see the Cowboys before they moved to Jerry-World. Even if I lived in Dallas still, I would not be able to afford tickets anymore, or the 2 hour commute to the stadium. two-hour? yes - it's the same area 15 miles out of town as the Ballpark, which was a nightmare. If there is a race at Lone Star, baseball game or a wreck, you're basically screwed. Texas stadium was 5 miles from downtown, but still took 90 minutes from downtown to your parking spot. I won't miss it, I have a flatscreen.

[ROY DUBOSE]

dallas/ft worth has always seemed an aggressive place to live almost to the point of being violent -- austin (to me) is much more accomidating and tolerant

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by mobert

My family and I are considering relocating to Texas in the next year or so if my company continues layoffs and my job is cut. We are considering Dallas and Austin because there seem to be a lot of software development jobs there - according to Indeed.com. I have done some research myself already about both areas but I wanted to get some input from locals about why they think one city is a better place to live than the other.

Now I know the definition of "better" depends on who you are. Some people might say Austin is better because it is a bit warmer. Some might say Dallas is better because it is a little cooler - just a hypothetical example.

So just tell my why YOU think one is better than the other. Give me all the dirt you can. Be honest and don't hold back anything.

Thanks very much

yes, better is very subjective...Dallas is larger with more suburban areas which might work well with a family. Of course you didn't mention what your family consists of? School age kids, pets, what? Will your wife work? Do you like the night life or are you very family oriented? Do you want the burbs or a more trendy area?

They both have great dining, Dallas probably a little better. Dallas offers more pro sports, Austin has the Long Horns.. Austin is much more liberal, Dallas proper is more liberal than the suburbs, but most families live in the burbs. Dallas will offer a much larger selection of areas to choose from, Austin is close to San Antonio which is great if you want some of the touristy stuff. Dallas has a much better airport, Austin has one that is closer to the downtown area.

Personally, if I was making a choice, I would probably look at both cities but I lean toward Dallas..

Nita

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by centralaustinite

Molly Ivins said it best: “There is a black Dallas, there is a Chicano Dallas, there is a Vietnamese Dallas, there is a gay Dallas, there is even a funky-Bohemian Dallas. But mostly there is North Dallas, a place so materialistic and Republican it makes your teeth hurt to contemplate it.”

That pretty much sums up my feeling about Dallas!

You can read more here
Big Bad D by Thomas Korosec - The Texas Observer

and we all love Molly? Right? wrong..!!!!!!

Nita

[inthecut]

Originally Posted by nmnita

yes, better is very subjective...Dallas is larger with more suburban areas which might work well with a family. Of course you didn't mention what your family consists of? School age kids, pets, what? Will your wife work? Do you like the night life or are you very family oriented? Do you want the burbs or a more trendy area?

They both have great dining, Dallas probably a little better. Dallas offers more pro sports, Austin has the Long Horns.. Austin is much more liberal, Dallas proper is more liberal than the suburbs, but most families live in the burbs. Dallas will offer a much larger selection of areas to choose from, Austin is close to San Antonio which is great if you want some of the touristy stuff. Dallas has a much better airport, Austin has one that is closer to the downtown area.

Personally, if I was making a choice, I would probably look at both cities but I lean toward Dallas..

Nita

Houston has a tech sector too....wouldn't count them out just yet......Per moving to Texas because of tech job downsizing, they are chopping lots of jobs in Austin now...not sure about Dallas, but I would imagine the same........things are just plain tough nationally, with no refuge.....I find it hard to fathom that people still think Texas is a refuge for tech downsized folks from across the US.....we have the same companies here that are downsizing there.....

Perhaps India might be the place for tech jobs, as it seems as if the majority of the job growth is there......sad to say, I only say that half in jest....

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by eepstein

Let me give you my opinion on this. I think it is very hard to compare the two cities because of the difference in their size. Dallas is a huge, cosmopolitian city that is recognized worldwide for business, technology, and world class shopping. It is among the most sprawling metropolitian areas in the world now topping 6 million residents. It has a fabulous infastructure with one of the busiest airports in the world, a good (growing) light rail system, and a great freeway system which is constantly being upgraded and updated to keep up with demand (hence the planned 1 billion dollar PLUS upgrades to 635)

The shopping is fabulous and plentiful everywhere you go, the northern suburbs are clean and very efficient. Roads are well thought out and very functional in nearly ALL suburbs.

It really depends on what you are looking for. Dallas has pretty much something for everyone.

Austin, on the other hand, is quite a different story. It will always be number 4 in many aspects in the state of Texas (Behind Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio). It has among the worst infastructures of any compariblity sized city in the country. It is the most congested medium size city in the country. Most of the housing in the desirable parts of Austin are out of reach for the average middle income family, thus sending them out into the faceless suburbs. Lets see, what else?

Austin has NO zoo, aquairium, theme parks, professional sports teams, decent transit system, limited if any shopping (the domain is a shopping area exclusively for the rich). Two malls in the entire metropoliatian area (i hear Highland Mall will be closing in the not too distant future). Also, not to mention the tiny little "austin feel" airport. OR the airport with "no planes" as my son refers to it.

However, Austin is overall a clean nice city with very little to offer it's residents. Its been my experience that pretty much ANY kind of entertainment or shopping must be done by driving a couple of hours to SA, dallas, or Houston.

I would say Dallas is your best bet for an overall great experience. It truly has something for everyone. If you hate big sprawling places, and don't mind having to leave town to do much of anything, then Austin is certainly a good choice!

Its hard for me to believe we live in the same area, as my perspective is so much different. Actually we do not live in the same world. You are in Avery Ranch 22 miles north of the Austin CBD and I live in Oak Hill 11 miles south of the CBD. In my 32 years in Austin I have lived in Riverside Drive area, far East Austin/manor road area and Oak Hill. I spent 4 years at UT, and 28 years working in the CBD, commuting to and from Oak Hill. On an average day my commute was only 15 minutes, but could turn into 45 if there was a traffic problem.

My experience with Dallas has been going there for a weekend occasionally. Once to see one of the egyptian (Ramses?) museum exhibits that passed through, we stayed in the Adolphus Hotel, nice place and had dinner in the West End. The other weekend was just to get away and go on an architectural walking tour exploring downtown, we stayed in the Hyatt Regency, wandered around all weekend and stopped into the Dallas Art Museum. My impression of Dallas. Very few people in the CBD on weekends except at the West End. Downtown was pretty dead and not much to do there, very little street life. It felt sterile and lifeless, very inhospitable to people walking around, hard to find places to eat or use a restroom at street level. Everyone was in cars, not much foot traffic or bicycles. You pretty much had to go to a Mall to find people, or a huge stadium or concert arena with mobs of people and huge crowded parking lots. Overall it felt very commercial and artificial.

In comparison, the Austin CBD is a lively, vibrant place with lots of activity any day or night of the week. We can almost always find parking on the street within a few blocks of where we want to go for dinner or entertainment. Lots of strolling around, bicycling, Austin is an outdoor place, year round people Austin's living room is the streets and parks, outdoor festivals, enjoying the wonderful weather we are blessed with here. Austin's main event is the variety of quirky people here, people enjoy being a little bit weird and go out of their way to celebrate their uniqueness at the many festivals. Many of which are free to join in the streets or parks. I find no lack of entertainment in Austin, there is always something going on with an amazing amount of clubs, small theaters and performance venues and an unlimited variety of wonderful restaurants at reasonable prices. The venues in Austin tend to be smaller, more personal and intimate. Austin celebrates the outdoors.

Entertainment for me most often means enjoying the outdoors, sailing, boating or swimming at Lake Travis, canoeing or rafting on one of the many beautiful creeks in the area, swimming at one of the many natural swimming holes, flying kites at Barton Springs park or hiking down a trail through many greenbelts around the City.

When I do go out for live music these days I'm more inclined to go someplace small like the One World Theater for dinner and a show. I just bought tickets for Ottmar Liebert for a group of 4, August 7.

Austin also has great access to many other parts of Texas, like the gulf coast. We kept a sailboat at Rockport for 3 years and spent a lot of time down there. We are driving down next week for a 3 night mini-vacation, to see the wildflowers and the drive down and spend a few days at the beach and exploring, for a change of pace.

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by nmnita

and we all love Molly? Right? wrong..!!!!!!

Nita

Yes, everyone who matters loves Molly ivins!

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by inthecut

Houston has a tech sector too....wouldn't count them out just yet......Per moving to Texas because of tech job downsizing, they are chopping lots of jobs in Austin now...not sure about Dallas, but I would imagine the same........things are just plain tough nationally, with no refuge.....I find it hard to fathom that people still think Texas is a refuge for tech downsized folks from across the US.....we have the same companies here that are downsizing there.....

Perhaps India might be the place for tech jobs, as it seems as if the majority of the job growth is there......sad to say, I only say that half in jest....

it is jest and pretty clever, but I do know what you mean. As for Houston, I agree, I am just not a Houston person, so when OP asked about Dallas versus Austin, I never thought about Houston..

Nita

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by CptnRn

Yes, everyone who matters loves Molly ivins!

well then there are a heck of a lot of people that don't matter..

[Brewzerr68]

Anything is better than Dallas. I'd even rather live in El Paso than Dallas.