Advice requested-- I may be moving in the next few months...

[TreasonousBastard]

I have few ties around here and the world is my oyster.

For some reason I have been told to look Southwest and Austin has come up. It seems to be an OK sort of place, but I know absolutely nothing about it.

I can't stand most country music and Mexican food isn't all that high on my list. Other than that, anybody happy in the Austin area?

[hlthe2b]

1. I don't want to upset Texas DUers by saying anything derogatory, but NY to Texas? Really?

That said, Austin has a lot to offer and while the RW is determinedly trying to destroy what is good about its more liberal "nature," it is a city I enjoy when work takes me to the region. Its music scene is far from only country. If you don't like Tex-Mex food, you better enjoy barbeque, though.

[dutch777]

2. It depends on where you are moving from. My wife's tech company went totally remote & some coworkers

moved from coastal CA to Austin. Most are having a bit of culture shock. Her boss put his kids in private school because they have armed guards and he thought that was a good idea in TX. Yikes! I would say about a third of her colleagues kind of wish they had done Other locationally as it just doesn't fit although all are pleased with lower housing and other costs vs. CA, but then are daunted by lack of many services and much less choices for medical care and such. I lived in TX many years ago and compared to most of the TX I knew, Austin was great. But the bar was set LOW.

[MenloParque]

3. I'm gonna suggest Tucson, Arizona.

Tuscon is a wonderful blue paradise in the desert southwest. I spend lots of time in Tucson in the fall through spring. Amazing weather but does get hot in the summer months, but usually 10-15 degrees cooler in the Catalina foothills where my house is compared to Phoenix. Also, we get wonderful monsoon storms every summer with lots of rain to cool the temps. Lots of ethnic cuisines, especially amazing middle eastern and Asian restaurants. I don’t believe I’ve heard a lick of country music in stores or blasting from car stereos either in the Tucson area. Sure there are some anti-gov whackos but nothing like other parts of Arizona.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

4. Try northern New Mexico.

It's reliably blue, unlike Texas or Arizona. And an excellent climate.

I'm in Santa Fe, which I love. Albuquerque would be more affordable. The New Mexican version of Mexican food is somewhat different than the Tex-Mex you're more likely to be familiar with. ABQ is large enough that there's lots of different restaurants there.

[TreasonousBastard]

7. I have heard good things about New Mexico.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

9. Those things will most likely be true.

I moved here from Kansas in 2008 after a divorce. I wanted to start a new life, and it was one of the best things I've ever done.

I had been here several times before, attending summer programs at St John's College, so I already knew the city a bit. I also looked at other parts of the country, but no where else spoke to me. I grew up partially in Tucson, lived four years in my 30s in Phoenix, and I would not willingly move back to either city. For one thing, they are entirely too hot nine months of the year. As my ex once said, the only way you can dress for the heat is to wear an air conditioned car.

I actually had no a/c my first ten years here, although I finally got one. In all honesty, there are maybe six weeks of the year it's needed, and then not every day. Albuquerque and points south are lower in altitude and warmer, some places a lot warmer.

[UTUSN]

5. Austin used to be a quaint university town until the influx of fun hipsters

started refusing to leave, and it's now a swollen urban tick, now made worse by kewl celebrities, cheap for them, out of reach for most regular people. Gentrified.

[old as dirt]

6. Don't move to Patia.

I can't stand most country music

[Zorro]

8. Las Cruces might be an option

Not Tejas, but close to El Paso. Home to NM State with lots of science things going on around the area.

[DFW]

10. Believe it or not, I have never been to Austin

However, I hear it's a great place to live (especially if you avoid the Statehouse!).

Stevie Ray Vaughan was hardly C&W, and he was at home there. A university town, it has academics, all kinds of food and music, and us "libbruls" seem to feel very much at home there.

Of course, much the same can be said of Dallas, too. I have a great time every time I'm back there, and the medical care is beyond outstanding, if it's needed. The cost of living is going up (you don't keep a secret like Austin for very long), but I'm told it still makes New York look downright reasonable, and there is no state income tax. Beware, though, salaries aren't what they are in NY, either. It's worth a check-out, at any rate.

I've heard great things about New Mexico, too, as some other posters mentioned. A friend of mine fled Washington when Dick Cheney outed her as a CIA agent, and she settled in New Mexico. So far, she tells me she hasn't regretted a moment of it, and she was deifitely used to a more exciting pace of life. I don't personally know anyone else there, but we have some DUers who live there, and they can surely fill you in if interested.

[Laurelin]

11. I left Austin almost 3 years ago

So my information is dated. It's great, for Texas. I moved there 23 years ago,, in part to get away from Atlanta traffic . But Austin grew and kept growing. Ten years after I moved, Austin traffic was much worse than Atlanta's. Public transportation is almost nonexistent so be prepared to spend much of your life in a car, sitting still in traffic. We lived in north Austin and my husband's job moved to South Austin so his commute was over 2 hours every day. That's partly why we left. His commute now is twenty minutes, by bike.

Other reasons we left: Texas has become a political nightmare. The Texas lege hates Austin and tries to destroy everything good about it, with some success. Guns are everywhere, literally. Women's rights are being destroyed. Lgbqt people are very much at risk of losing all their rights. I could go on.

The heat is pretty much unbearable in the summer. Water is an issue; the southwest is really short on water and populations are booming.

There are great things too, or at least there were. But I'm glad I left.

[mnhtnbb]

13. Where did you go?

[Laurelin]

14. The Netherlands

Rather than too little water i guess now I can contemplate rising sea levels. Also putin is closer than I'd like. But it's a nice place to live.

[mnhtnbb]

12. I have an older cousin who moved to New Braunfels

in the Hill Country between Austin and San Antonio about 15 years ago and was happy there.

https://spectrumlocalnews.com/tx/san-antonio/news/2020/10/01/money-magazine-names-new-braunfels-in-best-places-to-live-in-america-2020

Personally, I can't imagine living in Texas. Born in Manhattan, grew up in Jersey, lived in California for 23 years. Been in Research Triangle area of NC since 2000.

I would suggest you visit any area first before moving there. Make a list of the 10 most important things to you and see how any place stacks up. If anything is a deal breaker, identify it and check to make sure the place you are considering is ok.


Good luck!

[Ohio Joe]

15. Come to Colorado...

I’ve lived a bunch of different places and Colorado is easily the best.