Conservative Catholic family moving to Austin- Bad idea? (Roma, Atlanta: houses, neighborhoods)

[adubss]

decisions2009,

Don't let any of these posts scare you away. Although Austin is as far left politically as you can get in Texas, there still is a vibrant conservative Catholic community here. There also is a poorly catechized Catholic community here as well. That's the same wherever you go though.. as you can tell by the most recent election, where many Catholics rationalized that social justice somehow doesn't include the most innocent among us. Regardless, you'll be able to find what you need here. It just might take longer than other places, and you might not find it in the middle of the city. That doesn't mean you have to move to Georgetown or way outside of town.

Check out Relevant Radio, 970AM (on-line also). Austin is just one of a handful of cities, and the only one this far south, with an actual station here in town. It was brought here by Catholics who want to remain faithful with the true teachings of the Church and realize that you can't change the truth. One listen should make you feel pretty good about making the move down this way. Best of luck.

Adubss

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by doctorjef

When I hear phrases like "great family values" I do indeed view it as code for something more sinister that the person isn't willing to state or perhaps for their own unexamined ideas, prejudices and fears -- afraid of gay people, afraid of gay couples, uncomfortable about singles of whatever sexuality, uncomfortable with diversity, uncomfortable with Democrats and liberals who aren't single-issue voters, etc, etc. The OP is right about one thing -- the North Texas prairie country on which Dallas is located is Ugly! So they want to move to Austin because it's lovely and charming.

For an open minded liberal you seem pretty intolerant.

[wehotex]

Originally Posted by adubss

decisions2009,

Don't let any of these posts scare you away. Although Austin is as far left politically as you can get in Texas, there still is a vibrant conservative Catholic community here. There also is a poorly catechized Catholic community here as well. That's the same wherever you go though.. as you can tell by the most recent election, where many Catholics rationalized that social justice somehow doesn't include the most innocent among us. Regardless, you'll be able to find what you need here. It just might take longer than other places, and you might not find it in the middle of the city. That doesn't mean you have to move to Georgetown or way outside of town.

Check out Relevant Radio, 970AM (on-line also). Austin is just one of a handful of cities, and the only one this far south, with an actual station here in town. It was brought here by Catholics who want to remain faithful with the true teachings of the Church and realize that you can't change the truth. One listen should make you feel pretty good about making the move down this way. Best of luck.

Adubss

Thankfully, most catholics don't cast their Presidential vote on the sole issue of abortion. as stated in another post, there are other catholic ideals such as an end to war, end to poverty, etc where Obama clearly proved to be the better candidate. Do you just throw those ideals out the window b/c you don't agree with the pro-choice part?

[texastrigirl]

decisions2009, Austin is a lovely place to live and I think you can find a Catholic community there that suits you and enough beautiful waterfront property in your price range. Eanes is a highly regarded school district nationally and Lake Travis schools are considered very good locally and both offer waterfront property. I am not Catholic but I have friends that are. One in particular likes the St. Katherine of Sienna parish in SW Austin. She does however feel like somewhat of an outcast being Catholic in Austin, Texas as it is not as dominant of a faith as it was where she grew up but it's all relative. I have lived in both Dallas and Austin and preferred Austin as a better place to raise kids mostly because it's a smaller more manageable city with a great vibe. I tend to have more conservative views (but not intolerances!) as well but have Austin friends who are gay, married, Democrat, etc. (It's that "Above all, love one another" thing that Jesus said that I try to adhere to). I found it to be a very good place to live and raise my kids and appreciated having my kids exposed to those differences as the world is a diverse place! I personally lived in Southwest Austin (Circle C Ranch) and loved it but it is not waterfront. Good luck!

[TexasHorseLady]

Originally Posted by doctorjef

To put a slightly different twist on this, many who post here are probably quite aware - as am I - that Austin has a certain "reputation" elsewhere in Texas. Texas as a whole is so very conservative that many people elsewhere in the state look at Austin as a completely mad, wild-eyed hedonistic and pinko-commie sort of place. It's the same sort of mentality and perceptions that were voiced by the late Sen. Jesse Helms (Republican) of North Carolina in respect to Chapel Hill, the small and very liberal city where the main and original campus of the University of North Carolina is located. Helms opined that Chapel Hill should be walled-off from the rest of North Carolina and made other intemperate remarks about the town, calling it "a zoo". That's exactly how many people elsewhere in Texas view Austin and Travis County (especially Republican members of the legislature, who seem to despise Travis Co.). So I expect the writer of the OP has "heard things" about Austin. In any event, I think this just underscores the extremely retrograde and oftentimes reactionary conservatism of Texas as a whole.

BTW, I'm a natural born, 5th generation Texan, so please don't think I'm some Californian or New Yorker who is levelling unfair criticism at a state I don't understand. The greater portion of my life has been lived in Texas, including Lubbock, Ft Worth, Dallas, rural Denton County,Beaumont, Mineral Wells, Corpus Christi, and Austin. I think I know what I'm talking about. For comparison I've got the other places I've lived, including Colorado, Louisiana, Virginia, D.C., Delaware, England, and Lithuania -- some less conservative than TX, some more so.

Well, as a 4th generation Texan through all four grandparents (more through some - we were here before Texas was Texas), who grew up in East Texas and has lived in north and central Texas and is married to someone born and raised in San Antonio (since we need to get credentials out there on the table, evidently, from your BTW), I disagree with your evaluation of what the rest of Texas is or what it thinks of Austin.

I don't even recognize the Texas outside of Austin that you say it is. I'd expect that of someone coming here from California, say (have, in fact, heard it stated by such), but not from someone who should know what they're talking about.

Now, the legislature (aka The Circus, as in, The Circus is in town) is something else again, but surely if you're a true Texan you know better than to consider them representative of the attitudes of the rest of the populace.

[doctorjef]

Texashorselady, YMMV, but I have personally had a few Texans tell me that they did not like Austin and/or felt uncomfortable there when they lived there (for college in a one or two instances) because it was "too liberal". I can specifically recall people in Ft Worth and Beaumont expressing their distaste for Austin in these terms and with the "anything goes there" connotation (or stated explicitly). Yes, I'd agree you meet plenty of people around the state who will say "I love the City of Austin", but there are indeed naysayers out there and they are very vociferous about their views.

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by doctorjef

Texashorselady, YMMV, but I have personally had a few Texans tell me that they did not like Austin and/or felt uncomfortable there when they lived there (for college in a one or two instances) because it was "too liberal". I can specifically recall people in Ft Worth and Beaumont expressing their distaste for Austin in these terms and with the "anything goes there" connotation (or stated explicitly). Yes, I'd agree you meet plenty of people around the state who will say "I love the City of Austin", but there are indeed naysayers out there and they are very vociferous about their views.

Arent there just as many liberals who turn up their noses at conservative beaumont/dallas/houston? Intolerance is not specifically a conservative trait, it is a human trait.

[doctorjef]

I'm not sure you take my point. I was commenting on the reputation that Austin has in Texas generally, which tends to distort the reality of the scene there (Austin's really a pretty normal place IMO, albeit with more soical and political liberalism than elsewhere in the state and with some specific - but very limited - local "weirdness"). As to how "liberals" feel about conservatives, I think that depends on what you mean by liberal. I have individual friends who are quite conservative, but as someone who wants to actively change the social and political orientation of America in a direction I believe in, I have to be strongly opposed to political-social conservatism as an ideological force, and likewise to be strongly opposed to the individual leaders and public voices of that ideology (e.g. Rush Limbaugh, John Cornyn, Rick Perry - the idiot, John Boener, Dick Cheney, etc).

[TexasHorseLady]

Originally Posted by Austin97

Arent there just as many liberals who turn up their noses at conservative beaumont/dallas/houston? Intolerance is not specifically a conservative trait, it is a human trait.

At least as many. And I say this as someone who is neither liberal nor conservative (nor who thinks that the sun rises and sets in Politics The Game, for that matter - got way too much else going on in my life for that and always have had except for the brief, almost obligatory stint of protesting anything the government did while in college). What politics I do have is based on the individual candidate or issue, not on an overall "we must change the country to reflect our way of thinking exclusively" attitude of "winning the game". Or, put more briefly, I don't toe any party line. And I've seen, frankly, MORE liberals being loud about how much they dislike conservatives than vice versa.

[Trainwreck20]

If people want to answer the original post, feel free. Religious discussion, as well as politics, are another forum.