Please give me 10 reasons why NOT to move to the Austin area. (Friendswood: environment)

[sberdrow]

Originally Posted by Jenbar

We went here tonight.

The Austin Chronicle: Sandy's Frozen Custard & Root Beer

Good stuff!

Ok if Sandys has good custard..I will take back everything I ever said bad about austin (but not texas)

[jwb123]

I have nothing to compare it to though! It was my first custard! Until tonight, I was a custard virgin! I liked it though and the root beer float was good too!

[sberdrow]

Originally Posted by Jenbar

I have nothing to compare it to though! It was my first custard! Until tonight, I was a custard virgin! I liked it though and the root beer float was good too!

Congrats on your first time: I hope it was good for you. I hope the custard takes the mustard.

[Jazzedforhim]

Reason number #10 not to move to Austin : City Dwelling vs. Suburban Living arguements. I have lived in two major metropolitan areas and have NEVER experienced such bad attitudes and negativity regarding this subject as here. What do we call it? Dwellism? Residism? Citism? Whatever it is - it's stupid... especially from someone who has only lived here since the 90's and came from California.

I'm baffled by this myself, which is why I asked the question. Everyone says Austin has a live and let live attitude but when it comes to WHERE you live that seems to be a different thing and a definate contradiction of attitudes.

For some walking is good...for a family with young children that is not practical! Some like the night life of the city, but have horses that can't live in the city with them. Some want to walk everywhere! Some love houses set back from the sidewalk with double car garages, and some do not. Everyone has a different income, different needs, different political oppinions regarding how they live.

To me, this should not be an argument but rather a "live and let live" situation in which one gives his/her opininon but does not attack someone else for having a different opinion or need for his/her family.

I don't get why one feels the need to force their likes on someone else! After all...this is Austin. Let's "live and let live".

[Trainwreck20]

Personally, I have only run into here in the forums, never actual ran into anything like it in the 'real world'.

[TheHarvester]

Originally Posted by Jenbar

I rest my case.

And I hope it rests in peace. I have no reason to be at war with you.

Originally Posted by Jenbar

Whatever. Live where you want.

I fully agree, as I do with most of the things you post.

Originally Posted by Jenbar

Reason number #10 not to move to Austin : City Dwelling vs. Suburban Living arguements.

I have actual video footage of this argument, which I hope you don't mind my posting because it's a real video of you and me on City-Data:

Originally Posted by Jazzedforhim

Everyone says Austin has a live and let live attitude but when it comes to WHERE you live that seems to be a different thing...

The confusion about this issue is easy to explain. Austin has gained a national reputation for being a certain way. Many people come to this forum to learn about places they are moving to or are considering moving to.

Herein lies the problem: there are countless posts and threads devoted to the issue of whether Austin is generic and conservative or if it's progressive and unique. You can see this by scanning the Austin forum, it's a persistent theme.

Let me make this as clear as possible:

1. The funky hip version of Austin doesn't exist outside of the central older parts of town. People come here and look at houses in Cedar Park and then wonder why it looks like Southern California's suburbs. Well, Los Angeles is the same way. So is Seattle and Atlanta and every other city. If you live in the suburbs you will experience a lifestyle that tends to be more homogeneous and dominated by chain stores, houses built by developers, etc. This is a simple fact that anyone can observe by traveling a bit.

2. I have personal preferences and I express them freely. I don't think I'm a better person because I choose the funky side of town. I don't have children, I don't have anyone else's needs, life history, or even a job that requires commuting. So I have choices that make it easy for me to live in the funky part of town and here I am. I have more respect for Jenbar than I do for myself because she is carrying a lot more responsibility and has far more specific needs in terms of housing, etc.

3. The reason this faux dispute erupts over and over is because so many people are coming here from California and looking at generic housing developments and going to dinner at chain restaurants, not going to see live music, not going to swim at Barton Springs or paying attention to the truly unique things in Austin. So there are endless complaints about how Austin is "just like any other city."

4. I'm defending the position that Austin is unique. I've experienced almost every city in the USA that has a population over 500,000 and I do find Austin to be unique. But if I go to the suburbs, I don't experience that uniqueness.

5. I provide this information for the purpose of helping others in their decision about where to live. If you come to Austin and it looks like Orange County or Contra Costa County to you, then you haven't experienced Austin. If this comment makes me elitist or evil or hyper-sensitive or a vampire, I don't care. I'm still going to provide my perspective.

6. If you want to live in a nice suburb at a reasonable price, close to lots of cultural opportunities, and you're not interested in living in the midst of the chaos of the funkier parts of town, then you should definitely look into Austin's outlying areas because they are really nice compared to similar suburbs in other cities.

I'm not judging anyone. I'm presenting my preferences, opinions and observations. Isn't that what we're all doing here? There is no need for us to re-enact the drama of the Harvester-Jenbar Smackdown as shown in this video clip:

[love roses]

Makes total sense. I can live with that. Love the cat fight smilies

[TheHarvester]

Originally Posted by love roses

Love the cat fight smilies

Yeah, I was pretty happy when I found that one. It's so expressive of what you see on almost every web forum. The anonymity of the web seems to bring out the same type of behavior as driving. People aren't themselves, so I try not to take it personally.

[love roses]

I came in late on the whole thing and had to backtrack to see what was going on. My answer to the post would have been something like..."East OF round rock...se OF Georgetown, etc...but we're trying to hold our own being surrounded by those other towns and trying not be exactly like them.

[TheHarvester]

Originally Posted by love roses

...we're trying to hold our own being surrounded by those other towns and trying not be exactly like them.

And hopefully you recognize that I was having fun and being playful, there wasn't even an implication of a put-down in what I said. I own property near Lockhart. I wish I owned property in Hutto instead. I made a really foolish decision based on emotions. I'm definitely not in the path of growth and I've lost tens of thousands on my foolish decision. So, good for you, you chose a very wise place to buy. Err... I hope you own your place in Hutto cuz I think it's a no-brainer that property values will rise there and the quality of life will improve as amenities are added nearby.

But as for my Dallas-to-San Antonio Metro comment, I think that's semi-accurate. It's an exaggeration of an actual trend. To be more accurate, I should say that the metro is Oklahoma City to San Antonio, with various towns and urban areas concentrated all the way from one end to the other, and all the rural areas developing rapidly. It's kind of frightening and it really makes me think we need a rail system or some kind of alternative to the dangerous and clogged I-35. The new toll freeway (Texas 130) is a start, but it's not going to solve the problem. We need alternatives to car-dependence because an oil crisis will occur again and it will be severe. Whether it's a year from now or 10 years, doesn't matter, we need to plan accordingly. Oil is a finite resource and so is land, so we can't depend on electric or bio-fueled cars any more than we can depend on oil. At some point we have to wake up and realize that our lifestyle is unsustainable and we have to stop building as if cars will be the dominant form of transportation for the next century.