Is Austin as great as the top 10 lists say? (Pittsburg: real estate, neighborhood)

[AK123]

Originally Posted by scongress1234

Now, 98% of the ex-Houstonites I've met in Austin loathed Houston, from the stench that emanated 24/7 from the ship canal, to the refineries that dumped toxic plumes like a pox over the metro, the humid stench from may to oct, and the off-the-charts crime, particularly post-Katrina. And this top 10 list placed Houston 1st, which makes you realize how meaingless they truly are....

Rather, all the above "observations" about Houston are major exaggerations. Unless one lives right across the street from the refineries in Baytown or something. I've been living in different areas of Houston for many years after moving from Austin. Much the same, the post-Katrina crime has been mostly limited to apartment complexes in areas of town that were already bad.

In truth, Houston is one of the most underrated large cities in the country, and some of the worst detractors are Texans themselves. It's just amazing to me how ignorant and negative some of these people are. It's really too bad.

[TexasGirl@Heart]

I lived on Galveston Island back in 1994 and always drove into Houston for "fun". It's a great city, although extremely humid It's like any other large metropolitan area...there are pockets of crime. You have to know where to go and where not to go.

[Jennibc]

We are moving for quality of life issues, plain and simple. We ended up in Austin the last time because it is where my husband found a job following the completion of his Masters program. We had one friend that had moved here from the Midwest that couldn't stop singing it's praises. Truthfully, in his enthusiasm, he oversold it a bit, but that's not why we ended up leaving (see my scorpionphobe post for the real reason<laugh>)

Anyway, we currently live in a city that I moved to in the mid 80's left in the mid 90's and came back to in 2001. It is another city that regularly makes the top 10 lists (Seattle), but I moved here long before top 10 lists were all the rage or before I knew of their existence. That said, this place doesn't hold the same appeal for me that it once did because it's changed and my needs have changed.

I could sit here and be bitter about the increased traffic, increased cost of living, the somewhat cold culture, the miserable weather (it's cloudy and 58 on June 2!) etc. or we can get pull our equity out of this cold, damp hovel and move elsewhere. I've been bitter, that's not working well for me, so now we are trying the latter!

We are choosing to relocate to Austin because it is one of the only tech areas in the country that has affordable housing. Additionally, we lived there before and have several friends there. No, it's not perfect. Yes, it tends to be somewhat hyped. That said, it does provide a sane standard of living and despite it's growth since we moved away, a visit in April demonstrated that people are still Texas friendly. My six year old son commented after a stranger on the street said hello to him and asked him how he was doing, "Mommy, that lady talked to me so goodly" Me:"yes people here are very friendly" Him: "yes because in Texas, people sure are friendly, in fact, I think all the cranky people in Texas go to Seattle."

Yup. (Well, maybe they are not all from Texas!) Seriously though, the first day I was down there I counted four times when people held the door for me. When I was six months pregnant people would not give up their seat on the bus for me here. If you're friendly and outgoing here, people immediately suspect you want something from them. It's just a completely different culture. I'll give up proximity to the mountains and the Sound, for sunny skies and sunny dispositions! I think it is all a matter of priorities.

I don't frequent boards like these much but have been lately because of our impending move. What I don't understand is why people are so quick to anger over the posts of others. Really, how much can be personal on these forums, nobody knows each other, if you don't like someone's posts just don't read 'em. It seems like flaming one another is a terrible waste of energy and when trying to find information related to a post topic it gets a little tiresome to read personal attacks. So ease up on each other y'all....

[scongress1234]

Originally Posted by JJP

Yes, I do think many of these top 10 lists are fleeting and based on a trend factor.

People from CA are moving to TX because of cost, not as much because they heard some place was "cool".

Not surprising 98% of the people in Austin you meet who moved from Houston don't like Houston... you are getting opinions from a very limited group of people. For every person in this category, there are probably 5 people still in Houston because they like Houston. I've lived in both cities and I actually prefer Houston for many reasons, but most of all because I'm more of a big-city person and want world-class amenities... being the nation's 4th largest city, Houston offers that.

I don't doubt that. Just the fact that they don't make top 10 lists their claim to fame should put it over and above Austin. In another sense, you can be pleasantly surprised, as you expect sprawl, and don't expect to encounter world class art districts, museums, three pro teams, and a pretty decent library district, not to mention a cosmopolitan nature, and quite high-paying and plentiful jobs, particularly in the finance and energy sector.........I do stand corrected per Houston, and true, in a tautalogical sense, those who moved out just didn't fit, and of course will rag against it.

http://blog.kir.com/archives/houston%20skyline.jpg (broken link)

[scongress1234]

Originally Posted by TexasHorseLady

Is that Hamilton's Pool?

Yes, it is....







Beautiful place, eh? I never said I hated Austin.....I'm actually in love with the city, but heartbroken at what its become......and that it will lose that ambience forever soon......

[scongress1234]

Originally Posted by ricanmama

I too have read many posts from scongress1234 and agree that his posts are RARELY something worth reading. They are so one-sided and based on a period LONNNNNG ago, as if he really expected the world to stay the same forever. There are plenty of people who use this forum to vent how much has changed from when they moved to Austin and no one has a problem with what they've written. But your posts are full of venom, sarcasm and callous.

News flash... change is EVERYWHERE! Development and growth is not exclusive to just Austin. I have lived in the same city for almost 30 years and seen it change for better AND worse. But I, by no means, am trying to convince people NOT to move to the city....IT'S NOT MINE. And a city to one person is not the same to another person. So I don't try to SHOVE my opinions down anyone's throat. I give them BOTH sides and let them decide for themselves. THAT is what people are looking for when asking questions here.

The post from TerryDactyls is not even in the same realm as the overly obsessive and WHINY rants from scongress1234. They have stated their opinion and moved on like most normal folks would. They have listed what has changed since they moved here and that's that.

Scongress, you complain, complain and complain some more about people talking on the net (why sign on and subject yourself then), development and growth in the city (nothing you can do about it, it's everywhere), etc. I've read other member's responses to your posts about how "cranky" you are and "negative" and "grumpy", so there must be some truth in that. You've even gone so far as to apologize for it, so nothing that was said here was a stretch by any means.

scongress1234 wrote: "Only a healthy person can handle self-criticism."

Doesn't sound like he's taking criticism all that well, now does it.

I'm quite honored that you have read many of my posts...Yes, I can be cranky, but I do get right to the core of things, and that makes me appear something I'm not....I can go on about what I love about Austin, but thats all I see on here, and showing what the city lacks, and the wrong directions it is heading in, surely is somewhat instructive. Again, I can take criticism, but so should Austin, and people's opinions of the same.
The fact is, rapid growth has destroyed every cities' ambience in which it has occured. Talk to someone from LA pre 1965, Phoenix pre '72, or Vegas
pre 80, and you will hear essentially a story of two different cities, and a turning point that forked forever. Austin is at that point, and may never be the same again. It is losing its livability, uniqueness, and eclecticism, and developers and outside corporate interests are creating a blandness that was never there. In my opinion, it has turned, and will jump the shark soon, if it hasn't already. If not now, in 2 years, when the next 100,000 new folks come in and pave over another 10,000 acres......

[TexasHorseLady]

I thought it was Hamilton's Pool. I remember it from . . . oh, my goodness, it must be close to 40 years ago now.

Pretty unmistakable.

Not to worry, though. I've thought that Austin ambiance was lost several times in the past few decades, only to discover it in a different part of the city than I had previously expected to find it. It's always there, just sometimes lying low.

[scongress1234]

Originally Posted by TexasHorseLady

I thought it was Hamilton's Pool. I remember it from . . . oh, my goodness, it must be close to 40 years ago now.

Pretty unmistakable.

Not to worry, though. I've thought that Austin ambiance was lost several times in the past few decades, only to discover it in a different part of the city than I had previously expected to find it. It's always there, just sometimes lying low.

THL, have you ever been to Jim O'Brian's backyard monthly parties/campfires? Every second wednesday, since '73. Just south of Zilker Park/Riverside. That, and Eeyore's BD, is to me the last two vestiges of old Austin. And maybe the old Alamo DH, before they moved to the ritz.....

We went from this:





To this:

[Topaz]

Originally Posted by scongress1234

Just to prove how ridiculous these lists are, check out Kiplingers latest, which ranks Houston as the number one city for relocatees.

I like Austin (I lived there for 8 years) but now I live in Houston and I like it, too. Houston has a LOT going for it and a lot of the bad press just focuses on the negatives while ignoring all the positives. Read the Kiplinger's article...you'll see some good reasons given why Houston is actually a fine place to live. And there are many more career opportunities here than in Austin. Austin is terrific if you can find an excellent job but the job market in Houston is booming in comparison.

[TexasHorseLady]

No, haven't been to those particular parties, but I've been to plenty of others! Some of them with 800 or so people out in the woods, so I suspect they qualify.

Austin City Limits Festival is still Austin, The Broken Spoke, the Green Mesquite where Jerry Jacobs' used to be, and many places that are not so well known.