Austin is a lot of fun but the Summers Are HOT HOT
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2/21/2012
I live in a suburb of Austin. Leander. There are a lot of suburbs around Austin. All usually 15 miles from Austin. It is very centralized area. I love Austin and grew up here. Left and returned to a different type of city. As a child I enjoyed all the fun and FREE family activities to do downtown (ie. kite festival, trail of lights, xmas tree pole, bun runs, bmx ing, water parades on the lake, etc.) well that has changed since I moved back. For one; we have lost a lot of FREE things to do here (due to economy). We do have UT (University of TEXAS) campus downtown and it is BIG! Very friendly hipsters and uppity hip people. Austin is about ART and MUSIC (LIVE).
We have SXSW (South by Southwest)& ACL (Austin City Limits) every year. They are pricey to go to but worth the cost. All though the last 2 years we have had a lot of arrest for violent crimes. The people are Texas friendly; however; the last years' have brought in a different type of crowd that has kind of ruined Austin Hippie Lifestyle on which it was built on. You have people from CA and Louisiana that have seeked refuge here for homes and work. They are defiantly different and all the CA based designers and $$ have brought with them the idea that they to can change Austin/Dallas into California.
Because of this; the traffic is worse than LA! There is no friendly atmosphere.. it is all a rat race.. takes about 1 - 1 and 1/2 hours to get across the river to different parts of the city and outlining counties. The roads are always jammed pack full of raging cars (as well as drivers). Road Rage is high here. After Katrina hit we had an onslaught of refugees that fled LA. They brought a lot of crime and they too cannot drive! All-though most have moved out of Austin area; they mostly have relocated to Houston and San Antonio, College Station as it is closer to LA. Thank Goodness! But I really despise the CA $$ that has bum-rushed Austin!
+ for all you people wanting to know what the school systems are like. Crappy! in Austin (AISD). High drop-out rates and low test scores. No Perry did not make our educational system better.. it has been this way since I went to school here. There are pockets of good school districts (Round Rock, Cedar Park, Leander, Pflugerville, Lakeway and anything west Austin (high end areas) where famous people live)..
Cost of living is cheaper than CA, Nevada, anything west coast or east coast (NYC) but it is high here and taxes are high. 8.25%. NO personal property taxes though.. just federal filing on IRS. They do have good Disabled Veteran benefits in homestead taxes, and other things, educational assistance, workforce assistance, VA health care system.
With that being said - Austin is a lot of fun with a rich and full history.. for a few bucks you can go down to Zilker Park and ride the small train and go swimming in the cold 62 degree springs pool. Open year around. There are a lot of hike and bike trails, neat eclectic shops, vintage, punk, hippie, business (fortune 500 companies), actors, music events, cultural events, arts, and on the outskirts you have a lot of great places to camp, tubing down river, Schilitterbaun, the beach is 6 hours or so away. a lot to offer for fitness and healthy lifestyles. Farmer's Markets, vegetarian's heaven, and so on!!! Just be prepared to drive everywhere you go.. Austin area is spread out; really.
I also like that people of all ages, races and sexual orientations are welcome in Austin.. Weird is cool here and normal is too! Cowboys and Punks will do line dancing next to one another along with retired folks.. Austin is liberal / republican but step outside of Austin and it republican redneck; small town.. all-though that is changing too.
I love Austin and wouldn't live anywhere else in Texas; seriously!!!
FYI: Houston is an industrial town; San Antonio is 95% Hispanic (they call it the most northern state in Mexico) and is high in crime; and Dallas is a small scale version of NYC without the subways and walking distances.
Weather is HOT and drought in the summer highest time was 112 and is Hot from May - Sept/Oct/Nov; sometimes snows here and sometimes rains. Lots of hail storms in weird ways. we get tornadoes to. all though rare. Winters can get down to 19 for a couple of days and then back up to 60..
Hope this all helps.
DubhBairn | Leander, TX