Alright, TX Members: I need your help.

[Ancient Flounder]

So, here's the score: probably within the next 2 years or so, I have the option available to me to move to the Austin area.

I've lived my entire life here on the West Coast. Most of my family lives in California and it's really all I know. But, I have become more and more aware of how bad this state is getting and that it really will only get worse. I realize I have a lot of time to really think this through, but I'm very curious to hear from those of you in that area of Texas. If you were born there, what keeps you there? For those that moved there from another area of the country, what influenced your decision? How does it compare to where you came from?

 

[Mike Shagohod]

Well I was born in Minneapolis Minnesota in 1978 and lived there up until 10months old... (my father was doing his "recruitment" stint for the USAF at that time), but for all purposes I've been a TEXAN all my life. I do want to see Viking Land as I refer to Minnesota, but it still hasn't happened.

ANYHOW:
------------

Why I love Texas is simple, and it's for these reasons I'd tell you to get the hell outta' Kali, and into "It's own little country" of Texas.

#1> Practically EVERY terrain/climate is here. We've got Flatland Prairies, Deserts, Mountains (sort of), Swamps & Forrest, Sandy Beaches, etc.

#2> There's plenty to do in major cities (Dallas/FW, Houston, San Antonio, Austin)

#3> Rich History here

#4> A huge portion of us Texans are "legal/law abiding" ARMED Citizens, and are always looking to help/assist/recruit (whatever) a newcomer.

#5> Cost of living is a lot less than other states and/or cities. I'd call this *More Realistic Living* Shoot I have a pretty nice 1500sq foot town home condo built in 1965 in a relatively nice complex (save that 2007 Drug Dealer/Pimp & his goons fiasco I mentioned, whom I stood up against, eventually with Police assistance)... and it was all for a nice $65,000. Try getting something like this in other places at that cost! HAH!

#6> TEX MEX food is awesome.

#7> Latina women are fucking hawt and adventuresome (for the most part), so if you're a single bloke looking for some road trips, and hot nights between the sheets... you've hit the jack pot. IF THIS ISN'T YOUR THANG THOUGH, San Antonio is the virtual "melting pot" of the USA as far as ethnic backgrounds go thanks to Lackland AFB and Fort Sam Houston. ***Be warned though... TEXAS has a lot of "Thicky Thicks" and BBWs (there's plenty skinny broads too though), so if you dig this, you'll be in heaven, otherwise I dunno. But Tex Mex food will fatten one up mighty quick.

#8> AUSTIN TEXAS, is fucking great for it's diversified and never ending flow of weirdos, college students going wild, art house cinemas, coffee houses and Bohemian sub culture, bicycle lifestyle/culture, State History, AND MORE!

#9> GAME OVER GAMES has (3) locations here. Fucking sweet! (Austin)

#10> Austin is a "mini Hollywood" (still) to some degree + lots of Tech jobs can be had here. Well with the economy I'm not so sure on this last part, but it has been true up until recently.

#11> Corpus Christi is a nice diversion from the insanity of the other cities, and it's a stone's throw from "just relaxing" at Mustang Island (where you can ride horses on the beach) or Port Aransas. ***Also the U.S.S. LEXINGTON Aircraft Carrier is permanently anchored near the Sandy Shores Resort in Corpus, on the Portland side of Harbor Bridge, if such things interest you.

#12> SOUTH PADRE ISLAND. ***Just Do It***

#13> A seemingly endless road trip possibility of small towns and places with historical merit. And if you're into the "tourist stuff" of course you can hit up The Riverwalk in Downtown SATX, and the TOWER OF THE AMERICAS and hit up all the theme parks (Sea World, Six Flags Fiesta Texas, with a Disney Land or "World" to be built here soon). ~You could drive all damn day from one end of Texas to the other, and not be out of Texas. Can't be said for most states.

#14> A small but "cool" cabal of NG.COM members are here, and no matter how nutty we might come across (well, namely me), we're normal people and would more than likely open our houses up to you and be your virtual tour guide, non conflicting work schedules aside of course. I've photographic memory, and if you're rolling with me dude, you'll experience things and places a lot don't even know about. Cause I get down with folks from all walks of life and creeds who "accept" me for the peculiar and unconventional dude I am.

#15> If you're willing to risk not being kidnapped by Mexican Drug Cartels and shit, you can always experience BORDER TOWNS in Mexico. Not a whole lot to do, but it's fun just being in another country but not so far as you couldn't possibly fight and swim your way back to the USA if neccessary. Just make sure you have your papers on you. ***Best place to cross though (for a chill out time) is from Eagle Pass into Piedras Negras. That place is a laid back town, but has a kick ass restaurant called "Modernos" and a steak house "El Rancho" that's right out of Desperado (with Antonio Banderas), though not the one in the film. I know some other out-of-the-way places over there too, good for Guerrilla Gaming finds and...

#16> Dude, I'M HERE. Over the course of a year off and on, I could give you enough paramilitary training that you'd be proud of yourself if they shit hit the fan one day. And even if not that, just going Hunting and/or other outdoors stuff is hella fun and a more or less cheap way to spend an entire day or week even.

Beyond this I dunno what to tell you. 2 Years is a long time to think it over indeed, and most likely you'll look at other places to relocate to as well. TEXAS isn't for everyone. Here you have to realize (like with any place) that there is no perfect place. We've got plenty of bullshit here, plenty of criminals and rampant crime (usually in the bigger cities) where one could get in the crossfire, and it's not exactly THE IN THANG to be in Texas. But I'd vouch for this place. Once both kids are a little older I'm going to start doing some serious Holiday travels, and even go overseas... but when all is said and done... my home will always be Texas. This state has it all IMO, and the people (for the most part) are WYSIWYG, and are usually direct and to the point. None of this hamfisted high society crap, (for the most part).

CHOOSE WISELY!

 

[qube]

Lived in TX on and off for 25 years. Moved out of state multiple times; including So Cal, MI, NE, OH, and back again.

Bought a house this time (in Houston) b/c I wanted to start a family. My wife loves it here (she's from Detroit) and her parents have moved down as well, they love it too.

Great place to live, I'll probably never leave again unless a job takes me out of state, and even then, it would have to be a great offer.

You couldn't ask for a better place to live. Good economy, good people, good food, good weather, etc. etc.

 

[CrackerMessiah]

Flounder of Old,

Can I ask what part of California you've spent much time in? I ask, because I've found that Los Angeles culture is rather different from the rest of CA. In any case, though, I'll save you a search and re-post what I typed in talks2wall's thread. For the most part, after three years of being here, my opinion of Austin hasn't largely changed.

Austin TX is very much like Santa Monica was about 20 years ago: friendly, (relatively) affordable, coming out of a bohemian culture that strikes me as actively trying to preserve it's artistic and carefree soul. There's an almost militant adherance to the local mantra "Keep Austin Weird," which in simpler language means 'shop at small businesses to keep them alive,' ("Weird" in this case perhaps meaning that it's rather awkward to have more small businesses than larger ones.) and the majority of people that I've met here love it. I'm partisan to their group.

The weather here is requisite Texan weather. What this means for Californians is that there are things are things called 'seasons' in which the predominate temperature of a given time period line up with certain month invervals in the year, i.e it gets colder in a time called 'winter,' which usually takes place from mid-December to mid-February. Having lived in Santa Monica, this concept was mindblowing. Also, the humidity here is damn high, and will accent whatever the weather condition is by making it feel more of what it is. Low temperature + humidity = mad cold weather. It's like MSG for the atmosphere. High 90s/low 100s are the norm of the summer (yet this one was really rainy for some reason), and we had an ice storm this past January - had a full centimeter coat of ice on my car!

People here are FAAAAAAAAAR more friendlier than they are in Southern California. Whereas asking a stranger for more information than "What time is it?" indicated mental illness to your requisite LA-native, people here actually give much more of a damn than you'd expect. When I first arrived and went to a local large grocery store, I was asked "How are you?" in the most sincerest voice coming from minimum-wage labor. It was shocking. After telling a 7-Eleven clerk yesterday that my day was so-so, we proceeded to have a short conversation about housing leads. And there were 2 two other people in line, patiently listening to every word rather than getting extremely angry. To give you an idea of how pervasive this friendliness is: when I returned to LA for the summer, I knew I was in Los Angeles by looking at the face of the first person I saw when I was getting off of the plane: defeated and drained. Very little of that here.

Another perk of the land: if you've got a 35K a year job that you stick with for 10 years, you can actually own a home - a delusion in Southern California. A 3-bedroom house in Hyde Park - a central older area - will run you, I'm told, around $280,000. I would have to sell my soul and those of my unborn children (plural is intentional ) to a bank in order to own the bathroom of a home in Santa Monica. This is even truer of the rest of the state.

But there are some downsides too.

Bring your mosquito repellant. The side effect of all the beautiful green vegitation and space between buildings and large commercial developments is that insects and other 'pest' animals have a place to breed, rather than relocate from the concrete jungles of LA.

Also, Interstate 35 serves as a de-facto split between the affluent (West) and not affluent (East). This split also lends to old racial tensions that have survived in some forms to this day. It's a rather horrible ethnic and class split, and puts a rather distant-yet-tangible black eye on what is otherwise a nice place.

Other than those last two deals, Austin is a great place. You may miss the weather, but if you may not miss much else. Oh- and there's no such thing as a crappy hamburger here from a non-fast food place.

There are a few members from TX I've yet to meet, but I do talk to talks2wall a bit. rarehero is more elusive than he should be, and NeoTurfMasta is cool like that. I've yet to meet a person from TX on this board that wasn't amicable and interesting.

Also, I'm gonna do a play-by-play on some of Merc's points:

Well I was born in Minneapolis Minnesota in 1978 and lived there up until 10months old... (my father was doing his "recruitment" stint for the USAF at that time), but for all purposes I've been a TEXAN all my life. I do want to see Viking Land as I refer to Minnesota, but it still hasn't happened.

"Anybody can become an American, but you have to be born a Texan." - Wise Old Bumper Sticker. I was born in Bryan, for those keeping score.

ANYHOW:
------------

Why I love Texas is simple, and it's for these reasons I'd tell you to get the hell outta' Kali, and into "It's own little country" of Texas.

#1> Practically EVERY terrain/climate is here. We've got Flatland Prairies, Deserts, Mountains (sort of), Swamps & Forrest, Sandy Beaches, etc.

Damn true. Provided you can eek out a few hours to get to where you're going, there's LOTS to see in the state. Corpus Christi is a decent beach town that you can hit up in 4 hours from Austin, for instance.

#4> A huge portion of us Texans are "legal/law abiding" ARMED Citizens, and are always looking to help/assist/recruit (whatever) a newcomer.

That last part is almost unbelievable coming from Los Angeles. One day, I had a tire blow on my car as I was driving on a freeway. I made my way to an off-ramp and over to the side. Before I got fed up waiting for AAA and decided to change the tire myself, I received no less than THREE independent offers from PASSERBYs to help change the tire. Damn nice place.

#5> Cost of living is a lot less than other states and/or cities. I'd call this *More Realistic Living* Shoot I have a pretty nice 1500sq foot town home condo built in 1965 in a relatively nice complex (save that 2007 Drug Dealer/Pimp & his goons fiasco I mentioned, whom I stood up against, eventually with Police assistance)... and it was all for a nice $65,000. Try getting something like this in other places at that cost! HAH!

This will be true of most of Texas that lies "commutably" outside of large urban centers. Austin's median home prices are around the 250,000 mark. Although many people commute from surrounding cities and locales, e.g Round Rock or Cedar Park.

#6> TEX MEX food is awesome.

With all due respect, WRONG. Granted it'll come down to opinion, but the quality of Mexican food is inversely proportional to the language barrier I face as a non-Spanish speaker. It's been my personal experience - especially coming from So Cal - that the "TEX" part serves only one function: as a license to drench any and every piece of Mexican food in melted cheese, which the locals call "queso." Usually, this is to it's detriment. Either that, or I've been going to the wrong places. You'll frame your own opinion as you go, though.

#8> AUSTIN TEXAS, is fucking great for it's diversified and never ending flow of weirdos, college students going wild, art house cinemas, coffee houses and Bohemian sub culture, bicycle lifestyle/culture, State History, AND MORE!

This is damn true as well, to a different point. Coming from LA, the sub-cultures are a bit more simplified and, by virtue, less delineated into specific cliques than you might find in CA. Also, I've found Austin to be a place where being arguably over-enthusiastic about films, music, and -increasingly- video games is not nearly as stigmatized as it is in LA. And that's damn refreshing.

#14> A small but "cool" cabal of NG.COM members are here, and no matter how nutty we might come across (well, namely me), we're normal people and would more than likely open our houses up to you and be your virtual tour guide, non conflicting work schedules aside of course. I've photographic memory, and if you're rolling with me dude, you'll experience things and places a lot don't even know about. Cause I get down with folks from all walks of life and creeds who "accept" me for the peculiar and unconventional dude I am.

As mentioned before- you'll be among friends in Austin, and from the looks of it, in other places in TX as well.

But yeah. Anything else you wanna know, don't hesitate to ask. If I can help it, I'll be here as long as I can.

 

[SML]

I was born in Bryan, for those keeping score.

Hey me too.

I haven't got much to add to what the others have said. I love Texas.

P.S. It's hot here. Winter consists of a few false starts followed by a warm Spring.

 

[Ancient Flounder]

@Merc, CrackerMessiah:

Well, I'm still here in Las Vegas, but yeah, I'm from California originally. It was a small town called Hemet, in Riverside County. It's about 90 minutes away from San Diego and about 40 minutes from Riverside. Not bad, though the cops were mostly dicks and speed use was/is rampant. It could be laid back, though, which is a contrast to the rather cut-throat nature of Vegas. Even when not on the Strip, a lot of folks have chips on their shoulders and really just have no sense of humanity. I've been nearly hit by so many cars while using crosswalks and having the right of way, it's not even funny. I've hit my limit at the bullshit I'm willing to put up with and that's been a big factor in taking this move into consideration. The biggest hurdle will be the fact that I'm fairly entrenched here and being able to get past "Well, I'd be leaving all my friends behind." I'll admit that I'm a very routine-prone person and throwing a monkey wrench into that and seeing what else the country has to offer might make me a better person overall.

Most likely, I'd end up in the Round Rock area, which I know is easy to commute from to Austin. And by the sounds of things, fitting in wouldn't be too hard. I'll eat me up some Tex-Mex food, that's for sure. Plus, it would be nice to see what kind of people I can connect with there. Maybe there's a local club for Japanese tokusatsu shows? Would be nice, since I'm pretty much alone on that around here (sans Dash no Chris, but he's been in stealth mode lately). I know gaming won't be an issue, since I've been looking at Game Over's stuff and I know that Houston is just a couple hours away and has a nice arcade. And cost of living is definitely a important factor. Housing won't be a huge issue (since I'll be staying with someone anyways), but food costs and general expenses something to consider. If it's even a little bit cheaper, that would be fine.

Thanks for all the replies so far. I definitely need to make it a point to get to know some of you guys better and acquire more knowledge along the way. Things could change and the chick I've been trying to hook up with for a while may end up finally taking me up on my offer (which would land me in Colorado most likely; lol), but I'm still seeing this as a great opportunity to have in the future and something to plan around and make goals towards. Besides, I don't want to pass up being able to learn to kick ass from the Man himself.

 

[Jesus Christo]

Austin's about the only part of that shithole state I can stand.

 

[Domino-chan]

"Anybody can become an American, but you have to be born a Texan." - Wise Old Bumper Sticker. I was born in Bryan, for those keeping score.

I'm one of the odd folk: born up north to Texas-born parents, and then raised in Texas.

I'm seriously considering moving back, myself. But I always swore that if I ever moved back to Texas that it would be Austin-only. My next trip out will be to look at the housing, cost of living, etc. etc.

To add to the pros, The Texas crew is full of good people. I had a lot of fun with 'em the last time I visited.

 

[DanAdamKOF]

Austin's cool, there's a new arcade that opened up there recently that's alright. That whole "keep Austin weird" campaign is pretty nutty as people embrace all the off-kilter stuff like that crossdressing dude for the sake of it making the city unique. It's a great city, one that I don't take trips to often enough.

If you're the kind that likes driving, you can have some awesome times roadtripping around the state and visiting various cities and such. You'll find something awesome in every major city.

If you're ever in Dallas btw you can crash at my place, rarehero did for like a month lol. I guess that's another advantage for you.

 

[Mike Shagohod]

Also, I'm gonna do a play-by-play on some of Merc's points:

"Anybody can become an American, but you have to be born a Texan." - Wise Old Bumper Sticker. I was born in Bryan, for those keeping score.

I'm assuming the is for "J/K" right? My father himself is from Ohio but got here (Texas) as fast as he could in 1960, due in for Lackland AFB and never really left, though he did stints in Misawa Japan from '61 - '63, and put in time in Vietnam in '71. At the time I was born he was doing Recruitment for the USAF but was a resident of Texas. My ass should've been born in SATX but it was not to be, instead being born in Minneapolis, but living in Eagon, and going to Mountain Man Muzzleloading Shoots in Shackopee as early as 6months old. Bottom Line, I was back in Texas to celebrate my 1st Birthday. No matter what anyone says or thinks... I'M A TEXAN and will kill over that proud fact if some sum'bitch wants to ride rough shod over me. Ain't no place like Texas/Tejas baby!

With all due respect, WRONG. Granted it'll come down to opinion, but the quality of Mexican food is inversely proportional to the language barrier I face as a non-Spanish speaker. It's been my personal experience - especially coming from So Cal - that the "TEX" part serves only one function: as a license to drench any and every piece of Mexican food in melted cheese, which the locals call "queso." Usually, this is to it's detriment. Either that, or I've been going to the wrong places. You'll frame your own opinion as you go, though.

I can't speak for Austin, but here in SATX I know some places where the Tex Mex is so good you'll be containing yourself from the taste of the food, to not grab your waitress by the hair, bend her over a table and fuck right there amongst the customers. SERIOUSLY. Best places is usually in hole-in-the-wall mom & pop type places I've found. You want to avoid the Gringo-ized places like Papasitios or Gringos, those places charge far too much for a (2) Enchilada plate, and the food sucks. Now a good portion of the Taqueria Jalisco places are indeed crap... but more than a few serve food good enough you'll walk in ignorant of Spanish language, and walk out in a Sombreo and smell of Tequila and pussy.

In Austin I mainly know the downtown area. On approach from SATX into 1st Street all the way to the other side of Airport BLVD, where GAME OVER GAMES is at the point where LAMAR BLVD meets up with another Freeway (not sure which). Anything inside of that perimeter "is my stomping grounds". Though I do enjoy hitting up the TX Roller Girls at the huge roller rink.

 

[Mike Shagohod]

Austin's about the only part of that shithole state I can stand.

REALLY? So, you mind manifesting into the physical world and teaching me the arts of Hokuto Shinken or at least Nanto Hakuroken? You should know all the forms right? But that means you'd have to come to SATX.

 

[Maury V.]

Don't forget, i'm here in Texas too so it'll be all good!

 

[talks2wall]

Here's my two cents from someone who has recently moved to Austin from California. A little background on me first. I was born in New York, but raised in Illinois (an hour out of Chicago). Went back to NY for college and then headed to California after college. Spent 9 years living and working in San Jose, in the center of Silicon Valley.

I enjoyed most of those years while I was still starry eyed and maybe a little naive. I got pretty fed up with California though, at least the (San Fran) Bay Area. When I moved to Cali I enjoyed that people were pretty laid back. I thought it was because they were tolerant of people, but I think they just don't care about others. People weren't very friendly or outgoing and tended to stick with there own groups. Little sense of community in my opinion. Cost also became a growing concern for me. I was able to buy a condo in 2004 and it was nice, but by no means anything extravagant. I was doing very well in high tech, but realized that I could never really "get ahead" in Cali. Only way for me to buy a nice house or anything would be to get married and combine incomes. There were other factors as well, but the luster of Cali definitely wore off for me.

I considered several other cities when I moved, but Austin was the leader by far. I took a trip out here to check it out and I felt right at home. As CrackerMessiah mentioned, people are genuinely friendly and caring here. I've never experienced anything like it in NY, IL or CA. People are very active, both socially and physically. It also feels like a melting pot similar to California, but with people who care about others. Tons of activities here including live music (a huge plus for me), bars, restaurants, etc. No major sports, but most folks seem content with University of Texas sports.

I've only been here about 10 months, but I'm very glad I moved here. Can't see myself going anywhere any time soon. CrackerMessiah and I hang out from time to time and rarehero heads down from San Antonion from time to time. Very easy going crowd focused on having fun. I'll be happy to answer any questions you might have.

P.S. Did your XBL gamertag change, AncientFlounder? I tried to add your old one from the thread and it said it didn't exist.

ttyl
-MZ

 

[Ancient Flounder]

Here's my two cents from someone who has recently moved to Austin from California. A little background on me first. I was born in New York, but raised in Illinois (an hour out of Chicago). Went back to NY for college and then headed to California after college. Spent 9 years living and working in San Jose, in the center of Silicon Valley.

I enjoyed most of those years while I was still starry eyed and maybe a little naive. I got pretty fed up with California though, at least the (San Fran) Bay Area. When I moved to Cali I enjoyed that people were pretty laid back. I thought it was because they were tolerant of people, but I think they just don't care about others. People weren't very friendly or outgoing and tended to stick with there own groups. Little sense of community in my opinion. Cost also became a growing concern for me. I was able to buy a condo in 2004 and it was nice, but by no means anything extravagant. I was doing very well in high tech, but realized that I could never really "get ahead" in Cali. Only way for me to buy a nice house or anything would be to get married and combine incomes. There were other factors as well, but the luster of Cali definitely wore off for me.

I considered several other cities when I moved, but Austin was the leader by far. I took a trip out here to check it out and I felt right at home. As CrackerMessiah mentioned, people are genuinely friendly and caring here. I've never experienced anything like it in NY, IL or CA. People are very active, both socially and physically. It also feels like a melting pot similar to California, but with people who care about others. Tons of activities here including live music (a huge plus for me), bars, restaurants, etc. No major sports, but most folks seem content with University of Texas sports.

I've only been here about 10 months, but I'm very glad I moved here. Can't see myself going anywhere any time soon. CrackerMessiah and I hang out from time to time and rarehero heads down from San Antonion from time to time. Very easy going crowd focused on having fun. I'll be happy to answer any questions you might have.

P.S. Did your XBL gamertag change, AncientFlounder? I tried to add your old one from the thread and it said it didn't exist.

ttyl
-MZ

Yeah, it's the same as my handle here. I sent you a friend request just a bit ago.

The sound of actually having people give a damn is definitely a plus. Plus, living in a place where bands actually want to play would be a nice change of pace. With as many venues as we have on the Strip, a lot of folks just don't play here. What's the weather like in the winter? I know it gets warm there in the summer, which won't be a change to what I'm already used to.

 

[payment_due]

What's the weather like in the winter? I know it gets warm there in the summer, which won't be a change to what I'm already used to.

It varies. Some years we'll get a 'freeze' where it rains and drops below freezing so nearly the whole city will shut down for 2 or 3 days, or it will be like this year. Sub freezing, but dry temps for about 4 days, then its up to 75 for two days, then back to sub freezing, to mid 50s today.

Winter weather in central TX is VERY arbitrary.

 

[aegreatone]

I lived in Houston all my life and I gotta tell you...I'm a lil tired of it...I heard Houston is the cheapest big city to live in compared to Chicago, New York City, or LA...but Houston isn't all that. I mean, you have to drive everywhere...I visited NYC and everywhere I went I walked...in houston, you cant walk, Houston is sprawled out.

San Antonio, it's ok, the riverwalk is the only fun place I had. A good mix of people...

Corpus Christi, wow, allot of latinos...it's 90% latino...it's pretty cool.

Dallas sucks. Just a small version of Houston, they had allot of fine white girls but it could have just been the fact it was a new area to me...

What's keeping me here is my friends, family, and job. None of that I'd probably go live in Hawaii or Miami...maybe I should start doing that. Perhaps change my career to where I can hop around the US until I find a good place I like.

oh, and the weather in HOUSTON is like...we had snow this year, but the last time we had snow was in DEC 04...something to think about...oh, and if you lived up North and you come to Texas in the summer, prepare to fry like an egg ROFL

 

[rarehero]

well for one thing, you can actually afford to buy a house here in texas.
I wouldn't live in california unless it was along the coast.
and that's some expensive property out there.

 

[Lets Gekiga In]

Austin's about the only part of that shithole state I can stand.

Sounds like you'd fit well in Boulder then.