Please give me 10 reasons why NOT to move to the Austin area. (Round Rock: loan)

[b. frank]

Originally Posted by imaterry78259

Ok Austin is really full of itself. What a massive ego. They said the same things about LA about fifty years ago

What, exactly, are you talking about?

[sberdrow]

Originally Posted by imaterry78259

Ok Austin is really full of itself. What a massive ego. They said the same things about LA about fifty years ago

Im not sure what you're talking about either. what were they saying about LA. what is austin full of and why? We were talking about Stars, Hippos, and flags.

[TexasGirl@Heart]

Originally Posted by imaterry78259

Ok Austin is really full of itself. What a massive ego. They said the same things about LA about fifty years ago

It's called "TEXAS PRIDE"....Love it or hate it, that's just the way it is!

[jwb123]

Austin is really full of itself. What a massive ego

Perhaps... but couldn't the same be said for other generally considered "hot" places to live? NY? LA? Chicago? Seattle?

[Jazzedforhim]

Originally Posted by Texanwannabe

It's called "TEXAS PRIDE"....Love it or hate it, that's just the way it is!

Personally...I love it. If more people cared like Texans things would be different all over IMO.

[TexasGirl@Heart]

Originally Posted by Jazzedforhim

Personally...I love it. If more people cared like Texans things would be different all over IMO.

Me too...I love it! That's the reason I am moving there next Spring

[TheHarvester]

Originally Posted by imaterry78259

Ok Austin is really full of itself. What a massive ego. They said the same things about LA about fifty years ago

I agree with jenbar's response to you, that any place with a hot reputation (not talking about weather) tends to get into itself a bit much. Austin definitely isn't alone in this problem.

When I first moved here in 1990 I remember reading a Village Voice article about Austin, totally trashing the place. The author said that Austin is like a teenage boy fascinated with his own pubic hair. I loved Austin then and now, and I agree with that author. I guess I'm like a teenage boy...

A lot of what we perceive throughout our lives is socially constructed. It's hard for most people to wrap their minds around this concept, but we truly don't think for ourselves anywhere near as much as we imagine we do. Most of what makes a city a "hip happening place" is a critical mass of residents who think a certain way and create the social environment. When people but into the hype, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. "I live in a hip town, I think I'll become an artist" or "I'll open a hip coffeehouse," etc. We respond to our social environment and we create that environment in a self-perpetuating process. It continues until large shifts cause a change in direction, or when a major disaster (such as what happened to Detroit with the collapse of the auto industry) strikes a blow to the collective mind.

People who feel good about themselves tend to look taller, happier, better-groomed and more confident. Same thing with a city --- when it hypes itself, it tends to create an atmosphere that supports its own delusions of grandeur. For those who don't buy into the hype, such cities can feel downright obnoxious. There are plenty of dying cities that don't have much pride, so nobody is obliged to choose life in a city that's full of itself.

[austin-steve]

Most of what makes a city a "hip happening place" is a critical mass of residents who think a certain way and create the social environment.
... [SIZE=2]For those who don't buy into the hype, such cities can feel downright obnoxious.[/SIZE]

I think you make some good points, and I see where you're coming from.

I'll also add a point I've made before, which is, there are measurable data and facts that are not "hype" which one can use to compare cities.

For example, the higher education institutions available in the Austin area can be counted and assessed. UT is just the start of the list. It's not "hype" that we indeed have so many choices in that category.

The number of restaurants. The number of live music acts playing each night, miles of hike/bike trails, acres of dedicated open space and parks, the number of public swimming pools (highest per capita in the U.S), Barton Springs, average commute times, cost of gas, housing prices, number of trees, miles of lakes and rivers, distance to the ocean, etc.

These are all things that can be counted and measured and compared against other cities, and people can match their personal priorities and lifestyle needs against that data to make an assessment of how compatible they might be with a city.

I think hype can enter in when talking about "how great" our music scene is, or "how wonderful" the Town Lake hike/bike trails are, etc.

...but we truly don't think for ourselves anywhere near as much as we imagine we do.

True. This forum is a perfect example. Isn't it great that people can get so many opinions and so much advice without ever having been to Austin? Some of the information and advise is really good too. It wasn't possible 20 years ago to learn so much so fast about other cities. There was no mechanism in place to mass "poll" people who already live in the place you are thinking about moving to.

In some ways though, it's not so great, and forums like this are counter-productive. Some of the information I read is blatantly incorrect or biased (probably including some things I write).

And instead of thinking deeply about what makes life truly enjoyable and wonderful, people ask superficial questions like "are the people nice?" and "is there a Trader Joes? and "is Austin as liberal as I've heard?" Jeez.

Opinions and information obtained from strangers on an internet forum should augment or accompany other data and information, but in traversing the different city forums, it appears to me as if some people make their entire decision about which city to move to based mostly on opinions offered from complete strangers.

Nothing can substitute for doing a little basic demographic research and getting on a plain and spending 5 days in a city.
Steve

[mimimomx3]

Nothing can substitute for doing a little basic demographic research and getting on a plain and spending 5 days in a city.

I agree that demographics are important, and I appreciate the fact that you do post cold, hard facts. But as a realtor, I'm sure you've experienced taking a client into a house that meets all his/her requirements 'on paper' and they just plain don't like it. That's how cities are...amazing how two people can love and hate the same city. Austin isn't for everyone, no matter what a great fit it may seem on paper. All I can give is my opinion on these boards in the hopes of avoiding a situation where Austin becomes full of people "love it" but wish it were more like California/NYC/Omaha etc. if there were just a beach/better ethnic restaurants/more mountains and so on.....

[twange]

I find it sort of funny that a thread focusing on the negative aspects of Austin has over 300 replies It reminds me of how mainstream media outlets over-expose scary, unfortunate events like murders, disasters, childish athletes/entertainers etc.. As a slightly cynical guy, I usually preach that same tactic: Think around corners and look for the flaws because the good things are obvious. Overly optimistic people make me suspicious

I'm not too sure that's very healthy way to live though

Every city is flawed. They always have been throughout the history of civilization. Often what makes a city popular is often its downfall. For example, my hometown of Cleveland, Ohio was a very prominent steel and manufacturing city from the late 19th century to the middle of the 20th century. It was at its peak when it was its dirtiest, which of course led to our rivers catching on fire

All of these questions about weather, music scene, quality of life etc... are so subjective I don't know how anyone could make a decision without spending some serious time living in the actual area. It's just speculation really. Having said that, places like this forum are GREAT starting places. And they do get people communicating, even if it's through the filter of technology