Vegan/Environmentalist/Cyclist relocating...to somehwere between SA and Austin (Houston: how much, neighborhood)

[tongpa-nyi]

I suggest you avoid the I-35 corridor and live directly north of San Antonio towards Blanco. Beautiful areas around there, easy access to fantastic biking country, and a pretty drive to Austin.

[veloman777]

Coming from a "serious" cyclist (racer) of over 10 years, and someone who is typically not scared easily at all by cars - I would highly suggest you try to find a place to live IN downtown Austin. 95% of the roads outside of the immediate Austin area, in the 'rural' or countryside - they are awful IMO for road cycling. You will be on 2 or 4 lane highways with no shoulder and traffic passing you at 60+ mph. I've ridden a bit in Buda and all those quiet country roads. If you aren't getting buzzed by 60mph traffic, you are getting chased by very defensive (offensive?) dogs.

Based on your description, you would have a MUCH better life living within downtown Austin. There are a LOT of environmentally conscious, vegan/vegetarian, liberal people there. At least compared to anywhere else in TX. There's also a lot of recreational cycling groups/rides in Austin.

Feel free to PM me if you want any more advice.

[love roses]

"Based on your description, you would have a MUCH better life living within downtown Austin. There are a LOT of environmentally conscious, vegan/vegetarian, liberal people there. At least compared to anywhere else in TX."

Read more: https://www.city-data.com/forum/austi...#ixzz0hubQNsQk


Sorry, gotta disagree. I know there are a lot of those types in Dallas, Houston and a few other cities in Texas...especially in the Central areas. They are not exclusive to Austin. Downtown would make the commute a touch longer as well.

[TexasHorseLady]

Veloman, you did get that the OP will be working in San Antonio, and that living in Austin with that commute on a daily basis is not an option for him, even though he'd love to, didn't you? Or are you just trying to torture him?

[veloman777]

Oh, I guess I didn't read thoroughly. I would definitely not encourage anyway to commute that far!

I'm sure San Antonio (downtown) has some parts like Austin. Maybe?

Either way, I'd highly suggest the OP to live downtown in a city. If possible.

[orangetravelerJP]

Just thought I'd chime in on the "growing your own food" thing. Being from the midwest myself, I wanted to let the OP know that growing vegetables around here is not very similar to having a garden up north. Many people do successfully grow vegetables but it can take a lot of soil preparation, lots of extra watering (with water that is in short supply during some years), and a completely different mindset than that of the midwest. You absolutely can not just put some things in the ground and expect them to grow. Most (all?) years you will not be able to rely on rain water to water your garden. Last year (a really really dry year) I watered nearly every day (spending lots of money for my "eco-friendly", organic, local, sustainable garden...) and it made no difference. Everything absolutely wilted. Perhaps another year would have been better but it can be tough to give it a good try and end up with nothing. I tried three years to grow tomatoes (something that's relatively easy in many parts of the country) and finally gave up after I harvested maybe three tomatoes total a year (from at least six plants)--and planted drought-tolerant Texas native perennials instead (which I find more rewarding because they actually like the heat & sun!). I'm not trying to discourage the OP from moving, just wanted him to know that you have to have Texas-style expectations when it comes to gardening in this area. When trying vegetables, I didn't do the proper soil prep, never bothered with raised beds, so I know someone else could have a different experience. But thought I'd throw it out there so the OP is mentally prepared for some of the challenges of gardening in Texas. It's a whole different ball game!

Good luck with your possible move!

[love roses]

That's true West of 35, but East of 35 the soil is a lot different. It takes some preparation, but not an inordinant amount. All I do is break up the ground, throw some bags of soil down, and plant. We've had success with everything we've planted except Pomegranate. It's true about the water though. Some weeks you will have to water more because we won't get a lot of rain.

[PanTerra]

I guess the Tuesday Niter is out of the question. That would be a terrible commute. Just think of Austin as a great place to visit. I did a lot of drilling in areas between San Antonio, Houston and Austin. Anytime we had a sustainrd break, we would head to either Austin or San Antonion for several hours. Houston, not so much.

[orangetravelerJP]

Yep, as soon as I hit "submit", I thought if I lived further east the gardening might be a lot easier due to the soil. I've only tried to garden in SW Austin and it has been a learning process!!

[Campeador]

Originally Posted by plasticletters

Hello,
Every time I search for information in this topic, a google search brings me to this forum, so I thought I'd sign up and make my own thread. I have a prospective job offer in San Antonio and currently live in Detroit, MI. I had been looking for jobs in Austin (where I have wanted to move to for quite some time) but came upon this job in San Antonio that may be too good to pass up.

Here's my concern, my girlfriend (moving with me, also a midwest transplant) and I are both vegan, strongly environmentally/sustainability minded, left leaning people (hence the Austin choice). We're both very patient and tolerant of most everyone (save for racists and violent individuals) but neither of us would be happy living in a conservative community. I know it may be asking a lot, but is there a city somewhere between SA and Austin where we might be comfortable (I'm also a cyclist and have heard riding a bike in either city is fairly dangerous)? Any suggestions or tips will help.

I've had my heart set on living in Austin for a while now and it's troubling to be this close...but not really there at all. Doing the hour and a half commute is NOT an option for me, but I could deal with doing up to an hour if I absolutely had to/found a suitable community.

Thanks for reading.

I think Austin would, indeed, be your best bet as far as lifestyle match, but I suspect that San Antonio would have enough of what you're looking for to tide you over until you find the right professional opportunities in Austin. It would certainly be easier for you to do interviews and other job-hunting chores from SA than from Detroit.

Cycling in Austin isn't terribly different from the upper-Midwest. You'll find that most folks in the central part of the city are cool with giving you space and sharing the road. Every once in a while you get a bubba from the countryside who wants to run you off the road, but ignorance is everywhere.

If you are open to smaller towns in between SA and Austin you might look at New Braunfels and Blanco--both have nice cool waters flowing through town and some left-leaning enclaves from what I can tell. Real Ale, Texas's best micro-brew (IMO) is based out of Blanco--so you can share a brew with your neighbors, regardless of their political bent.