What's the best thing about living in Austin? (Spring, Center: hotel, restaurants)

[eepstein]

Interesting comment...the number of wintertime cloudy days in Austin could EASILY rival most cities in the northeast. The only difference is it's warmer overcast.

Don't agree with me? Just see how many clear, or mostly clear days you have in Austin during the winter months. Aint too many sir.

Originally Posted by Aquitaine

I'll take 'frequent temperature changes' and 'cloudy' over the Northeast any day of the week.

[Aquitaine]

I've spent my life in the Northeast and I don't mind clouds. I mind temperatures in the single digits with wind chill below zero.

I don't think Austin is some kind of tropical mecca, and I'll be longing for my Northeast climate in the Summertime. But I'll be quite happy in the wintertime!

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by joeandmich

What's the best thing about living in Austin?

Going sailing in January!

[Danimarie]

Noticed the opposing thread was getting more love, so thought I would dig this up to see if there were any more replies. I'm feeling a bit negative towards Austin right now and I'm trying to see the positives. Been here about a year and a half myself.

So far, my positives are that my husband found a good job here (though cost of living can detract some from that.) And the weather in the late fall, winter and early spring is pretty good. We also enjoy that it is a bit more friendly here than we experienced up in the north.

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by Danimarie

Noticed the opposing thread was getting more love, so thought I would dig this up to see if there were any more replies. I'm feeling a bit negative towards Austin right now and I'm trying to see the positives. Been here about a year and a half myself.

So far, my positives are that my husband found a good job here (though cost of living can detract some from that.) And the weather in the late fall, winter and early spring is pretty good. We also enjoy that it is a bit more friendly here than we experienced up in the north.

I'll take the mid-upper 60s between Xmas and New Years...nice

[Danimarie]

There are more homeschooling resources and the laws on homeschooling are more relaxed in Texas than in other states.

Also, less concern about tornados compared to places like DFW and no hurricanes like in Houston.

[lighthouse2000]

Originally Posted by Danimarie

I thought cost of living was bad here. It is getting worse each year, but maybe it will slow down soon??

Anyway, I just looked up Billings, MT(163,000 people) and Bemidji, MN(a little over 12,000 people) to compare cost of living and it is cheaper here than both of those places! It's 14% cheaper here than Billings, and 4% cheaper here than Bemidji! Couldn't believe it. Those were two places I lived before. So, I changed my mind, cost of living here isn't as bad as I thought and can definitely be listed on the best things about living here side for now.

Hi,

I have been looking for a great place to live for my family, we live in Utah, and it has been great, it is safe with good schools and good people, yet, the weather is not the best, unless you like snow. The prices for real estate are very similar to Austin, but...

Texas does not have income tax, or taxes in foods like Utah, so advantage Austin..

Austin real estate taxes are high but in my case, I still would be saving a bundle because income tax and other taxes that are lower in Austin.

Austin has more diversity, most of Utah is not like that, one religion is over 85% and that can be a little too much for some, and there is not a lot of racial diversity, the main minority is Spanish and it is only about 10% of the population in Utah although I have to say that there is not widespread racism contrary to what some people believe.

Schools are very good in some specific areas in Austin, I think even better than in Utah for what I have seen and read.

I have also look at many other places in the country, and it seems that from the financial point of view, Austin and Texas in general seems to be ahead, It is true that Austin real estate is going up, but compared with most places, this is a great place to buy.

Also, the business environment seems to be very good and the job market keeps expanding.

The weather may be really hot for 4-5 months, but I think it is easier to work with heat than with temperatures under 20 and driving on iced streets.

I will be in Austin scouting for properties for my family and also my brother who just bought a couple of franchises, so I am very excited with the possibilities..

[scm53]

Originally Posted by lighthouse2000

The weather may be really hot for 4-5 months, but I think it is easier to work with heat than with temperatures under 20 and driving on iced streets.

I had a house full of Yankees last evening - they were all wolfing down my tamales and chili, so guess they are becoming acclimated. Anyway, one - who has lived here twenty years - says, "In all the time I've lived here, I've never had to shovel heat." All agreed.

[Danimarie]

Originally Posted by lighthouse2000

Hi,

I have been looking for a great place to live for my family, we live in Utah, and it has been great, it is safe with good schools and good people, yet, the weather is not the best, unless you like snow. The prices for real estate are very similar to Austin, but...

I deleted my post before, but seems you quoted it first. Oh well, I guess I could have just left it. The reason I deleted it is because I'm not sure how accurate the website was about estimating cost of living, but I looked at another site and it came up with somewhat similar figures, so I guess it was alright for giving a general idea of things. I am so happy to be away from winters. I've spent my life up north until moving here a year and a half ago. Summers are quite brutal, but at least in the early part of the morning you can get outside for a bit. You can't really go outside much in the winter where I'm originally from. And if you do, you better really bundle up. 20 below zero is no joke...

Another positive. You don't have to worry about salt breaking down the bottom of your car so that it may eventually separate from it. My mom and I both had that happen.

I would not choose to live in Utah myself. So, if it were me, I'd probably move if I could. This is not a bad place to live. I was being all negative nelly about it for a bit, but I think I've came back to reality now. You can always find things you don't like about a place. Overall, this is a pretty decent place to live as long as you have a good job. It's not the only place to live though. So, make sure you look at all your options before setting all your hopes on something. I will say, this is the best place I've lived so far. For what that's worth.

[lighthouse2000]

Originally Posted by scm53

I've never had to shovel heat." All agreed.

Best quote ever!!