Austin vs. Washington, DC- thinking of moving (Houston, Dallas: crime rates, job market)

[rpatnaude]

My wife and I have visited Austin and love the friendly people, laid-back atmosphere, and the nightlife/movie and music scene. Right now I live in DC and wanted to know if anyone has lived in both places, who can help me compare the two.

I am primarily thinking about:

Weather (i think Austin is hotter but less humid than DC- I am originally from Indiana/Chicago area and hate DC humidity, but like the mild winters)

Fun/Entertainment (I think Austin definitely has the edge on Movies, although DC has a good music scene, and a drive-in movie theater one hour away)

Raising a Family- Crime, Schools, etc (DC has bad crime, and the worst schools in the country, so that's a no brainer)

Water/Beach (DC has none)

Job Market (I am an art director/graphic designer for a PR and Lobbying firm and my wife does PR/Media Relations work also)


Any comments or personal experiences that anyone has to offer would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Ray

[5stones]

I live in the DC area NoVA and while we have excellent public schools...
I would Kill to move to Austin! It's a great city (AISD is not the best schools)
But areas like westlake have excellent schools.
Dripping springs is nice too
It has a higher cost of living than most of Texas but it is still wayyyy better than here.
So much to do in Austin and the surrounding area. Lake Austin, lake Travis, the hill country... Frederickburg is close, new braunfels etc....

If you have a good job lined up....GO! run don't walk!!

Austin is one my favorite cities...you get all t great thing big cities have to offer but on a smallr molad back scale.

[traceyr13]

Hi - I went to college at Georgetown and now live in Austin, so I have lived in both.

Yes, the weather is better in Austin (and I HATE the heat). You don't get the same humidity as you do in DC. I found I could not breathe well outside in DC for most of July and August, and there are only days here and there where I feel that in the summer here.

Overall family life - you don't get the culture here in Austin that you do in DC, but on most other fronts, I think Austin is superior. I personally feel it is easier to get a good school system here than in DC - you have the amazing schools in the suburbs right outside of DC, but who can afford to live there? On the other hand, you can get good districts in the suburbs right outside Austin, and they are very affordable. There is no contest with crime - Austin is a safe city.

I love DC, but I prefer Austin to raise a family. Feel free to PM me with any questions!

[bmurrie]

I lived in Old Town Alexandria for two years, and now am in Austin. You are right on about weather and crime, Austin is hands-down the place to be on that front. We actually left because we had a child and the crime rates were horrible around DC. The thing we miss most is the free culture. Austin has great music, film, and art communities but these are things that are specific to your tastes and not easy to do with kids. I would love to be able to just pick up and go into the Smithsonian for an hour or so here or there again.

Coastline is 3-4 hours away in both places, but there are better lakes and rivers in Texas. One thing we do miss about DC too is being able to get to so many cool cities on day trips. Weekends to Baltimore, Philly, NY, Charlotte, etc. Here, you drive five hours and you're still in Texas.

All in all, very happy we made the move. People are friendlier here, the city is just not as transient. Good luck with your choice.

[austindoxie1972]

Can anyone comment on the job market question? I lived in Austin from 1988 to 1994, moving to DC in 1995. Went back to Texas for a brief stint in 2004/05. I work in PR/corporate communications, too. One thing that frustrated me about Austin [and still frustrates some of my friends] was the low pay and/or limited job opportunities. I'm thinking this might have changed -- at least the opportunity part. There was always an attitude of : "You're lucky to live in Austin, so don't ask/expect a higher salary." Don't know if this is still the case. I feel like in DC, they know they have to pay you a good salary because the competition for good talent is just too stiff. Any comments?

PS: I thought Austin summers were oppressively humid.

[Jaipur]

The thing about Austin is that is it is bigger than Atlanta, Boston, Seattle, Milwaukee, D.C., and Las Vegas, yet not only is the quality of living off the charts but Austin still retains that good ole' American small town felling. I live here and highly recommend the city.

[Jaipur]

In reply to the weather, August is hotter than July and June, while the coolest month is usually February and the best months weather wise tend to be November and March. The short fall is in the 80's and 70's winter in the 40's and Spring in the 70's and summer the 90's. We tend to have rain in the Fall and Spring while the Winter and Summer have less rain. We get about 30inches a year. About 150 a year in Austin are Sunny, this dose not include cloudy days when it isn't raining.

[Stevedawg]

Originally Posted by Jaipur

The thing about Austin is that is it is bigger than Atlanta, Boston, Seattle, Milwaukee, D.C., and Las Vegas, yet not only is the quality of living off the charts but Austin still retains that good ole' American small town felling. I live here and highly recommend the city.

I disagree Austin doesn't not feel like a small town to me. Small towns don't have hour long commutes to 20 miles.

[love roses]

It's not the size of the city, it's the close knitted community, that make it "small town". Where people still lend a hand to help a neighbor in need, be it a fundraiser for a family dealing with a disease, or someone needing help fixing something on their property. It's saying hello to your neighbors and not just driving your car into your garage and closing the door and hanging out in the backyard, so you never see anyone, even if you live somewhere for 20 yrs. Holding doors open for ladies and vice versa, waving at people as you or they drive by, tipping your hat or nodding at someone in passing. There are several other things that make a place "small town", but I don't want to ramble.

[Austinitegirl]

Originally Posted by rpatnaude

Weather (i think Austin is hotter but less humid than DC- I am originally from Indiana/Chicago area and hate DC humidity, but like the mild winters)

Fun/Entertainment (I think Austin definitely has the edge on Movies, although DC has a good music scene, and a drive-in movie theater one hour away)

Raising a Family- Crime, Schools, etc (DC has bad crime, and the worst schools in the country, so that's a no brainer)

Water/Beach (DC has none)

Job Market (I am an art director/graphic designer for a PR and Lobbying firm and my wife does PR/Media Relations work also)

Ray

Wow man - I lived in Rockville/Bethesda and I didn't think it was that bad. We went to the beaches in Delaware every summer and it was a blast (Rehoboth Beach & Bethany Beach - oooh don't forget Ocean City!!). It made the beaches here look like a really big turtle pond - no cool waves (they THINK they have waves at these beaches, but they don't know any better).

I also grew up in Montgomery County schools - they're some of the best in the country. I hope you're not actually living in DC proper - nobody does that except millionaires and homeless people. Even the politicians live outside the Beltway - in the surrounding suburbs.

I definitely don't remember it being humid there. It is built on a swamp, but I guess I'm comparing it to armpits like Houston - which make you feel like you should be wearing scuba gear when you walk outside.

Crime is one area I totally agree with you on - DC was the murder capital of the country when I lived there.

So why is Austin better? It's smaller. Austin is awesome - don't get me wrong. I love it here and never want to leave, but it's VERY different from DC. It's a much more... shall we say... homogenized atmosphere.

There are 2 skin colors here and everyone gets bent out of shape about Spanish being spoken in the schools. I don't bother trying to explain to them that I was the only English-speaking kid in my elementary school because all the other kids (who were every color of the rainbow) were first generation immigrants from ALL OVER THE WORLD - Taiwan, China, Iran, Afghanistan, Australia, Nigeria, Tunisia, South Korea, etc., etc. They're pretty twitchy about the Mexican immigrants from their NEIGHBORING country - so be prepared to deal with the racism - it's not as bad in Austin as it is in places like West Texas or Houston. I only warn you because I was shocked (coming from a melting pot like DC) at how rampant the racism and racial issues are here in Texas.

Weather: No real winters to speak of (although the natives bundle up like it's the end of the world if the temps drop below 50 degrees).

Crime: The crime is practically non-existent (compared to DC). They think they have crime, but it's negligible compared to what you're used to dealing with. I actually laughed in my friend's face when she referred to her (Austin) high school as an "inner city" school. I can still remember my mom driving us through SE DC in the DAYTIME - she locked all the car doors and told me to put my head down - THAT'S crime - when you can't drive down the street in the daytime without worrying about getting shot. Compared to that - Austin is like Romper Room. Some parts of East Austin are a little industrial-looking - but nothing serious.

Entertainment: I think Austin is a fun town. It doesn't have all the wide range of resources available to a big East Coast city like DC, but it definitely holds its own in the entertainment world. I love the fact that celebrities come here regularly to get away from LA or NY. And I think the Austin residents pretty much leave them alone - which is also cool.

Beaches - well... I'm not a fan of Texas beaches (specifically the Galveston area), but I know that some parts of the south Texas coast are quite lovely.

Job Market: I think the job market here is pretty fair. It's a little better in the larger mega-cities like Dallas/Ft. Worth or Houston, but you can probably find something decent for both you and your wife. Check out the Austin American Statesman Classifieds and/or the major employers in town: UT, Dell (when they're not laying people off), AMD, Cisco, IBM, St. Edward's University, City & State Government offices located downtown, National Instruments, Whole Foods, Harcourt, Siemens, Austin Community College, Austin Independent School District, etc., etc.

The people here are REALLY friendly - not jaded like we East Coasters. You'll definitely like it here better than anywhere else in Texas.