Not sure about Austin or Portland!????!! Desperate! (Temple, Alice: apartment, how much)

[MJVoita]

Hi I have read a few different posts on whether to go to Portland or Austin. After reading all of them i feel more confused than before.
A lot of people are saying that both are extremely overrated.

I recently visited Portland in March and found it to be beautiful, full of culture, and had a wonderful music scene.
I plan on taking a trip to Austin as soon as the money is available.

I would be moving with my fiance and his bass player. The biggest reason we are moving is because we all have a passion for music and my fiance is a very talented musician looking for a city with a thriving music scene/nightlife. Phoenix has no culture whatsoever, i mean what do you expect for a city known as the "best place to retire" People come here to die. haha!!

I have never lived anywhere but Phoenix and recently turned 21 and want to go experience life. Ha, funny how my life starts at the beginning of a economic depression

We LOVED Portland and have heard it called a "mini Austin" Obviously Austin has a good music scene (Austin city limits, south by southwest) but is it the type of music scene we are looking for..? imma throw in a stereotype...is it all country music...?

We love progressive rock: Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, Tool, Nirvana, Marty Robbins, Alice in Chains, Black Sabbath, Leadbelly, Queens of the Stone Age, Led Zeppelin, Rage Against the Machine, ZZ top, Pantera, the Meat Puppets, Smashing Pumpkins, Johnny Cash, Soundgarden, Bob Dylan, the Mars Volta, Creedence Clearwater, the Beatles, Candlebox, Dave Mathews Band, Mad Season, Neil Young, Nine Inch Nails, Primus, the Raconteurs, Radio Head, the Shins, Stone Temple Pilots, Sublime, System of a down, the Ventures, Year Long Disaster, Nico Vega, Firebug, (awesome local AZ bands)-Fata Morgana, the Treasure Mammal, Andrew Jackson Jihad, Antique Scream, Echo in Blue, Psychostick, Lost the Lead.

#1 most important thing the music scene

#2 the economy (Portland's economy sucks that why am leaning more toward Austin)

#3 the people, I liked the vibe in Portland, laid back and open minded.. maybe a little too much though... hence the economy i personally believe, no offense to anyone in Portland.

#4 Politics- this runs into the people factor, our music, my fiance's band rather, is very political. we are independents or you could say constitutionalists. We want to spark some debate wherever we go. Thats part of why i liked Portland, very liberal but open to friendly intelligent debate.... will i be able to say the same for Austin?

Sorry this is so long, as you can see i have a lot on my mind. I need some REAL advice. Thanks so much for any help!!!
table table table td.text div img {visibility:hidden;} table table table td.text div { background-image:url('http://www.pimpmyarea.com/images/online/spanish_3.gif'); background-repeat:no-repeat} table table table td.text table table div img {visibility:visible;} table table table td.text table table div { background-image:url('none');}..

[kiacook]

It's not all country music. Accuradio has an Austin station you can check out if you want to hear some of the top bands in Austin. I tried to copy the direct link but it wouldn't work for some reason: Future Perfect Radio -- Indie Web Radio

[kingugly]

I'd move to the one that is closer and has the better economy (Austin), and if you don't like it, move to Portland. Austin has an entire street devoted to music. Music will not be your problem.

[eepstein]

Let me comment on a few items you mentioned.

#1 most important thing the music scene

The music scene in Austin is pretty much centered around one street (6th street downtown). Outside of that area, there isn't much musical venues, although there are some. Austin's live music scene is horrendously overrated and really not too much different than any other city. I guess the only main difference, is that many of them are close together on 6th street. Whoop DE Sh-t!!

#2 the economy (Portland's economy sucks that why am leaning more toward Austin)
The economy in both cities isn't the greatest right now. I would tend to say that POrtland has suffered a bit more overall. However, Austin and Portland will come around in the next couple of years.

#3 the people, I liked the vibe in Portland, laid back and open minded.. maybe a little too much though... hence the economy i personally believe, no offense to anyone in Portland.

Portland is a very liberal city with all sorts of nationally recognized programs to help with pollution, urban sprawl, and ride sharing (carpooling, etc) Portland has the largest percentages of hybrid drivers per captia in the country and also has one of the largest public transportation riderships per captia in the country. Austin is a liberal city by TEXAS standards, which in most parts of the country translates into quite conservative. Austin claims to be a "green city" but has yet to do anything to prove that. It couldn't hold a candle to Portland as far as anything green related.

#4 Politics- this runs into the people factor, our music, my fiance's band rather, is very political. we are independents or you could say constitutionalists. We want to spark some debate wherever we go. Thats part of why i liked Portland, very liberal but open to friendly intelligent debate.... will i be able to say the same for Austin?

Again, FAR most liberal in Portland than Austin.


Of course, one big knock against Portland is the cost of living. It's very high! Far higher than most of Austin. But you get what you pay for I think. Beautiful scenery, beautiful climate (ok, it rains a lot in the winter, but the summer is fabulous), tons of outdoor things to do, tons of shopping, close to the beach, mountains, skiing, the list goes on and on.

Originally Posted by MJVoita

Hi I have read a few different posts on whether to go to Portland or Austin. After reading all of them i feel more confused than before.
A lot of people are saying that both are extremely overrated.

I recently visited Portland in March and found it to be beautiful, full of culture, and had a wonderful music scene.
I plan on taking a trip to Austin as soon as the money is available.

I would be moving with my fiance and his bass player. The biggest reason we are moving is because we all have a passion for music and my fiance is a very talented musician looking for a city with a thriving music scene/nightlife. Phoenix has no culture whatsoever, i mean what do you expect for a city known as the "best place to retire" People come here to die. haha!!

I have never lived anywhere but Phoenix and recently turned 21 and want to go experience life. Ha, funny how my life starts at the beginning of a economic depression

We LOVED Portland and have heard it called a "mini Austin" Obviously Austin has a good music scene (Austin city limits, south by southwest) but is it the type of music scene we are looking for..? imma throw in a stereotype...is it all country music...?

We love progressive rock: Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, Tool, Nirvana, Marty Robbins, Alice in Chains, Black Sabbath, Leadbelly, Queens of the Stone Age, Led Zeppelin, Rage Against the Machine, ZZ top, Pantera, the Meat Puppets, Smashing Pumpkins, Johnny Cash, Soundgarden, Bob Dylan, the Mars Volta, Creedence Clearwater, the Beatles, Candlebox, Dave Mathews Band, Mad Season, Neil Young, Nine Inch Nails, Primus, the Raconteurs, Radio Head, the Shins, Stone Temple Pilots, Sublime, System of a down, the Ventures, Year Long Disaster, Nico Vega, Firebug, (awesome local AZ bands)-Fata Morgana, the Treasure Mammal, Andrew Jackson Jihad, Antique Scream, Echo in Blue, Psychostick, Lost the Lead.

#1 most important thing the music scene

#2 the economy (Portland's economy sucks that why am leaning more toward Austin)

#3 the people, I liked the vibe in Portland, laid back and open minded.. maybe a little too much though... hence the economy i personally believe, no offense to anyone in Portland.

#4 Politics- this runs into the people factor, our music, my fiance's band rather, is very political. we are independents or you could say constitutionalists. We want to spark some debate wherever we go. Thats part of why i liked Portland, very liberal but open to friendly intelligent debate.... will i be able to say the same for Austin?

Sorry this is so long, as you can see i have a lot on my mind. I need some REAL advice. Thanks so much for any help!!!
table table table td.text div img {visibility:hidden;} table table table td.text div { background-image:url('http://www.pimpmyarea.com/images/online/spanish_3.gif'); background-repeat:no-repeat} table table table td.text table table div img {visibility:visible;} table table table td.text table table div { background-image:url('none');}..

[atxcio]

Portland will be more of a change from Phoenix, with the weather and better public transportation. Austin will be more similar to Phoenix, with the HOT HOT summers and more sprawly car culture... but perhaps you want more of a change?

At 21, you really can't go wrong with either city IMO. You can always move again if you don't like it. The economy is better in Austin, but if you are just looking for a "day job" (like, retail or restaurant) it's probably doable in both cities... "career jobs" are harder to find.

Politically, Portland is much more liberal (as you may already know).. Austin, at least in the central part, is more libertarian -- definitely live-and-let-live, and you can have great political conversations (very educated population), but no where near as militant liberal as Portland.

Good luck in your search... best to visit Austin in the summer, that way you'll see the worst of the weather.

[AK123]

Originally Posted by atxcio

Portland will be more of a change from Phoenix, with the weather and better public transportation. Austin will be more similar to Phoenix, with the HOT HOT summers and more sprawly car culture...

This sums it up pretty well.

[hoffdano]

I think it is a gross oversimpfication to say the music is centered around 6th street. Sure thare are many clubs and venues on 6th. But others are near UT and in other downtown areas. Two links below can show where music is being played right now and in the near future. The Austin Chronicle is the "alternative" free newspaper with a decidely liberal bent and strong coverage of music and other entertainment.

Austin TX entertainment, events, food, movies, music | Austin360.com
The Austin Chronicle

Club listings: Music Listings - The Austin Chronicle

I have always heard nice things about Portland but have never been there as an adult. For a young person like the OP the potentially dreary weather might not be a big issue. We are of course suffering some very unusual hot weather now. It is still not the heat of Phoenix.

As for the economy - Portland's unemployment rate was 11.9% in June, far higher than Austin's 6.8%.

[texastrigirl]

I lived in Austin for 10 years and now live in Seattle and I know Portland pretty well. Have never been to Phoenix though. Fortunately for you, both are great choices and I think by picking either one, you will feel like you made the right choice. And neither of them has to be for forever. That's the kind of attitude it's good to have at 21. So that being said...

Ever being the accountant, you might consider where you can afford to live between the two of them. Both are great cities but COL and weather are the two factors that stand out as main differences.

[MJVoita]

Thank you so much everyone for your help. I have a couple more questions...

As far as Austin being similar to the Phoenix in regards to urban sprawl, how does that affect the nightlife/music scene? I know that, or at least IMO, the reason Phoenix hasn't really found a centralized culture/nightlife is because everything is SO spread out. Its pretty much impossible to go "bar hopping" here unless you want to commute 15-20 mins to the next bar then get pulled over by Sheriff Joe and go to tent city. its horrible.

Eepstein mentioned that the music is overrated in Austin and that it is pretty much just on one street. I know that is just one opinion, but one thing i liked about Portland is you can walk everywhere because everything is close together and seeing live music is the thing to do there. Austin is considered a smaller city in TX... is it spread out too or pretty centralized. Are bands the focus of the nightlife or is there a big "gangsta clubbin" scene there like Phoenix?

Oh yeah and right now i am an office manager/receptionist for a software company and they are paying me $17/hr in a down economy. (This is a big reason i havent moved already..ah security... but i hate the complacency.) What would a similar job pay in Austin..? How much would a decent size one bedroom apartment cost close to downtown..??


questions questions questions. I love technology!! Thanks everyone!!

[kingugly]

Southwest flies to both destinations. Time for a trip, I'd say.