Finally visited Austin- was very disappointed (Portland, West: transfer to, living, move to)

[ATX Homeboy]

Naomisday,

We did ride the trolley, cable car, and taxi but the city buses didn't seem to stop at the same locations as other buses even though it was obvious they were proceeding down the same streets and directions. But, like I said that was the only problem we had. Overall the experience was good and we liked SF.

Also, posted reply to you about Houston-Tillotson.

[naomisday]

ATX Homeboy,

Thanks so much for the responses...

Yeah, a lot of times on vacation its hard to get around...glad you had a nice trip--most people
don't get to see beyond Downtown SF--if that is all anyone gets to experience I wouldn't
be impressed with SF either.....

Downtown SF needs to be cleaned up badly....they have done that in NYC Times Square...

[TVC15]

Originally Posted by AustinGuy

There are too many people who plan a move to Austin without visiting first and than come to this forum afterward with a complaint list.

As the other posters pointed out, the OP was way off base in their expectations of what Austin is. Even some basic research would have made them more informed prior to their coming out or spending months dealing with realtors planning a move. "Austin has hot weather!" "Austin has allergies!", "Austin isn't close to skiing", "Austin isn't really that weird", etc. All of these topics have been well covered here.

Researching without visiting won't give you a true assessment about Austin since mainly all you will find is over hype! Also if you research this forum and read what the Austin folks who think Austin is the best say...is that really going to give you a true assessment? Especially after someone posts their true assessment of Austin then to only be attacked by all of the Austinites...yes that is really going to give someone a true vision about Austin. He was not way off base he went there based on his research and what his realtor was selling him about Austin. I think he did do his research only to find out it was a BIG LIE! That was the point of his post!

What amazes me is a nice person gives their true assessment based on a visit and all the people who took it personally then turn around and begin to dog on the city that the OP came from...very strange indeed.

[omegaman99]

Sorry if I came across as negative. That really wasn't my intent. We really did enjoy Austin, but I guess we were just let down after living the hype for the last few months. SF definitely has its downsides as well, but I guess it's just hard to replicate the kind of lifestyle the Bay area offers.

[mimimomx3]

I'm so glad the OP made a rational and thoughtful post about his impressions of Austin. Austin isn't for everyone, and that should be obvious...but it isn't. I'm not about to convince anyone to move here. I'm also thrilled that he pointed out that:

6) Prices were not what they should be. We keep hearing about the lower cost of living in Austin, but the truth was that any halfway-decent house with some kind of character was at least $450K, and the bars and restaurants were pretty consistent with the prices you would see in California.

I'm tired, tired, tired of people trying to convince everyone that Austin is 'affordable'. If you want to live an hour away from Austin and shop at Walmart, then, yes it is. But living IN Austin, and having a high quality lifestyle is NOT cheap.

[jobert]

Originally Posted by naomisday

ATX Homeboy,

Thanks so much for the responses...

Yeah, a lot of times on vacation its hard to get around...glad you had a nice trip--most people
don't get to see beyond Downtown SF--if that is all anyone gets to experience I wouldn't
be impressed with SF either.....

Downtown SF needs to be cleaned up badly....they have done that in NYC Times Square...

I agree. Downtown SF needs to be cleaned up. I thought it was physically impossible for 20,000 homeless people to live within a 3 sq mile area, but I stood corrected.

[naomisday]

jobert,

the homeless problem and the tenderloin are problems..its really a sad situation....

Its so expensive to live in the Bay Area..I don't know where the homeless can go, but its really
become a problem..... I don't know if its 20,000 but it is a lot...

People come from all over the country to SF if they are Homeless to some extent LA as well, but
its much worse in SF

[brattpowered]

Originally Posted by omegaman99

I'm sorry to make a post like this, but I'm hoping I can get some perspective to show that I was wrong.

My wife and I have been considering relocating from the San Francisco area to Austin for many months. We were finally able to get out to Austin last week for about 5 days to check things out and meet with our realtor, with whom we had been emailing and talking on the phone for months.

Wow. We were really shocked at what we found. First off, the positives:

1) We've never seen so many bars in one place, aside from Tijuana.
2) People were nice
3) The weather in February was pretty good, although very windy
4) The french fries, regardless of where we went, were awesome

But then, unfortunately, the negatives:

1) Austin was incredibly flat. "Hill country" was nothing of the sort. It was more like "slight rises and falls, that in San Francisco would count as earth movement from recent earthquakes." The whole area was just incredibly flat and uninspiring.
2) Sprawl, sprawl, sprawl, and uniformity. We looked at many neighborhoods that surrounded the downtown area, and were shocked that virtually everything was a cookie-cutter development with shoddy construction and no character.
3) The road system was a disaster. Very few real freeways. Freeways that suddenly turned into roads. Stoplights everywhere. How does anyone get around without spending all their time commuting?
4) Allergies. My god--we heard about this, but it was oppressive the moment we walked off the airplane. I hope this is just a product of the recent drought, but it seemed like allergens were just everywhere.
5) Austin was not "weird." We saw signs and t-shirts everywhere saying "keep Austin weird," but in truth, the whole place seemed incredibly commonplace. The few "weird" areas we visited (like SoCo), were really just about 5 blocks of kitschy stores that you could find in any city. The downtown area was just your typical college-town bar scene. We saw some people with purple hair and tattoos, but coming from the Bay area, the entire town seemed really sterile.
6) Prices were not what they should be. We keep hearing about the lower cost of living in Austin, but the truth was that any halfway-decent house with some kind of character was at least $450K, and the bars and restaurants were pretty consistent with the prices you would see in California.
7) Everything just felt "unfinished." Strip clubs next to reputable businesses. Vacant lots next to new condo highrises. Crappy bars next to skyscrapers. The whole town just felt unplanned, unfinished, and unremarkable.
8) The town and the surrounding area were just ugly. We went to Lake Austin and were underwhelmed. Lake Travis was ok, but pretty generic. Then we learned about the presence of scorpions, cicadas, tarantualas, etc. in the summer, and we just had to ask ourselves "why?" Why would anyone put up with all of that when you could live in the Bay area for a slightly-higher cost of living, have great weather year round, have virtually no bugs, be in the center of the tech universe, and have one of the most beautiful areas in the world in your backyard?

I'm really sorry to lay all this out like this, but we were really shocked at how disappointed we were with the city. Please tell me that we visited on an off weekend or that our perspective was completely blown off, as we were really hoping to find a sort of oasis in the middle of Texas!

Well, when you consider how boring and ugly the rest of the state is, Austin is actually a very desirable place! But for real, Austin is a place that kind of grows on you as you get to know it-- and you do have to stay within a certain radius of the center city to maintain the vibe.

[AK123]

Originally Posted by brattpowered

Well, when you consider how boring and ugly the rest of the state is, Austin is actually a very desirable place!

Are there no large, non-boring cities in the state besides Austin?
Is this viewpoint what people are talking about when they say someone has "austitude?"

[love roses]

Yes.