Yet another Austin vs Dallas vs Houston vs San Antonio thread

[Gunion Powder]

Originally Posted by winkosmosis

Austin, duh

Why duh? Explain this in the most objective way you can. In a way that doesn't reflect your own one sided opinions of the other cities.

[kidicarus89]

Austin has the best vibe and exciting feel to the city, whereas Dallas and Houston are a bit more cookie cutter large American suburban sprawl, dominated by strip mall aesthetic. You'll definitely find some liberal-minded folks in Austin, but don't rule out some cool areas of Dallas like Deep Ellum, Bishop Arts and a lot of the neighborhoods around East Dallas. These areas have a high concentration of local businesses, interesting bars and proximity to good public transportation. (Dallas has by FAR the best public transportation of any Texas city).


I think you'll love Austin more, but if housing affordability is an issue don't discount the other cities. They are large enough that you can find your niche in them.

And on a side note, I'd say El Paso is just as liberal politically, if not more, than Austin is.

[wadebecker]

I've lived in Austin, Houston, Midland (gag), and San Antonio. If you asked me two years ago, I would tell you that, hands-down, Austin is the best city in Texas. I loved the people, events, geography... everything about it.

However, I must say that my vote has changed to San Antonio (by far). It has the vibe that Austin did 15 years ago. Some interesting facts:
-There are many young people moving to the City for various reasons. There are some great employers (and more are being given incentives to relocated to San Antonio) and the city is still relatively cheap.
-Many areas in central San Antonio are being re-gentrified. These are very cool neighborhoods with a lot of history, quaint houses, and just great people. You can still get in to some of the nicer neighborhoods at $300-400k. The Austin equivalent (think Tarrytown) would be >600k
-There are so many things going on... every week/weekend. Just a 5 minute drive from a centrally-located home. $10 cab ride
-Austin has become a cluster... way too many people. I stayed at the four seasons for the weekend a month ago, and couldn't get over how awful it is to get around downtown now.