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Location: Fort Bend County, TX/USA/Mississauga, ON/Canada
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Hello everyone, I am originally from Oklahoma but am currently looking at grad schools in the psychology department at UT-Austin, St. Edwards, Univ. of Houston & Rice to name a few. Depending on whether or not I get into these programs, how would you rate the cities (Houston, Austin) in terms of favoring a single, open-minded black female grad student? I am also interested in becoming a certified teacher in either of these cities & am aware of the competition I may face in the school districts for those who also want to become teachers. Any help given is appreciated! Thanks.
A few things that I'm looking for:
-graduate housing/decent apartments (I'm on a budget :/, proximity to campuses)
-graduate campus life (how grad-friendly are these cities?)
-dog-friendly cities
-cultural activities/nightlife (I love festivals, museums, art galleries, live music, various foods, bellydancing, cooking classes)
-diversity
-activities for singles (volunteering opportunities, etc.)
It sounds to me like you would be happy in either city, but Austin is probably a slightly better fit for you - Austin is a university city whereas Houston is a city with universities, if that makes sense.
Location: Central Bay Area, CA as of Jan 2010...but still a proud Texan from Houston!
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Houston for sure!
A few things that I'm looking for: -graduate housing/decent apartments (I'm on a budget :/, proximity to campuses) -graduate campus life (how grad-friendly are these cities?) -dog-friendly cities -cultural activities/nightlife (I love festivals, museums, art galleries, live music, various foods, bellydancing, cooking classes) -diversity -activities for singles (volunteering opportunities, etc.)
After looking at your list of things that interest you I would definitely suggest Houston. Why because I have lived in both cities and know what each city has to offer as far as your interests are concerned. Austin is not a very progressive city at all. It is not a diverse city at all as many would think. If you love festivals, museums, and art galleries Houston has some of the best...Austin offers hardly anything. Belly dancing in Austin...never heard of it. Houston is a very cultural city therefore you will be able to find anything that interests you. You will not find that in Austin. Houston also has the best multi ethnic restaurants you could ever find in a city. Austin has very limited and not very impressive restaurant choices compared to Houston. You will be very limited in your educational pursuits in Austin vs. Houston which has a lot to offer in that area. The cost of living near the Universities in Houston is substantially lower then the cost of living near UT in Austin. UT has a big name due to their football team but when you look at the curriculums offered at UT it is very limited especially in your field of interest.
Cooking classes are offered here but are not easy to find. The one thing that I did find impressive in Austin is the downtown Whole Foods Market. It was fabulous and offered cooking classes but very expensive cooking classes.
Houston has more volunteering opportunities then you can imagine in many different areas of interest.
I don't want to make it seem that I think badly of Austin but I can honestly tell you that if you are looking for diversity and opportunity you will be sorely disappointed in Austin. I recently lived there for 1.5 years and could not wait to get out of that town. It is a very well marketed city but don't believe the hype because it is a big lie especially when it comes to being an open minded place!
I wish you luck and if you want to know anything more specific don't hesitate to ask me!
Location: Central Bay Area, CA as of Jan 2010...but still a proud Texan from Houston!
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knowledge and experience
Quote:
Originally Posted by TXperson
If I had to judge on where she is coming from and what she's looking for, then I would say that Austin is the better fit for her criteria.
If diversity and cultural activities are a high priority for her, then I would suggest Houston.
I am going by what she is looking for as well as my experience of living in both cities. It is one thing to just hear hype about a city it is another to actually live and experience a city.
I am familiar with both cities, and while from my experience I prefer Houston over the two, Austin does in fact offer the college lifestyle and environment that is often portrayed on television and in movies. It also diverse enough and hosts plenty of activities to make it a viable choice.
It is obvious that Houston is going to be the more diverse city with a very active scene in the arts, but it loses its college 'edge' and feel. But maybe as a grad student, this is probably what she is looking for. Austin could probably be the better city for pregrads.
I would also make the assumption that it's probably easier to 'adjust to' Austin coming from Oklahoma, as both places have similar environments, which isn't as strong in Houston.
If you love festivals, museums, and art galleries Houston has some of the best...Austin offers hardly anything.
Houston has more in terms of museums and galleries, but festivals? Austin City Limits and SXSW are "hardly anything?" Not to mention all the others...here's a partial listing from 2003 to 2004:
This Is Austin: Austin Festivals (http://www.austin360.com/lifestyles/content/lifestyles/tia/ausfests.html - broken link)
Suggesting that belly dancing in Austin is nonexistent is ignorant. A Google search for "Austin belly dancing" brought up 630,000 results. "Houston Belly Dancing" brought up 619,000 results.
Houston has more volunteering opportunities then you can imagine in many different areas of interest.
So does Austin. In fact, any sizable city will have volunteering opportunities.
Houston is more diverse than Austin. It has a more diverse restaurant scene, and the art scene is bigger (which should be a given, considering the size differences).
Austin has a higher concentration of live music venues (though Houston is by no means lacking in live music), and is more centered on its universities than Houston is.
Location: Central Bay Area, CA as of Jan 2010...but still a proud Texan from Houston!
7,484 posts, read 10,444,054 times
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It is what it is!
Quote:
Originally Posted by awecelot
Care to elaborate?
Maybe you need to live in Houston for a long time and know the city inside out and then you might get mypoints.
Houston has more in terms of museums and galleries, but festivals? Austin City Limits and SXSW are "hardly anything?" Not to mention all the others...here's a partial listing from 2003 to 2004:
This Is Austin: Austin Festivals (http://www.austin360.com/lifestyles/content/lifestyles/tia/ausfests.html - broken link)
Suggesting that belly dancing in Austin is nonexistent is ignorant. A Google search for "Austin belly dancing" brought up 630,000 results. "Houston Belly Dancing" brought up 619,000 results.
Ignorant is a fool who judges without knowledge. I said I had never heard of it in Austin not that it was non-existent. Walk around Houston and see the culture...walk around Austin and see the non-cultured.
So does Austin. In fact, any sizable city will have volunteering opportunities.
Yep you got that right!
Houston is more diverse than Austin. It has a more diverse restaurant scene, and the art scene is bigger (which should be a given, considering the size differences).
Austin has a higher concentration of live music venues (though Houston is by no means lacking in live music), and is more centered on its universities than Houston is.
It's Universities????What other major University are you talking about other then UT in Austin?
Apparently you are looking for a fight. It's not going to happen.
Houston is more diverse in everything! Museums, education, people and different cultures, medical industry, roads, food, pay, international airport etc, I can go on and on. Austin is way behind in all of the above and more. You must think that because Austin has more festivals and SXSW that makes it so diverse! Spew your anger somewhere else. I am giving sound advise to people seeking the truth...if you don't like it then don't read it I would rather have someone telling me the truth about a city relocation then being misled by the hype.
Apparently you are looking for a fight. It's not going to happen.
Houston is more diverse in everything! Museums, education, people and different cultures, medical industry, roads, pay, international airport etc, I can go on and on. Austin is way behind in all of the above and more. You must think that because Austin has more festivals and SXSW that makes it so diverse! Spew your anger somewhere else. I am giving sound advise to people seeking the truth...if you don't like it then don't read it I would rather have someone telling me the truth about a city relocation then being misled by the hype.
I'm not looking for a fight. I'm pretty sure people on this board can back me up on this - the reason why I am here is to give sound advice to people.
You obviously didn't read my post. If you would have read it, you would have seen this:
Quote:
Houston is more diverse than Austin.
I don't need to spew my anger somewhere else, because I'm not angry. It seems to me like you are angry that I chose to challenge your assertions about Austin.
Look, I'm sorry that you didn't have a good experience when you lived in Austin. However, just because Houston is better for you does not mean that Austin is not better for the OP. Dallas is better for me than either Houston or Austin, but that doesn't mean that Houston isn't better for you than Dallas and Austin. It's all about what we are looking for in a city, and based upon the OP's post, I felt like Austin was the best recommendation. I don't have anything to gain from it - I'm only here to help people make an educated decision.
I don't even know how to respond to the rest of your response to me, so I'll leave it to other posters who know that I am here to help others make decisions based upon the facts. Sometimes, that job involves correcting the assertions that others make.
A few things that I'm looking for:
-graduate housing/decent apartments (I'm on a budget :/, proximity to campuses)
Not a problem. As a grad student, depending on which college you're in and what buildings you need to be close to, you'd likely be happiest north of campus. There's some relatively affordable housing there within walking distance of campus.
-graduate campus life (how grad-friendly are these cities?)
Well, considering the number of universities/colleges Austin has, pretty friendly!
-dog-friendly cities
Yep, we're that! There are several dog parks, too.
-cultural activities/nightlife (I love festivals, museums, art galleries, live music, various foods, bellydancing, cooking classes)
Festivals - just throw a rock and you'll hit a festival most times of the year, either in town or in the immediately surrounding area. Museums - we have more than a few. And Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio's museums are a day trip away if you want more - just pick a direction. Nice thing about Austin is that you're a day trip away from ALL of those, due to our central location.
Art galleries - ditto
Live music - hello? Live music capitol of the world?
-diversity - In what sense? Racial, cultural, religious? Austin tends to be a live and let live kind of community, so I'm not sure what you're looking for here.
-activities for singles(volunteering opportunities, etc.) - got lots of volunteer activities available. Swarming with them, in fact.
Bellydancing - Contrary to what an earlier poster said (don't think he gets around much, or he doesn't have a clue about Austin, one or the other), I took my very first bellydance classes in the early 1970's in Austin. Have been dancing off and on ever since. There's lots of bellydancing going on here.
Cooking classes - I'm the organizer of a Meetup group called the Central Texas Foodies. Thus I've done some research on this. In addition to Central Market Cooking School and the Whole Foods one in their major cooking class center downtown, there's classes all over the place, at restaurants, at bed and breakfasts, and so on.
I don't know if Houston or Austin would be a better fit for you, but I'm pretty sure you'd be happy in Austin.
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Houston for sure!
I would rather have someone telling me the truth about a city relocation then being misled by the hype. 
