San Antonio vs Austin (actually Round Rock vs Boerne) (Paris: neighborhoods, live)

[majormadmax]

Originally Posted by ItsTheTruth

How nice of you to leave out the UTSA numbers which prove my point. Here, I'll do it for you:

1830 international students out of 30,474 students. That's 6%, so UT-Austin is 50% more diverse. Also, 92% of students are from Texas at UTSA. That also leaves 2% of the UTSA population from the USA but outside of Texas, as opposed to 11% at UT-Austin, so not only is UT-Austin more diverse, and it has a greater number of foreign students, but it also far more popular with out-of-state students, which is a great measure of the value/reputation of the university.

UTSA Office of the Registrar - Fall 2011 vs Fall 2012 Census Day Report

UT Austin is a far bigger part of that city than UTSA is of SA. That comparison doesn't prove your point one bit, if you factor in the large military community in SA then you're getting a far greater of "diverse" backgrounds than Austin.

Nice try, but you'll have to do better if you plan on convincing anyone Austin is more "diverse" than SA!

[Chaka]

Originally Posted by texantodd

I have two job opportunities and I am trying to decide between them. I have visited San Antonio several times, mostly doing the touristy things, but I am looking at settling down and setting roots and I would love some input from anybody out there.

A little about us. I am in my mid-late thirties and it will be me and my 14 year old daughter moving. She has been involved in cheerleading and soccer. I love artsy, creative things and people. I tend towards the liberal end of the political spectrum. I did look up and see that according to great schools' website Boerne appears to have some outstanding schools.

I appreciate any input, especially from anyone who may have lived in both cities. Thanks!

Are the jobs specifically in Boerne or ROund Rock, or are you just thinking to live there? As a liberal who is not the least bit artsy but loves living amongst artsy types, I love where I live near downtown San Antonio and wouldn't choose either place. But, if the job is in one of these suburbs, I'd probably lean a bit towards Round Rock, but not much. Both are very suburban, and very similar to each other IMO.

[ItsTheTruth]

Originally Posted by majormadmax

UT Austin is a far bigger part of that city than UTSA is of SA. That comparison doesn't prove your point one bit, if you factor in the large military community in SA then you're getting a far greater of "diverse" backgrounds than Austin.

Nice try, but you'll have to do better if you plan on convincing anyone Austin is more "diverse" than SA!

You're such a cheerleader that you would argue if I said that New York City is more diverse than San Antonio. And nothing, and I really mean nothing, about the military makes anyone more diverse.

[ashbeeigh]

San Antonio is very diverse. Take a walk around the Medical Center track any evening and you will see people from all over the world. I saw a group playing cricket one evening. Indian, Southeast Asian, African, Middle Eastern etc. I see those groups pretty consistently. And to say they aren't represented in a bit far fetched. While their festivals aren't nearly as popular and garner as much press there are numerous New Years, religious and other holiday festivals throughout the year for many different groups.

I'm not nearly as knowledgeable about the RR area so it's all up to you. This is just my opinion.

[texantodd]

Originally Posted by Chaka

Are the jobs specifically in Boerne or ROund Rock, or are you just thinking to live there? As a liberal who is not the least bit artsy but loves living amongst artsy types, I love where I live near downtown San Antonio and wouldn't choose either place. But, if the job is in one of these suburbs, I'd probably lean a bit towards Round Rock, but not much. Both are very suburban, and very similar to each other IMO.

The jobs are specifically in those locales (though the RR position allows alot of flexibility to work from home). I have been strongly leaning towards Boerne and either living there or commuting from SA. However, the Austin/RR position is a sure thing, and I don't want to pass up a sure thing for a possibility (even if it is a strong possibility).

[hitchhiker2012]

SA has a better zoo and museums than Austin. Austin has more of a outdoor culture than SA it's also known for its live music scene. It's a toss up between the two, but really just depends what you are looking for.

[SweethomeSanAntonio]

Originally Posted by ItsTheTruth

Jobs:

Austin has more professional jobs, San Antonio has more blue collar and call center jobs. I would assume that someone moving from another city is not doing so for a call center job. I don't have numbers to prove this but based on my experience in my field, I believe it to be true.

More culture:

San Antonio has a rich Mexican culture. Austin has 50,000 college students from around the world, a wider variety of international markets, restaurants, and stores. Austin has 10x the number of festivals, from music festivals, cultural festivals like Brazilian and Greek, to poetry festivals.

University:

There is nothing to correct. I stand by my initial statement that UTSA is not a "real" university. It's the university you go to if you're scared to leave home or couldn't get in elsewhere. To even think to compare UTSA to UT-Austin or Texas A&M, let alone universities out of state, is comical.

UTSA is a university of 32K fall 2011 and one of the fastest growing universities. To say its all locals who don't want to move away is ridiculous. UT Austin may be a l'ill more diverse percentage points wise but not enough to say it far more diverse.UT Austin has a better name recognition than UTSA, good for UT Austin. Comparing UT Austin to San Antonio's DOD, for example, SAMMC, is home to the largest medical institutions in the world representing 75 Allied countries.

San Antonio has one of the largest military concentrations in the world and with that designation brings more diversity to S.A. even though many people are not here permanently a lot of these people in the military are not a part of the local population numbers. San Antonio's daily population is probably far more diverse than Austin.

San Antonio and Austin both have a lot of ethnic festivals, we are not talking about, Houston.

S.A. has more white collar jobs, more F500, more regional HQ, more diverse economy.

Arts and Culture, S.A, has more high culture thus the many more noticeable opulent theatre palaces and civic buildings. S.A. has more art galleries, more arts districts, and museums, more rich culturally overall.

Austin is more of a college town despite having less college students than San Antonio. Austin's College nightlife is better but not better as a whole.

I think this is why Trader Joe's decided to build here first, lol!

[ItsTheTruth]

Fastest growing doesn't make it good. It is mostly locals and I've already shown it with their own enrollment numbers. The military does nothing for diversity any way you slice it. San Antonio does not have many ethnic festivals. The Greek festival is ok, there is a half day festival for all Asian communities combined, but what else is there that doesn't involve turkey legs? None. Central Market does a better job of holding international events than most festivals. San Antonio does not have more white collar jobs and it is ridiculous that you would even say that. Call centers are not white collar. I won't complain about the museums here, but there is no arts district. Blue Star is a sad attempt at one. Both cities are horrible for architecture.

Originally Posted by SweethomeSanAntonio

UTSA is a university of 32K fall 2011 and one of the fastest growing universities. To say its all locals who don't want to move away is ridiculous. UT Austin may be a l'ill more diverse percentage points wise but not enough to say it far more diverse.UT Austin has a better name recognition than UTSA, good for UT Austin. Comparing UT Austin to San Antonio's DOD, for example, SAMMC, is home to the largest medical institutions in the world representing 75 Allied countries.

San Antonio has one of the largest military concentrations in the world and with that designation brings more diversity to S.A. even though many people are not here permanently a lot of these people in the military are not a part of the local population numbers. San Antonio's daily population is probably far more diverse than Austin.

San Antonio and Austin both have a lot of ethnic festivals, we are not talking about, Houston.

S.A. has more white collar jobs, more F500, more regional HQ, more diverse economy.

Arts and Culture, S.A, has more high culture thus the many more noticeable opulent theatre palaces and civic buildings. S.A. has more art galleries, more arts districts, and museums, more rich culturally overall.

Austin is more of a college town despite having less college students than San Antonio. Austin's College nightlife is better but not better as a whole.

I think this is why Trader Joe's decided to build here first, lol!

[Chaka]

Originally Posted by ItsTheTruth

San Antonio does not have many ethnic festivals. The Greek festival is ok, there is a half day festival for all Asian communities combined, but what else is there that doesn't involve turkey legs? None.

Just a few -

Diwali & Eid, with the former being a HUGE event in HemisFair park

Beethoven's hosts monthly German festivals with their Oktoberfest and Maifest being the biggest

Annual Lebanese festival at St George Maronite Church

I've been to others but can't recall all now. We can't make all of them.

Not quite the same but there's a World Refugee event every year that represents the many cultures in San Antonio who have come here as refugees

San Antonio isn't terribly diverse, that's true, but it's no less or more so than Austin. And Round Rock? It's a suburb. It's an area of planned subdivisions. If that's your cup of tea great, but it's not Austin.

Not ethnic but fun - this Saturday is Chalk It Up!

[Chaka]

Originally Posted by texantodd

The jobs are specifically in those locales (though the RR position allows alot of flexibility to work from home). I have been strongly leaning towards Boerne and either living there or commuting from SA. However, the Austin/RR position is a sure thing, and I don't want to pass up a sure thing for a possibility (even if it is a strong possibility).

In which case, it's kind of 6 of one,half dozen of the other...

Boerne is nice. It is an old town with an historic town center. But outside that area, it's mostly just generic suburb. Round Rock is, at least all I've seen, pretty much all generic suburb. I say that not as a bad thing, just that they're pretty much the same. Lots of people live in these 'burbs and commute into town, but the relative advantages of San Antonio or Austin over the other are not that relevant, IMO, if you need to be in one of these towns. I'd probably put a slight edge to Boerne, but not much.

FWIW - I live in downtown SA, and used to commute to Kerrville. Boerne is the half way point. It's against traffic so about a 30 minute commute to the hwy exit (the rest depends how far off the highway you'd be). Just in case you decide to live in town and commute out. I'm not a big fan of commuting myself.