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Hey there. I'm a native upstate New Yorker who moved out to Omaha 2 1/2 years ago for some grad work. Big mistake. I really don't like it. I've tried, met some good people along the way, but this "city" is NOT what I'm looking for. I've put school on hold, now my roommate and I are looking at Austin. We both are 32, single and active and looking to live in a city with an actual heartbeat. Omaha is not it. I will not miss this place at all. Tell me your experience with Austin in terms of night life, cool cafe's, art, single's scene, housing, good, bad, etc. I'd really like to be smarter about my next move.
A little info about us: We each have a large dog. Looking to spend around $1,000/mo on a 6 mo lease until we find the right neighborhood to possibly throw down some roots. We'd like to be no more than 10-15 minutes to the action, but have it "feel" as though we're further away (nice chill neighborhood.) We're sick of freezing and open to insanely hot summers as long as there is somewhere to get wet and have some fun. I'm huge on flowers and gardening--how is the vegetation? And for the love of GOD, tell me there are trees. Nebraska, the founding state of Arbor day, has 5 in the whole state. (Ok, slight exaggeration, but growing up in the Catskill mountains I got spoiled....)
Well as a former KC resident, I actually have many friends in Omaha and have visited there many times. I have always liked Omaha overall, but it does lack in some things.
I have lived in Austin for about 7 years now and think its a VERY overrated city. It is growing fast and a decent amount larger than Omaha. Austin proper is a fairly nice, well kept up city. There are trees here, but they don't grow very tall do to the mostly rock ground. West of Austin there are some hills with some trees, but certainly nothing more than the bluffs across the river in Council Bluffs.
Austin has a large university (U of Texas) and a concentration of bars and clubs downtown along 6th street. Other than that, Austin has little to offer the visitor.
The biggest advantage to Austin versus Omaha is the climate. It is significantly warmer down here during the winter. Snowfall is rare and ice storms don't even occur every year. The summer is very hot and stays hot for many months. The humidity however, remains low most of the time which makes it a TAD more barable.
The congestion is Austin is horrible and the cost of living is higher than Omaha.
Both Omaha and Austin have a decent amount going for them as far as jobs and future growth potential. However, Austin can offer you a much warmer climate, thats for sure.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SickofOmaha
Hey there. I'm a native upstate New Yorker who moved out to Omaha 2 1/2 years ago for some grad work. Big mistake. I really don't like it. I've tried, met some good people along the way, but this "city" is NOT what I'm looking for. I've put school on hold, now my roommate and I are looking at Austin. We both are 32, single and active and looking to live in a city with an actual heartbeat. Omaha is not it. I will not miss this place at all. Tell me your experience with Austin in terms of night life, cool cafe's, art, single's scene, housing, good, bad, etc. I'd really like to be smarter about my next move.
A little info about us: We each have a large dog. Looking to spend around $1,000/mo on a 6 mo lease until we find the right neighborhood to possibly throw down some roots. We'd like to be no more than 10-15 minutes to the action, but have it "feel" as though we're further away (nice chill neighborhood.) We're sick of freezing and open to insanely hot summers as long as there is somewhere to get wet and have some fun. I'm huge on flowers and gardening--how is the vegetation? And for the love of GOD, tell me there are trees. Nebraska, the founding state of Arbor day, has 5 in the whole state. (Ok, slight exaggeration, but growing up in the Catskill mountains I got spoiled....)
The one who posted above is obviously another biased, angry Midwesterner. I've seen their Austin-bashing posts multiple times now.These people have a hard time realizing how much Nebraska, Oklahoma, Kansas, etc. SUCK. I had a math teacher in high school who was from Omaha and said the same garbage. They'll say anything to keep up the "belief" that their crappy states are great with great cities(you are right when you said Omaha was a "city").They are culturally dry, boring, UGLY, treeless, cold, terrible places to be.
Austin, on the other hand, has had a long reputation as a vibrant and "weird" city. With so much to do, I've known countless people dying to move here; I've been to almost all US states and met tons of people, and NO ONE, honestly NO ONE that I met that had been to Austin didn't say they loved it. The live music scene is truly one to be reckoned with, being the Live Music Capital of the World. Austin also has more restaurants per capita than any city in Texas. Austin's extreme liberal attitude is also a really interesting and fun contrast to the rest of Texas. As for trees, they're mostly live oaks, which do not lose their leaves in the fall but in the spring, funny enough, and there are TONS of them(the Nebraska person was right when they said they don't grow too tall, though). The Hill Country that Austin is located in is ten times more interesting than the sorry excuse for hills that Omaha has, and places such as Mount Bonell, Lake Travis, and Westlake are BEAUTIFUL places to visit in Austin.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, of all cities over 700,000 in the US, Austin was the only one to gain jobs. Also, during the housing crisis of the past couple of years, the state of Texas has faired the best out of all states, with Austin fairing the best of Texas. The 6th street area of Austin is LINED with so many clubs and interesting attractions, you will never be bored of them, and the Congress Avenue area has loads to do as well. Austin also reminds me of New York or LA in the fact that it is so quirky; you will often see something so bizzare you will find yourself saying "only in Austin" quietly to yourself. The only negative thing about Austin is an inferior road system compared to its large size, making congestion pretty bad, but no worse than Houston or Dallas.
All in all, I've been to every major city in the US except Seattle and San Francisco, and Austin is my favorite. It's a terribly interesting, fun, BEAUTIFUL, large, and prosporous city that always surprises people.
Last edited by geoemrick; 01-14-2010 at 10:39 PM..
My best advice is to put down roots SOMEWHERE, rather than flitting from one place to another. Our country seems to have had an unstated mindset that utopia is just across the corner...or where our next big job, great relationship, et al is....funny, it never turns out that way. Reality always rears its ugly little head.
What you will see, especially in the Austin forum, but all over city-data, is that opinions tend to go to extremes here. Even with the two comments above, one raves and one denigrates. That's because of the nature of such moves, which are always looking for the next best thing/greener grass next door.
Life, unfortunately, isn't that exciting, and is mostly mundane. Omaha indeed is lacking in some areas, but so are all other places. My understanding is that Omaha is doing very well on the job front comparatively speaking, and that in those mundane areas that always seems to do well, such as insurance and other areas. Much of the US, especially the sunbelt, has just gone through the ringer job-wise. Vegas has imploded per jobs, along with Phoenix, much of california, Florida, the Carolinas, Georgia, and on. The midwest has fared as poorly. The northeast is struggling. Not really much left after all that, besides a few states in a north-west direction through the dakotas to Texas......
Austin AND Omaha would be in that vector. Now that Omaha is off the table for you, perhaps Austin would be a better "fit", but it, certainly, is not utopia, nor does "everyone love it that comes here".
I've been here for three years, and thought it was lacking from the get go. I've adapted, because I don't plan on flitting from place to place, but the reality is somewhat in between the above two posts. The place is not a "one size fits all", so it is not for everyone, and has problems like all metros. It has its beauty, and fairly friendly people, but has its warts and blemishes as well.
Lastly, for those coming here for economic reasons, the job growth is not keeping up with the population growth. That earmark is the only stat that matters. Austin is growing by about 2.5% a year, sometimes 3%, while the job growth has just made it in the black, not even coming out to a full 1%, the past year and a half. That means that there is a 2% overlap, per population/job growth.
Much of the jobs are low-paying, and in the service sector, so keep in mind that jobs are not weighted per pay/living wage when they are included as stats.....
All in all, Austin is just another nice mid-sized city, nothing tangibly different than others its size, like Indianapolis, Columbus, and such. Some will find it a great fit, other will find it lacking in ways they deem important. Best thing is to come here not expecting utopia, and check it out for yourself.
Best of luck to you guys in finding what you are looking for in a city, and life in general...
I have lived in Austin many years and have found gardening sort of daunting. I get amnesia every spring though and forget that the summer will destroy most of what one has planted or at least appear to. Fall is the best time for vegetables. So...there is a long learning curve in gardening here about what works and what doesn't. Once you stick around a while and learn what works, you can have an amazing garden. I can always tell the newcomers at Lowe's by the plants they are buying.
Having grown up in LA and spent considerable time in NYC, Austin is nothing like either of them.
I think there are plenty of trees here and I used to live in Seattle. Not the same kind of trees as up there but lots of trees nevertheless.
I like it here a great deal, but if I were you, I'd visit it first. I am middle aged, married and have a seven year old so I cannot answer regarding current night life but when we lived here in the late nineties we were close to your age, but married with no children. We found that when we went out we felt a bit old because the other folks out and about were more college aged. But then that could have just been our personal experience and the places we tended to frequent. Maybe being married makes one feel old no matter his or her age.
Explain something to me...why does Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Kansas suck? Because they don't have large populations? Because they get cold in the winter? Also, your vast knowledge of the Omaha area. WHere does this come from?? I dare say that the only thing keeping Omaha from being the same size as Austin is cold winter climate. Some of the most down to earth, friendliest people in the world live in Omaha, KC, Tulsa, OKC, etc. Are they exciting states? NO. And your bevolved Texas IS exciting?? I have lived in 10 states throughout my life and Austin is without a doubt the most boring, uninteresting city I have ever had the "pleasure" of living in. Omaha and KC have WAY more tourist activities to do that don't involved getting drunk and partying.
Austin is nothing more than a really overcrowded boring college town. Omaha and KC (especially joco) have "class". Something that Austin and Texas could NEVER have in a million years. The arrogance of Austin and Texas as a whole is something that you will never find in the midwest part of the country. OR if you do, it would be scattered lightly.
I can certainly understand wanting to leave Omaha to escape the cold winters, but PPPPPPPAAAAAALEEEEEESE, spare me the "Austin is a liberal capital" bull****. Less conservative than the rest of Texas, yes...but liberal??? Oh please. I know only Colorado Springs could claim the prize of being more overly conservative than metro austin. (of the places i've lived before)
The Austin chamber puts a tremendous amount of money into bringing up a VERY average mid size city and putting rediculous ideas into people's heads about what kind of place it truly is. Is Austin a horrible place?? Absolutely not, but it's not better or worse than any other mid size city trying to compete with the big boys. (Austin will be number 4 for the next 5 decades, sorry)
Quote:
Originally Posted by geoemrick
The one who posted above is obviously another biased, angry Midwesterner. I've seen their Austin-bashing posts multiple times now.These people have a hard time realizing how much Nebraska, Oklahoma, Kansas, etc. SUCK. I had a math teacher in high school who was from Omaha and said the same garbage. They'll say anything to keep up the "belief" that their crappy states are great with great cities(you are right when you said Omaha was a "city").They are culturally dry, boring, UGLY, treeless, cold, terrible places to be.
Austin, on the other hand, has had a long reputation as a vibrant and "weird" city. With so much to do, I've known countless people dying to move here; I've been to almost all US states and met tons of people, and NO ONE, honestly NO ONE that I met that had been to Austin didn't say they loved it. The live music scene is truly one to be reckoned with, being the Live Music Capital of the World. Austin also has more restaurants per capita than any city in Texas. Austin's extreme liberal attitude is also a really interesting and fun contrast to the rest of Texas. As for trees, they're mostly live oaks, which do not lose their leaves in the fall but in the spring, funny enough, and there are TONS of them(the Nebraska person was right when they said they don't grow too tall, though). The Hill Country that Austin is located in is ten times more interesting than the sorry excuse for hills that Omaha has, and places such as Mount Bonell, Lake Travis, and Westlake are BEAUTIFUL places to visit in Austin.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, of all cities over 700,000 in the US, Austin was the only one to gain jobs. Also, during the housing crisis of the past couple of years, the state of Texas has faired the best out of all states, with Austin fairing the best of Texas. The 6th street area of Austin is LINED with so many clubs and interesting attractions, you will never be bored of them, and the Congress Avenue area has loads to do as well. Austin also reminds me of New York or LA in the fact that it is so quirky; you will often see something so bizzare you will find yourself saying "only in Austin" quietly to yourself. The only negative thing about Austin is an inferior road system compared to its large size, making congestion pretty bad, but no worse than Houston or Dallas.
All in all, I've been to every major city in the US except Seattle and San Francisco, and Austin is my favorite. It's a terribly interesting, fun, BEAUTIFUL, large, and prosporous city that always surprises people.
Please don't lump the whole state of Texas when you speak about "class". You are basing it on your experience in Austin. So what, you didn't enjoy it and thought it was booooring. I have been to all the cities you mentioned, Omaha, KC, Tulsa, OKC and I found them to be extrememely dull and booooring. To each their own. I am not saying that Austin is the best city in the world to live in because I don't believe it is. I remember when Austin used to be smaller and not as hyped up as it is now. Too many people have moved to there and it has changed the dynamic of the city which I think is really disappointing.
I think InTheCut hits the nail on the head. I lived in Austin for 17 years. It's a pleasant enough place to live. It's not the panacea that some make it out to be. The over-hype of Austin is totally ridiculous. The city did good things for my career, put me in a position to move back home comfortably (Connecticut coast, just outside NYC), and I met a bunch of friends along the way. But being a NY'er, I made the mistake of trying to compare Austin to NY and expect NY style experiences here. Where I live now I am within a 2 hour drive of 15 professional sports franchises, can walk to the ocean, take public transportation to major city centers without getting in my car, and the culture has values that are congruent with mine and that I understand. It was unfair to expect that of Austin.
However, many people hate the area where I live, think its way overpriced and can't wait to leave.
It's a very personal thing-- you may love Austin-- you may hate it. I'm home now and couldn't be happier.
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