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Currently live in Madison, WI. Was looking for a job so moved from small town South Dakota, where I grew up.
I don't hate living here at all. In fact, I usually say that I like the city a lot, if only it were located further south.
Pros:
- Everyone is very active, i.e. bike trails, sports leagues, lakes
- Safe
- An easy 6 hour drive from family
- I was able to find a job
- Nice landscape around the city (The hills and the trees, both of which were hard to come by where I grew up)
- Downtown sits on an isthmus between two nice sized lakes, and the state capitol building at the center
Cons:
- I hate the weather for 6-8 months of the year (I'm one that prefers hot weather, and I'd be happy if I never saw snow again)
- It's a bit hard for an introvert to make friends, as everyone seems to have their friend groups not really needing any more (maybe that's a problem everywhere)
- The cost of living is relatively high for the region
- Did I mention the weather? This is a big one, as I enjoy outdoor activities and don't enjoy the cold. Not to mention the sun barely peeks out in the winter. Overcast, grey skies is not too good on my mood overall. Hence the reason, I do not see myself staying here too much longer. Life's too short, enjoy it while you can.
Current city: Honolulu, HI
Where did I move from?: NYC
Why did I leave?: work obligations
Pros: great weather year round. Decent food. Great scenery and outdoorsy things to do. Generally safe.
Cons: far from friends and family on the mainland and from much else. Lack of diversity compared to NYC, which makes for fewer desirable culinary options for me.
Birthplace/hometown: Indio, CA
Currently living in: Indio, CA
Pros:
- Great weather in winter/spring
- Lower housing prices than in the LA area, Orange County, San Diego County, etc.
- Several events in the city
- Lots of greenery and irrigation for a desert city
- Some of the best Mexican food in all of SoCal
- Warm and inviting people, not stuck-up people like in nearby La Quinta, Indian Wells, and Rancho Mirage
- Mostly clear and sunny, sometimes with periodic clouds, throughout the year
- Many, many large, full trees due to irrigation in the area, besides the usual palm trees
- Smells good after the rain
- Better air quality
- It's on Imperial Irrigation District (IID), so AC costs are lower
- Not too far from Riverside, LA, OC, or SD
Cons:
- Pretty scary, run-down and ghetto in most areas south of the I-10 Freeway
- Really, REALLY hot in the summer/fall, but at least the heat is dry
- Crime rate above the U.S. average
- The city's street gangs
- Can get quite windy sometimes
- Graffiti all over in some areas, especially on the trains that come back and forth
- Pretty big homeless population
- Higher poverty level
- Sometimes floods when it rains
- Lack of higher-end restaurants, but still has a few
- Bland, suburban housing sprawl that is typical all over California, but I actually don't mind it at all
Hartford CT area. Like where I live not perfect but kind of like a jack of all trades master of none place to live. I also lived 3 years in rural Maine liked but not ideal for a single guy in his early 20's.
Pros
Schools
Community
Outdoor activities (Ocean lakes hiking trails bike trails state parks)
Indoor activities (museums events etc)
Food (again good but not like a big city)
Being close to everything less then 5 miles to 90% of everything we do from hiking to shopping to museums.
Decent income to COL
Easy days drive to almost everything. Easy access to Amtrak. Easy access to decent airport.
4 real seasons
Cons
Traffic in Hartford
Inner cities here in CT still have big issues
High property taxes
While not hugely expensive not exactly affordable either
Constant state budget issues (like about 20% of the states)
Would prefer to live in a more rural areas either further North in New England or further East in CT. But right now the suburbs are the best balance for the family.
I live in Austin, have steadily since 1983 (first moved here for college in 1976 but left to live out of state a few times in the early 80s). However, even though my wife and I moved BACK to Austin TWICE from other states, I would not do so a third time; we're looking at moving out within the next year or two (under no immediate rush, and there are still some family ties in Central Texas that complicate things, but the plans are underway and in motion, steps are being taken, scouting trips have been made, and the writing's on the wall). Most likely destination? Madison, WI, a city that was always very similar to the city that Austin once was but is no longer.
OK, trying to be kind here, despite my disillusionment that is compelling us to leave:
Pros:
Um, there's plenty of sun, if that's your thing. It's getting hotter on average every year, in fact. So if you can't stand snow, and want nine months of hot to very hot summer with occasional freezing snaps, you'll be happy here (caveats to come under the CONS).
Plenty of good restaurants of all stripes for foodies, excellent grocery stores, lots of beer bars and new cocktail bars, you won't go hungry or thirsty here.
Outdoor activities are available most of the year, there's the Barton Springs Pool (when it's open), lots of joggers and runners, the Hill Country is nearby, rivers and lakes near by for water sports, golf courses, minor league baseball in Round Rock, college football at UT, all that thing.
Lots of neighborhoods to choose from, from older homes to new homes, dense neighborhoods and sprawly ones.
There IS a credible live music scene, if not always worthy of all the hype and back-patting that goes on here (people will tell you it was much better in "the old days", however that is defined). Also other artistic pursuits are valued (or at least paid lip service).
Major university draws students and academics and promotes a lot of activities.
Good job prospects in academia, medicine, government, high tech, retail, food service.
Generally liberal/progressive values and leadership at the city level.
Generally friendly and outgoing people, higher educational levels than the norm and less crime than the norm.
Lots of transplants from other regions/cities/states, if this is a plus to you; native Austinites are a rarity (even native Texans in some areas), so there is not an established order that resists making friends.
There are lots of trees here and some rolling landscapes, it's not a dusty, barren, ugly Texas landscape stereotype.
Taxes are lower here than most places; some taxes, at least. No personal income tax is the big one people always notice.
OK, now most of these PROS has a corresponding CON, plus there are new CONS as well:
There aren't really seasons here, there's just Hot Summer and Not Summer. In exchange for snow, there are nasty ice storms a few times a year, maybe, that might freeze your water pipes (local codes do not require them to be insulated, and there are no basements) and the roads will be dangerous since so many are elevated and no one here can drive on ice. There are also floods (not uncommon) throughout the region, hail storms, tornadoes, and other severe weathers. We only recently emerged from a drought and it could return at any time. There are allergens in the air all year long, bugs never truly die off, and it really will be well over 90 degrees, often close to or over a hundred, for months on end. This does affect your health and attitude if you don't enjoy it.
Along with the heat, there are plenty of hostile creatures you'll be sharing Austin with. You may not have experienced these elsewhere to this degree. Meet your neighbors the voracious mosquitos (now with West Nile virus!), ticks (Lyme disease), lots of spiders, including tarantulas, large cockroaches, sugar ants, harvester ants, fire ants, chiggers -- these make mosquito bites something you'll laugh at -- scorpions, millipedes, centipedes, every kind of poisonous snake in the US, and many of these will seek to live in your home and yard with you. A pest service could be a monthly bill. And your every trip outside after dark or your daily gardening could offer exciting prospects of danger and adventure.
You will find many neighborhoods of interest but maybe only a few that you can actually afford to live in. Housing here is among the most expensive in the state. http://austin.curbed.com/2016/9/9/12...g-market-texas COL is high here for Texas. It may not be as high as wherever you are coming from, but it's bad for locals and not in line with Texas' lower wages. This leads into...
Property taxes are high in Austin (and most major Texas cities). Rents are quite high in Austin. Sales taxes are high in Texas. This reflects lack of a state income tax. Insurance rates are also higher than average here. Property taxes in Austin in particular have become a hot topic in recent years, as the skyrocketing housing market and city spending for the new boomtimes drive up property taxes and prices many locals and fixed-income residents out of their homes. Everybody wants good schools but no one wants to pay for them, so the legislature punts responsibility to local taxing authorities. The Austin School District is not highly rated, even if surrounding districts fare better. (AISD, in fact, is LOSING students despite the boom as families are priced out of the Austin market and more new residents either are childless or live in outer areas.)
There are a lot of employers, but also a lot of job seekers. It's not uncommon for over a hundred applications to be received for a University of Texas staff job. So there's intense competition for every opening, even jobs with low pay and no benefits. Texas is a "right to work" (aka "right to starve") state, so wages are kept low and there isn't much workers' compensation protection, scanty unemployment benefits, fewer government services in general. Government, education, medical, and university jobs, which still provide the hard core of local employment despite the romance and glamor of the high tech world, tend to be lower-paid than elsewhere.
For all its liberal reputation, Austin is relatively segregated; economics and neglect and shady "redlining" have historically pushed minorities into certain neighborhoods and sectors. Gentrification of some neighborhoods is pushing out other minority residents.
The music clubs are really *not* as vibrant as they once were, and despite the partying and festivals, the excitement of the local scene has withered from what it once was. Most of the attention these days goes toward film, or interactive gaming, or newer sensations. Many of the older musicians that gave Austin its original rep are dead, inactive, or have moved away, not being able to make a living here as musicians.
Austin can be insufferable in its self-regard. It didn't used to be this way, it was once known for being laid-back, cheap, self-assured, and happy not to be Dallas or Houston. Now it's overrun with hipsters, Californians, shamelessly apes other places in hopes of being like Paris or San Antonio or Silicon Valley or LA, and long ago lost that small-town, laid-back quality. You may find this new smugness and coat-tail grabbing -- while basic essential city needs and problems go unaddressed -- as irritating and irresponsible.
Austin may be a liberal oasis, but it's STILL IN TEXAS. A thoroughly red state. Be prepared for local ordinances to be overturned by enemies at the legislature and in the governor's office. And if Austin didn't invent the circular firing squad, its lefties have honed it to a fine art. City politics are marked by incessant squabbling at the expense of action, nothing gets done on time or on budget, the city is ringed with Republican-voting suburbs, and in general, if you're a Democrat -- Democrats haven't won a single statewide race since the early 1990s -- or other non-Republican, be prepared to feel as if you're under siege all the time, fighting one lonesome rearguard action after another. Also, for a city that thinks it's so smart and progressive, voter turnout is shockingly low in city elections, demonstrating an unflattering level of citizen apathy.
TRAFFIC! I will say no more here about how awful Austin traffic is. I've complained about it mightily on other threads. There may be scads of things to see and do, but it won't be easy to get to them. Your job commute may be a daily nightmare. It's BAD. And getting worse every year. No lie. Check some reports or surveys, they all pretty much agree that it's not our imagination. Having hours wasted from every week starts to add up.
Water: a looming water crisis exists in Texas and this is something to study and anticipate. Water is going to become more costly for residents. Bursting at the seams cities only intensify this problem.
In general affordability, mobility, and sustainability are critical, pressing concerns for Austin, and add incentive for us to find another spot to call home.
Originally from Alexandria, VA, living in Tampa for the last 6 years. Can not wait to uproot and head back up north. Tampa has been alright but I have never once felt like this is home for me. Just long term visitation. And I hate, hate, haaaaate the summers. Anyone who tells you that you'll acclimate to FL summers is completely full of ****. I find it so sad that whenever I go anywhere with even the slightest incline or variation in topography I get giddy. That's how monotonous the landscape is down here. I will forever love FL sunsets, palm trees, and the lush greenery. And I guess I will miss being able to wear sandals all but around 2 weeks a year. That is it.
Originally from Alexandria, VA, living in Tampa for the last 6 years. Can not wait to uproot and head back up north. Tampa has been alright but I have never once felt like this is home for me. Just long term visitation. And I hate, hate, haaaaate the summers. Anyone who tells you that you'll acclimate to FL summers is completely full of ****. I find it so sad that whenever I go anywhere with even the slightest incline or variation in topography I get giddy. That's how monotonous the landscape is down here. I will forever love FL sunsets, palm trees, and the lush greenery. And I guess I will miss being able to wear sandals all but around 2 weeks a year. That is it.
As a Texan I can't help but roll my eyes at those that complain about a DC summer.
I live in Austin, have steadily since 1983 (first moved here for college in 1976 but left to live out of state a few times in the early 80s). However, even though my wife and I moved BACK to Austin TWICE from other states, I would not do so a third time; we're looking at moving out within the next year or two (under no immediate rush, and there are still some family ties in Central Texas that complicate things, but the plans are underway and in motion, steps are being taken, scouting trips have been made, and the writing's on the wall). Most likely destination? Madison, WI, a city that was always very similar to the city that Austin once was but is no longer.
OK, trying to be kind here, despite my disillusionment that is compelling us to leave:
Pros:
Um, there's plenty of sun, if that's your thing. It's getting hotter on average every year, in fact. So if you can't stand snow, and want nine months of hot to very hot summer with occasional freezing snaps, you'll be happy here (caveats to come under the CONS).
Plenty of good restaurants of all stripes for foodies, excellent grocery stores, lots of beer bars and new cocktail bars, you won't go hungry or thirsty here.
Outdoor activities are available most of the year, there's the Barton Springs Pool (when it's open), lots of joggers and runners, the Hill Country is nearby, rivers and lakes near by for water sports, golf courses, minor league baseball in Round Rock, college football at UT, all that thing.
Lots of neighborhoods to choose from, from older homes to new homes, dense neighborhoods and sprawly ones.
There IS a credible live music scene, if not always worthy of all the hype and back-patting that goes on here (people will tell you it was much better in "the old days", however that is defined). Also other artistic pursuits are valued (or at least paid lip service).
Major university draws students and academics and promotes a lot of activities.
Good job prospects in academia, medicine, government, high tech, retail, food service.
Generally liberal/progressive values and leadership at the city level.
Generally friendly and outgoing people, higher educational levels than the norm and less crime than the norm.
Lots of transplants from other regions/cities/states, if this is a plus to you; native Austinites are a rarity (even native Texans in some areas), so there is not an established order that resists making friends.
There are lots of trees here and some rolling landscapes, it's not a dusty, barren, ugly Texas landscape stereotype.
Taxes are lower here than most places; some taxes, at least. No personal income tax is the big one people always notice.
OK, now most of these PROS has a corresponding CON, plus there are new CONS as well:
There aren't really seasons here, there's just Hot Summer and Not Summer. In exchange for snow, there are nasty ice storms a few times a year, maybe, that might freeze your water pipes (local codes do not require them to be insulated, and there are no basements) and the roads will be dangerous since so many are elevated and no one here can drive on ice. There are also floods (not uncommon) throughout the region, hail storms, tornadoes, and other severe weathers. We only recently emerged from a drought and it could return at any time. There are allergens in the air all year long, bugs never truly die off, and it really will be well over 90 degrees, often close to or over a hundred, for months on end. This does affect your health and attitude if you don't enjoy it.
Along with the heat, there are plenty of hostile creatures you'll be sharing Austin with. You may not have experienced these elsewhere to this degree. Meet your neighbors the voracious mosquitos (now with West Nile virus!), ticks (Lyme disease), lots of spiders, including tarantulas, large cockroaches, sugar ants, harvester ants, fire ants, chiggers -- these make mosquito bites something you'll laugh at -- scorpions, millipedes, centipedes, every kind of poisonous snake in the US, and many of these will seek to live in your home and yard with you. A pest service could be a monthly bill. And your every trip outside after dark or your daily gardening could offer exciting prospects of danger and adventure.
You will find many neighborhoods of interest but maybe only a few that you can actually afford to live in. Housing here is among the most expensive in the state. http://austin.curbed.com/2016/9/9/12...g-market-texas COL is high here for Texas. It may not be as high as wherever you are coming from, but it's bad for locals and not in line with Texas' lower wages. This leads into...
Property taxes are high in Austin (and most major Texas cities). Rents are quite high in Austin. Sales taxes are high in Texas. This reflects lack of a state income tax. Insurance rates are also higher than average here. Property taxes in Austin in particular have become a hot topic in recent years, as the skyrocketing housing market and city spending for the new boomtimes drive up property taxes and prices many locals and fixed-income residents out of their homes. Everybody wants good schools but no one wants to pay for them, so the legislature punts responsibility to local taxing authorities. The Austin School District is not highly rated, even if surrounding districts fare better. (AISD, in fact, is LOSING students despite the boom as families are priced out of the Austin market and more new residents either are childless or live in outer areas.)
There are a lot of employers, but also a lot of job seekers. It's not uncommon for over a hundred applications to be received for a University of Texas staff job. So there's intense competition for every opening, even jobs with low pay and no benefits. Texas is a "right to work" (aka "right to starve") state, so wages are kept low and there isn't much workers' compensation protection, scanty unemployment benefits, fewer government services in general. Government, education, medical, and university jobs, which still provide the hard core of local employment despite the romance and glamor of the high tech world, tend to be lower-paid than elsewhere.
For all its liberal reputation, Austin is relatively segregated; economics and neglect and shady "redlining" have historically pushed minorities into certain neighborhoods and sectors. Gentrification of some neighborhoods is pushing out other minority residents.
The music clubs are really *not* as vibrant as they once were, and despite the partying and festivals, the excitement of the local scene has withered from what it once was. Most of the attention these days goes toward film, or interactive gaming, or newer sensations. Many of the older musicians that gave Austin its original rep are dead, inactive, or have moved away, not being able to make a living here as musicians.
Austin can be insufferable in its self-regard. It didn't used to be this way, it was once known for being laid-back, cheap, self-assured, and happy not to be Dallas or Houston. Now it's overrun with hipsters, Californians, shamelessly apes other places in hopes of being like Paris or San Antonio or Silicon Valley or LA, and long ago lost that small-town, laid-back quality. You may find this new smugness and coat-tail grabbing -- while basic essential city needs and problems go unaddressed -- as irritating and irresponsible.
Austin may be a liberal oasis, but it's STILL IN TEXAS. A thoroughly red state. Be prepared for local ordinances to be overturned by enemies at the legislature and in the governor's office. And if Austin didn't invent the circular firing squad, its lefties have honed it to a fine art. City politics are marked by incessant squabbling at the expense of action, nothing gets done on time or on budget, the city is ringed with Republican-voting suburbs, and in general, if you're a Democrat -- Democrats haven't won a single statewide race since the early 1990s -- or other non-Republican, be prepared to feel as if you're under siege all the time, fighting one lonesome rearguard action after another. Also, for a city that thinks it's so smart and progressive, voter turnout is shockingly low in city elections, demonstrating an unflattering level of citizen apathy.
TRAFFIC! I will say no more here about how awful Austin traffic is. I've complained about it mightily on other threads. There may be scads of things to see and do, but it won't be easy to get to them. Your job commute may be a daily nightmare. It's BAD. And getting worse every year. No lie. Check some reports or surveys, they all pretty much agree that it's not our imagination. Having hours wasted from every week starts to add up.
Water: a looming water crisis exists in Texas and this is something to study and anticipate. Water is going to become more costly for residents. Bursting at the seams cities only intensify this problem.
In general affordability, mobility, and sustainability are critical, pressing concerns for Austin, and add incentive for us to find another spot to call home.
If this means that insufferable liberals are finally starting to leave Austin, it might be a good time for me to move in
As a Texan I can't help but roll my eyes at those that complain about a DC summer.
After living in FL, I agree. I will punch anyone in the eye who says DC summers suck.
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