Another oddball question!

[momof2dfw]

This is an article that was in The Dallas Morning News on Saturday, Sept. 09. You can find it on their website, dallasnews.com under the religion section. Thought it was pertty interesting and just reaffirms what we (natives/locals) have said over and over when this question comes up.

[gigi927]

Originally Posted by momof2dfw

And no one has mentioned that Austin is the home of Hippie Hollow

Funny you mention it momof2...we'll be living a stone's throw from Hippie Hollow!!!!! Woo hoo!

Deeptrance...what part of Bay Area did you live in? I lived both in downtown SF and in Mountain View for a total of almost 5 years. I loved how progressive the area was...so I will be happy in Austin sitting in the middle of a very blue island!

Laguna...we closed escrow on our house here in AZ on Wednesday (YAY!) and now we are in temporary housing until our Austin house closes on my birthday at the end of the month!

Thanks for all of the enlightening comments, everyone!

[deeptrance]

Originally Posted by gigi927

Funny you mention it momof2...we'll be living a stone's throw from Hippie Hollow!!!!! Woo hoo!

I don't mean to be a downer here but Hippie Hollow is kinda skanky compared to most of the California nude beaches. It's not really a beach but rather a scattering of rocks you can lay out on surrounded by Juniper and other scrubby brush and small trees. I've heard stories of guys lurking in the bushes pleasuring themselves while watching the sun bathers, and then on the water side you often will get a floatilla of gawkers parking just offshore. It's weird, and not all that attractive. But that's just MY opinion!

Originally Posted by gigi927

Deeptrance...what part of Bay Area did you live in? I lived both in downtown SF and in Mountain View for a total of almost 5 years. I loved how progressive the area was...so I will be happy in Austin sitting in the middle of a very blue island!

Out near Hippie Hollow it's ironically not very hippie or very progressive. There are a lot of nice suburban developments out there but it's pretty disconnected from Austin itself. Volente is a neat little town, though -- perhaps that's where you'll be? Other than that, it won't feel like the Bay area, I can promise you that.

I lived almost all my 12 years in Sonoma County, with short stays in Berkeley and San Anselmo (Marin County.) So I was a North Bay guy. Lived in about half the towns in Sonoma County, but I'd say Sebastopol and Occidental are my faves.

[gigi927]

Originally Posted by deeptrance

I don't mean to be a downer here but Hippie Hollow is kinda skanky compared to most of the California nude beaches. It's not really a beach but rather a scattering of rocks you can lay out on surrounded by Juniper and other scrubby brush and small trees. I've heard stories of guys lurking in the bushes pleasuring themselves while watching the sun bathers, and then on the water side you often will get a floatilla of gawkers parking just offshore. It's weird, and not all that attractive. But that's just MY opinion!Out near Hippie Hollow it's ironically not very hippie or very progressive. There are a lot of nice suburban developments out there but it's pretty disconnected from Austin itself. Volente is a neat little town, though -- perhaps that's where you'll be? Other than that, it won't feel like the Bay area, I can promise you that.

I lived almost all my 12 years in Sonoma County, with short stays in Berkeley and San Anselmo (Marin County.) So I was a North Bay guy. Lived in about half the towns in Sonoma County, but I'd say Sebastopol and Occidental are my faves.

Oh, I actually don't frequent nude beaches, so it's okay if it's skanky. We used to live near a nude beach in San Clemente, CA and we really just find it funny that we're about to live near another one!

We aren't really expecting the part of Austin we're living in to feel like SF. We're at a different point in our lives now - we were DINKS then, and now we have little ones (one with minor special needs) and things like a big yard and good schools and some other stuff has become more important. I just like that we have proximity to downtown Austin where things are more progressive and diversity is respected. We're pretty committed to taking in as much of central Austin as we possibly can and expose our kids to it as well. Hopefully it will work out as we plan!

[deeptrance]

Some things the kids will like:
- the train and playground at Zilker Park
- the Dell Children's Museum
- the many regional parks with free swimming pools and great playgrounds
- staying out until 4 AM partying on Sixth Street in the after-hours clubs (oh, wait, you said they're one and three? Maybe next year.... )

[Trainwreck20]

1. Austin has to be one of the most casual attire places in the country. If you go to an event (musical, opera, symphony...) at Bass concert hall, people will be dressed in everything from tuxes on down to jeans, although most will be in casual attire somewhere in between. I am an engineer for a consulting firm, and if I have no clients coming in, I wear shorts and sandals most of the summer (dang office is hot!). I have heard people complain about not being ABLE to find a dress up event, but, eh, that is what Dallas is for :-).

2. Most people (there are always exceptions) won't care at all if you go to church (or temple, or whatever). If you make friends with regular church goers, don't be surprised (or offended) if they invite you, but you generally won't feel too pressured. This is not really part of the bible belt (although I don't really want to follow the same analogy to figure out what part of bible clothing we are :-/ ).

[bumpy_1954]

Back in the '70s, we called Pace Bend Park 'Paleface Park', and thought that was 'Hippie Hollow', but it was pretty much all-nude swimming in the coves. Of course we were all young and pretty back then! I laughed when I took a drive recently on 620 by Mansfield Dam and saw an actual sign for Hippie Hollow - they actually had a tour boat with about 30-40 prople about 10 years ago that tipped over cuz everyone wanted to gawk at the nude college-age bathers! I remember it made national news and was fun because no one managed to drown.

[deeptrance]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

I have heard people complain about not being ABLE to find a dress up event, but, eh, that is what Dallas is for :-).

That is so true! When I was teaching at UT, I heard from some of the Dallas students that they had to completely change their wardrobe when they moved to Austin. They told me stories about how the girls get completely decked out just to go to high school, especially in North Dallas, but then they get to Austin and it's all shorts and t-shirts, less makeup, and no "big hair."

It's also true what you said about religion and church-going. I've lived with people who went to church and I didn't even know about it unless I asked them "Where you going?" and they'd say "Church" --- and THEY would be dressed casually too!

I just spent August in Sonoma County, a VERY liberal area of northern California, and I saw more right wing Christian bumper stickers there than I do here. I also was able to pick up 6 Christian radio stations there compared to only 2 here. This is definitely NOT the Bible Belt, yet it does offer a full compliment of every type of religion and church, temple, mosque, zen center, ashram, etc. Not to mention lots of New Age stuff and pop psychology seminars (hold onto your wallet!)