Was "ideology" a big factor in your move to Austin? (Houston: 2009, city hall)

[inthecut]

Originally Posted by eribear

We are originally from Madison, WI and moved to Orange County for my job (and to get away from the snow) a year ago. Its not a good match for us so we are looking to move to Austin in the next year or so once we can line up new jobs. A big reason we began considering Austin was the ideology and that it was on a bunch of top 1 lists (like Madison, which we love--other than the snow). But, upon doing additional research and getting a better idea of the city, I see there are lots of reasons it could be a great fit for us.

If it is, it is.....and that should have nothing to do with Austin's appearance on "best of" lists......also, try to find places off the radar that the masses are NOT herding to. It is hard, sometimes impossible, to remove oneself from media-created entities, but try it, and open your mind to just about anywhere......be creative.....avoid hype and lists, and just think and look for yourself....your dream place may not be on ANY lists right now...

BTW, with the national economy being what it is, ANY place where you can find a good job is utopia.....think about it.....if you have a great job, could you not be happy just about anywhere in this awful economic environment? on the other hand, what good is a "utopia" without a decent job, or one that pays a lower than average wage?

[artsyguy]

I wasted time in Austin thinking it was progressive and liberal. But it isn't.

I'm too far left I guess.

Originally Posted by JERiv

Ideology:
▸ noun: an orientation that characterizes the thinking of a group or nation


On reading another one of those "why do people move to Austin" thread, I decided to post a question of my own that I have always wondered about.

When you were choosing where to relocate, decided on Texas (for whatever reason: family, work, weather, love, horoscope, other), and then on Austin in particular:

Was the fact that Austin is known as the one (or at least the most obvious) "progressive/liberal/green" spot in Texas a factor in your decision to move here? Or not a factor at all?

I think we can all agree that whether it is fair or not, Austin is known (due to reality and marketing) as "progressive, liberal, and green". And stands out as such in great part due to the stark contrast with the rest of Texas (which is mostly "conservative").

I ask because I keep wondering. Dallas, Houston and San Antonio are larger cities. All have their + and -. Austin stand out qualities are that it is, again, a small, progressive, liberal and green city in the middle of Texas.

The reason I wonder is because I am curious as to whether the people who move here are of a "liberal" bent, or a "conservative" bent. That is, does "like" attract "like", or does it not even factor into the decision making process?

And in case anyone wonders, my family and I moved down to Texas due to wanting to be closer to family, wanting a better place to raise our family, much lower cost of living, and, importantly, hot weather (10 years of snow is enough for me, thankyouverymuch). And we decided on Austin due to it's progressive/liberal bent.

Hope y'all have a great weekend.

[jdrtx]

Bingo, Artsy. You tell'em.

[eribear]

Originally Posted by inthecut

If it is, it is.....and that should have nothing to do with Austin's appearance on "best of" lists......also, try to find places off the radar that the masses are NOT herding to. It is hard, sometimes impossible, to remove oneself from media-created entities, but try it, and open your mind to just about anywhere......be creative.....avoid hype and lists, and just think and look for yourself....your dream place may not be on ANY lists right now...

BTW, with the national economy being what it is, ANY place where you can find a good job is utopia.....think about it.....if you have a great job, could you not be happy just about anywhere in this awful economic environment? on the other hand, what good is a "utopia" without a decent job, or one that pays a lower than average wage?

I left a good job in Madison at the very moment everything crashed to move for a better job in Orange County. We wanted to be in So Cal for the weather and proximity to a large metro area. Now that we've been here a year its apparent we can not afford to own a home in a nice community here. The house we rent is appraised at over a million, and its nothing special (other than the location and view). I received about a 30% pay increase when I moved, but now actually have less money than before. I'd gladly go back to my old salary as I'd actually have more disposable income.

We have ruled out all of California due to the high cost of living and boom/bust mentality, and have considered Atlanta, Raleigh, Seattle, Portland, and Memphis in addition to Austin and San Antonio. Where else would you have me consider? We are not living anywhere with snow so that rules out Denver, boston, NY, DC and all of the midwest! Honestly, when my husband suggested Texas, I thought he was insane. The more I researched, the better it looked in that it fits most of the search parameters.

[G Grasshopper]

We will be moving to Texas (haven't moved yet) due to the lower cost of living and the fact that both sides of our family live there. I grew up in Wisconsin, but lived in Huntsville, Houston, Galveston, and Austin. Met my husband (who is a native Texan) in Austin. We moved to California because CA was offering him a free master's degree. I told him then that if he ever wanted to move back to Texas, Austin was the only place I would live. And now, 35 years later, we are moving back to Austin. The reason I would only live there is that it is more ideologically diverse than the rest of the state. We are moderate democrats, and don't want to live in places that are solidly conservative. We are also liberal Christians, and don't want to live in a place where conservative Christians want to force their beliefs on everyone else. We like diversity of thought, and we like to be around people who think and discuss with open minds. We don't care to socialize with people who accept any ideology without examining it, and we find that both extreme conservatives and extreme liberals tend to be guilty of that. And we like the hill country.

[orbius]

If you dont think Austin is progressive you should try living in other parts of the state or South. People will push their noses right into your business and will 100% have the authorities on their side in doing so. If you deviate 5 degrees from what is 'normal' you will have people on your back in those places. Most Southerners put the 'b' in backwards. Which sounds humorous until you realize in most of the South they have the power and the law on their side.
Trust me Austin is progressive in the best sense of the word.

[paul6835]

Austin, IMO, is more Libertarian than Liberal. Its definitely not conservative, which would have knocked it off my list of places to live.

[pinda]

Inthecut,
I have been visiting cities for about 5 years, give or take, to see where we would like to move. I visited the Austin area 3 times. I know it isn't a lot, but it is tough to afford to keep visiting. You are right though. I am really working on my expectation level because sometimes I get too excited. I never lived outside of Wisconsin. It is so nice to read the other Wisconsin posts that are planning on moving to Austin also.

We also like the size of the Austin and San Antonio airports for my husband to work at. Not too big or too small. Austin's airport is beautiful. I met many midwesterners that love the area. I really didn't spend much time in the city itself because cities do intimidate me somewhat. Went to Whole Foods though.

[inthecut]

Originally Posted by paul6835

Austin, IMO, is more Libertarian than Liberal. Its definitely not conservative, which would have knocked it off my list of places to live.

Problem....everyone's def of libertarian, conservative, etc. is different....one man's conservative is another man's liberal, and you can be economically conservative and socially liberal, and visa versa.....AND you have a mix of a bunch of different ideologies in every metro....generally the inner core of cities is the most liberal, and it gets more conservative the farther out you get from the center...Austin is much the same....keep heading farther out and you'll start running into "King of the Hill" buzzcut gunnuts who pack a piece for Christ......

[inthecut]

Originally Posted by pinda

Inthecut,
I have been visiting cities for about 5 years, give or take, to see where we would like to move. I visited the Austin area 3 times. I know it isn't a lot, but it is tough to afford to keep visiting. You are right though. I am really working on my expectation level because sometimes I get too excited. I never lived outside of Wisconsin. It is so nice to read the other Wisconsin posts that are planning on moving to Austin also.

We also like the size of the Austin and San Antonio airports for my husband to work at. Not too big or too small. Austin's airport is beautiful. I met many midwesterners that love the area. I really didn't spend much time in the city itself because cities do intimidate me somewhat. Went to Whole Foods though.

I grew up and spent years just south of wisc.(chicago), and spent many a time vacationing and hanging out in wis, from wisc dells as a kid in the 70s
(tommy bartlett, the ducks), to summerfest when I was old enough to drink...Some of my fondest memories are the summerfests I went to(the wonderful ski lift thingie, all the music stages, the ton of beer tents, wow)........

Wisconsin is its own world.....it gets cold, stays cold a long time, and there are a ton of corner bars in every city and town, most of whom have Packer memorabilia on the walls, and a jukebox in the corner....the ethnic mix is polish and german, and polka music can still be heard in various festivals....fishing is huge, along with ice fishing.....Minnesota would be the closest comparison to me per the temperament of wisc.....very laid-back, outdoorsy and friendly.....

Austin is sort of like that, but in many ways not......the neighborhoods in most wisc cities/towns go way back, and much of Austin has a transient feeling to it, with new people constantly streaming in....it is friendly, but not quite like they make it out to be...wisc cities are much friendlier than Austin....people know and trust one another, and there is little crime, which makes for a quite ambient mix....the truly friendly Texas places are the smaller cities, like Lubbock, Amarillo, and such....Dallas is very money orientated, prob as much as LA....Houston is huge, and has a VERY high crime rate....San Antonio is hands down the friendliest large city in Tex, with El Paso just behind.......

Austin has also trended towards Dallas recently in its upscale push, which was essentially nonexistent years ago....heck, they didn't even have a upscale mall till the Domain.....So, between the status seeking temperament and the large transient nature of the city, with so many new arrivals, Austin is far less friendly than years back.....This is not to say it is UNfriendly, just that if you are expecting Mayberry(and some people do), that it ain't.....best way I can describe it is a hyped-up Madison, triple the size, with tons of new people arriving every year(60,000, believe it or not, arrive here to move EVERY year), and with a pretty large DT.
I call it a college town on steroids....

With all respect to Austin, I don't think ANY metro can absorb 60K new people a year without it having a huge impact on the metro's overall ambience, especially one as small as Austin.......