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As someone with fresh eyes and moving to Austin (Round Rock specifically) this weekend, San Antonio felt nothing like Austin.
And Phoenix is hell on earth. As mentioned it is East California and its way hotter. I couldn't deal with Palm Springs from the time I spent there and Phoenix is slightly hotter.
Wherever you end up going, you better get going now because the us dirty Californians are looking at the same areas too. Ask Portland ten years ago. Ask Austin and Boise now. Ask Nashville next year and I can see alot of NC saying the same too.
I've always wondered, do people find Tucson more attractive than Phoenix and is it slightly cooler?
Moving back home to Raleigh-Durham I hope the tech surge there doesn't change the area too much. It's slowly destroying what used to be Austin.
I would consider Charlotte also Or Denver both very well rounded areas with all the big city amenities.
Or DFW where I enjoyed living for nearly 7 years before Austin. And arguably one of the best put together metropolitan areas in the country. Killer shopping... Balenciaga anyone? Great Transit, Awesome Museums and Districts, Diverse and a very balanced economy something Austin needs to work on in a major way.
And what people don't know/realize about DFW is the amount of waterfront the area has. I think within a 30 miles radius of downtown, there are a half dozen lakes, not including White Rock Lake Park just northeast of downtown. Add in double of many attractions like two zoos, two casinos an hour from the northern suburbs, all four major sports, several minor league teams and multiple entertainment venues, including the State Fair Grounds.
Charlotte proper is actually smaller than Austin, about 900k residents whereas Austin is likely at 1 million. In terms of MSA, both are pretty equal based on my google search, 2,054M vs. 2,053M. 30 years ago Charlotte city and its MSA were much bigger.
What do you mean by "more naturistic"? I've been to every city you mentioned and lived in Atlanta. Atlanta is a beautiful area with its hills and Stone mountain but sadly much of the riverfront is privately owned and Lake Lanier, while beautiful, is overused because the State has grown significantly but not chosen to add a new reservoir in over 60 years.
Phoenix, love the look at night but the heat, lack of water resources (see NYT article this week) and dust storms worry me. So of that rain Houston gets needs to be piped west. lol I'm curious about Phoenix road infrastructure. I live in DFW and my visit to AZ, Phoenix reminded me of Houston in the desert, flat, very sprawling and with a good grid system.
I’ve lived in ATL and frequently visited Charlotte. Visited Phoenix a few times.
When I speak of a city I speak of its metro area. Charlotte is undeniably larger than Austin. It’s approximately 2.7 - 2.8 million people. Austin is approximately 2.2 - 2.3 Million.
Atlanta is definitely the more naturist of cities between Austin and Atlanta as it has far more miles of trails, better tree canopy, more uniform terrain. More parks per capita as well ( https://stacker.com/stories/3343/cit...n-space-capita ). Austin has nothing comparable to Silver Comet Trail (which goes from Atlanta to the state line of Alabama) or Beltline. Austin does do very well with green space and is the more tree conservative city between the two as Atlanta’s tree canopy is being stripped away by development and Austin seems to do a better job at protecting them but Atlanta has natural advantages due to its geographical location. Hill Country is great but it doesn’t stack up to Blueridge, although Blueridge is far north and more exurban than W.Austin.
As for town lake, I will agree. Atlanta’s downtown is more of a traditional Downtown and does not offer the water recreation Austin does. Beltline though (a perimeter surrounding downtown) is easily greater than most of Austin’s core trails. Lake Lanier is more comparable to Lake Travis (although much larger and in flatter topography) - both IMO sharing a fairly equal share of activity.
As for Phoenix, they have the Sonoran desert preserve which is littered with trails and actual mountains. You can also escape the heat and find more recreation by driving a few hours north to Flagstaff as well. Phoenix IMO takes DFW in terms of highways not because they have more of them, but the layout and actual interchanges are better designed. I personally am not a fan of our access roads. They have too many conflict points between cars rushing off the main highway at 70+ MPH and cars entering the feeder roads from a dead stop at strip centers. The traffic signals at intersections typically are coordinated only to allow one direction of travel to pass at a time (this could be resolved with SPUI’s like seen in Phoenix) That and Phoenix freeways are also free where many highways in DFW are tolled.
Hill Country is great but it doesn’t stack up to Blueridge, although Blueridge is far north and more exurban than W.Austin.
I think a direct comparison between the Hill Country and the Appalachians is difficult due to the different climate and landscapes. The Hill Country more directly compares visually with California wine country.
The big difference is the Hill Country is almost entirely privately owned whereas the Appalachians are more publicly accessible. As someone who enjoys the outdoors this is one of my biggest issues with the Austin area. The parks and land that are publicly accessible are beautiful but they are way too small to handle the amount of people that live in Central Texas now.
I’ve lived in ATL and frequently visited Charlotte. Visited Phoenix a few times.
When I speak of a city I speak of its metro area. Charlotte is undeniably larger than Austin. It’s approximately 2.7 - 2.8 million people. Austin is approximately 2.2 - 2.3 Million.
Atlanta is definitely the more naturist of cities between Austin and Atlanta as it has far more miles of trails, better tree canopy, more uniform terrain. More parks per capita as well ( https://stacker.com/stories/3343/cit...n-space-capita ). Austin has nothing comparable to Silver Comet Trail (which goes from Atlanta to the state line of Alabama) or Beltline. Austin does do very well with green space and is the more tree conservative city between the two as Atlanta’s tree canopy is being stripped away by development and Austin seems to do a better job at protecting them but Atlanta has natural advantages due to its geographical location. Hill Country is great but it doesn’t stack up to Blueridge, although Blueridge is far north and more exurban than W.Austin.
As for town lake, I will agree. Atlanta’s downtown is more of a traditional Downtown and does not offer the water recreation Austin does. Beltline though (a perimeter surrounding downtown) is easily greater than most of Austin’s core trails. Lake Lanier is more comparable to Lake Travis (although much larger and in flatter topography) - both IMO sharing a fairly equal share of activity.
As for Phoenix, they have the Sonoran desert preserve which is littered with trails and actual mountains. You can also escape the heat and find more recreation by driving a few hours north to Flagstaff as well. Phoenix IMO takes DFW in terms of highways not because they have more of them, but the layout and actual interchanges are better designed. I personally am not a fan of our access roads. They have too many conflict points between cars rushing off the main highway at 70+ MPH and cars entering the feeder roads from a dead stop at strip centers. The traffic signals at intersections typically are coordinated only to allow one direction of travel to pass at a time (this could be resolved with SPUI’s like seen in Phoenix) That and Phoenix freeways are also free where many highways in DFW are tolled.
In terms of MSA, I won't contest as I included a point of reference that apparently was not as accurate as yours. In terms of naturist scoring, Austin vs. ATL, we will agree to disagree. I lived in Atlanta as well and from the air, Austin has significant tree cover. Atlanta you can't access the Chattahoochee along most of the water front as its under private ownership and within the city is almost nonexistent. As far as parks/trails, Austin per tpl.org scores above Atlanta - https://www.tpl.org/parkscore. I think one can do more hiking around Atlanta but metro Austin has better options for water fun in San Marcos, or out to LBJ.
Its Phoenix, no escaping the heat like no escaping the humidity in Houston all the way to Miami. Regarding driving infrastructure, having a grid layout is great but Phoenix too benefits from having like 2.5 million few residents in its MSA. After living in DC and Atlanta, I love access roads. I recall a Jackknifed 18 wheeler on 285 topside. No way of getting around it, so many of us backed up an exist ramp. But with no access roads, we all had to wind our way around a residential neighborhood to get back on the 285. Another time, I missed a Braves game because this time a truck hit the overpass. If there was an access road, given that I was only headed to Dunwoody MARTA, i could have avoided that.
In terms of MSA, I won't contest as I included a point of reference that apparently was not as accurate as yours. In terms of naturist scoring, Austin vs. ATL, we will agree to disagree. I lived in Atlanta as well and from the air, Austin has significant tree cover. Atlanta you can't access the Chattahoochee along most of the water front as its under private ownership and within the city is almost nonexistent. As far as parks/trails, Austin per tpl.org scores above Atlanta - https://www.tpl.org/parkscore. I think one can do more hiking around Atlanta but metro Austin has better options for water fun in San Marcos, or out to LBJ.
Its Phoenix, no escaping the heat like no escaping the humidity in Houston all the way to Miami. Regarding driving infrastructure, having a grid layout is great but Phoenix too benefits from having like 2.5 million few residents in its MSA.
I’m not quite sure which Atlanta you experienced (or lived). The first noticeable thing after landing in Austin and driving around is the lack of tree coverage compared to Atlanta. Atlanta is significantly greener with more tree coverage than all TX cities. The only city that comes close to the “greeness” of Atlanta is Houston. You don’t need to be in the air to see the tree coverage in the Atlanta metro.
Charlotte is larger than Austin with more big city amenities to boot.
I always laugh when someone in Austin calls out humidity in Houston. Yep, Austin is as dry as Vegas, says no one. What you’ll typically experience on an Austin summer day is a 100 degree temp with almost 70% humidity. In Houston the temp will be slightly lower (in the 90s) with slightly higher humidity square in the 70s. Both cities are hot (and humid) in the summer and there is no way to spin it. ;-) El Paso is the only city in TX that could be considered dry in the summer.
Average yearly relative humidity (%)
Daily City Morning Afternoon
67 Austin 84 49
65 Dallas 82 49
41 El Paso 50 27
65 Fort Worth 82 49
75 Houston 90 55
67 San Antonio 83 48
Denver - because it feels like a smaller more urban Dallas with a mountainous backdrop. Lots of outdoor recreation, a large international airport, and you can get any weather any time of the year.
Dallas - because it is a large international city with all of the amenities.
Albuquerque - smaller, laid back, less traffic/ hustle and bustle, more local and under the radar. Favorable weather almost year around, and has immediate access to the Sandia Mountains.
I’m not quite sure which Atlanta you experienced (or lived). The first noticeable thing after landing in Austin and driving around is the lack of tree coverage compared to Atlanta. Atlanta is significantly greener with more tree coverage than all TX cities. The only city that comes close to the “greeness” of Atlanta is Houston. You don’t need to be in the air to see the tree coverage in the Atlanta metro.
Charlotte is larger than Austin with more big city amenities to boot.
I always laugh when someone in Austin calls out humidity in Houston. Yep, Austin is as dry as Vegas, says no one. What you’ll typically experience on an Austin summer day is a 100 degree temp with almost 70% humidity. In Houston the temp will be slightly lower (in the 90s) with slightly higher humidity square in the 70s. Both cities are hot (and humid) in the summer and there is no way to spin it. ;-) El Paso is the only city in TX that could be considered dry in the summer.
Average yearly relative humidity (%)
Daily City Morning Afternoon
67 Austin 84 49
65 Dallas 82 49
41 El Paso 50 27
65 Fort Worth 82 49
75 Houston 90 55
67 San Antonio 83 48
He lived in Atlanta and hated it due to lack of infrastructure to par with grow the which I will agree is a big issue in Atlanta (and also Austin). In the Atlanta forums he seeks every opportunity he can to discredit it. I personally do not miss living in ATL either but I have come to terms that it does deserve it’s credit and respect where it is due.
He lived in Atlanta and hated it due to lack of infrastructure to par with grow the which I will agree is a big issue in Atlanta (and also Austin). In the Atlanta forums he seeks every opportunity he can to discredit it. I personally do not miss living in ATL either but I have come to terms that it does deserve it’s credit and respect where it is due.
Atlanta has the world's largest local tennis league...over 80,000 members(not a typo). So it gets a pass for some of its shortcomings
I lived there for a couple of decades and ATL added 2 million people during that time!!! Hard to keep up with that kind of growth!! Plenty of NIMBY-ism and provincial county protectionism to gum up the infrastructure development.
Atlanta has the world's largest local tennis league...over 80,000 members(not a typo). So it gets a pass for some of its shortcomings
I lived there for a couple of decades and ATL added 2 million people during that time!!! Hard to keep up with that kind of growth!! Plenty of NIMBY-ism and provincial county protectionism to gum up the infrastructure development.
Yeah, the Blueridge area as heavily protected and they fought off the Northern Arc (much needed secondary loop). I personally wished they could have built it but in their defense they had legitimate concerns given the politicians siezed the plans for that roadway and purposefully routed it through their personal developments so they could influence growth in those regions and capitalize off the highway which drove locals into heavy rebellion against the toll road as it would have destroyed what the once exurban / rural region was known for.. ..sadly that happened anyway though as much of North Atlanta exploded in suburban / exurban growth and no proper arteries to feed it. Whats worse is Trucks try to bypass ATL on GA-20 which was at one time only a single lane in each direction for most of its route. Some parts have been upgraded to a divided highway but its still nowhere near enough for the amount of development up there. I-285's interchanges with both I-75 and I-85 have frequently made top 5 worst bottlenecks in America, I-75 & I-285 being the busiest interchange in the Southeastern region.
There was a ton of Nimbyism as per upgrading roads, even surface arterials such as adding lanes due to its geography (forest setting), activists, extremists (such as the man who literally tied himself to a tree infront of a construction truck while they were trying to extend Stone Mountain Freeway which ultimately lead them to canceling the project. I at first thought it was fairly weak of them to have allowed it to get so bad as far as traffic and infrastructure goes. Nothing like that would have had a chance in Chicago (where they completely tore down Meigs Field Airport without warning, there were still personal aircraft on the tarmac which had to be towed off on the spot, and there were even still scheduled landings.) But after I moved more and more I realized North Georgia's heavily sanctioned forests and hills are what largely kept infrastructure from growing. Its just a trade I guess, can't have it all.
Current day Austin largely reminds me of Atlanta's growth spurt from the 90's until about 2007 just before the great recession. Constant building, no infrastructural enhancements, business after business relocating there, and ESPECIALLY after the 97 Olympics where Atlanta gained global attention. I guess the saying that goes 'There's nothing new under the sun' has some weight to it.
Transit in ATL is a bit better than Austin's. They have Heavy Rail / No Rail & Automobile conflict points for passenger rail services on their main commuter lines. Rail in ATL didn't get pushed into the suburbs though due to White Flight and potential racial concerns (where as in Austin it 'seems' this mainly didn't happen due to costs)
In either case I have to look back at myself and the irony that after all of the complaining I had about Atlanta's infrastructure.. ..I ended up moving to Austin ... It is what it is at this point, I'm just becoming more and more numb to infrastructural issues.. ..that stated.. ..I sure hope they widen I-35 in central Austin
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... It is what it is at this point, I'm just becoming more and more numb to infrastructural issues.. ..that stated.. ..I sure hope they widen I-35 in central Austin 
