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It sounds to me that you need to go back to California. You sound just like one of them. I am currently in California and I can not wait to get back to Texas. I came out here thinking that it was going to be fun to be around all these laid back, accepting, open minded people. Imagine my surprise when I found myself surrounded by a bunch of anti-social racist! This coming from someone who grew up in Houston,Tx. I have be blown away with the rudeness of the people in California. I will say this I live in Southern California and recently took a trip to San Fran and there was a world of difference. People there said hello and even gave you eye contact while doing so. I also hate to tell you, but the drivers in California are HORRIBLE! Someone needs to remind all of you what a freakin blinker is and that you SPEED UP when merging onto a freeway! I know that we in Texas are fast drivers but, you at least know we are about to cut you off before we do it and we always say thank you for letting us over. Pride your dam right we have pride. California could learn a thing or two about this. I do not think anyone from California has any room to talk about schools. California just raised the ratio 50 to 1 in their public schools! I am not sure where you are eating, but Texas has some of the best food out there. It has something we like to call flavor. I will say California has us beat on sea food. I can not wait to be around people who actually acknowledge that someone is standing next to them with a nice "hello" or a smile.
The reality is that you can not expect as much diversity here. We would LOVE to find some great Vietnamese restaurant, better MEXICAN (not Tex Mex) and some Mediterranean (Greek, Turkish, Moroccan) and Inidan places. We are major foodies but many restaurants are good, not necessarily great in NYC as well.
Have you tried Azul Tequila? Great Interior Mexican AND TexMex, depending on your mood. (Run by brothers who use their mother's and grandmother's recipes. And really good margaritas, too!)
How about Sunflower in North Austin for Vietnamese? My foodie Meetup went there (made up of people in Austin, but not only from here but all over the country and the world), and unanimously declared that it was excellent and we really needed to come back because we couldn't order enough of the things on the menu and wanted more, more, MORE! You should join us sometime! Might also help with that international community thing, both the foodies and other meetups specifically for that purpose - or you could check out the various offerings at UT for that, as well.
For Moroccan, I can't recommend a restaurant - we had to have a Moroccan potluck in order to enjoy that fare. What I miss here is a good Afghani restaurant.
Nah, moving back to CA is unfortunately not an option for us. We must stay here. I'm simply saying that everyone has their opinions about what makes for a good city. Austin's heavy media coverage WILL slow very soon and few people will be moving here. Everything comes in cycles and Austin simply cannot offer it's residents what Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio has. The nation will realize that soon enough and people will stop moving here. There is no question about it. Austin is expensive, and choked with horrible traffic, and has virtually no city amenities whatsoever. Of course, the MEDIA never covers the negative. It isn't until people get here that they realize what they have DONE!!
California is having it's share of hard times now, but it will ALWAYS come back. California leads the nation in virtually everything. It's a trend starter in so many respects. The climate, the natural beauty, and the overall culture cannot be matched by ANY other state. I am well aware that people are struggling there now, but that won't last forever. Once CA gets everything back together and gets out of the DEBT hole, they will be back and better than ever. Once CA is looking better, many of the people who came to TX in the first place will be back so fast it will amaze you! It isn't easy living CA, because once you leave, it's often VERY difficult to get back. But, if you can, it's 100% worth it!! Living anywhere within the California borders is truly an honor (but might not seem like one now with all the problems going on) Just wait you people who are thinking of leaving--give em another 5 years, and everything will be fine!
Rude people?? You find that Austin isn't an incredibly arrogant place with arrogant people? It's pretty much all based on the media. Austin has risen and brought people's egos up with it. However, the END is drawing near people! There are many nice, down to earth people in CA--you just must look for them. There are no more rude people in CA, than there are in austin. No question about it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dlj74
It sounds to me that you need to go back to California. You sound just like one of them. I am currently in California and I can not wait to get back to Texas. I came out here thinking that it was going to be fun to be around all these laid back, accepting, open minded people. Imagine my surprise when I found myself surrounded by a bunch of anti-social racist! This coming from someone who grew up in Houston,Tx. I have be blown away with the rudeness of the people in California. I will say this I live in Southern California and recently took a trip to San Fran and there was a world of difference. People there said hello and even gave you eye contact while doing so. I also hate to tell you, but the drivers in California are HORRIBLE! Someone needs to remind all of you what a freakin blinker is and that you SPEED UP when merging onto a freeway! I know that we in Texas are fast drivers but, you at least know we are about to cut you off before we do it and we always say thank you for letting us over. Pride your dam right we have pride. California could learn a thing or two about this. I do not think anyone from California has any room to talk about schools. California just raised the ratio 50 to 1 in their public schools! I am not sure where you are eating, but Texas has some of the best food out there. It has something we like to call flavor. I will say California has us beat on sea food. I can not wait to be around people who actually acknowledge that someone is standing next to them with a nice "hello" or a smile.
Perhaps that is true, but no it has many things working against it which larger affect its quality of life. That hasn't happened in the past. So I may not have to hold my breath too much longer. Lets bring another half a million people into this area and see how much press we get then!
Quote:
Originally Posted by TexasHorseLady
eepstein, Austin's been getting the kind of "press" it has now since before I came here in 1969. So, don't hold your breath.
Oh, I'm not at all interested in bringing another half million people into the area. Especially if they're the kind that like to move somewhere and then complain about how it's not as good as where they came from. They can go home, it seems to me, and everyone (including them) would be much happier. (Assuming that they're not just the kind that like to complain no matter where they are and would be complaining just as much about where they came from if they moved back, which has been known to happen.)
eepstein - you're mostly full of crap. You hate Austin and keep standing on traffic as your big issue. Austin has tons of things to do - just not the things you want to do. Please move to San Antonio or Dallas so you can go to theme parks.
Everyone here agrees traffic in Austin can be terrible. But it isn't terrible everywhere. And it is getting better (yes it is in many areas).
You keep saying crime is getting worse in Austin but you never cite any statistics. If you did - you'd see that crime is materially unchanged in Austin. Hence Austin scores in the top 10 nationally for crime against cities larger then 500,000. Austin's crime is lower than cities you keep bragging about like Sacramento, Portland, or Kansas City.
Gotta mention too that Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio both rank nationally in the top 10 for obesity and overweight adults. San Antonio ranked #1. See this report (http://obesity1.tempdomainname.com/subs/fastfacts/cities.shtml - broken link) for more information. Those cities all lag in outdoor activities, fitness mindset, and general outlook for health.
California has fundamental problems that will have increasing effects over time. California's reliance on income taxes to fund the government are exactly what is causing its financial problems today. Sky high real estate costs show no relief. Calfornia was more severe problems with water, air pollution, and education. Arnold is bad, but Gray Davis before him was even worse. Yup the latest trends may start in California, but is that a quality of life issue for most?
I never said that crime in Austin was as bad as KC, Sac, or San Antonio. I simply said that is was getting worse and it is unlikely Austin would make it to any "safest mid size city" list again. I don't think it's dangerous by any means, but the overall crime has risen quite substantially over the past couple of years.
Yes, many cities are fatter than Austin, but the city makes it very hard to workout! Especially bike ride. I have never lived in a city that cares less aobut bike trails for it's citizens. I lived in KC for 4 years and they have miles and miles of bike trails up there (and a worse climate to go with it) Yet, Austin claims they are a bike friendly town. Amazing! Austin is more like a city to get killed in while riding a bike.
True, California doesn't have the best quality of life now, but that will change eventually. I say give it 5 years and things will begin to turn around. But, it will be a slow process!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by hoffdano
eepstein - you're mostly full of crap. You hate Austin and keep standing on traffic as your big issue. Austin has tons of things to do - just not the things you want to do. Please move to San Antonio or Dallas so you can go to theme parks.
Everyone here agrees traffic in Austin can be terrible. But it isn't terrible everywhere. And it is getting better (yes it is in many areas).
You keep saying crime is getting worse in Austin but you never cite any statistics. If you did - you'd see that crime is materially unchanged in Austin. Hence Austin scores in the top 10 nationally for crime against cities larger then 500,000. Austin's crime is lower than cities you keep bragging about like Sacramento, Portland, or Kansas City.
Gotta mention too that Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio both rank nationally in the top 10 for obesity and overweight adults. San Antonio ranked #1. See this report (http://obesity1.tempdomainname.com/subs/fastfacts/cities.shtml - broken link) for more information. Those cities all lag in outdoor activities, fitness mindset, and general outlook for health.
California has fundamental problems that will have increasing effects over time. California's reliance on income taxes to fund the government are exactly what is causing its financial problems today. Sky high real estate costs show no relief. Calfornia was more severe problems with water, air pollution, and education. Arnold is bad, but Gray Davis before him was even worse. Yup the latest trends may start in California, but is that a quality of life issue for most?
Nah, moving back to CA is unfortunately not an option for us. We must stay here. I'm simply saying that everyone has their opinions about what makes for a good city. Austin's heavy media coverage WILL slow very soon and few people will be moving here. Everything comes in cycles and Austin simply cannot offer it's residents what Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio has. The nation will realize that soon enough and people will stop moving here. There is no question about it. Austin is expensive, and choked with horrible traffic, and has virtually no city amenities whatsoever. Of course, the MEDIA never covers the negative. It isn't until people get here that they realize what they have DONE!!
California is having it's share of hard times now, but it will ALWAYS come back. California leads the nation in virtually everything. It's a trend starter in so many respects. The climate, the natural beauty, and the overall culture cannot be matched by ANY other state. I am well aware that people are struggling there now, but that won't last forever. Once CA gets everything back together and gets out of the DEBT hole, they will be back and better than ever. Once CA is looking better, many of the people who came to TX in the first place will be back so fast it will amaze you! It isn't easy living CA, because once you leave, it's often VERY difficult to get back. But, if you can, it's 100% worth it!! Living anywhere within the California borders is truly an honor (but might not seem like one now with all the problems going on) Just wait you people who are thinking of leaving--give em another 5 years, and everything will be fine!
Rude people?? You find that Austin isn't an incredibly arrogant place with arrogant people? It's pretty much all based on the media. Austin has risen and brought people's egos up with it. However, the END is drawing near people! There are many nice, down to earth people in CA--you just must look for them. There are no more rude people in CA, than there are in austin. No question about it.
They have already predicted that cal will be one of the first states to get back on an even keel per real estate(end of '09), so that is already happening.
Everything cycles.....Austin and Cal will obviously fluctuate and vary......nothing written in stone anywhere for either area
I never said that crime in Austin was as bad as KC, Sac, or San Antonio. I simply said that is was getting worse and it is unlikely Austin would make it to any "safest mid size city" list again. I don't think it's dangerous by any means, but the overall crime has risen quite substantially over the past couple of years.
Yes, many cities are fatter than Austin, but the city makes it very hard to workout! Especially bike ride. I have never lived in a city that cares less aobut bike trails for it's citizens. I lived in KC for 4 years and they have miles and miles of bike trails up there (and a worse climate to go with it) Yet, Austin claims they are a bike friendly town. Amazing! Austin is more like a city to get killed in while riding a bike.
True, California doesn't have the best quality of life now, but that will change eventually. I say give it 5 years and things will begin to turn around. But, it will be a slow process!!
I'm actually going to agree with this, ESPECIALLY about the bike trails.
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