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I am planning a move, and am somewhat torn between these two places.
About me: 26, music bachelor's degree (guitar), have lived in a small town close to Pittsburgh for most of my life. I am very liberal, vegan for over 10 years now, etc. I am a very friendly person, and can get along with almost anyone. I haven't found much opportunity for the music I like to play and write here (jazz fusion, instrumental), and I'm planning on starting an electrician apprenticeship after I move, to open up my financial opportunities and give me some solid ground to stand on. I like outdoor activities and powerlifting (yes, vegan powerlifters do exist), and although I am willing to live in an apartment during my apprenticeship, I want to eventually settle down in a wooded area away from the noise, but close enough to a place where I can go to do music things.
Overall, Chapel Hill seems more up my alley, but I am worried that I will not be satisfied with the music scene. If you're not familiar with jazz fusion, that's quite alright. It isn't the most popular form of music, and that's the cause of my concern, after all. I don't need to see bands every night, I just want to live in a place where I can find enough musicians also interested in this kind of music to make a good band, and enough open minded listeners that I can find places to play on the weekends.
I am confident that Austin could meet my musical needs, but I'm worried that I would not like the terrain, and I don't know if there's really a middle ground in Austin between city living and rural Texas living.
I think I would enjoy the culture of either city. I like the sheer size of Austin's diversity, but I also like the closer community sensibility of a place like Chapel Hill.
So, if you've read this far, thank you, and please tell me: do you think my passion for music will dry up in Chapel Hill? Do I need to sacrifice some of my other preferences for terrain and community size to meet my musical goals, or does Chapel Hill offer a decent opportunity to any interesting and skilled musician?
Well one thing to keep in mind is that Chapel Hill is an extremely small area compared to Austin. With Chapel Hill, you also have access to Raleigh and Durham.
True, true. Just the numbers of people makes a difference, and having access to all three places does mitigate the smaller size. It's a hard thing to quantify. If there are any musicians here who have lived in Chapel Hill, I'd be very interested in their impressions.
There is NO jazz fusion scene in Austin! None. One tiny, three day fest does not make a scene. You will be hard pressed to find places in Austin that will let you play jazz fusion for free, much less for any coin.
There is NO jazz fusion scene in Austin! None. One tiny, three day fest does not make a scene. You will be hard pressed to find places in Austin that will let you play jazz fusion for free, much less for any coin.
Surprisingly, there's a bit of a jazz scene up in Denton, because the university has one of the best jazz programs in the world. Lots of people there move to DFW, it seems, and not Austin, when moving to a bigger TX city after school, so there's potentially something going on there as well, I simply don't know.
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