Possible relocation to Austin (Portland, OR, or Boulder, CO) from Chicago suburbs (Dallas: job market)

[ronpaul12]

As I have heard nothing but wonderful things about your city. So far, this is what my impression is of Austin: hot, socially open minded, with an array of different types of people. Basically a relatively large city with a small town feel. I also love the "Keep Austin weird" slogan as I am strongly anti-corporatism and pro-middle class.

A little about me. I turn 20 tomorrow, and was raised in the Chicago suburbs. While I enjoy my time in the city during the summer, I happen to be no fan of the long unbearable winters and our suburbs. I hate generalizations, but for the most part our suburbs are flooded with kids who fascinate and glorify the gangsta image at the hands of the media. And to generalize further, the majority of people here are simply trapped by materialism.

I am currently a dispatcher for a trucking company but am not sure if I would be able to find a similar position in Austin. I am looking for a place with simple, yet interesting and open minded people. I'm into hiking, jet-skiing, swimming, politics, movies, music, art, and mainly meeting as many memorable people as possible.

I'm also looking at Portland, Oregon and Boulder, Colorado and am keeping my options open but the lower cost of living and absence of an income tax makes Austin especially appealing.

So I would like to know if Austin has what I'm looking for? How green is Austin? I found Dallas to be too dry for my liking. How about nature, any cool places or lakes to get away from the stress of everyday life? I would also like to know if there are places to go for organic fresh fruits and vegetables at reasonable prices. Also, what do you like and dislike about Austin? Sorry for the abundance of questions but I would like to gather all the information I can before deciding where I should plan a visit to. Thanks for reading.

[h886]

Austin is, in general, a lovely place to live. If you can find a job, move. If you can't find a job, make sure to save up at least a 6 month cushion before coming--the job market is tough in some fields with tons of people moving here every week and not as many jobs available as the media would like you to believe. Really depends on what field you're in whether you can hopefully find something quickly, or expect to be waiting tables.

This is probably not a good time to be asking us about the climate being dry or cool places to get away to. I don't know if you've been following the news, but we've been in an awful drought/heat wave for a long time now. It's worse this year, sure, but our summers are always similar to this--hot and dry for a long time. You're right, it's a tradeoff from living up north because our winters are lovely and very mild. But we've had 50+ days over 100 so far this year, and it's been in the 90's basically every day since April and will likely stay that way through mid-October. I too, prefer the heat, but make sure you really understand what you're in for before moving. We're actually not as green as Dallas. Well, it depends how you look at it. Dallas has more green grass and it rains more there, but we do have rolling hills, which they don't.

We do have a lot of good organic options here in Austin, but like everywhere else, they come at a price. There's a reason they call it "Whole Paycheck" instead of Whole Foods.

[kiacook]

How green is Austin? I found Dallas to be too dry for my liking.

I think Austin and Dallas have very similar climates. Austin will likely be too dry for you.