Austin, TX - Might Be Relocating There

[Tom Herold]

I received a tentative job offer in Austin, and admit I know next to nothing about the city or area.

Back in the late 80's and early 90's I was stationed in the DFW area (Carswell AFB, now closed), and honestly didn't like it much at all.

I hear Austin's like a night and day difference between the two cities.

I'd appreciate some thoughts/input from those familiar with the area.

Some background: I'm retired military, former police officer, and have a really low tollerance for BS, and like a quiet neighborhood. My potential new employer is located at the Southern end of Austin, so I've been looking for a house to rent in the South-Western area, out towards Dripping Springs. I'd like to keep my commute to 30min or less. I'm single, with no kids at home and would consider an apartment if they had garages to store my bikes.

Thanks again!
Tom

[stromgal]

All I can offer is that you'll be right in the midst of the best riding in the state. Oh, and if you're a music fan, Austin has a great live music scene.

[vfrrider]

1. Join twtex.com and ask. They're from all around TX and many in the area.

2. Statewise, TX is pretty comfortable. cost of living is moderate, no state taxes, sales tax is 8.25%, and they're building a new F1 track just outside of town.

3. Great riding west of town.

4. Climate is great. gets a little warm in summer, winter is very pleasent, rarely freezes.

  See you soon?

Larry
VFRrider

[FJRmgm]

Austin is a cool place.  Close to San Antonio and the Texas Hill Country, which is west and southwest of town.

Lots of good riding on all sides of Austin with most west and SW.  Kerrvile and Fredericksburg are close and there is GREAT riding around them.

The town has a lot of energy due to University of Texas.

The traffic in town is heavy, OK - its a bitch sometimes but if you stay on the south end of town you will be OK.

It can get pretty hot there.  110 is not unusual in the summer but its a dry heat so if you get in the shade you cool down.

A BIG bonus is this - they are building a big new world class Formula 1 track about 20 miles SE of town and its expected that MotoGP will race there also.

OK, I just talked myself into moving there.

BTW - I am in my mid-50's and like Austin.

[JamesG]

Yeah Austin is cool. I seriously considered Georgetown as the site of my move/business, but Albuquerque won out (its even cooler than Austin).  

The town has a lot of energy due to University of Texas.

Translation:  Lots of young college girls.  

[elader]

I hate you I really do.

Great people, great food, educated community, great lakes, great scuba, great sailing, great cycling, hiking, riding.

I lived there for 12 years and miss it terribly.

[Justin]

If I *had* to live in a city in Texas, it would be Austin

[JamesG]

I hate you I really do.
I lived there for 12 years and miss it terribly.

Austin or Albuquerque?  

[Tom Herold]

Thanks all! I joined the Two Wheel Texans web site and will connect with the folks over there too!

Lot's of good input, I'm pretty excited about the possibilities and hope the job comes through. I'm guessing I'll know something more serious in the next month or two......

Charleston, SC, where I'm at now has a lot of college folks too. The ratio of women to men is reportedly 4 to 1. Unfortunately the girls prefer girls over guys and and the ratio drops significantly...

I've enjoyed Charleston for the most part, been here for 7 years and thought I'd retire and set in some roots. Life changes things unexpectedly at times...

I ride year-round unless there's ice on the ground, or a hurricane's blowing through, and very happy to hear the weather in Austin will allow me to continue!

I don't mind the heat too much; Charleston's so damn hot from mid-June to late September the devil himself sweats. The heat index from the humidity drives it above 110, there was a stretch of 60 days where the place held temps above 90 degrees with no relief..... I'm feeling ready for a change to be honest.  

[elader]

Austin or Albuquerque?  

ATX, silly!

[ChrisInTexas]

Austin is nice and it is only a few minutes from San Antonio which is very nice also (nice to visit but not to live there). Austin has tons of music clubs, and festivals. It's has the lawmakers there, being the capital of Texas. It is only a few hours ride from the coast. It is located in the Hill Country, nice rides. It has the only nude beach in Texas. Sandra Bullock owns several businesses there including a small upscale restaurant on 6th Street http://www.bessbistro.com/

A few not so good things about Austin, heavy traffic even on weekends, typical Texas Summer's (110+ degrees). And, jobs don't pay as much as DFW or Houston (too many lower wage college kids available). High number of homeless people in downtown area.
 
Austin's unofficial slogin is: "Keep Austin Weird": http://www.keepaustinweird.com/home.html

RECENT EDIT: I read my original post and thought it looked a bit negative so I made a few changes to it. I didn't want to come across negative about Austin, it is a really nice place, one of the coolest cities in Texas.

[Tom Herold]

Considering Austin has a 12% lower cost of living that my current city of Charleston, SC, and I already have a job offer paying me the same salary, I'm thinking I'm okay financially. I won't move if the offer falls through for some reason.

There certainly are some days in SC where I'm tired of the heat and just want some AC, so I understand the undesireable temps at times too  

One of my favorite places in the US is Asheville, NC. They call themselves the "hippies in the hills", and it truly fits. Not that I'm a hippy, but I get where they're coming from and don't have a problem with people being themselves.

Charleston also has it's traffic woe's - I guess any large city does. I tailor my commuting times to minimize the issue, but even that gets old too. Being at work an hour early just to avoid sitting in traffic sucks no matter the time of year or weather.

Though I live in a beach city, I haven't been to the shore in two years. Too many people, too much traffic and too much effort for too little return, so I just dont worry about it.  I'm retired Air Force and pretty familiar with San Antonio - you're right, a nice place to visit, but I really don't think I want to live there.  No bust on those who've chosen to make it home, it's just not my flavor.

I'll let you all know if the job deal comes through!