Never been to Austin, TX: Please describe it (Dallas, San Antonio: crime rate, house prices)

[sinking]

Originally Posted by cBach

But you have to admit this weather is probably the best in the nation right now. I'll worry about 100 degrees when that happens in June. Until then, we get a few months of weather that people in the Northeast/Midwest would die for!

Yes, this is very nice. It is warm enough for shorts but not so hot my shorts are soaked in sweat.

[cBach]

Originally Posted by sinking

Yes, this is very nice. It is warm enough for shorts but not so hot my shorts are soaked in sweat.

And what's the temp back in MA right now?

[kbchitown]

Originally Posted by cBach

But you have to admit this weather is probably the best in the nation right now. I'll worry about 100 degrees when that happens in June. Until then, we get a few months of weather that people in the Northeast/Midwest would die for!

Hmmm....was just in the teens (for the low) just a mere 3 weeks ago....then just damp and humid...gee, that's the best!

[mark311]

Originally Posted by cBach

I'll worry about 100 degrees when that happens in June.

Or May. It started to hit the mid 90's last year in the first week of May. Hopefully we'll have two full months of weather like this without too many hailstorms mixed in like we've seen the last few years in March/April. I'm trying to make room in the garage now for the cars in preparation for the hail.

[spelrod]

Yea those lows were killer, you know, in the middle of the night when everyone is asleep or for that quick walk from house to car to go to work in the morning. WORST WEATHER EVER!

[rickc007]

Originally Posted by cBach

And what's the temp back in MA right now?

Slated to be 10 degrees tonight,
Weather you would freeze to death in, literally

Is anyone under the impression it doesn't reach 100, or so, in the North East ???

Summers in Connecticut were brutal, New York also
Lasted 6-8 weeks, but brutal. And Humid.
Wanna say, worse than here

Again, grass is always greener....
I'm quite happy with Austins weather

[cBach]

Originally Posted by kbchitown

Hmmm....was just in the teens (for the low) just a mere 3 weeks ago....then just damp and humid...gee, that's the best!

damp and humid? The humidity has been like 13% or so.

[phareign]

There is no mosquito problem in Austin. Maybe in San Antonio, but not in Austin. There are lots and lots of bats that eat all the mosquitos. Many tourists go to see the bats, they live under the congress bridge. I have lived in Austin since 2006, and I have yet to experience one mosquito bite. You will see an occasional cockroach in both San Antonio and Austin, even in the cleanest of places. You will have to learn to get over it. They are big, one inch or longer, and they fly. Some are two inches. This will really freak someone from the NE out.

[phareign]

For a longer response, the traffic is REALLY bad for anyone traveling north or south during rush hours, but never gets that bad if you are going east or west. Of course, if you lived here for awhile, you learn tricks to evade traffic if you need to travel north or south. As far as friendliness goes, you need to earn the respect of people in Austin before they will become friends with you. However, they are all really friendly to everybody in a professional way. The city is dynamic, and it changes a lot, so it is hard to generalize it. The one thing many people like about Austin may be a negative, and that is that people generally will leave you alone and you can live the kind of life you want. Really, no one will be into your business and no one will honestly care. This is true no matter where you choose to live in Austin. It is really hard to be heard, and there are a lot of political problems. It is really corrupted and bad. It will shock you. But at the same time, Austin is also the place of activism. Various groups march up and down Congress at least once a month. A lot of famous people come to Austin. Politicians, movie stars, musicians. SXSW is pretty neat. I was just walking around downtown and I saw Spike Lee because he was there for his premiere, and I decided to go see it. All SXSW films are only $10. All the politicians make a stop on their campaign trails. You definitely feel like you are in the middle of it all, but it is really congested and expensive. A lot of the hippie movement has been replaced by other movements, but it still remains present. Austin is still proud of being blue. (However, many of the real hippies are being priced out and they moved to San Marcos). There are still a lot of co-ops and vegan places to go to. Central Market is also a good place to go for Vegan Food. The college areas and downtown areas are more for young adults than families, but there are often events put on by the city geared toward families. There is also lots of parks, hiking trails, and you can also go canoeing. The one thing neat about Austin is that there really are no really dangerous areas. The most that will happen is that you may get your car broken into, and that is anywhere in the city. That is not true with San Antonio. In Austin, there are some people that meet that stereotypical Texas definition, but they live mostly on the outskirts. You may hear an occasional accent, and of course people from ranches go to Austin for various business or political reasons as often as anyone else. Austin is the capital after all. No one meets the Texas stereotype in San Antonio. In San Antonio, people are either REALLY clean cut business type professionals, in the Military, or they are completely ghetto and proud of it. They have a saying in San Antonio to combat Austin's, and that is "Keep San Antonio Lame." As far as live music goes, it is a little over rated. There are some really good home grown bands, but it is kind of hard for those born in Austin to compete. You will find several bars playing live music at any given time on Sixth Street, but if you are over the age of thirty you will feel kind of out of place. Not only is it over run with UT students, but it is also over run with Texas State students. People that live in Austin rarely go there, unless there is a birthday or a special occasion. There are a lot of homeless people, and they are on every corner of every single intersection. I heard that other cities like Houston buy their homeless one way bus tickets to Austin, so it has always been a problem. Most men in Austin are obsessed with college football and Saturday is the real game day, so be prepared for that. Where ever you work regardless of what profession you do, you will find men obsessed with college football. You will find a lot of people wearing orange. They are very anti-Aggie. Tailgating is also a really big activity. There is also one thing that will shock you about Texas whether it is Austin or San Antonio and that is Friday Night Lights. The movies and TV shows don't do it justice. Check out the high school football games. Not mentioned by a lot of people, but there are also six improv schools here as well. They often bring in improv groups from LA, New York, and Chicago to perform.

[eepstein]

I NEVER said Austin was the worst city in the country. There are FAR worse places to be. Don't put words in my mouth please. I simply am stating that Austin is nothing more than mediocre at BEST and will never live up to the "media hype" that so many people base their opinions on.

Live music in AUstin? Yet another media hype. Been to westport in KC, Downtown Denver, even downtown Sac and NONE of these places are any worse than what Austin has to offer (just way less inmature college kids running around) I speak from experience sir. Many here have never left Texas and just like to base their opinions off of the media.

Originally Posted by feconi

As usual, your posts are grounded in utter ignorance.

Your statement regarding Austin's music scene being "no [better] than any other comparably sized city in the nation" is a worthy contribution to your ever-expanding catalog of clueless generalizations and hyperbole.

Your schtick is tiresome. We know you think (based on your "extensive" travel experience) that Austin is the worst city in the country in literally every regard.

Of course you are entitled to your opinion. You hate Austin; I don't care and I'm not going to try to change your mind. But once again, your posts tread into the territory of falsehood. I suppose one of these days, you'll learn...