Comparing NC, Austin and Colorado..any suggestions? (San Antonio, Round Rock: appointed, fit in)

[outdoorsychica]

Any comments to compare and contrast these areas?

We are coming from the Seattle area and are looking for someplace with plenty of ***sunshine ***, tech market, natural beauty, outdoorsy lifestyle, good school systems, plenty to do both indoors and outdoors for both adults and family (with young children).

We are looking for someplace that is the right mix of having a rural lifestyle i.e. property, horses, space but access to metropolitan offerings as well...i.e.. restaurants, live music, sports teams, shopping, etc..

We have been to Colorado and North Carolina but have only heard what Austin is about at this point.

Comments and suggestions are greatly appreciated!!

[Papillon Mom]

Hi,
Don't know where in NC you are looking but can offer some insight on Raleigh. My husband and I lived in Raleigh for a year and Apex (suburb of Raleigh) for 2 years. We liked Raleigh a lot and loved Apex. People are friendly, the area is safe and the farmer's market is absolutely awesome. The winters felt long to me but we did move there from Tucson, AZ so that may be why. The ice storms (when you get them) can be awful. It took me 12 hours to get home from work and it was normally a 20 min commute.

The reason we left was because of the school district there. Wake County School District is basically a huge district that covers all of Raleigh and the suburbs. As a teacher I found it very impersonal and poorly run. On my first day they gave me a binder that held all my lesson plans for the year. Basically the teacher puts an overhead up and the kids and teacher "fill in the blanks". It was SO boring. When I strayed from the binder (or went too fast to fit in other things) I was reprimanded. This was all made to "teach to the test". Wake County did not seem to care if the kids were learning how to think as long as they could answer A,B,C or D on the state test. I only taught for a year and then could not take it any longer and ended up completing my M Ed at a university there instead.

The Universities are great. Lots of choices and good programs. Actually, we loved everything about Raleigh except the school district. Probably would have stayed but, as a teacher, the district is very important.

Can't tell you much about CO or Austin (yet). We are hoping to move to Austin next year (waiting to see if I get accepted in a grad program) and I haven't lived in CO since I was a little kid (although, I remember it was VERY cold). Hope some of this helps!

[Moonlady]

So, I think the reason you're not getting many responses is because not too many of us can compare the 3 areas.

For your criteria:

We are coming from the Seattle area and are looking for someplace with plenty of ***sunshine ***, tech market, natural beauty, outdoorsy lifestyle, good school systems, plenty to do both indoors and outdoors for both adults and family (with young children).

We are looking for someplace that is the right mix of having a rural lifestyle i.e. property, horses, space but access to metropolitan offerings as well...i.e.. restaurants, live music, sports teams, shopping, etc..

Austin pretty much fits that description except the sports teams. We have no professional teams in Austin, but we do have minor league baseball in Round Rock, and lots of college sports. San Antonio has the Spurs for pro basketball.

If you are interested in rural living, do a search on here for Dripping Springs. It might have what you're looking for.

What else are you interested in hearing about Austin?

[outdoorsychica]

Austin:
How would you describe the lifestyle in Austin for your 30 something crowd with children? What are people into? Activities, indoors and out.. the general mindset of folks.. here in Puget Sound, its' VERY liberal, which I like.

[outdoorsychica]

NC:
Yes, Raleigh is where we are considering...
Do you feel that people on the whole are more suburban, stick to the town kind of folks or is it more of a 'Get outside and find an adventure' kind of place? My feeling is that its' more of the first..just from what I've read.
Your information about the school system is wake county is very helpful and insigtful. Thank you.

[Jennibc]

Originally Posted by outdoorsychica

Austin:
How would you describe the lifestyle in Austin for your 30 something crowd with children? What are people into? Activities, indoors and out.. the general mindset of folks.. here in Puget Sound, its' VERY liberal, which I like.

I used to live in Seattle. Austin liberal isn't much like Seattle liberal. If you are looking for an affordable Seattle with sunshine, you will be disappointed. That's not a slam on Austin, I actually prefer it here. But every time I hear Austin compared to Seattle I cringe because they are really not that much alike.

[Papillon Mom]

Raleigh as a whole is definitely a "suburban, stick to the town kind of folks". They have a lot of outdoor areas (lakes, parks, etc) and people get out but it is often within the city. There are adventures to be had but you have to look for them. The towns differ as well. Cary is totally suburban soccer moms but Apex not as much and Knightdale is a farm town. Depending on what you want you could probably find it after some research...maybe

[phil938]

I lived in NC for 18 years (Charlotte area, but am very familiar with Raleigh) but I now live in Austin -- Austin is going to be more liberal overall than Raleigh. Also it beats Raleigh every time in terms of outdoor activities, music, culture, etc.