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There has been measureable snowfall in this area for the past 3 years. (2 separate snowfalls last year) In addition, I can remember a decent size snowfall around Valentines Day 2004. (3 inches in certain areas I believe??) There hasn't been a decent ice storm since i've lived here, but im sure there will be one coming soon.
I am not aware of any other city where you deal with 90+ 100 degree days in the summer, and then deal with windchills and snowfall in the winter. KEEP AUSTIN WEIRD!!
You wouldn't need a big ruler to measure our snowfall. A two inch stick would probably do, except in 1985 when we had two snowfalls 3 inches deep. The rather pretty snowfall we had last winter probably measured one inch. It was fun because I had a snowball fight with some of my kids' friends.
I must be blind. I don't live anywhere near central Austin. And I don't see religion "everywhere." Unless I drive by a large church on Sunday mornings when they have a cop directing traffic, I just don't see it. I don't see billboards. I see some fish stickers on cars. I have been active in some school district committees. I go to kids' sporting events. And I don't have peope asking me about church, nor asking to pray before a meeting.
This right here pretty much sums it up.
Plus the previous post that pointed out that unless YOU make an issue of it (and that really is considered sort of tacky), most people won't know, or care, what your religion is or isn't. They're much more interested in are you a good neighbor in the ways that really count on a day to day basis.
OK - TexasHorseLady I deduce that it is a question of accent. I'm a Yankee and I have occasionally (though only very, very rarely) had some fundie harassing me. I think my accent is the trigger: Texas Bible-thumpers seem to be under the impression that people north of the Mason-Dixon line are unfamiliar with the Christian religion.
As an aggressively unpleasant atheist, I feel it is my duty to annoy fundies, so I love it when they try to recruit me for their team. I think some of them may never have recovered from the experience.
Brits in Austin? I keep bumping into them, I travel to the UK a lot, lived there for several years and Brits love coming to Austin (no rain! - a Brit's idea of heaven on earth).
As for cold winters - give me a break! Freezing cold weather, snow, sleet, ice - NOBODY actually living in a freezin' cold climate likes winter. Try spending the winter living in Montreal, oh, the horror...
OK - TexasHorseLady I deduce that it is a question of accent. I'm a Yankee and I have occasionally (though only very, very rarely) had some fundie harassing me. I think my accent is the trigger: Texas Bible-thumpers seem to be under the impression that people north of the Mason-Dixon line are unfamiliar with the Christian religion.
As an aggressively unpleasant atheist, I feel it is my duty to annoy fundies, so I love it when they try to recruit me for their team. I think some of them may never have recovered from the experience.
Brits in Austin? I keep bumping into them, I travel to the UK a lot, lived there for several years and Brits love coming to Austin (no rain! - a Brit's idea of heaven on earth).
As for cold winters - give me a break! Freezing cold weather, snow, sleet, ice - NOBODY actually living in a freezin' cold climate likes winter. Try spending the winter living in Montreal, oh, the horror...
Do you live in Austin? Austin has a quite good atheist community. You'd find just as many annoying fundies in Austin as you'd find annoying atheists, which is very rare. That's what everyone's been saying, everyone in Austin is quite neutral.
Seriously, enlighten us. So Austin is more religious than the other 3 states you've lived... but what is wrong about Austin being so "religious"? I always here about this "religious" issue and how people don't like it... what's the big freakin deal?
I didn't mean my question on Church attendance to offend anyone.
But to answer your question from my view point - as a Brit I am accustomed to a 'gentler' form of Christianity.
DH's grandmother's (who for the record is from Florida not Texas) first question to me when she met me was 'Do you believe in God'.
I was a little taken aback having never been asked such a question before. I answered fully that my family and loved ones are made up of people from varied religions and I believe in being kind and equally respectful of all religions, and her response was 'I feel sorry for you and will pray for you'. I found that unelievably rude, but let it go.
Someone asking me where I go to Church wouldn't bother me in the slightest.... until they judged me for not going. Just as I wouldn't judge someone who DID go. Live and let live.
So that's what I was asking - will non Church attendance be commented on and looked down on. It sounds like the answer for the most part is no which is great. I guess I wouldn't have much of a problem with bibles being handed out - I would simply make sure my kid also had access to the books of other religions as well.
What you say is common to those from the Northeast, but your thought pattern is based on fallacies.
You need to get over the whole Norman Rockwell Christmas scenes. That is not how a majority of the world experiences Christmas, but their celebrations are still special nonetheless. Go to Australia at Christmas time and tell me what you see. It's summer there and they serve up barbecue and good times, but it's still a great time to be had.
True, but having experienced both "worlds," I much prefer the Norman Rockwell version. Some people may not, and that's fine. It was my opinion.
We may not have fall leaves but we have bluebonnets in the spring. There is no spring in the Northeast. I remember when I went to school in Pittsburgh, it snowed 10" one April. Yes, 10 inches. This was while Austin was 80 degrees and sunny.
With all due respect, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia are not a whole lot alike or even close to each other. I have very fond memories of spring in Philadelphia. They may not have bluebonnets, but the lilacs and azaleas are amazing.
We have a long mild spring that most of the Northeast doesn't get. You generally go from winter straight to summer sometime in May or something. Also, when you do get mild weather in the spring, it is usually rainy and you can't enjoy it anyway.
See above. There is a lot of rain, I'll grant you that., But it makes for lush green grass and beautiful towering trees in the Summer. And honestly, I would rather take a rainy day a week than the horridly dry year we've had here.
Our summer is hot and dry while the summer in PA is warm and humid. But we have so many swimming holes and other places to cool off.
Philly has the ocean. Last I checked, the Atlantic was a lot bigger than the watering holes here. There are also plenty of public pools if one prefers.
Our winter is mild and you can actually get outside and relax on your deck from time to time.
True. But Philly has mild summers where you can actually go out on your deck without fear of bursting into flames.
You are not depriving your kids of anything. Your kids can bike and do most sports year round here. They can swim 6 months of the year.
You can bike a fair amount of time up there too. I know, I did it. And we may not be able to swim 6 months out of the year, but we can ski and go sledding.
We don't have the culture of Philly but we have far more outdoor activities.
Have to completely disagree on this one. Philly is home to the largest park in any metropolitan area in the world, larger even than central park. And don't forget the zoo, world-class and the first in the nation. There are also 5 parks planned into the city by William Penn and over 60 neighborhood parks. And this is just Philadelphia proper, which only encompasses 135 square miles as opposed to Austin's 307. If you included the surrounding areas to equal the land space of Austin, it would literally include hundreds of neighborhood parks, including a state park and one of the largest and most highly acclaimed botanical gardens in the United States. And do't forget the historical parks like Valley Forge and Brandywine, which despite not technically being in Philadelphia city limits, are closer to Downtown Philadelphia than many parts of Austin are to the Capitol Building.
Try to enjoy what this place has to offer instead of just living in misery.
I don't recall saying I was every living in misery.
Many Americans love to flaunt their religious beliefs (or lack thereof) - not just Texans either. For me, it's a form of exhibitionism (in which I only indulge when being targeted by a fundie anxious to sell salvation) and has nothing whatsoever to do with religion. Europeans feel that religion is a private matter and Brits in particular think proselytizing is the worst possible display of bad manners and lack of respect for other people and downright rude. They're right.
Remember when Tony Blair made a declaration (after leaving No. 10) that yes, he was a Christian and yes, he was religious but in the UK openly espousing your religion will just get you called a "nutter".
While I personally have never been bothered by anyone about my beliefs, there is another side that does bother me. I have to deal with the state legislature as part of my job and it is in that capacity that the religion issue worries me the most. As I read many of the bills proposed during the past several legislative sessions, I've seen an increased emphasis on mandating certain religious beliefs (while carefully avoiding the actual word religion) into law. And that scares me. The tone of legislation is to pass laws to madate all Texans to live according to "accepted" beliefs of Christianity (albeit only certain christian-based religions). I find this very insulting to all people that are not of the accepted form of christianity (and obviously excludes all Jews, Hindus, atheists, etc.). So while you have read here about how most people have found a general tolerance among the citizens of Austin, it is the overriding threat of the legislature forcing religious views on people that worries me the greatest. And if you do consider yourselves to be liberal, keep in mind the Board of Education wanted to remove Jefferson from school history books because he created the tenet of separation of church and state. That alone speaks volumes about the tolerance level in Texas.
Re the Philly vs Austin.
I do appreciate that you bring up the differences as it definitely gives food for thought. Don't forget though that if you go to the Philly boards you will see an amazing number of extremely negative posts about there as well.
We are not huge fans of the Shore - the traffic is outrageous to get there, it literally takes hours. Fairmount Park is wonderful but not terribly central so we rarely use it and I find the summers FAR from mild. They are hot, humid and pretty miserable to this Brit who is used to milder temps!
Of course this probably means that I would struggle even more with Austin's temps during summer, so that's definitely something to consider although when I am stuck inside with the air con in Austin I would probably also be stuck inside in Philly.
I am a big fan of Philly in so many ways, but it is not 'home' to me. I find the people very friendly, but quite insular and it's been tougher to make close friends there than any other city I've ever lived in.
I do just love the Spring and Autumn with the flowers and foliage and no doubt would miss that.
Now that I am reassured that our views won't make us stand out like sore thumbs, I am a lot less concerned. I am a little worried about the loss of the walkable downtown area (which is FABULOUS in Philly), but now we're pregnant we would probably be moving to a suburb anyway, so I don't think it will be so different.
I really appreciate everyone's posts - so useful. Thanks!
I didn't mean my question on Church attendance to offend anyone.
But to answer your question from my view point - as a Brit I am accustomed to a 'gentler' form of Christianity.
DH's grandmother's (who for the record is from Florida not Texas) first question to me when she met me was 'Do you believe in God'.
I was a little taken aback having never been asked such a question before. I answered fully that my family and loved ones are made up of people from varied religions and I believe in being kind and equally respectful of all religions, and her response was 'I feel sorry for you and will pray for you'. I found that unelievably rude, but let it go.
Someone asking me where I go to Church wouldn't bother me in the slightest.... until they judged me for not going. Just as I wouldn't judge someone who DID go. Live and let live.
So that's what I was asking - will non Church attendance be commented on and looked down on. It sounds like the answer for the most part is no which is great. I guess I wouldn't have much of a problem with bibles being handed out - I would simply make sure my kid also had access to the books of other religions as well.
Well, I've never heard of Bibles being handed out either so I think you're okay. But you never know... I think you could find little enclaves of religious nuts just about anywhere you go in the country so everyone's at risk, I guess.
Here in the bay area, I've personally found more nutty people of all walks of life, religious and non-religious. The People's Temple was founded here, Harold Camping and so was the LaVeyan Satanic Church. But people don't make comments on these "liberal" meccas... they just assume that there is liberty from religious movements when that's far from the idea. Liberty is expressing your beliefs and not being oppressed by some government. That means an eccentric homosexual can run around naked in one block, while a bible-thumping Christian will be shouting at you in your face telling you, you need Jesus. (I've seen it happened with my own eyes)
I personally feel that there is more of a small liberal vibe in its truest sense of the word. Everybody has the live and let live personality.... at least, for the most part. Don't be surprised if you find some religious nutty asking you questions... most likely, those people are everywhere. But for the most part everyone will be happy you've finally realized that Austin is a great place to call home. Enjoy the music. The tex-mex. The bbq. That's all that really matters.
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