Why did you leave Houston for Austin? (Dallas, Beaumont: real estate, rentals)

[thesonofgray]

Originally Posted by eepstein

People in Austin have problems with all of Houstons power and thus default to the longhorns and hillbilly country to make themselves feel better.

I think for some hardcore Austinites, it's the exact opposite. They'd rather keep Austin small and eclectic rather than grow into a mini-Houston/Dallas/San Antonio. There are a few things I miss from Houston that I wish we had here, but for my personal preference, there's a lot more appeal here in Austin.

Originally Posted by sxrckr

Back and forth with stints in both (as well as elsewhere in the state).... miss Houston's RESTAURANTS and big tall pine trees and being able to drive to Galveston Island on a whim. All in all, I think the cities are more alike than different these days, especially the suburban areas.

Sigh, yes! I do miss Houston's restaurants. They're SO numerous and, for the most part, SO good. Austin is really lacking some crazy good restaurants that aren't crazy expensive.

Originally Posted by Mdlx

I tend to agree with you. Beyond their relative small cores, their suburban areas are very similar and attract the same types of people.

I think ALL suburbs are the same. That's why they have no character - same homes in the same 'master planned' communities with the same chain restaurants and the same big box stores. Even the same racial and religious/political makeup. It's boooring. I grew up in it and got out as soon as I could.

[Coco55-22]

I don't hate Houston. I have lived there my whole life. It's getting so crowded, more and more, and more polluted. So we are moving to Marble Falls. It's beautiful and the people are so nice. We are retiring though. We won't miss the high humidity or the hurricanes for sure! They do need to work on the restuarants in the Austin area though. We will miss that.

[DANNYY]

Originally Posted by eepstein

Living in Colorado Springs for 2 years, I had big time problems with the dry air. Not just for the skin, but nose bleeds as well. I went through LOTS of lotion during that time. Houston certainly has it good and bad. It's an international gamma world city which attracts worldwide business from every corner of the globe. People in Austin have problems with all of Houstons power and thus default to the longhorns and hillbilly country to make themselves feel better.

Not anymore, it used to be a Gamma World city, it has moved up to become a Beta World city in 2009. Houston's gaining more global attention.

[JudyBlue]

A job.

[JudyBlue]

Originally Posted by thesonofgray

I think for some hardcore Austinites, it's the exact opposite. They'd rather keep Austin small and eclectic rather than grow into a mini-Houston/Dallas/San Antonio. There are a few things I miss from Houston that I wish we had here, but for my personal preference, there's a lot more appeal here in Austin.



Sigh, yes! I do miss Houston's restaurants. They're SO numerous and, for the most part, SO good. Austin is really lacking some crazy good restaurants that aren't crazy expensive.



I think ALL suburbs are the same. That's why they have no character - same homes in the same 'master planned' communities with the same chain restaurants and the same big box stores. Even the same racial and religious/political makeup. It's boooring. I grew up in it and got out as soon as I could.

You will find Austin lacking in alot of areas, not just restaurants.

[RampageInAZ]

My biggest issue with Houston is that Houston has so many bad areas and ghettos it is ridiculous. There are just huge swaths of the city that are just ugly, nasty, and crime ridden. Pretty much anything along 59N, from 610 until you get to Kingwood, nothing but trash. Same thing for 45N, 610 all the way to the woodlands, ghetto, ghetto, and more ghetto. 290, same story until you get to Jersey Village/Cypress, which is where I grew up. Its sad when I go back there now, the area around Jones Rd from 290 up to 1960 is where I grew up, driving through now there are so many old crummy apartments, no doubt with loose requirements to live there, a bunch of check cashing and title loan places now.

My friends tell me crime is rising by the day there.

Don't even get me started on Southwest houston, west of 59 and south of I-10. One huge gang infested cesspool. There is just a huge population of hoodrat criminals in Houston, the criminal culture is just huge and all pervasive there.

People in Austin talk about the east side and rundberg as being the bad parts of town and to stay away, I just have to laugh. Those areas are nothing.

Oh, and houston is just visually gross. So much blight, all flat, no hills, no real rivers or lakes. There are some good points to Houston, but in my mind, they are far out weighed by the bad.

[Carlito Brigante]

Originally Posted by RampageInAZ

My biggest issue with Houston is that Houston has so many bad areas and ghettos it is ridiculous. There are just huge swaths of the city that are just ugly, nasty, and crime ridden. Pretty much anything along 59N, from 610 until you get to Kingwood, nothing but trash. Same thing for 45N, 610 all the way to the woodlands, ghetto, ghetto, and more ghetto. 290, same story until you get to Jersey Village/Cypress, which is where I grew up. Its sad when I go back there now, the area around Jones Rd from 290 up to 1960 is where I grew up, driving through now there are so many old crummy apartments, no doubt with loose requirements to live there, a bunch of check cashing and title loan places now.

My friends tell me crime is rising by the day there.

Don't even get me started on Southwest houston, west of 59 and south of I-10. One huge gang infested cesspool. There is just a huge population of hoodrat criminals in Houston, the criminal culture is just huge and all pervasive there.

People in Austin talk about the east side and rundberg as being the bad parts of town and to stay away, I just have to laugh. Those areas are nothing.

Oh, and houston is just visually gross. So much blight, all flat, no hills, no real rivers or lakes. There are some good points to Houston, but in my mind, they are far out weighed by the bad.

FINALLY...someone from Houston who can be honest about what's wrong with Houston rather than trying to act like Houston is God's gift to Texas!!!

There are actually many great things about Houston; no where else in the country has as much diversity and as many restaurant and entertainment options with such a low cost of living. But the fact that Houston is so visually ugly and filled with blight (which in turn leads to crime) is the deciding factor that made me not want to live there. Not only could I not imagine having to look at so much ugly scenery on a daily basis, but I would also be ashamed to have family and friends come visit me and have to constantly explain to them that "Houston isn't really as bad as it looks; it's just the lack of zoning laws and the fact that the city grew faster than it could handle."

[love roses]

I don't care what anyone says. I still have love for Houston. Hills don't necessarily make a place automatically beautiful to everyone, especially when said hills have been stripped of vegetation and trees and all you see is st. Augustine lawns and rooftops.

[Texastreat]

I grew up in Houston and loved it in the 70's. Used to tell my out of state friends that the only hills in Houston were the freeways! Lived in Walnut Bend- SW Houston. Now it's sad to see what it has become. I came to UT and fell in love with the laid back atmosphere and clean air. Yeah it is more expensive to live here and I don't see that ever changing. Alas, we are not so laid back anymore and the air quality is going downhill. I've been here for over 30 years and love it. My mom lives in the Nasa area and while it's fun to visit her (love the restaurants)...I won't move there unless I'm economically forced to move. Don't see that happening tho. I hope we can Keep Austin Weird!!! As for high restaurant food prices - land is not cheap here thus neither are the dining establishments. And the higher cost of living weeds out those folks that do not want to work hard to live here.

[sxrckr]

Originally Posted by RampageInAZ

My friends tell me crime is rising by the day there.

Crime levels there were higher in the late 80's/early 90's, then again a little spike right after Katrina, but have been dropping quite a bit ever since. In fact, my friend mentioned an article about how murders have dropped to a new long-time low. This can all be looked up!

Yes, some formerly ok areas of town have gone bad, but other formerly not good areas of town have become desirable and jumped way up in price (Heights area, Spring Branch north of I-10, east side of downtown, even Westbury come to mind.) Also compare Houston's downtown of the 80's-90's to present-day.... HUGE improvement with new parks, sports venues, farmers markets, lofts, bars, a light rail line. So you are not telling the entire true story.