Potentially moving to Austin, TX in 2014, advice?! (Houston, Dallas: crime, home)

[EzPeterson]

Originally Posted by monkeypony

austin is looking nice for potential retirement community. any advice on suburbs close by austin for retirees to live, walk friendly preferred near hospitals and ammenities...
no children, have pets.

As a retirement area, Austin really doesn't work well for what you're looking for. Most of the suburbs are car or bike dependent, add the 2.5%-3% property taxes and it can alter the picture.

[KFC_Or_Bust]

Originally Posted by Komeht

Frankly you're dead wrong. Traffic In Austin is terrible and regularly listed on worst commutes in the nation comparable to metros much much larger than Austin.

You've never traveled if you think Austin traffic is bad. At least it MOVES. I used to regularly travel to NYC when I lived in Connecticut and traffic could be at a standstill for miles no matter the time of day or location... At least Austin traffic is somewhat predictable and like someone said, if you know your way around you can easily avoid most traffic situations. If the highway infrastructure was better here (aka a loop!) it would be like a Sunday drive at any time of day!

[Komeht]

Originally Posted by KFC_Or_Bust

You've never traveled if you think Austin traffic is bad. At least it MOVES. I used to regularly travel to NYC when I lived in Connecticut and traffic could be at a standstill for miles no matter the time of day or location... At least Austin traffic is somewhat predictable and like someone said, if you know your way around you can easily avoid most traffic situations. If the highway infrastructure was better here (aka a loop!) it would be like a Sunday drive at any time of day!

Hogwash. I could cut and paste articles listing Austin one of the worst cities for traffic all day. Adding loop to Austin would relieve traffic about as well as it did in Houston and Atlanta and DC and all those other great traffic disasters. And at least in cities like DC and NYC there were great options when traffic was snarled...I actually lived in DC for over a year w/o a car. Didn't sit in a traffic jam once in the entire time because DC has an incredible metro system that Austin will be never have.

[Komeht]

Originally Posted by KFC_Or_Bust

You've never traveled if you think Austin traffic is bad. At least it MOVES. I used to regularly travel to NYC when I lived in Connecticut and traffic could be at a standstill for miles no matter the time of day or location... At least Austin traffic is somewhat predictable and like someone said, if you know your way around you can easily avoid most traffic situations. If the highway infrastructure was better here (aka a loop!) it would be like a Sunday drive at any time of day!

Austin's traffic third-worst in U.S., report says | www.statesman.com

10 Worst Traffic Cities in the U.S. - weather.com

Going Nowhere: 10 Worst U.S. Cities for Traffic | TIME.com

Worst traffic in America? Hint: It's not Los Angeles. - CSMonitor.com

[gtmo]

Originally Posted by Komeht

Austin's traffic third-worst in U.S., report says | www.statesman.com

10 Worst Traffic Cities in the U.S. - weather.com

Going Nowhere: 10 Worst U.S. Cities for Traffic | TIME.com

Worst traffic in America? Hint: It's not Los Angeles. - CSMonitor.com

Three of these links reference the same exact study.

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by Komeht

Austin's traffic third-worst in U.S., report says | www.statesman.com

10 Worst Traffic Cities in the U.S. - weather.com

Going Nowhere: 10 Worst U.S. Cities for Traffic | TIME.com

Worst traffic in America? Hint: It's not Los Angeles. - CSMonitor.com

Originally Posted by gtmo

Three of these links reference the same exact study.

Komeht never lets facts stand in the way of his hysterics.

Lets look at the facts, what do these reports actually say?

Austin's traffic third-worst in U.S., report says | www.statesman.com

A news report from 2011 actually says:

"That is a notable departure from the last such report, put out in July 2009, by the Texas A&M University-based research institute, which said Austin's 2007 "travel time index" — the percentage increase for a trip at rush hour compared with an identical trip in the middle of the night — ranked 20th in the country.

So, if the report shows Austin's traffic slightly improving, how did its ranking get worse? Simply put, the data used and the formulas applied to that data changed since the last report.

The result was that Austin's travel time index essentially idled, while those of huge cities tended to fall precipitously. Austin shot up the list. "

Austin's Travel Time Index has been improving...

For instance, an average Austin-area commuter lost 39 hours to traffic congestion in 2009 (the most recent year in the report), putting Austin 15th among 101 cities listed. That would be about 10 minutes per work day, five minutes for each trip.

Austin's 2009 travel time index of 1.28 — meaning a rush-hour trip takes 28 percent longer than an identical trip with free-flowing traffic — has improved since 2005

2009 Travel time index = 1.28
2007 Travel time index = 1.29
2005 Travel time index = 1.32

The other three reports don't say that Austin is worst, they say that Austin is number 8 compared to the top ten worst traffic cities. But even then, the "Time wasted in traffic" in Austin is listed as 30 hours per year, almost half of the "worst" cities amounts of times wasted, and lowest of all of the top ten listed.

1. Honolulu: Drivers waste 58 hours in traffic; Worst hour is Tuesday from 5:15 – 5:30 p.m.
2. Los Angeles: Drivers waste 56 hours in traffic; Worst hour is Thursday from 5:45 – 6 p.m.
3. San Francisco: Drivers waste 48 hours in traffic; Worst hour is Thursday from 5:45 – 6 p.m.
4. New York: Drivers waste 57 hours in traffic; Worst hour is Friday from 5:30 – 5:45 p.m.
5. Bridgeport, Conn.: Drivers waste 42 hours in traffic; Worst hour is Friday from 5:30 – 5:45 p.m.
6. Washington, D.C.: Drivers waste 45 hours in traffic; Worst hour is Thursday from 5:45 – 6 p.m.
7. Seattle: Drivers waste 33 hours in traffic; Worst hour is Thursday from 5:30 – 5:45 p.m.
8. Austin: Drivers waste 30 hours in traffic; Worst hour is Thursday from 5:30 – 5:45 p.m.
9. Boston: Drivers waste 35 hours in traffic; Worst hour us Thursday from 5:30 – 5:45 p.m.
10. Chicago: Drivers waste 36 hours in traffic; Worst hour us Thursday from 5:30 – 5:45 p.m.

Read more: http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/05/22/...#ixzz2GOEYhM7U

[centralaustinite]

I live central and drive I-35 and Mopac on a daily basis. Generally, I think that traffic is basically fine. Mopac backs up worse than 1-35 on many days. But I have multiple alternative routes. I have family in DC and LA and I just don't experience traffic like that in Austin.

I am lucky and am able to get on both main arteries quickly. I think that the most frustrating part of Austin traffic are the long (LONG) lights that so many people have to go through before even getting on an interstate. I could not handle that.

thanks for the data CptnRn!

[RowdysMom]

I have driven I35 from UT to Braker Lane for 30 years. I promise you 100%, in my 30 years of driving, I have NEVER spent 30 hours per year stuck in traffic. I have a friend who moved here from LA and she drives I35 and 183 everyday and she just laughs hysterically when anyone complains about Austin traffic. She says LA traffic is 10 times worse. Now, my story would be vastly different if I were driving from UT to south Austin. When I hop on I35 going north, the south bound lanes of I35 are at a dead stop most of the time and it is not unusual for traffic going south to back up to 183. Northbound traffic is ALWAYS moving at a good clip all the way to Braker. So the moral to the story is, traffic is OK or horrible, depending on where you commute. When we moved here 30 years ago, someone told me to NOT live south of the river if I worked north of the river.

Best. Advice. Ever.

[professor gimp]

Central Austin, outside of downtown (very expensive), is a very happening place to live. Lots of things are within walking distance and anything you could want is close by. I like craft beer and am going miss living within stumbling distance of several good bars. I live just NW of UT (Rosedale neighborhood) and have lived here VERY happily for 15 years. I am moving soon for a great job but will miss the awesomeness that is Austin.

Traffic can be a pain but others have posted about that. There is a lot to love about Austin and I would chose to live in the same neighborhood if I move back in the near future.

[FueledByBlueBell]

Do you like heat?
Can you tolerate traffic?
How do you react to panhandlers on the corners?
Are you allergic to mold or cedar?
What is your housing budget?

Do you like BBQ?
Do you like queso?
Do you like margaritas?
Do you like swimming?
Do you like running/walking/biking/yoga/stand up paddling/water skiing?
Do you like dogs?
How close can you afford and/or want to live to work?
Do you like wearing shorts/flip flops/sandals/tank tops all of the time?

I'd think about these answers pretty carefully. I love it here but I think these questions do a nice job of outlining what everyone needs to think about as they consider Austin.