3 good reasons to live in Austin Texas (San Antonio, Port Aransas: college, shops)

[Marat]

Originally Posted by proeye

3 reasons not to move to Austin...

1. It's too hot!
2. I'm not into scorpions or roaches thanks
3. It's in the middle of nowhere (where is the nearest mountain? national park? decent ocean?)

What??? What's with the scorpions? I've never seen or heard of them here. The middle of nowhere? There are around 3.5 million in the Austin/San Antonio area, and like 20 million people within a few hours of here. It is hardly remote. While they aren't exactly mountains, the western part of Austin is actually fairly hilly. There aren't a whole lot of cities which fit your ideal of nearby mountains, national parks, and great ocean beaches. Good luck finding a perfect place.

Yes, it is hot here. But for half the year, the weather is beautiful. The summer half you just have to tolerate with all the air conditioning you can find.

[Zzyzx]

Originally Posted by Marat

What??? What's with the scorpions? I've never seen or heard of them here.

Ya, I have yet to see a scorpion. I guess they are not in the Hill Country. Maybe Downtown?



Zzyzx

[Zzyzx]

Originally Posted by dannl

Can there be 3 good reasons to move to Austin Texas and beable to call it my home town.

No, it's a horrible place to live, please take off list of considerations.

Zzyzx

[Aggie01]

1.) It's overrated

2.) It's chockfull of ex-Californians complaining about why Austin can't be more like California

3.) It's full of college kids (have you ever smelled Sixth Street on a Sunday morning after a Sat night boozefest....there is not a grosser smell in the world!) and once you get away from the college kid/central Austin, you might as well be in any old Texas city suburb


(And, as an Aggie I'll have to add a 4th----it's full of Longhorn supporters)

[Spookmeister]

Ouch, Aggie! Bitter much?

[Marat]

Originally Posted by Spookmeister

Ouch, Aggie! Bitter much?

It's hard to compare with College Station.

[Trainwreck20]

Texas beaches are very sandy...the sand is finer and gets stuck to you (and everything else). Most of this is due to the huge amount of sediment flowing into that part of the gulf from the rivers, and the lack of a reef; however, if you go off shore a mile or two (where the silt has settled out), the water is crystal clear On rare occasion, this clear water makes it all the way to shore. Wish I could predict it :-).

Anyway, the Tx beaches are really just for mixing with some rather strange people...Galveston is full of people from all over the world that hate the cold, don't care to ever be rich, and like their beer on a regular basis.

If you live in Austin and want beautiful water, it is just a couple hours to cozumel or cancun. Take one of the package charters from Austin or SA and it makes a great 3-day weekend.

Re: roaches. We get the house treated once a year and have yet to see any in the house. Houston and wetter areas have more of a problem, but they will show up if you do not clean up food and do not treat the house 1 or twice a year.

Re: scorpions. They are the opposite of roaches. They seem to disappear over time after a place has been 'settled'. You WILL see them in the remote areas outside of town, but almost never in the city and 'burbs. Btw, they are only about as dangerous as a wasp, and it feels about the same to get stung.

[RCL]

Originally Posted by Marat

...There aren't a whole lot of cities which fit your ideal of nearby mountains, national parks, and great ocean beaches. Good luck finding a perfect place....

Well there's always California...where you can get a 75 year old...broken down, fixer-upper, handyman special, 2BR/1BA, 800sf bungalow...in need of total rehab...in the WORST, most unsafe part of town, for only the super low, rock-bottom, blowout price of $600K.

[Southside Shrek]

if you want truly beautiful, clean, secluded and quiet beaches, go to Sanibel in Southwest Florida. the beaches are also loaded with shells. As for wave action, you have that too. There are plenty of exotic birds, wildlife, gators and even a giant croc at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge. There's plenty of fun and enjoyment in a non-commercialized and natural setting.

Live in Austin and vacation in Sanibel (or Captiva).

[SeXyAgFencer]

I was born and raised in Houston. I really dislike the city. It's dirty, too spread out, and everything is always underconstruction. Not too bad unless you consider the horrible traffic on top of it. I now live in College Station where I attend college at Texas A&M.. I really dislike this little town.. people here are not as open minded.. however, I found Austin to be a haven for me. It was named the 8th largest Vegetarian-friendly city (on the large city list) of top ten cities in the nation by GoVeg.com. Compared to College Station and in some respects even Houston Austin is paradise. I don't see it as liberal.. I see it as diverse. Great music, clubs, some hills (Houston and CS are flat as hell), and the food is always good like I mentioned.