Just try and convince me NOT to move to Austin! (Houston: to live in, club)

[groovamos]

Originally Posted by theSUBlime

Looks like you need to do some traveling around Texas (I admit I do too)--perhaps in the places groovamos has cited.

One of the features of Texas that affects the image of the state is that the most beautiful scenery here is far from the major metro areas. If El Paso were a major metro (pop. 600K according to Emporis) they could draw better on their proximity (80 miles) to Guadalupe Mountains National Park. The major metro closest to the best scenery is San Antonio (pop. 1.9M), as they are partly situated in the Hill Country, and are the closest of the major metros to larger mountains at 459 miles to Big Bend National Park (Chisos Range). Also SA is 160 or so miles to Corpus (pop. 450K) and the better beaches at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, and 80 miles to the weirdness at Austin (pop. 1.6M).

Can someone tell me how to contact a moderator so I can fix 2 links in my previous post? I preceded them with hyphens, and so they don't show as links.

[Foreverking]

Originally Posted by watchoverme

Austin isn't flat really... Texas is however. I don't think anyone here thinks that Austin is particularly flat.

well I did. I lived in the Cascade Mountain range, So, a rolling hill here or there is still flat to me.

[love roses]

Oh, picky picky

[watchoverme]

Originally Posted by theSUBlime

Looks like you need to do some traveling around Texas (I admit I do too)--perhaps in the places groovamos has cited. In your statement, I would be willing to accept replacing 'Texas' with the 'Texas Gulf Coast' or even 'Houston'; However, while Texas might not be the most mountainous, or "beautiful" state (I don't really care for mountains) I'm fairly certain it offers more topographical/climate variety than any state in the Northeast, so you can find whatever is beautiful to you, all in one state.



Wait...what? People have all these misconceptions about humidity in Texas, and now I see where they stem from...

These be the facts:
Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitors sites is not allowed
Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitors sites is not allowed

Both fairly humid--if it makes you feel better though, they haven't beaten Houston which has a wonderful average 90% relative humidity (morning) and 63% relative humidity (afternoon).

I've traveled quite a bit around Texas when I lived in Central Texas. I don't know why Texan's have such a hard time admitting that Texas, compared to many states, is flat. The majority of it is flatter than other states when we're talking percentages of the entire state. There is a reason it is included in tornado alley- the terrain is just flatter in general.

Now, I personally like flatness, so I don't know why Texan's always get so defensive about the "Texas is pretty flat" comment. When people say "Connecticut is an old state that is a bit deteriorated and vacant in many areas" I completely agree and accept that- that's a lot more negative than talking about a flat topography! Clearly we know there are mountains and hills, but I don't think it's debatable that the majority of Texas, especially the more civilized areas (meaning more people and cities) are pretty damn flat topography wise compared to many other states or regions in the US.

[Foreverking]

Originally Posted by watchoverme

I've traveled quite a bit around Texas when I lived in Central Texas. I don't know why Texan's have such a hard time admitting that Texas, compared to many states, is flat. The majority of it is flatter than other states when we're talking percentages of the entire state. There is a reason it is included in tornado alley- the terrain is just flatter in general.

Now, I personally like flatness, so I don't know why Texan's always get so defensive about the "Texas is pretty flat" comment. When people say "Connecticut is an old state that is a bit deteriorated and vacant in many areas" I completely agree and accept that- that's a lot more negative than talking about a flat topography! Clearly we know there are mountains and hills, but I don't think it's debatable that the majority of Texas, especially the more civilized areas (meaning more people and cities) are pretty damn flat topography wise compared to many other states or regions in the US.

yeah, I don't think you Texans should be ashamed of your flat topography, all Im saying is that for what ever stupid reason (and my wife thinks Im retarded for feeling this way), It just drove me out of my mind to look off into the horizon and not see it end with a mountain. Sometimes the ground would end with the clouds.

Ever watch the Matrix, where NEO feels something is wrong but just can not put a finger on it, well thats how I felt in Texas. Everything appeared normal, but I knew it was kinda off. AZ doesnt give me that weird offness (new word).

[theSUBlime]

Originally Posted by watchoverme

I've traveled quite a bit around Texas when I lived in Central Texas. I don't know why Texan's have such a hard time admitting that Texas, compared to many states, is flat. The majority of it is flatter than other states when we're talking percentages of the entire state. There is a reason it is included in tornado alley- the terrain is just flatter in general.

Now, I personally like flatness, so I don't know why Texan's always get so defensive about the "Texas is pretty flat" comment. When people say "Connecticut is an old state that is a bit deteriorated and vacant in many areas" I completely agree and accept that- that's a lot more negative than talking about a flat topography! Clearly we know there are mountains and hills, but I don't think it's debatable that the majority of Texas, especially the more civilized areas (meaning more people and cities) are pretty damn flat topography wise compared to many other states or regions in the US.

Really? I find that hard to believe. I'm guessing you were in the Gulf Coast region?

Ummm, but you're wrong. It's not flat. Texas has a much larger land area than most states, and could probably fit entire states into its mountain/hill ranges. (It's no California, I admit.) That's the point. It's not about the fact that the "civilized areas" are not near the mountains. (If you want to go live on a mountain in Texas you can!) It's about the fact that you're perpetuating a fairly common misconception. Why are we Texans so fierce about that you ask? It's probably because of the countless hours we spent trying to remember all the regions for geography tests in grade school! Moreover, you choose to ignore the fact there are a significant number of mountains and hills--THAT is what is annoying. I could care less whether you like the topography or not.

And uh, I've never heard that about Connecticut....at all. (I've only heard that it doesn't really have much of an economy...might be a misconception, but that's another topic.) Where do you get this stuff from? Get out and explore bud. Better yet, go to the Gulf Coast, and you'll find out what flat really is!

Aside from correcting your misinformation about Texas topography, I admit this post serves little purpose, as the OP didn't mention the words "topography," "mountain," or "hill" in any posts.

Originally Posted by The_Fairfaxian

For the record, I am indifferent to the landscape wherever I live. In fact, I've been in the DC area all of my life, and I would like to see something different than the flat areas of the mid-Atlantic topography. As far as I'm concerned, I look forward to new scenery, whether it's deserts or brown flatlands.

As for what I'm looking for, just look at list of what I expect from Austin and see if I'm off base anywhere

[groovamos]

Originally Posted by watchoverme

I don't know why Texan's have such a hard time admitting that Texas, compared to many states, is flat.

(highest point, feet): Compared to Louisiana(535), Mississippi(806), Florida(345), Illinois(1237), Indiana(1257), Wisconsin(1951), Minnesota(2301), Michigan(1979), Ohio(1549), Kansas(4039-high plains), Nebraska(5424-high plains), Iowa(1670-high plains), and South Carolina(3560), I would argue Texas(8749) is not extensively flat.

Of the previous you could say that only TX and SC have mountains. SC has a beautiful patch of Appalachia in its northwest corner that I have seen often, maybe 10% of its land area, the rest flat.

Please see my previous post this thread, about the 3 widely separated mountain ranges in TX, each with many peaks exceeding 7000'. Links to photos provided.

The majority of it is flatter than other states when we're talking percentages of the entire state. There is a reason it is included in tornado alley- the terrain is just flatter in general.

This seems a little off, as Tennessee (where I grew up) has hilly country, the giant Cumberland plateau with many canyons, and the Smokies, and is classic tornado country.

Now, I personally like flatness, so I don't know why Texan's always get so defensive about the "Texas is pretty flat" comment.

Since I grew up elsewhere, I'm not really overly partial to Texas, or feeling defensive. But the state has been very good for me and the reason I discuss this is that I get to post links to beautiful photos that belie what the media want to portray about Texas, which they do in order to promote their pet "themes". Kinda like what they do to Nashville and their pet theme of "Country", or Mississippi with (fill in the blank film or TV show) or for that matter, the South in general.

Now here are a couple of links to photos of a geographical feature maybe a 1.5 hour drive from Austin. Seems the water in this situation doesn't think much of the "flat" constraint:

Gorman Falls - Wild Texas Photos

and http://static.panoramio.com/photos/o...l/15059211.jpg

[handy dan]

To the person who started this tread: I won't try to convince you NOT to move to Austin, but I do agree with others on this board that you need to check it out for yourself and then decide whether Austin is a good fit.

Austin is a young city with lots of friendly people and a low cost of living. I agree with your observation that Texas does have a lot of purdy ladies, which is important if you're a single dude.

However, the Austin job market is not all that great, and like a lot of other cities in the Sun Belt region, a lot of the job growth that occurred over the last decade was in industries that catered to new arrivals to the city, like housing construction and new retail outlets. Well, those two industries are in a death spiral right now, and to make matters worse, things are not going well for other major employers.....DELL, AMD, Freescale, GSD&M, National Instruments, Whole Foods all look a little wobbly and you can bet that each one of these companies are going to lay off workers over the next year.

So, I guess my advice to you would be to stay right where you are if you are currently employed and NOT move to Austin until you have had a chance to check it out AND you have a job offer from an employer that won't likely go BK in the next year (AMD is most likely gonna go bust IMO).

[Foreverking]

Boy my expectations of Austin being this beautiful place, with beautiful friendly people was dashed within ten minutes of arriving here. First thing, I landed on a toll road, had to buy a GPS system that day because the roads are so confusing (if your not from Texas). Thank God for Tom Tom showing me around that place. Looked at homes, found out that house I liked was going to cost me 7K a year in Taxes. Crickets where all over the parking lot, in a massive invasion, they were actually crunching under my feet with every step. then summer hit.....humid and hot. when it wasn't hot and humid, it was flooding.

[ROY DUBOSE]

Originally Posted by artsyguy

So if you move to the Gaza Strip or to Somalia you would have no trouble at all with the "attitude of the townspeople"??

Or let's say it is circa 1940 and you are a gay Jewish man and wanted to live in Europe because you heard it was beautiful and lovely there, I'm assuming you would have absolutely no problem with the townspeople??

if one is a good person, they will find good people in Gaza or Somalia -- if you are a person that lives in fear and lothing, a chip on your shoulder and a club in your hand, you'll find a fight -- no matter where you live

judge not lest you be judged