Does Austin have a big city or a country feel? (Houston: appointed, condos)

[JCIV]

I've lived in both a "big" city (only about 500,000 people) and a small country town (about 30,000). I really prefer the bigger cities. I have never been to Austin but with the job market and singles scene, it really seems to be the place for a recent grad like myself. I was wondering if Austin has a big city feel, or does it seem like just a big country town?

[austin-steve]

It's a big city feel more than a country feel. But it depends on where you choose to live. Dripping Springs is country. Leander is a bedrooms community, growing fast, but still with a lingering country feel. Austin's urban core is "city".
Steve

[TexasHorseLady]

There are parts of Austin proper that have more of a small town feel, and parts (mainly downtown - I was down there a couple of times this past week during the day and it felt like nothing so much as downtown Dallas a few years ago, sad to say) have more of a "big city" feel.

If you want the big city feel (like Dallas or Houston), you'll want to live close to downtown (or in one of the condos IN downtown).

[Paulmmm]

I've only been here about 10 months now, but to me, it feels like a small big city or a big small city. What I mean is that it has a lot of the things that a big city has (good restaurants, lots of music, good theatres, world-class university, etc.), but is manageable, accessible, not overly crowded or fast-paced, and easy to get around in.

[centralaustinite]

If your notion of a big city is only half a million people, then yes, Austin is a big city!

If your frame of reference is a true big city (New York, LA, Chicago, Houston, Dallas, London, Paris etc) you will be very disappointed. We are really just a very very large town.

(My in-laws think that anything with more than 4000 people is a big town and too "big city" for them. It all depends on your perspective. I'd never live anywhere smaller than Austin)

[doctorjef]

I think in many ways Austin has an overgrown small town feel to it. Natives don't notice this so much, and tend to be aware of the steadily increasing urbanization instead. However, if you come directly from a much larger place or move away and live in a true big city, much of Austin feels very small townish. It's a truly unique city and not easy to fairly classify or characterise. This is partly because it isn't at all unitary and incorporates a number of identities. In any case, South Austin still has very much a small town feel to it.

[jread]

It's really the best of both worlds.

[Alatex]

I think in many ways Austin has an overgrown small town feel to it.

I agree, and that's one of the things I like best about it (always adding the disclaimer that I do not live in TX, but spend a whole lot of time in San Marcos, south of Austin). I like Austin's many "local" shops and restaurants rather than just bland, corporate sameness (though it seems many in Austin now strangely want to be more like the bigger, blander, more congested and crime-ridden corporate cities, even while touting the "weirdness" they actively work to replace).

I like the emphasis on the outdoors. Having miles of nature (rather than just mile after mile of concrete) to walk or bike is something I usually associate with a smaller town. The big local college football culture is more akin to smaller towns like my home town of Tuscaloosa,AL than to the pro sports corporate emphasis of most "big" cities.

I agree with the "best of both worlds" comments regarding Austin. There's sufficient "big city" amenities, but there is still local character, still a connection to the outdoors rather than just concrete, and still a relaxed friendliness that a lot of big cities consider themselves too "busy" and "important" for.

[CaseyRyan]

I grew up in a rural town with 1100 people, and went to college in a town with about 90,000 so Austin definitely feels like a big city to me.

[westhou]

Originally Posted by Paulmmm

I've only been here about 10 months now, but to me, it feels like a small big city or a big small city. What I mean is that it has a lot of the things that a big city has (good restaurants, lots of music, good theatres, world-class university, etc.), but is manageable, accessible, not overly crowded or fast-paced, and easy to get around in.

Austin is not easy to get around. The traffic is a nightmare!