Potential move to Austin. Bit concerned. (West, Weir: school district, living in, vs.)

[robino2001]

Originally Posted by eepstein

A city that frequently gets below 0 (celcius), has even colder windchills, and snowfall every year isn't the tropical "paradise" the campaigns make them out to be.

WTF are you talking about? I can count the snow events of my 28 years in SA/Austin on one hand and if you want to add in the ice events, I'll add in my second hand. Almost all of those are 1 day events with the exception of Jan 07 which lasted 3 days (IIRC). So yeah - snowfall every year - exactly. I believe I've seen snow accumulation 4 times - the good sized one in '85, then maybe 0.1 in and 0.25 in (forget the years), and then whatever you got this past winter (we had ~0.5 in where I was).

[cBach]

Originally Posted by lemonlime22

Your experience in PA is that of an adult--you went to college there, right? The 10" snow day you described is HEAVEN for children.

Not everyone who disagrees with you does so because they "have a thought pattern based on fallacy". Your hubris is stunning.

It's a good thing you came back to TX, sounds like you were "miserable" in PA.

You didn't get the picture at all . What I was saying was the whole white Christmas scene is a little bit hyped up. I was reading an article where it was talking about how Halloween is quickly becoming almost as popular as Christmas, because people in Southern and Western states can relate and participate in Halloween better. Everyone has pumpkins and can dress up, and in the south your daughter can wear that fairy princess costume without a jacket! However, except for the Midwest, Northeast, and upper elevation parts of the West, most of the country does NOT get a white Christmas. That includes such large cities as Los Angeles, San Francisco, Phoenix, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Charlotte, Miami, Tampa, Memphis, Nashville, and not even Portland or Seattle and they are far north but because of their moderate climates while it is cold and rainy it rarely is white at Christmas. Also, cusp cities such as St. Louis and Kansas City rarely get a white Christmas either. Believe me I lived there, we only had 1 white Christmas in 5 years there.

Yes, it was as an adult that I lived in PA. 10" around Christmas is a novelty. 10" in April when it's the springtime is frustratingly annoying. I think even kids by April want the winter to be over.

Yes I was happy to finally leave the PA climate. I really enjoyed my time at CMU, however, but it was mainly the friends I made, and the great academics and the knowledgeable professors, not the weather. The weather sucked most of the time I was there, but CMU is a great school nonetheless.

[dave bacon]

Come on in hoboken, the water's fine - Austin is full of friendly people and is a great town, welcome!

[TexasHorseLady]

I find it fascinating that people who are not from Texas think everyone in Texas is anti-abortion, when Sarah Weddington (the attorney in Roe v. Wade) is not only a Texas native, was married at the time to a Texas Congressman, but went on to serve in the Texas legislature for three terms (which means she got elected here in the 1970's, after arguing and winning that case before the Supreme Court).

Prejudice is a very insidious thing.

[tazbigdog]

You'll love it here. Just moved from north of Philly here and my in-laws tagged along too. You'll like it better here. BTW there is no state income tax here.

[nonexpat]

I'm from the North, not the Northeast, but I liked living in Austin. We have just moved to New Mexico, and my high school aged son is working hard to keep his GPA high enough, so he can go to school at UT. He really loves Austin.

Having said that, only after I escaped the terrible heat when we moved in August, did I realize how oppressive it is. Living in a decent climate now is wonderful. I loved hiking on the trails around Barton Springs and walking my dog downtown by Town Lake, but once those 100 degree temps came 'round in May already--I was done.

We are Jewish, and while Wisconsin, my home state is mainly Catholic and Lutheran, these denominations don't have the missionary zeal that the fundamentalist Christians in the south have. I had many people ask me what church do we go to. My kids had other kids telling them they were going to hell. Bibles were handed out on school property right next to the buses at Murchison Middle School. I got an email inviting my daughter to a social club last year. We were very happy, so I emailed back about the details. It turned out it was a Christian Bible study, and they were not upfront at all. It is called "Wyldlife", which means nothing to me, but they said it was for a pizza party. Then once you get there they talk about Jesus. I don't have a problem with people inviting my kid to a Bible study, but be upfront, so I can choose whether I want that for my child. I'm sure these people would love it if a Wiccan invited their kid for pizza and then started preaching about witchcraft.

Yet, I liked living in Austin. Lots of hipsters, great food trucks, beautiful scenery, laid-back people, more liberal than most of Texas. I still own a house there, and would think about moving back there.

[TexasHorseLady]

Okay, this is so weird. I keep reading from folks about how they are asked all the time what religion they are and are proslytized to on a regular basis. I've lived in Texas for 62 years now and I am NEVER asked these questions nor does anyone ever try to convert me or my children. (Except, of course, occasionally a couple of Jehovah's Witnesses or Latter Day Saints will come to the door and they leave immediately, and politely, when I decline. That happens maybe once every four or five years.)

I've developed a theory that it's very similar to cats. You know how cats can tell when people don't like them or are afraid of them and those are the very people whose laps they'll insist on jumping in because they know they'll get a big response? Some "Christians" (and I use that term very advisedly here) are like that about people who are the very people who are most likely to be offended by/frightened by someone actually mentioning religion in their presence and those are the folks they ask the question of, leaving the rest of us who could care less one way or the other alone.

Anyone else got a better explanation of why some folks apparently get asked this question all the time in those places they perceive to be a hotbed of fundamentalism while the vast majority never, ever hear it?

[nonexpat]

Originally Posted by TexasHorseLady

Okay, this is so weird. I keep reading from folks about how they are asked all the time what religion they are and are proslytized to on a regular basis. I've lived in Texas for 62 years now and I am NEVER asked these questions nor does anyone ever try to convert me or my children. (Except, of course, occasionally a couple of Jehovah's Witnesses or Latter Day Saints will come to the door and they leave immediately, and politely, when I decline. That happens maybe once every four or five years.)

I've developed a theory that it's very similar to cats. You know how cats can tell when people don't like them or are afraid of them and those are the very people whose laps they'll insist on jumping in because they know they'll get a big response? Some "Christians" (and I use that term very advisedly here) are like that about people who are the very people who are most likely to be offended by/frightened by someone actually mentioning religion in their presence and those are the folks they ask the question of, leaving the rest of us who could care less one way or the other alone.

Anyone else got a better explanation of why some folks apparently get asked this question all the time in those places they perceive to be a hotbed of fundamentalism while the vast majority never, ever hear it?

Yes, I agree. I have a frightened look on my face and walk around with garlic bulbs around my neck to fend off the crosses.

I don't care if people mention religion, but I do care if I'm sent a bulk email from my kid's middle school inviting my child to a pizza party, which is actually a Christian Bible study. They don't mention that because they don't want to frighten off the heathens.

How would my across the street neighbor who had met me for exactly two minutes while I'm getting the mail get a vibe from me that I'm "frightened" about religion? I wouldn't even imagine that a stranger would ask me what church do I belong to. It never happened in Wisconsin because you were either Lutheran, Catholic or would find your own place of worship.

I lived 30 years of my life in Wisconsin. Nobody ever asked me that question. Don't tell me it happens in Texas because I give off a frightened vibe.

[love roses]

I have to wonder too, because I've lived most of my life here and never had that happen either. Sometimes if you go to a festival, there are evangelical types pushing literature, but I don't equate that to being chased on a daily basis about my faith or lack thereof. I also get the random Mormon or Jehovah's Witness at my door, but I tell them I'm not interested and they go away.

[TexasHorseLady]

Well, like I said, it's a (more or less humorous, depending on your sense of humor, of course) theory. And it doesn't have to be a frightened vibe - could be an aggressive one, or could be a blinking light on your forehead that's invisible to you but visible to the "Christians" (sort of like the one that only cats can see ).

Like I said, I'm open to other theories to explain the apparent fact that only people that object to it are ever asked these kinds of questions.

As for a bulk email from your child's school (sent on behalf of the school, was it?) inviting your child to a disguised Bible Study, if it was, indeed, send from the school and it was a public school, there are definite laws against that. I'd want more details, of course, of what actually happened, but if it was as occurred and the school sent the invitation, then they need to be turned in.

Anyway, what's your explanation for the condundrum that so many people are never, ever asked that question or anything like it in decades of living here but a few seem to be asked it every time they walk out their front door?