This may sound silly, but does Austin "feel" like a big city? (Houston: neighborhood, construction)

[HappyTexan]

You definitely want to come and stay a few days to a week before deciding. I grew up in NYC and it will be a culture shock to you comparing NYC to Austin. It might be in a good way or bad..only you can determine that by a visit. If Austin is too small for you then Dallas has a nice big city feel yet is much smaller than NYC.

[gigi927]

Originally Posted by gimme it

We are currently in NYC and my husband would prefer us relocating to a smaller city with 150,000 or less people. I was telling him that every place can feel small no matter how big it is. Even in NYC, we are in Greenwich Village and it feels like a small town. His concerns are the hassles of urban living such as traffic congestion, crowds, high prices,etc. I'm trying to convince him to check out Austin.

I am the biggest fan of Austin - I've lived in large cities (Chicago and San Francisco) and think this is a great place to live. However, it is a metropolitan area and yes, you are going to have the hassles of urban living. There *is* traffic congestion. Is it NYC style? no, but for the size town we are it is pretty bad. There *are* crowds. Try getting into the Trail of Lights in Zilker Park during holiday week. Claustrophobic. There are high prices. Again, compared to NYC it will seem cheap, but compared to nearly all of Texas Austin is very pricey.

It's all relative to where you come from. You need to come experience it for yourself. Your husband may think he wants a small town, and when he realizes what the tradeoffs are, may be willing to look at something larger than a town of 150,000 people....or, you both may realize that something way smaller than Austin fits you better. You won't be able to make any real decisions by reading this forum if you've never been here. Come on down and take a visit!

[Chinolala]

Originally Posted by brattpowered

Austin most definitely does not feel like a big city, unless you are from a very small town. Austin has a pretty compact and underutilized downtown (a few blocks) surrounded by mostly suburban-style development.

Traffic congestion is bad for a town its size, but nothing compared to larger cities. There are no crowds on the streets to speak of, except for Sixth Street on weekend nights. Compared to the rest of the South, Austin is expensive. Compared to cities elsewhere, it's a bargain.

Well said. I agree.

[gimme it]

Thanks everyone. I appreciate your help. Someone on here sounds very familiar with NYC. The funny thing is that when you live in the Village, you rarely go to the Upper East Side, at least we don't. How many times can you go to all of the museums???? Overall, most NYers tend to do everything in their own neighborhoods unless it's to go to a play or visit friends. I have a feeling that NY is unique in that way.

[Phisch]

I'm surprised no one told you to bring medication for allergies to help with the hubby and suburban sprawl. There's a fair amount of that here, but no more than you'd expect for a growing area. There's no shortage of cookie-cutter homes here because there's such a demand for new housing.

But do visit. It's a great place for a short vacation anyway. Austin is fun and everyone is so nice

[mimimomx3]

Austin has always been a small town to me. I've been here since the 1980, and I've been a Texan all my life. My Austin is very limited, it's bounded by 183, Southwest Parkway, 360 and 35. Every once in a while I'll get to Dripping Springs, or Lakeline Mall. I go East when I go to ranches in Bastrop/Smithville or to the airport. In the summer I love to go to Lake Travis. You'll find me most on Lamar and Burnet, Mopac, Exposition, Mesa, so to me Austin is a little town.

[twange]

Originally Posted by gimme it

Thanks everyone. I appreciate your help. Someone on here sounds very familiar with NYC. The funny thing is that when you live in the Village, you rarely go to the Upper East Side, at least we don't. How many times can you go to all of the museums???? Overall, most NYers tend to do everything in their own neighborhoods unless it's to go to a play or visit friends. I have a feeling that NY is unique in that way.

I guess you're referring to me I'm originally from Cleveland and used to go to NYC a lot. I have some peeps there as well!

True about the NYC neighborhood thing. That's what I LOVE about it. Maybe the Upper East side was a bad example How about Greenpoint, Brooklyn Actually, the last several times I've been to NYC, 80% of my time was spent in Brooklyn.

My point was that there are areas much farther apart in Manhattan as compared to Austin that are still easier to travel to and seem closer simply because of the infrastructure. There's more continuity. My impression is that people who have been living here for a long time simply aren't used to thinking of Austin as a medium-sized city and so don't travel to other parts of town because it can be a real PIA when traffic is heavy. I'm surprised sometimes how little some people know about other parts of town. Maybe it's because I'm still a newbie and automatically in more of an "exploration mode". The river can be a bit of a division here as well(as a New Yorker, you should understand this), as it divides the city North and South. Some people barely ever go into "downtown" unless they work there. Therefore, if you base your impressions of the city on "6th street", well yea I guess it can seem pretty one-dimensional - kind of like when tourists base their impressions of NYC on Times Square...boooooooo! But if you factor in all the different areas, the outdoor opportunities, the food, music, festivals, etc...I think Austin packs quite a bit for a city of it's size. The city is really pushing hard for downtown development and residential increase, so I think it will become even more vibrant(and unfortunately more price prohibitive).

But get used to driving most everywhere

[TexasHorseLady]

I've been here since 1969, and I travel to many, if not all, parts of town. That's really because I've been here so long - I watched the roads and communities grow and know the "back ways" that are still there but not used as much because everyone's trying to use the major roads. I can almost always find a quicker way to get to where I want to go at rush hour just by going the way I once would have gone decades ago.
One of the things I love about Central Texas is that if you don't like the topography or the soil or even, sometimes, the weather, you can just pick a direction and drive 50 miles, say, and you'll find something completely different. And whatever direction you choose, what you find will be different than any of the other directions. Austin is somewhat the same way in that if you don't like what you find in one neighborhood, chances are you'll find something you like in another one not all that far away ("not all that far" being relative to Texas, of course - I have been known to drive to Houston for the day for lunch and shopping ).

All that being said, Austin still feels like a small town to me - and the small town I officially live in, some 40 miles away, has a population of 1200, so that's saying something!

[The Homesteader]

Looks like you are a senior so this is a great city as UT is here. Lots of places to walk and enjpy gold, boating, fishing. Marble Falls, just to the west of us aia a small town with lots of retirees coming in. I am definitly going to retire here as the weather is perfect and views are enourmous. I grew up in New Canaan Ct and never want to see snow unless I am skiing on it!
Sheila

[mimimomx3]

[quote=TexasHorseLady;2972127]I've been here since 1969, and I travel to many, if not all, parts of town. That's really because I've been here so long - I watched the roads and communities grow and know the "back ways" that are still there but not used as much because everyone's trying to use the major roads. I can almost always find a quicker way to get to where I want to go at rush hour just by going the way I once would have gone decades ago.
QUOTE]

As a realtor, I'm sure that helps!