We Love Your City! (Austin, Cleveland: appointed, apartment, new home)

[AutumnFOG]

My fiance and I love your city. We've been surfing these boards and asking questions for months now, and finally had the chance to visit this past week and weekend.

There are some posters on this board (you know who they are), who go to great lengths to make Austin seem like such an overrated place. They make it seem like a corporate, tourist trap ditch, a place with all of the difficulties of a major city without any of the luxuries. They make it seem like the surface evaluations of size and expense speak to a greater degree to the character of a place then its practicality, its people, its openness.

I was really worried about visiting then. I thought perhaps we had gotten our hopes up and were bound to be disappointed. We spent more time than I care to share in the last months putting together apartment searches, neighborhood searches, studying the area and so on. I felt like if I got down there and I saw nothing but parking lots and strip malls as these posters suggest, I would have been duped.

But alas, we really love your city. We examined every inch of the town and outskirts, did many things, some touristy, some local. We talked with people, most of whom are incredibly friendly, and I have nothing but positive things to say about the hospitality of Austin and the manner in which it seems to be run.

Is Austin a world-class city? No. But it also doesn't bring about the entitled world-class attitude that you think of when you hear about a bustling metropolis. For just $50, for two people, we were able to park in a public garage, get food, and spend an afternoon and evening doing both free and paid activities in the very walkable downtown Austin area. That's parking, dinner, and multiple activities for $50. You can't beat that anywhere.

I am amazed at how friendly the locals seem to be, almost all of them waving at us or willing to help if we even looked a bit confused. I love how well things seem to be insulated into themselves. In our entire experience down there, we felt as though in Austin, the bar scene is kept insulated from the quieter locales much better than in other places. The college, while accessible, still exists to some extent as its own identity, and is thus avoidable.

The roadways are busy during peak times, sure. I lived in Buffalo, NY for 20 years. A city that had 150 years to build and reconstruct its road ways, a city that is a third the population of Austin with twice the congestion. I-35 is a *****, but it is doable.

Maybe in Austin, unlike in true "world-class cities", you won't be able to see a movie premiere on its first night of international release, or eat at a five-course $500 restaurant that has a bunch of stars attached to it. Maybe you won't get the newest, best, biggest, most exciting and inspiring thing when its immediately available. Maybe there is no glimmer. But I don't really get the impression that, that is what Austin is all about.

And I certainly did not get the impression that it was filled with entitled, half-Communist artists who look down their nose at everyone. What a ridiculous sentiment.

My fiance and I have spent our entire lives tucked in different corners of the rust belt near cities like Detroit, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, and so on. These are places, some of whom were at one time world-class cities (see: Detroit), that have buckled under the weight of many of the things that supposedly make cities great. In other words, in time, things fall.

Austin seemed like a great place. We love the history. We love the weather. We love the people. We love the atmosphere. It isn't the greatest place. But it also then is free from the burden of trying to maintain that.

So we're moving in, in May. We're your new neighbors, yay! There's been a lot of people who've helped in providing information that made our understanding of Austin easier when we got there to visit, and many of those people had posted things on this board. Most of whom never actually responded to us directly, but rather just stuff we searched out. So if anyone ever questions the purpose of defending Austin or answering a question for the thousandth time, please keep in mind that, in our case at the least, this board was tremendously helpful in allowing us to make an educated decision.

For those of you who constantly clamor about the negatives of Austin and how you'd rather live someplace else: go ahead and move. We're happy to take your place.

[jobert]

Yay!! Welcome to Austin!

[Austin97]

Cool welcome to austin!

You actually can see a movie premier, just not a blockbuster movie premier. A number of independent films premier here though.

Im not sure it is possible to pay $500 for a meal for two here without alcohol, but you can pay 200. You can also wear shorts while doing it

Austin has probably less than 10 high end food places (maybe less than 5) but they compare extremely well to famous places in NYC etc for food quality. For overall service and experience austin is lacking any truly top end restaurants.

A $150 one person meal in NYC is probably a $50 meal in austin. A $300+ meal in NYC has no equivalent in austin.

[LeoZ]

My thoughts exactly! Glad you found a place you can settle down in.

[AMJ27]

What an inspiring post! We are coming for a visit (and interviews for my husband) next week/weekend. May I ask what some of the things that you did during your visit that you felt really gave you a good taste of what Austin is all about?

[Spec 1]

I am so happy to read your post. I too have been looking into Austin for months and doing very diligent research on this board and elsewhere. I am visiting in one week (yes!) for about 9 days to get myself a feeling for the city. I will be doing a couple of the touristy things but want to get a feel for the true city underneath, as it seems like exactly my type of place.

All of the positives you mention are things I would be ecstatic to have, but also due to a couple people on this board I've wondered if Austin is just hyped to be a particular way it is not.... I suppose I'll see for myself shortly but your post brings a very positive light to the area. Thanks!

[Aaarrrggg]

Yay! My husband and I (& 4 dogs!) are moving to Austin on Fri (from the UK) and your post has got me even more excited!! Looking forward to being neighbours!

[Paulmmm]

Congratulations, AutumnFog (and AMJ27, Spec 1, and Aaarrrggg). I'm glad to hear that someone with all your excitement and positivity is going to make Austin your new home.

Welcome, neighbor!

[CptnRn]

Yeah!!!

[twange]

Very nice post. I moved here from Cleveland 3 years ago so I understand your point of view on the Rust Belt. All Things Must Pass...

Welcome!