What do you LIKE about living in Texas (Houston, Dallas: home, camping)

[speeddev1l]

Well, I have been living in Southern California for the past 17 years. Recently I brought up the topic of perhaps moving to Austin. When I posted some queries here most people responded with a host of complaints about the city and in Texas in general namely...

The weather - awful

The job situation - awful (what? I thought Texas economy was booming??? )

The traffic - awful (really? worse than Los Angeles traffic?)

The people - awful (I thought Southerners were famous for their hospitality... I don't know I met some people from Dallas recently, they were on a conference visiting and were super-nice!)

So, let's get it straight... do you like living in Texas? What do you like about it? What do you hate about it? Are you waiting to get out of Texas or would you never leave Texas?

[rynetwo]

Likes

The Weather (October-June)

The traffic where I live. I have a 22 mile commute and it only takes me 25 minutes in the morning and 35 minutes on the evening. San Antonio is one of the least congested large cities in the country and Austin is one the worst.

The Texas Hill Country

HEB

Whataburger and Tex-Mex

Fiesta/Rodeo

[Westerntraveler]

First off.. I absolutely love living in Texas. I never want to live full time anywhere else but I do want to possibly spend the winters in Southern California when I have the money and time.I love the climate in the Hill Country,Central Texas,Houston,South Texas and the Coast. I do not care for the climate where I live. I absolutely love the extreme heat and humidity from April to October. I love the Texas culture.I love the free-willed streak and the friendly people.I love my home town of Midland even though I do have a love-hate relationship with it as a young person. I love the energy industry in Texas. I also love the Midland Lee Rebels and the Odessa Permian Panthers,Longhorns,Aggies,Baylor Bears,Dallas Cowboys,San Antone Spurs, and the Texas Rangers.I love the Hill Country,Southern Panhandle Plains like Abilene and San Angelo, and the coast. I love the food. I love the history too. I also love the Germans and the Czechs here.One thing about it I don't like is the Texas beer. Whenever I drink beer, I prefer stuff like Coors Light and Bud Light. I do not like how pot is not legal not even medical marijuana.I do not like that there is no SoCal climate and no snow-capped mountains. I love the outdoors like hunting,fishing,camping,watersports. I love festivals like the Sweetwater Jaycees Rattlesnake Roundup. I also love the gun culture. This is by no means an exhaustive list....just what I could think of off the top of my head.

[Westerntraveler]

Originally Posted by speeddev1l

Well, I have been living in Southern California for the past 17 years. Recently I brought up the topic of perhaps moving to Austin. When I posted some queries here most people responded with a host of complaints about the city and in Texas in general namely...

The weather - awful

The job situation - awful (what? I thought Texas economy was booming??? )

The traffic - awful (really? worse than Los Angeles traffic?)

The people - awful (I thought Southerners were famous for their hospitality... I don't know I met some people from Dallas recently, they were on a conference visiting and were super-nice!)

So, let's get it straight... do you like living in Texas? What do you like about it? What do you hate about it? Are you waiting to get out of Texas or would you never leave Texas?

Those people in Austin who were saying that the job situation in Texas is bad must of never been out to Midland.Thats where you want to go if you really want a job.Midland has the number one economy in the country.

[War Beagle]

Food

Generally friendly, helpful people

Strong economy

Relatively small government

The weather from November until April or May.

Reasonable cost of living.

[Frog_fan89]

You got that response because you were inquiring about the most non-Texan city.

Austin people can be rude. Why? Because most people living in Austin these days aren't even from Austin, let alone Texas. If you go out to the 'burbs where most native Texans and Austinites can actually afford to live, I think you'll find much more different people.

The jobs are hard to come by because of all of the people that are flocking to the city because it's the hip place to live right now. PLus, people that move there must compete with UT Austin grads.

Traffic is very bad in Austin because of the influx of people. The infrustructure cannot support it - and it's only going to get worse. Is it as bad as LA...probably not. But just think of how small Austin metro is compared to LA, NYC, and Dallas. Austin's traffic is frequently ranked right around these Cities for bad traffic.

Austin Weather isn't that bad - there are just a few months where it can be extreme. Like August - it gets terribly hot. But once fall arrives it's actually quite pleasant. I think the worst gift from Mother Nature to Austin is actually the allergies (Cedar!!)

I grew up in Austin. I lived there for 18 years. I've seen it change SO much - especially in the last 5-10 years or so. I moved to Fort Worth about 6 years ago and it's so different. I think Fort Worth (and any other Texas Metropolitan area) is MUCH more what you're looking for with your list of expectations. The economy for certain industries is great because of Oil and Gas (even more better in little boom communities like Midland and Odessa). People for the part are friendly. If you set up your commute just right, there won't be much traffic. I live almost 20 miles from my job and it takes me 20 minutes in the morning and 30 in the afternoon (There are highways that are TERRIBLE, however).

Austin is the least-Texan city because it is heavily populated with people from the West, The North East, and well, everywhere else inbetween. They culture is changing because of these people - in some ways, good and some ways, bad.

[rwr]

Friendly folks, except for a few jackasses.
Texas women!
Shiner beer.
BBQ
The hill country.
Mostly God-fearin' people.
Solid red state.
Right-to-work state
Hunting and fishing
Great medical care
Mountains, lakes, forests,desert, ocean, plains.
Mostly courteous drivers.
No state income tax.
Cost of living.

Just to name a few.

[texdav]

I love living in Texas because of people; life style and its southern slower pace of life. In the pre-80's I loved Austin but now look just outside that city for what was common then.

[Metro Matt]

Low COL

Solid economy

Conservative

[jameshardin]

I like the people here. Most of them are genuine and kind hearted. I love our culture, and our history as well. We have a strong economy, amazing cost of living compared to many other places in the US (especially California).