2006-08-01 18:14:27 · 9 answers · asked by Jennifer R 1 in Travel ➔ United States ➔ Austin
ah..the traffic here is nothing compared to most cities. Folks here are so spoiled they don't know awful traffic.
It's friendly, the climate warm (except for 2 months of the year) and mostly informal. We have the most vibrant music scene in the country and there is great music all over town, much of it free, 365 days a year.
There is pretty much any physical or leisure activity you can think of available here and again, most is reasonable in price and there's a lot of free stuff too.
The schools are good (better than CA where I came from).
The downsides -
real estate can be pricy depending on what part of town (and choosing an area to live in is tough because so much of the city is very, very nice and safe. It's still a bargain compared to cities like NYC, San Francisco Bay Area and the DC or Boston areas, but higher than most cities in the US and higher than all of TX.
Property taxes run about 3% of appraised value which is also very high. My property taxes are nearly $7K a year. Of course put that in perspective - I have a 3000 sq foot house overlooking Lake Travis I paid $210K for 3 years ago. In Silicon Valley (san jose area) where I came from a similar house would have been $2mil..so I'm still pleased as punch.
The schools in most areas are excellent, though I find that still being so close to the bible belt, they can be a little anal and conservative...far too much for my tastes. Thanks to Bush, they also can only teach abstinence in sex ed which I find an atrocity.
The cities love using cops and tickets as a revenue source and they sometimes LIE about how fast you were going. Invest in a radar detector it will save you a bundle.
Very few who live here ever want to leave and when they do leave, they always try to come back. Wages can be low in many fields because there is no shortage of those that want those jobs. The counter to that is that this is a great area to own your own business and a lot of people here do.
I've been here 5 years and love it. I can't see wanting to be anywhere else at any point in the foreseable future and I've lived on both coasts and was only 20 minutes from the beach in CA.
It isn't perfect, but I have a lot of fun, my kids have blossomed in the schools (even the one with special needs has thrived academically) and I've found a nice balance in my life and made many, many friends. It is friendly here.
2006-08-04 17:25:10 · answer #1 · answered by Lori A 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You mean Austin Power or Steve Austin
2006-08-01 18:18:34 · answer #2 · answered by Joe P 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have been in Austin all my 20 years......Its a great place a variety of people and many cultures. Its a very friendly and fun atmosphere to be in. Everything to do for everyone no matter what it is you like to do its here.
2006-08-04 11:43:31 · answer #3 · answered by think_20 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Austin is the only cool place in Texas.
2006-08-01 18:18:57 · answer #4 · answered by mrpolk 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Home prices are better here then California $250,000 here compared to close to a million in Ca. for the same size house. The crime rate is alot lower here also. People for the most part are nicer.
2006-08-03 03:56:19 · answer #5 · answered by CYNTHIA R 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My beloved place. The job situation got pretty bad after the dot.com collapse. The rent is high is the only drawback.
2006-08-01 18:19:55 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I like it. My wife and I have lived here for 15 years and don't plan to leave.
2006-08-04 02:40:41 · answer #7 · answered by Wundt 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Super sweet, but the traffic is horrible.
2006-08-01 18:17:45 · answer #8 · answered by JonJon McClaine 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you have the money and you have a good job then it is great but if your poor then it's hard.
2006-08-02 04:56:22 · answer #9 · answered by Nicalo22 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋