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I am not sure if the OP still comes on here. But I was just wondering if you made the move to Austin. If so, do you like living there? How was your experience?
I am in a similar place. I currently live about 3-4 hours from DC. I am looking at moving to either Austin or a few other cities. The thing that draws me to Austin is the weather and the lifestyle. It seems like a laid back city. It's not huge, but not small. I am concerned about getting around. I don't plan on buying a car for at least a year. I pan on going to the community college there. And I want to learn the city, find steady work and make sure it's a place i can call home before I worry about the extra expense. Also diversity if very important to me.
i frequent dc area often and dc. it is not similar at all
hell its different in so many ways!
you will need a car unless you live downtown which is very expensive or south central sort of right below the lake. 78704 zip code other than that Austin is great
I haven't posted on these boards in a while, so pardon me if I'm rusty!
I currently live in the DC area. I visited Santa Fe in 2006, stayed there for a week and loved it. I was vacillating back and forth between whether or not I should move there. DC is very accessible with a lot of things close by and I don't need a car, but I feel DC is cold (attitude-wise), too much about status and people are more concerned about who you work for. I've made friends here but it was hard. I also feel it's very congested, and I'm tired of getting ran over by cyclists, joggers (solo, running with a partner, running with a stroller, running with a dog, and so forth) when I'm simply trying to walk somewhere. I'm Santa Fe was the opposite. People were very friendly, there was plenty of room for me to walk without feeling like I was going to bump into someone every five seconds, and there's that art culture I really like. However, Santa Fe's not very accessible, I hear that health care isn't that great, the weather's all over the place (60 the day I arrived and 30 and snowing the day I left) and I would need a car. That, and compared to DC it's slower-paced.
That said, a few people told me to consider Austin. I hear that though Austin isn't as accessible as DC it's still possible to get around without a car, the weather's warmer (I can definitely live without a snowy winter), it's laid back and very artsy. It's making me wonder if Austin is the place for me.
My concerns are the following:
Would I have access to decent health care here? I'm healthy, it's just that I've been happy for the most part with DC's health care, and hope to find that in a new environment.
What is the crime rate? (I've dealt with a lot of street harassment living in DC and was attacked at the Metro last year, and would love to live somewhere where this nonsense is not the norm.)
I know the cost of living is lower than the DC area, so would I be able to find a decent job? (I've been doing mostly support jobs with a side job doing editing, and I would love to segue into writing/editing.)
I'm black, and heard that Austin's not as diverse as DC. I'm not one who wants to live around only one or two races (and I'm not one who wants to only live around black people), so diversity's important to me. Would I find that here?
I'm in my late 20s and not really into the party scene. I feel as if the condo where I live is like a dorm of rich, entitled snobs just out of college who stumble home loud and drunk in the late hours and don't care about how disrespectful that is. Don't get me wrong I still enjoy the nightlife from time to time and am not ready to retire anytime soon, but I want to live around people close to my age but at the same time have more to do than get wasted and party.
I don't own a car in DC, so I rely on public transportation or I walk (I love walking). I hear that Austin's public transportation is mostly buses and a light rail. I hear there's also a car-share program. Would I manage without a car here or is it necessary to buy one?
I'm sure other questions will come up, but if you help with the ones I've posted so far I'd truly appreciate it. (I do want to visit Austin as well, and may do that this spring.)
I nearly relocated to DC before moving to Dallas a few years ago. Thank you for posting your questions because I am researching cities to relocate to and Austin is on the list. Everything you highlighted in your post is similar to my situation. I'll definitely read up on this and other threads. Thanks again for your post.
Best wishes to you on your relocation.
Last edited by freespiritbty; 05-05-2011 at 07:22 PM..
Lots of people here post questions similar to yours. I'll try to include some of what you might hear.
Health care - I am a long time resident with a family (including extended senior family). I have no concerns at all with health care - whether routine or cardiovascular surgery. But there is no "Austin" health care per se. What you use will depend on your healthcare plan.
The violent crime rate in Austin has historically been very low. 2010 has seen a bump in shootings but I don't know if this is a spike or not. I think most people would say they feel very safe in Austin. Property crimes are slightly higher than the national averages but it is not widespread.
The job market is tight. Better than many other areas, but still tough. DC is said to have the best job market in the US now because of the massive growth in federal hiring. So it may be difficult to find a job.
Lots of choices in night life. The college age kids of course have their stuff. But live music is very strong and there are many places to hear it. Austin's music scene is very light on jazz, good in many other types, but I cannot believe the R&B scene compares to DC.
Austin has diversity, but has nowhere near the black % of DC. Austin has few ethnic concentrations except in East Austin - where many of lower economic status live. Some of that is changing (gentrifying). There has historically been some tension between the black community and city leadership including the police. But it is my opinion that local NAACP leaders inflame every incident and they raise tension, not lower it. I think the separation of people around Austin is driven far more by economics than ethnicity or sexual preference.
I cannot imagine living in Austin without a car unless you just don't need to go anyplace. If you live in the downtown areas ($$) you could probably do without a car. Except when you wanted to get to areas outside central Austin or visit another city.
very informative, especially about the health care, crime, and diversity. Thank you.
Last edited by freespiritbty; 05-05-2011 at 07:23 PM..
Precisely, to you it is a non-issue, but for the OP it is one of HER concerns. And, at the risk of pummeling this polemic for the umpteenth time and riling the CD sentinels and provoking their claims of "reverse-racism", I will say the following as it pertains to myself and myself only.
What does diversity mean to ME?
Diversity does not, nor to my mind should it, only mean racial diversity. When I state that I hope to live in a community with diversity I would like for that community to reflect diversity of religions, culture, class, education, and yes ethnic and national origin. But diversity only matters if communities of difference are capable of interacting with one another socially. That does not happen in Austin. Don't believe me? How many African Americans or Latinos did you see out at the Gypsy Trailer Festival (or whatever it was called) this past weekend? Or how about at the Fun, Fun, Fun Music Festival? Let's try the reverse. A few years ago when Austin had its Urban Music Festival (strange that the promoters chose this title) featuring Cameo and Chaka Khan, there were African Americans sparsely populating auditorium shores, but next to none of the regularly assembled tattooed, hipster, Cactus Cafe hippie crowds (aka the white folks). This is to say nothing of the fact that Austin is incredibly segregated with respect to its geography. Austin's wealth segregation is equivalent to race segregation. Those in Austin who have, tend to be of a lighter shade; those in Austin who have not, tend to be of a darker shade. Granted, this phenomenon is not particular to Austin, but what makes it unpalatable for me is that Austin ignores this while it continues to sing its own praises high and wide about how "diverse" and "welcoming" it is.
Why do I love living in a genuinely diverse community?
Outside of the fact that it means I don't always have to be the only non-white person at the bar or the closest thing to a black person at the party? Or the fact that it means white people who've come from a somewhat diverse background or surroundings will not ask me ridiculous things like, "Is that your real hair?" Or, "Your hair is so kinky and exotic! Can I touch it?" because they've actually been around people of color and are therefore a bit more culturally sensitized and not as apt to make asinine comments? Is this me being racist against white people? Do I have a "racial axe to grind?" No. If anything, I am probably one of the few types of minorities some whites in Austin find themselves comfortable associating with because I do what are considered "white" things (listen to Arcade Fire in addition to Tupac, attend public lectures on Latin American economics, read The New Yorker and Harper's, listen to NPR, articulate my thoughts with clarity, etc.). But consider this, even though whites in Austin might not find me "threatening", I would never, NEVER in all of my life think it appropriate to walk up to a white woman and say, "Wow, your hair is so straight, can I run my fingers through it?" But I put up with the opposite all of the time. Being exoticized because people have never grown up around someone different from themselves is not fun, not fun at all.
Besides that, there is the fact that for myself, living in diverse communities means I will have the good fortune of learning about people unlike myself because the world is more than what I've known. Recently I accompanied a friend and her family for Ethiopian food at a restaurant in Houston called The Blue Nile. Even though the restaurant was in the midst of hosting a wedding reception, they permitted us to eat. It was the best eating experience of my year. We were greeted with Ethiopian music, dancing, and smiles. The wedding party gave us some of their cake, invited us to dance with them, and join in their festivities. I was exposed to something new, something different from what I know, and that is why for me, I prefer diverse communities. When I lived in Oakland I was able to eat Persian food, Filipino food, Chinese food, and Thai food for free and within the same week because it was all made for me by friends or people I knew, because I was lucky enough to live amongst people from diverse backgrounds. This is to say nothing of the diverse culinary offerings which abounded in the East Bay. And for me, it's not just the food, it's the idea of learning about new forms of art, new forms of music, new forms of dance, and new forms of literature. I remind myself that there is this thing called the world out there, and that I've but one opportunity to learn as much about it as possible. I am not fortunate enough to have the money for the type of travel I would love to do, but I still intend to try new things and become better as a result of them. As it pertains to myself, not living in a diverse community is akin to taking a vacation and asking where the McDonald's is--what's the point? Why not open yourself up to new things?
To say that people are "placing such importance on race" when deciding upon a place to relocate is to vastly oversimplify the reason why diversity is often a metric for some. It's not important for everyone, and that's fine, too. Some people are perfectly content to live in surroundings which are not so diverse and therefore avoid the prospect of engaging someone different on a day to day basis. If they want diversity they'll visit the local Tex-Mex restaurant once a week and let that suffice as their exposure to "culture." I'm not such a person and I believe that many who profess a desire for diversity do so because they have their own brand of brio when it comes to how they experience life. To each his or her own.
I am not sure if the OP still comes on here. But I was just wondering if you made the move to Austin. If so, do you like living there? How was your experience?
I'm still here on the boards (off and on), and to answer your question, no. Unfortunately I'm not in a situation where it's feasible for me to move at the moment or even simply visit the area. But hopefully I will one day. I do want to check it out for myself.
But wherever I end up I hope I'm just happy.
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Likewise and great questions
Well put and THANK YOU!!
