I currently live in SoFla but I want a change of atmosphere. I'm looking to Austin, TX for the weather, the cheaper cost of living, and the scene. Is there any pertinent information I should know before going through with or to help with my search?
"Cooler" places in town? Which side (N, S, E, W) is best? What are the townies like? Are there townies? How far to the beach?
2007-01-29 03:01:05 · 10 answers · asked by cryingtree1979 4 in Travel ➔ United States ➔ Austin
I relocated to Austin from Lighthouse Point in 1995. You're going to love it. Austin is very laid-back, very liberal (big gay and hippie community here) and there are two big differences that I noticed when I got here...
1) People are friendly and wave at you here...with ALL their fingers!
2) The city streets are much cleaner than South Florida.
in addition...
We have Ozone action days here but we don't have the big orange yellow smog haze that I used to see in South Florida when we'd have an inversion.
If people cut you off in traffic and you honk your horn, you're most likely going to get the following response..."Oooops! Sorry about that!". In Florida, it would have been a gun in your face.
It does get cold here though...This morning was 36 degrees in Austin and it's very common for us to have winter days that are near 20 degrees with 30 for a high temp. We get snow and ice storms on occasion in winter as well.
As for locations. W Austin is the rich snooty part of town. that's where Michael Dell lives high up on a mountaintop. The Northwest is well-to-do yuppies, central is workaholic big-city employees, north is the average income crowd, east austin...avoid it...crime and ghetto area, south austin is a middle income area and growing rapidly. I'm in Round Rock and that's a suburb north of Austin where Dell's facility is located. Very nice place, but also growing very, very, VERY quickly!
It's about 3 hours to the gulf of Mexico from here, but there are freshwater lakes in west austin that are easily accessible from most places within an hour.
2007-02-04 07:08:57 · answer #1 · answered by Gary D 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Austin is hip.... lots of young professionals, and of course, the University of Texas students like to party-hardy down on Sixth Street where there are great clubs and bands. You will not be near a beach, but Austin is surrounded by beautiful lakes that are accessible all year long. I live in Houston, but have friends and relatives in Austin. I enjoy going there, but the cost of living is a bit higher than Houston. You need to go on-line to find a realtor who can tell you more about each section of the city. Personally, I've never seen a bad side.... but around Towne Lake is very nice.Austin is enjoying a growth spurt; that means new apartment complexes and town homes.
2007-01-29 03:24:41 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
South Austin is kind of the funkier, less expensive side of town. It's within easy reach of downtown and the university, has some fun bars and cafes, and from most of it you also have a head start towards San Antonio (a great city for Mexican-American culture & food). It's not crime-ridden or trashy, it's just a little less slick and polished than most of the rest of town.
Plus, in between Austin & San Antonio, some of the smaller cities like New Braunfels and San Marcos have great places to access rivers like the Guadalupe and Comal. You're at least a good 3 hours from any beaches, but trust me on this one: camping and partying by the river, then going swimming in it or floating down it on rafts or inner tubes, is just as fun (and obviously closer at only 30-60 minutes away).
There's a Lyle Lovett song that says: "That's right, you're not from Texas/But Texas wants you anyway."
2007-01-30 05:36:25 · answer #3 · answered by MikeTX 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I moved to Austin a couple of years ago. I'm an old hippy and wanted to live in the most liberal part of the most liberal city in Texas, so I live in South Austin. To the north and west it is more expensive and the folks are less liberal. The east is in a painful regentrification and the homes are super expensive but many look like crack houses (some are). I love it here. A very laidback sort of town.
2007-01-30 10:07:42 · answer #4 · answered by RevJim 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The weather here is very cloudy and it's been below freezing twice so far this winter. There's no beach. There's a sort of swimming hole called Barton, but you can only fish and kayak in the town lake river, no swimming. Cost of living is not that low! The going out scene is great if you're in your 20s. If you are more "posh" live downtown, if you're more hippie live South. North is subdivisions and families. East is low income.
2007-01-30 05:51:00 · answer #5 · answered by MissDixie 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Hmm...where to start?
Austin is the live music capital of Texas, and in stark relation to the rest of the state, Austin actually tends to be much more liberal. The state Capital is here - it's quite pretty. It's also the home to one of the best universities in the state - University of Texas. It also happens to be one of the biggest party schools in America, so anywhere in central Austin has a big club/party/music vibe. We've got the famous 6th street, which is basically an entire street lined with just bars and clubs.
There's a lot of local restaurants and shops, though there are still some corporate leaks in when it comes to fast food, and if you get out of central Austin, you can find plenty of your favorite chain restaurants, but the locals here tend to support the local restaurants because they are so yummy!
There's a lot of cloudless days, blue sky, and it's very pretty. Not quite as humid as it is closer to the gulf (like in Houston), but still pretty hot. Just like the rest of Texas, the rain is pretty deadly.
Lots of things to do outdoors, Austin is a bit of a health conscious crowd - lots of exercising and health food stores. The city motto is basically "Keep Austin Weird" and it's plastered all over bumper stickers and t shirts. Biking is very popular here, there's even designated bike lanes on a lot of central roads.
There's really no "best side," but I'd steer clear from any typical college area if you like your peace and quiet, especially just west of the university. North of the university is pretty quiet though. There's quite a few homeless people, but they keep their signs interesting, so they are actually pretty amusing and harmless.
There's no beach. Lake Travis is nearby if you like that, but the ocean in the Gulf of Mexico is at least 5 hours away, and the beach is really not very nice compared to florida. Lots of moss and dirty water.
Best of luck.
2007-02-03 12:11:35 · answer #6 · answered by antheia 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Great chioce! West Austin is the start of thr hill country;it's beautiful and peaceful to live there. The schools are the best.There are lots of parks and jogging trails.There is not much of a beach;there are places on Lake Travis that you can go,but if you're looking for a real beach you nave to go to the gulf coast.Good luck.
2007-01-29 06:14:02 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Live Music Capitol USA
2007-01-29 16:42:59 · answer #8 · answered by nothere 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
well it is the state captail of tx weather well its 100% humity which can be unbarable sometimes. austin is city which i believe has the highest rate of living cost in the state but there are very good colleges, great jobs and very cutural there.
2007-02-01 15:24:42 · answer #9 · answered by cwa 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It was rated one of the top five cities in the United States. That would be enough proof for me!
2007-02-03 16:50:47 · answer #10 · answered by Skyline 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋