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Im originally from the midwest and I have acclimated to the heat. These days I get cold with anything below 70. Comfortable is around 80-85 and I play sports to about 100. What I really cant stand is when it is below 50
We waterproofed (hand rolled) our cedar fence in Sept. '05, when it hit 108 that particular day. We didn't know it hit 108 until we saw the news stating the record was broke. I wore a t-shirt over my head like I was pulling it off, but left it inside out, and the neck band like a sweat band and draped the rest down my back. I kept getting the hose and keeping it soaked.
I didn't feel it was much over 100 hundred.
Oh, and the good news was the fence dried pretty quick.
I lived in Austin for 4 years when I was in college (from Dallas, live in Dallas now). Let me tell you, it's a GREAT town, especially for us "blue state" people living in Texas. Yes, heat is insane, but I guess I'm raised on that, so not a big deal.
That being said, I HAVE to get out of Dallas and have a layoff package coming, and I'm looking to move to Portland. Been there once when there was sun in July, so not sure if the rain will suck. What currently sux is conservative, religious Bush lovers that are everywhere in Dallas. To each his own, but hey..I"m single, 34 years old and rarely meet people I "click" with.
Downsides to Austin (I did all this comparison before deciding to move back there or to Portland):
Austin is a YOUNG town, like if you're over 35..meh
It has a Peter Pan complex big time...nobody wants to grow up. I was back there for 2 months last year and every guy I met was embarking on an "acting" career, or "taking a break from music". I love that, but it gets a bit old.
It's changing rapidly into Dallas. The "cool" parts have been replaced with mini malls in downtown. Very sad.
Traffic was hell
I'm sure there is similarities in Portland, but frankly, I gotta get the hell outta Texas and there's no time like the present. However, I do worry about cost of living (I'll be taking a HUGE paycut in a different field)...but I think at this point in my life...money ain't everything. The 10 hr a day cubicle job has its benefits, but it's stifling the life outta me! :=)
I agree with much thathas been said but having lived in Austin since 1998 I am looking to move to a cooler climate. Every summer the continuous above-100 degree heat is nasty and the winters are getting colder each time around (this year we had so many days below 30 degrees). I would not choose Austin nor Portland and look to southern California if I were you. Fabulous schools, tremendous weather and the prices are decreasing rapidly. Santee is a nice place, for example and very affordable.
OK, take it from me, I lived in both. Austin is MUCH better. You can swim in the lakes and ocean without freezing. Winter in Austin is nice - your wearing short sleeves by Feb. Winter in Portland sucks - 40 degrees for the high + lots of rain.
Portland hipsters are the biggest d-bags on the planet and cyclists there are suicidal nazis who will attack you in your car. In Portland, they never do anything about crime.
I live in Portland and I can tell you that unless you have a burning desire to go skiing locally, move to Austin. And if you are a skier, go someplace else that is closer than 70 miles to the slopes with bad snow and 40 mph winds.
The drivers here suck - all they do is stay in the left hand and ride side by side to the car in the right lane and block traffic. They do that all the time.
The economy is horrible - no jobs for you.
The women are ugly, pierced and tatooed freakshows.
Having lived in Portland and Eugene for 3 yrs. I've been in Austin for 4 yrs now. I wish,I had the
rains of Portland during hot summer days in Austin :-). Its not possible,but as everybody said, Pdx summers are beautiful. Austin summers are bad. The thing which I miss most in Austin is the light-commute-rail. Its very well run in PDX. I hope Austin catches up with the commute rail thats in works.
The reason I moved,is because of Sun. It makes me feel better and can do lot of stuff outside. PDX
you have to stick inside the house and watch TV or something most of the time. Depending on your personality and what you prefer, choose Sunshine or Cold / Rainy days. (And drink gallons of coffee and probably rum)
Portland and Austin have a lot of differences and choose one over another is a matter of personal preference. I have lived in Beaverton (Portland suburb) for over 25 years, last year in Longmont Colorado (this place is fridgid cold in winter though) and just moved to Austin then Georgetown Texas 7 months ago. Let's analyze one category at a time, shall we? Weather: Portland is miserable and depressing starting from Oct to April, notthing but rain, cold and overcast; May to September is beautiful and you can do just about anything this time of year. Outdoor: if you like clean air, snow skiing, fishing, hiking, lakes, trees, mountains and spectacular natural scenery then Portland is a place for you. Sports: not much different between two towns, both depending on it's neighboring city sport franchises like Seatle to Portand and Dallas/Houston to Austin. Housing: Austin is much more affordable; while Portland is overpriced part of it because government had its hands on too many things, controlling how people do on their properties; the urban growth boundary makes land in Portland much more expensive. Utilities: It seems like I have to pay more subscibe fees to utility companies to have them hookup here in Austin; water and electricity in Austin/Georgetown is more expensive than in Portland while gas is much cheaper so this is a wash. Government: Portland is terrible, they don't seem to know what they're doing, they only catering a minority group and neglect the majority, they are inefficient and wasteful, and their political views are way left; they think what good for them then it's good for others and put it into laws; I don't hang around downtown Austin that much to be able to tell the difference but I know for sure that you can't beat Portland for weirdos, homeless, liberalism and entitlement Transportation: Portland is horrible exept light rail system, fewer roads, narrow and behind in maintenance. Schools: Portland is dead last, do you realize that Portland spend over $8K per k-12 student while Austin is only over $5K and Austin schools still better, go figure. Tax: You don't pay sale tax in Portland but you pay state personal income tax, property tax is lower in Portland while you don't pay personal income tax in Austin but very high for property tax, so take your pick. Music: Austin is better. Gardening: Portland to me is a better place for gardening; the land here in hill country is worthless, nothing but rock, hot and dry especially in summer; this makes me more appreciate Portland soil when come to planting trees. People: I found people and more polite here in Texas than in Portland, it must be the southern hospitality thing. Driving: Texan drivers disregard traffic lights and driving signals; to get from one place to another you have to drive a long way in Texas since everything is so spread out. Environment: green is very big deal in Portland, I give it an edge over Austin in this category.
For me I moved here because of job situation and looking for warmer climate but I got more than I bargained for that is the heat, it's way off the scale here last summer and I hoped it's just a once in a decade phenomenon. I think Portland is more cultural, foods diversified and tolerate for misbehave than Austin and this is true for all west coast states.
CDinGT - nice runon paragraph but in there are good descriptions of many things in Austin. Interesting comment about gardening - that doesn't get mentioned much.
When I first bought a home in Austin in 1986 and starting planting shrubs - I learned how hard that can be. I should have known already - since my parents live in San Antonio with similar soil. But I bought a 6ft steel digging bar and learned how to dig out bigass rocks! Most of these rocks seem to be pyramid shaped - with the point up. Your bar clanks on a rock and you hope it is just ten inches around. But it gets bigger and bigger until you finally get it out.
You also learn to plant what deer don't like to eat....
Bringing up this topic again as it is relevant in my life.
Just spent a week or so in Austin as it's a place I've been looking at moving to in the next year or so. I've loved Portland for the last 4 years of being here, but a couple things have me looking elsewhere: Weather and people.
The weather here has been discussed. It's overcast and drizzling 24/7 for 8 months of the year. The summers are FANTASTIC but 3 months is just not enough. I'm such a big outdoors guy and nobody likes to get outside because they're indoors here and it's expected to rain at all times. Blah! I've lived in SE Missouri so I know I can deal with heat/humidity, and I'd rather deal with 3 months of rediculous heat than 8 months of rain.
People. Probably the other thing driving me mad here. Someone mentioned that 'nobody does small talk' here and it's true. When you walk by someone on the street and smile and say "hello" they just point their head to the ground and walk past you like they never heard/saw you. Rediculous! It's very difficult to meet people outside of your already established "crew" as most Portlanders aren't fond of inviting "newbies" into their group. In only a week down in Austin I met just as many folks as I'd meet in a month or two up here.
I'm going to check Austin again in the summer and if I can deal, may start looking for a relocation.
I love Austin. I used to play drums for a living here, if you like music of any kind, Austin is for you. Blues, rock, country, cuban, jazz...cuban jazz. It's all here any day of the week. Austin is getting pretty big though. Because of my chosen profession it's good for me, but I'm bummed to see how large it's getting. It manages to keep it's small city attutude though! Never lived in Portland but I know the weather can be pretty grey. Hot? Yes, it gets hot here. But for the last month or two I've been able to sleep with the windows open since the lows have been in the 50's and 60's. Probably have a few more weeks of this...i love it!
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