Outdoor lifestyle (Austin, Spring: house, live, move to)

[ang08]

We are considering a move to Austin from the Pacific NW. We love being outdoors - walking, biking, swimming, etc. I hate the cold so although it is beautiful up here, I can only enjoy the outdoors about 4 months a year. I know that summers are brutally HOT down there (better than damp wet cold any day), but overall, would you say that the Austin area is good for people who enjoy being outdoors a lot? I would miss the scenery but I'm tired of only seeing it from inside my car and house most of the year!

[PeacePlease]

How funny. My family spends a good portion of the summer in the PNW :-)

[achtungpv]

There's a good amount of bike trails in Austin, not a lot of variation though. There's Barton Springs for swimming and Deep Eddy is a large pool that is spring fed. Several overcrowded and over-alcoholed lakes are pretty popular.

One thing people that move to TX are shocked by is the lack of public land for these types of activities.

[Trainwreck20]

Actually, you can really get away from the crowd on the lakes if you try going just a little further out on Travis, or if you go up to LBJ or Buchannan.

[GANKS]

Yes, we moved here from Seattle and love the winter here. Worked in the yard today - never worked in the yard in Dec in Seattle.

[Melissa78703]

The only time you won't want to be outdoors is the three hottest months of summer! Of course, some of us have adapted, so the heat doesn't bother us. I spend a lot of time swimming in the spring, summer and fall, but mainly in the summer.

[Phisch]

I see people outdoors here a lot! Even when it's rained (not strong rain) I've seen folks jogging. Lots of biking in our area as well. The trails at Town Lake always have people jogging, biking or walking their dogs. Compared to where we lived in California, Austin is very outdoorsy.