Single Black Female from NYC looking to move to Austin, Texas (Houston: transplants, real estate)

[Kthnry]

Originally Posted by 355spider

From living all over Texas I would say single black females will be happier in Houston.

I agree with this. I was friends with a single black woman who moved to Austin from DC. She stuck it out for a couple years but couldn't take being the only black person at any gathering and went back to DC. Austin likes to think of itself as diverse, but it's really only diverse in a few small limited ways.

[winkosmosis]

Originally Posted by Kthnry

I agree with this. I was friends with a single black woman who moved to Austin from DC. She stuck it out for a couple years but couldn't take being the only black person at any gathering and went back to DC. Austin likes to think of itself as diverse, but it's really only diverse in a few small limited ways.

So because Austin has slightly below the national average for black people, a black woman won't like it there? Give me a break. The OP didn't give any information about her lifestyle etc, so there's no reason to assume Houston would be better. What if she likes hiking, swimming holes, and live ROCK music? You know there are black folks who like rock music...

[Kthnry]

Maybe things have changed recently, but in the 25+ years I lived in Austin, most African Americans were poor, uneducated, and clustered in the bad areas of the east side. There was no black middle class to speak of. This map tells the story:

http://www.austintexas.gov/sites/def...0_core_per.pdf

There are other Texas cities, especially Houston, that have a large and lively middle- and upper-class professional black scene. Here's a comparable map for Houston. You can see that African Americans are well-represented throughout the city.

http://newsite4083.web08.intellisite...s2000-2010.png

The OP should visit Austin and think carefully about whether she wants to live in a very white town -- and especially consider the lack of black dating prospects.

[Kthnry]

Originally Posted by winkosmosis

So because Austin has slightly below the national average for black people, a black woman won't like it there? Give me a break. The OP didn't give any information about her lifestyle etc, so there's no reason to assume Houston would be better. What if she likes hiking, swimming holes, and live ROCK music? You know there are black folks who like rock music...

Your message made me laugh and then made me remember why I wasn't sad to leave Austin. So many Austinites, led by the Austin Chronicle, have a desperate need to believe that Austin is the coolest place on the planet in every possible way for every single person. Those who don't like it? Must be something wrong with them.

[sxrckr]

Originally Posted by Kthnry

Your message made me laugh and then made me remember why I wasn't sad to leave Austin. So many Austinites, led by the Austin Chronicle, have a desperate need to believe that Austin is the coolest place on the planet in every possible way for every single person. Those who don't like it? Must be something wrong with them.

Very true about the Austitude.
Even more bizarre when outsiders partake in it!

But I still think Austin is a better place for blacks than given credit for. There is a stereotype that Austin is too white. Sure, someone from DC or Chicago or NYC may likely favor Houston over Austin, but that's more because Houston has the big city amenities we lack (numerous great museums, large scale performing arts, pro sports, more international), as opposed to just being a racial thing. Seriously, in Texas there are so many mixed race couples now, not everyone has this outdated idea you have to only date/marry in your race and in fact many even enjoy going outside of it.

[JH6]

I find it bizarre that someone would state their race in a post looking if they would fit into a community.

If you want to be around people of the same race, then there are demographic web pages out there that will spell it out by zip code.

[Kthnry]

Originally Posted by JH6

I find it bizarre that someone would state their race in a post looking if they would fit into a community.

I forgot to mention that Austinites can be provincial and naive.

Most people want to live near others who share their cultural, religious, and social interests. I'm guessing you're a young white guy who hasn't traveled much. Would you want to live in Sun City Georgetown? Or Harlingen, TX?

In the City Data forums for the large international cities in the northeast (DC, Philly, NY/NJ), a large proportion of posts run along the lines of "We're Korean/Indian/Orthodox Jew/gay/African American/mixed-race/handicapped/single/Muslim; can anyone recommend neighborhoods where we can find people who speak our language/find groceries or restaurants with our native food/find a house of worship/not be shunned or shot at?" It's a perfectly reasonable request.

Maybe the OP will hop off the plane and make a bunch of white friends and have a great life. But maybe she doesn't want to date outside her race, maybe she will miss the community of a black church (Austin may have some; I don't know for sure), maybe she will be unable to find anywhere to get her hair done. Seemingly little things like that can add up to a deeply unhappy life. Don't assume that just because your life is peachy, Austin will work for everyone. How many of you have moved to a new city over the age of 30 and immediately made a bunch of new friends even if you fit the prevailing demographic perfectly? It's not as easy as you think.

[355spider]

Just the other day NOT had a story about Austin and how it is the only city in the nation where the population is growing by double digits but the black population is falling in not only percentage but overall numbers.

[winkosmosis]

Originally Posted by Kthnry

Your message made me laugh and then made me remember why I wasn't sad to leave Austin. So many Austinites, led by the Austin Chronicle, have a desperate need to believe that Austin is the coolest place on the planet in every possible way for every single person. Those who don't like it? Must be something wrong with them.

I'm not an Austinite, I live in Hawaii...

I didn't say it's the coolest place for every person. What I said is that just because the OP is black doesn't mean she wouldn't like Austin. Since when is "birds of a feather" acceptable advice for someone looking to relocate?

BTW you ever notice how people complaining about the "lack of diversity" are the same ones who tell blacks to move to Houston and not Austin?

[dbsteel]

Oh come one..... no need to pound on everyone who agrees. I tend to agree with what some of these people are saying. Austin is one of the biggest "non-black" big cities I've ever seen. I don't care what the statistics say, the city just isn't integrated well if the "statiistics say" it is right around or just around average. You can see it in the neighborhoods and just going out to eat or to bars. It's obvious.