Los Angeles or Austin

[Lovehound]

Originally Posted by jdevelop2

This is just an ignorant post. IF we are comparing "areas" then the Austin "area" or MSA is 1.75 million.

If we are comparing areas, let's compare just the San Fernando Valley to the Austin "area," both about 1.75 million population. And the SFV is just one part of Los Angeles.

Just accept that Los Angeles, as a city or as an area, is vastly larger than Austin, built on a different scale. Whatever difference that makes is debatable, and I'm sure there's both good and bad points for both cities that relate to their respective sizes.

[Raziel]

Originally Posted by readymade

I know this thread is old, but just in case anyone's interested...

I moved from LA to Austin a couple of years ago. I wanted to afford a nice house, plus I'm in a band and Austin is the "Music Capital Of The World."

Yes, the houses there are less expensive. Sure, you can bar hop. I maybe would have loved it in my 20s. But, to me, it felt small. You can drive though the downtown in about 5 minutes or so. You're landlocked. And the mosquitos were HORRIBLE! It may seem like a small thing, but when you're constantly covered with itchy welts, it really makes for a quality of life issue. The music scene was disappointing. More and more clubs are closing due to noise ordinance laws. Almost everyone in Austin is a musician. Musicians to Austin is like actors to LA. There was no real variety of music. It was mostly pop/rock and singer/songwriter. I wouldn't move to Austin to "make it" in the music industry, however, even though the OP didn't mention it at all. The summers there are horrendous. Truly unbearable. I probably didn't spend more than an hour or so outside for about 3 months. And (this bothered me a LOT... maybe more than anything else) everyone blasts the air conditioning inside. So, you'd be outside where it's over 100 degrees every day all summer and go to a movie or out to eat and I swear to god they would have the temp set to 45 degrees. I couldn't wear skirts or shorts at all. Ever. And I had to carry around 2 sweaters usually. The driving is pretty awful. In some ways worse than LA. I'm not sure what it is about Austin drivers, but I was TERRIFIED to drive there. I saw more accidents and near misses in Austin than anyplace else I've ever lived. Usually 1 or 2 really bad ones (people being carried away on stretchers) a week. Austin is in the south and people there tend to be more religious or possibly just more open to expressing their religion. Lots of bible thumpers coming to my door, people asking me what church I belong to, and being told to have a blessed day.

That being said, the people there were absolutely wonderful. VERY friendly, open, and warm. We were offered gigs almost immediately by various people who just liked us and wanted to help out. That was the best part about Austin... the people.

Unfortunately, the people didn't really make up for the rest of it. Now we're back in LA, and I love it here. I don't know what the above poster meant about a revolving door of so-called friendships. The friends I've made here have been life-long. There's a lot more to do here. You have the ocean, mountains, woods, all nearby. The people here, while not as friendly as Austin, are VERY friendly. The weather is amazing.

I've definitely encountered some flakiness. Mostly in the form of people/businesses not calling me back. But, to me that's a small price to pay. You see some "plastic people" here and there, sure. And, well, it's funny! But by NO means is everyone here like that, though.

It's definitely more expensive here. So... there's that.

I know that this is an older post but, this is soo "spot on" it's not even funny! Everything from the excruciating heat and kind people in Austin to the heavy competition in music and good friends in LA! Your post nails it!

[RaymondChandlerLives]

Originally Posted by motoman

The two aren't even remotely comparable. The "LA area" is over 20 times the size of Austin. 15,000,000 people versus 710,000 in Austin.

Austin is very laid back and a pretty cool place. But you aren't going to find the diversity of people and things to do like you would in LA. It really just depends on what you are looking for.

It's actually closer to 18 million.