Couple Moving to Austin from NYC (Houston, El Paso: to rent, neighborhoods, schools)

[centralaustinite]

If he works at St. David, you could rent in Hyde Park, have HIM walk to work and you can take the car to teach where-ever!

You can probably find a place in your price range in Hyde Park because it mixes student apartments with expensive vintage homes. Lots of doctors live in the area! It will not be fancy, but a 1-1 in HP with washer/dryer for say $900 is doable.

You are crazy to move sight unseen though! Especially such a dramatic contrast as NYC to Austin!

[Aquitaine]

+1 centralaustinite ... what we thought we wanted before we came to look around and what we ended up with are pretty far apart!

[ImOnFiya]

I have to agree. I've noticed this NYC to Austin movement and do worry that some people don't realize that Austin would still be a massive physical and cultural adjustment (particularly from the northeast). Some of these people need to realize: they are moving to Texas, which is in the South, full of Texans, who are southerners. Please don't be surprised that in Texas, you get Texans!

[centralaustinite]

Originally Posted by ImOnFiya

I have to agree. I've noticed this NYC to Austin movement and do worry that some people don't realize that Austin would still be a massive physical and cultural adjustment (particularly from the northweast). Some of these people need to realize: they are moving to Texas, which is in the South, full of Texans, who are southerners. Please don't be surprised that in Texas, you get Texans!

Exactly!!

[TexasHorseLady]

Agree, except that Texas is not part of the South. It's just Texas, which is something very different from the south unless you carefully ignore the impact of the German, Spanish, and several other influences that arrived at the same time (or preceding) the Southern influence.

So, in Texas, you get Texans, which are a breed unto themselves.

[supernaut112]

Originally Posted by TexasHorseLady

Agree, except that Texas is not part of the South. It's just Texas, which is something very different from the south unless you carefully ignore the impact of the German, Spanish, and several other influences that arrived at the same time (or preceding) the Southern influence.

So, in Texas, you get Texans, which are a breed unto themselves.

Thank you! It rankles me when people say Texas is the "South." I've traveled around the South, and culturally, we are very dissimilar in many ways.

Texas is in the Southwest, more similar to New Mexico, Nevada, etc.

[supernaut112]

Originally Posted by MovingOut2012

Yeah, it looks like our budget does not cut it but we don't really have to be downtown or in the center of the city. I'm hoping that my husband gets a job at St David's in the city (is that considered within the downtown area?) so we could live close by and he could walk to work. Then we can increase our budget if we do not need a second car.

St. David's isn't downtown; it's central-ish, I'd say. It's north of downtown, close to the U.T. campus.

It's near a lot of bus routes, being close to the university. In fact, most of the major hospitals are close to bus routes. Hyde Park is the closest neighborhood — it's also one of Austin's oldest neighborhoods, so the architecture is lovely. It's in the 78705 zip. Lots of walkable markets, bakeries, coffee shops, etc. It's hard for me to imagine anyone not loving HP.

[ImOnFiya]

Originally Posted by supernaut112

Thank you! It rankles me when people say Texas is the "South." I've traveled around the South, and culturally, we are very dissimilar in many ways.

Texas is in the Southwest, more similar to New Mexico, Nevada, etc.

No, the Southwest didn't have Jim Crow laws. Texas did. So did the cultural Southern states. Austin is a former Jim Crow, segregationist city. It's partly why we are the way we are. It's called a legacy. You see this legacy every day. It's all around you. It's where people live. It's how people often interact. It is what it is.

[Aquitaine]

I suppose it would be un-PC of me to suggest that it is a little bit over-simple to characterize an entire culture in 2012 based on whether it ever had Jim Crow laws. It seems to me that it is entirely possible to admit Texan culpability both for its role in the civil war and the following 100 years of segregation while also finding one or two noteworthy historical and cultural elements outside of that culpability.

[ImOnFiya]

Originally Posted by Aquitaine

I suppose it would be un-PC of me to suggest that it is a little bit over-simple to characterize an entire culture in 2012 based on whether it ever had Jim Crow laws. It seems to me that it is entirely possible to admit Texan culpability both for its role in the civil war and the following 100 years of segregation while also finding one or two noteworthy historical and cultural elements outside of that culpability.

I've never said that Texas was completely the same as the South. No..but its is a close cousin. Running buddies.. two birds of a feather that flock together. As they say on the street, they're down for each other! They have each other's backs. Good old boys and all!