So why does Austin keep making top 10 lists? (Houston, Dallas: best city, apartment complexes)

[twange]

But...really.

Screw all the lists and just come here and visit bro! You're over-analyzing. I'm saying this with genuine friendliness, since I can over-think and micro-manage with the best You seem like a young guy with no really deep roots yet. If you hate it, go somewhere else or back home.

Seriously, I realize it's a tough decision and you want to get it right. My wife and I made the move here last year, partially for job reasons but mostly for a change of culture and scenery. It's very hard to do. At least it was for us. But no regrets! Even if we don't stay long-term(which we might), we now have an affection for this city that will be ever-lasting. And we have grown as people, that's the important thing.

You need to come here and visit with some realistic expectations(it's not perfect), spend some time experiencing the place and decide for yourself. The percentage of people who live in metro Austin compared to the folks who hang out on this forum, is probably 10,000 to 1. Don't let me, southcongress or any other prat on here influence your decision. For the most part, we're all just jibber-jabbering(what a great phrase that is!). It's useful for sure but it's only a small part of the picture!

[achtungpv]

Austin has the ideal demographics for the products the list creators are selling...especially Money & Forbes magazines...young, educated, affluent, etc. The goal of all these top 10 lists is to make money for the publishers.

[Rose Red]

Originally Posted by twange

But...really.

Screw all the lists and just come here and visit bro! You're over-analyzing. I'm saying this with genuine friendliness, since I can over-think and micro-manage with the best You seem like a young guy with no really deep roots yet. If you hate it, go somewhere else or back home.

Seriously, I realize it's a tough decision and you want to get it right. My wife and I made the move here last year, partially for job reasons but mostly for a change of culture and scenery. It's very hard to do. At least it was for us. But no regrets! Even if we don't stay long-term(which we might), we now have an affection for this city that will be ever-lasting. And we have grown as people, that's the important thing.

You need to come here and visit with some realistic expectations(it's not perfect), spend some time experiencing the place and decide for yourself. The percentage of people who live in metro Austin compared to the folks who hang out on this forum, is probably 10,000 to 1. Don't let me, southcongress or any other prat on here influence your decision. For the most part, we're all just jibber-jabbering(what a great phrase that is!). It's useful for sure but it's only a small part of the picture!

Very Wells Said!

[theaustinegalitarian]

Marketing companies have a high presence in Austin. There are quite a large number of them here. That might have a lot to do with it.

The traffic is not worse than other parts of Texas, especially not worse than Houston! But a lot of visitors might think it is worse because they are comparing it to better-engineered cities up north, where people are more tolerant of urban planning.

Texas does not produce good traffic engineers because the underlying attitude towards land-use control is too anarchic to allow planning for a good highway-to-city interface.

[Mack wild]

Lots of idea's here. I guess this means that people who come from other area's of the country feel that Austin is no different then the city they left from and in some ways worse and in some ways better (maybe). I always got the impression that Austin was the most balanced city in the south. That if you wanted to live in the south and escape the winter without paying a high cost of living (out west) or without a ton of crime (florida) and still have plenty to do and be by the water that Austin was your place. Then again since I am just renting and not buying a house maybe I will be happier with South/mid California or even Florida.

If you Wiki Austin it just sounds more appealing to young people than any other city in the south, and has by far tons more ways to get involved in things than anything any other city mentions, I guess maybe other cities just dont bother to mention them??? There are also a few streets filled with barhopping nightlife (all located on one street is paradise to a club goer by the way -- and it's not that common to have a setup like that), notoriously friendly people, and plenty of entry level jobs. Of course Im not going to be young forever so I have to get this decision right, don't have time for a lot of mistakes....

[Tama]

I personally did not like living in Austin. However, I can see how someone else may like it. They would like it because of the warmer clime, music scene, unique atmosphere (kind of southern and western and hokey and cosmopolitan) and because it has most anything in the way of goods and services. UT is a fantastic school and campus. It is a capital city. It seems youthful and has parks and festivals. So many would like it.
I did not like it because of the same things. LOL! The weather was dreary most of the winter-warm but dreary. The streets were dirty and whole city seemed squalid to me. Gray. Lack of zoning put a Whataburger next to a fairly nice street of houses. Unkempt in general as far as even the nicer areas. Hard to navigate. No public transport and crowded roadways. Isolated feel. I mean drive in any direction for miles and what do you find?
No mountains or beach and little natural scenery. Just one perspective on the contradictory opinions.

[mark311]

Originally Posted by Tama

The streets were dirty and whole city seemed squalid to me.

I understand how Austin just isn't for some people. I understand complaints about traffic, hot weather, and confusing roads. There are a lot of other great places to live that fit all types of lifestyles, but are the streets of Austin really that dirty and run down compared to other places? I really don't see it. I don't understand how someone could feel that the whole city has a rundown feel to it? I don't see a ton of trash on the side of the road. Yes, I encounter an occasional pot hole or bump in the road while driving, but I've heard a few people state that the streets are "dirty". I'm not sure that I even know what is meant by that.

[Mack wild]

Originally Posted by mark311

I understand how Austin just isn't for some people. I understand complaints about traffic, hot weather, and confusing roads. There are a lot of other great places to live that fit all types of lifestyles, but are the streets of Austin really that dirty and run down compared to other places? I really don't see it. I don't understand how someone could feel that the whole city has a rundown feel to it? I don't see a ton of trash on the side of the road. Yes, I encounter an occasional pot hole or bump in the road while driving, but I've heard a few people state that the streets are "dirty". I'm not sure that I even know what is meant by that.

Mark Im not sure where else you have been to, but I can say that out west and in the upper half of the east coast they keep their cities as spottless as they can and the water is very clean. The tradeoff is that in the north its cold 4-5 months out of the year and in the west you have to chew off your arm and sell it on ebay just to pay rent.

Thing for me really is I am not looking for sophistication or art or to be pampered in some upscale area. I have lived in a very beautiful state for a long long time. The problem here is that there are no jobs, there is no action, and i really am tired of having to deal with the winter every year. I know the summers down south can be tough but people still go out in the evening when it cools a bit. Where I live during the winter -- everyone hibernates for the entire winter and gets what they call seasonal depression disorder. Not fun.

[Cardiff Giant]

Austin is not dirty. Dirty is the last thing that comes to mind. Ever been to Long Island? That's a dirty place.

[twange]

Originally Posted by Mack wild

Mark Im not sure where else you have been to, but I can say that out west and in the upper half of the east coast they keep their cities as spottless as they can and the water is very clean. The tradeoff is that in the north its cold 4-5 months out of the year and in the west you have to chew off your arm and sell it on ebay just to pay rent.

Thing for me really is I am not looking for sophistication or art or to be pampered in some upscale area. I have lived in a very beautiful state for a long long time. The problem here is that there are no jobs, there is no action, and i really am tired of having to deal with the winter every year. I know the summers down south can be tough but people still go out in the evening when it cools a bit. Where I live during the winter -- everyone hibernates for the entire winter and gets what they call seasonal depression disorder. Not fun.

Well, I'm a Northerner and I'm not sure I agree about the cities being spotless. Philly isn't particularly shiny and NYC, well it depends where you're at. Much of Manhattan is fine but in the boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn, it can be pretty grimy(and that's where most normal people live...not just in the old city-patina way(which I like), but just dirty and trashy. It seems that most folks just accept it: they just don't see it after awhile. The last time I was in Brooklyn(Greenpoint/Williamsburg), it really bummed me out. Just filthy. And I love NYC very much. Boston, I haven't been to in awhile, so no comment. Other cities like Cleveland, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Baltimore etc...certainly aren't really shining examples of urban cleanliness. Now some of the smaller cities are very nice: Hartford, Portland, Me, Stowe, Vt etc...

I think Austin tends to be on the cleaner side. It helps that it doesn't have a gray ring of 19th century industrial fossils surrounding the city like many of the Northern cities do. There are some nasty spots for sure. The areas around the homeless shelter - which happens to be right in between the 6th street district and Red River strip - can be very bad looking indeed. It's just a really unfortunate pairing, that doesn't seem to be good for anyone involved. I mean if you're homeless and/or alcoholic, chemically dependent or psychologically troubled, I can't see how hanging around the most decadent party strip in town full of drunken college kids is at all productive Whoever thought of that location should be publicly drawn and quartered. Some of the old strip-mall areas tend to be trashy looking as well. But there are many beautiful, beautiful streets in Central Austin. But if you just stick to the basic, cliched Austin trails, it might seem dirty and grubby. Like many cities.