Austin dreams

[Armybrat 40678]

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2 hours ago, Eggo said:

Just dropping in to say that I moved to San Antonio 2 years ago after 6 years in Austin. Yes, Austin has more instagrammable spots and a world-class swimming hole in Barton Springs........and you have to deal with some obscure festival every other weekend. 

Hey now! Add one more - Spamerama is starting up again this weekend after several years absence.

[4th&Five 41457]

12 hours ago, KaiserSoze said:

You like to travel, correct? Keep in kind that for what you're used to living in Houston, air travel out of Austin fucking blows comparatively. Nowhere near as many direct flights, flights are noticeably more expensive, and it takes a lot fucking longer to get to your destination (connections).

Quality restaurant options are a beating here too comparatively.

It's all good if you realize/acknowledge you're giving up a lot of world class options to live in a place you find more aesthetically pleasing, but you'll always notice it.

Also, it takes a long time to get accustomed to the lack of diversity here. Actually, it never feels normal- you'll always notice the deficiency after living in Houston.

I grew up here and never really noticed the diversity thing but my wife (from San Diego) brings it up a lot. Even after 17 years here it’s something she notices. 

The line/crowding thing is probably my least favorite thing about living here now. Anything worth doing is overrun. If it’s free don’t fucking think about it. 

[KaiserSoze 997]

44 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

I don't think I've encountered a line at a gas station in months.  I usually fill up either at Mesa & Spicewood Springs, Burnet near Steck, or Koenig near Lamar. 

'Where the hell are you people (YOU PEOPLE) finding all these lines?

I live in Barton Hills and work downtown, so generally in that vicinity- I'm talking about the gas stations on S. Lamar, Lake Austin Blvd., and Lamar north to ~35th.

[jimmyjazz 45513]

Yeah, I get that -- I try to avoid downtown as much as possible during business hours.  Even weekends can get dicey.

[KaiserSoze 997]

For doing anything in my neighborhood and downtown you're better off just walking/biking on weekends that aren't December-February. I often walk or bike the Town Lake trail from my place to the office... it saves a lot of time and the scenery is great.

 

 

[AustinMT 952]

23 hours ago, Anastasis said:

 

rank	district	academic performance score	academic performance index	STAAR scaled score	college readiness index	AP / IB	SAT	ACT	attended by students living in
1	Eanes ISD	10	98.8	94	99.9	64.3%	66.4%	60.1%	Austin, Rollingwood, West Lake Hills
2	Lake Travis ISD	10	89.4	93	79.6	46.9%	63.0%	44.0%	Austin, Bee Cave, Dripping Springs, Lakeway, Spicewood, The Hills
3	Round Rock ISD	10	83.5	91	70.8	42.6%	65.5%	29.0%	Austin, Cedar Park, Round Rock
4	Leander ISD	10	80.4	90	65.9	41.3%	50.4%	34.8%	Austin, Cedar Park, Jonestown, Leander, Volente, Georgetown, Round Rock
5	Dripping Springs ISD	10	80.0	92	59.1	28.3%	52.3%	36.0%	Austin, Driftwood, Dripping Springs
6	Wimberley ISD	10	72.0	87	53.9	28.9%	53.3%	23.4%	Driftwood, Wimberly
7	Liberty Hill ISD	10	68.3	88	41.7	20.5%	47.8%	14.3%	Georgetown, Leander, Liberty Hill
8	Lago Vista ISD	10	67.9	87	43.7	19.4%	39.8%	27.7%	Jonestown, Lago Vista, Pointe Venture
9	Austin ISD	10	65.8	83	50.6	34.6%	43.2%	18.5%	Austin
10	Pflugerville ISD	9	60.0	83	36.0	22.8%	28.9%	17.3%	Austin, Manor, Pflugerville, Round Rock

That chart is a little deceiving.  Best High Schools according to US News (and some other rankings) are, in order, Westlake,  Westwood, Vandegrift, then a drop to Lake Travis.  So Leander is fine if you live in the area that feeds to Vandegrift (and there are some other decent high schools) and Round Rock if you feed to Westwood.

[Anastasis 23375]

1 minute ago, AustinMT said:

That chart is a little deceiving.  Best High Schools according to US News (and some other rankings) are, in order, Westlake,  Westwood, Vandegrift, then a drop to Lake Travis.  So Leander is fine if you live in the area that feeds to Vandegrift (and there are some other decent high schools) and Round Rock if you feed to Westwood.

If we are just talking High Schools narrowly, I think that LASA outranks all of the ones you mentioned?

[Larry T. Spider 1740]

I came here to bitch about lines and crowds for everything that I like in Austin. Glad to see that people beat me to it. I grew up here when you could just drive down to Barton springs, park, and hang out for the afternoon. It’s an ordeal to do anything now. San Antonio has a completely different culture for being so close but many things about it remind me of Austin in the 90s. I would honestly consider it.

[AustinMT 952]

53 minutes ago, Anastasis said:

If we are just talking High Schools narrowly, I think that LASA outranks all of the ones you mentioned?

You are correct.  Was not thinking about magnet schools.

[Eggo 3974]

3 minutes ago, tx 3 putt said:

a cousin of mine recently bought 20 acres between NB and Canyon Lake, and damn it's great out there. 

close to SA and Austin. NB has come a long way. 

They even have an Alamo Drafthouse now! 

[Guest Lobo]

Austin has many issues but not being able to fly non-stop to any city you'd need to visit is ridiculous.  If you're not idiotically loyal to one particular airline, you can get anywhere in the continental U.S. worth visiting with relative ease.  Obviously, it's not as good as Houston, but I don't know where KaiserSoze is traveling, that the non-stop offerings of Austin aren't sufficient.  Yeah, if you're married to American or United, you're a fucking idiot.  Non-stop first, itinerary second, price third, carrier fourth, your bullshit quest for validation on mileage status is your fucking problem.  

 

[KaiserSoze 997]

Calm down Cruiser/Lobo. I mentioned it to dago simply because he enjoys to travel a bit and it's an aspect of living here that's more of a pain in the ass compared to where he is now, nothing more- not sure how/why you lost your mind over it like that. As for your airline loyalty rant, in all my years here I haven't been loyal to any airline because there's no point in it when you have to fly out of Austin.

Edited July 4, 2019 by KaiserSoze

[Guest Lobo]

Oh my god, you discovered I used to post under a different name on the old board.  Dammit.  

[immamac 42492]

Self doxxing hahaha

[Eggo 3974]

For what it's worth, many European flights are much better out of Austin than SA. Direct to London, direct to Frankfurt, etc. 

[Anastasis 23375]

AUS to LHR ftmfw. 

[Neonmoon 38127]

2 hours ago, KaiserSoze said:

Calm down Cruiser/Lobo. I mentioned it to dago simply because he enjoys to travel a bit and it's an aspect of living here that's more of a pain in the ass compared to where he is now, nothing more- not sure how/why you lost your mind over it like that. As for your airline loyalty rant, in all my years here I haven't been loyal to any airline because there's no point in it when you have to fly out of Austin.

It is a legitimate concern. I moved from Houston to Austin a while back and the non-direct flights were a painful adjustment. I fucking hate the Dallas airport now 

[Deej 76511]

I can see Austin's charms, if visiting, but living here has become a constant beatdown. 

[F250 28659]

23 hours ago, Nueces River Rat said:

How about closer to San Antonio , like the Canyon Lake, New Braunfels, Bulverde. Boerne areas?

The Bulverde-Canyon Lake area is full of assholes, stay away from here. Move to NB or San Antonio please.

 

 

[Guest Lobo]

4 hours ago, immamac said:

Self doxxing hahaha

I had to straight up leave the last site for several months while on a project for UT because some of the fucking idiots on here can't separate real life from on-line shenanigans.  

Anyway, Austin sucks but it's better than most other places.  I guess that's why many of us put up with it.  It's really not that hard though, international flights aside, to get to most places non-stop from ABIA.  For work, I'm in Bay Area, Southern California, Chicago, New York, SE Florida, and a few others quite regularly.  Unless you don't know how flights work or you're beholden to one particular carrier so as to accrue enough miles to surprise your wife with Economy+ seats to Branson next year to mark the 20 year sham you call a marriage...it used to be awful but now it's easy as shit to get anywhere worthwhile for business in this country in less than 3.5 hours with no stops.  

[gmr548 16463]

20 hours ago, KaiserSoze said:

You like to travel, correct? Keep in kind that for what you're used to living in Houston, air travel out of Austin fucking blows comparatively. Nowhere near as many direct flights, flights are noticeably more expensive, and it takes a lot fucking longer to get to your destination (connections).

Quality restaurant options are a beating here too comparatively.

It's all good if you realize/acknowledge you're giving up a lot of world class options to live in a place you find more aesthetically pleasing, but you'll always notice it.

Also, it takes a long time to get accustomed to the lack of diversity here. Actually, it never feels normal- you'll always notice the deficiency after living in Houston.

The flight thing is dumb. You can get a direct flight to basically any major US city from Austin. The airport has exploded over the past 5-10 years. Houston is also one of the most expensive airfare markets in the county, not to mention getting to either airport is often an odyssey in its own right because of how sprawling Houston is.

You can count on one hand the US cities that can be compared to Houston in terms of quality and variety of food. Also, depending on where you are in Houston, you may still be very far from the epicenter of cuisine for each regional variety. If you live across town you are functionally just as far from Chinatown or Little Saigon as Austin. Austin also punches above its weight class in terms of food. No, it is't Houston, but basically nowhere is. To me, the blind spot for Austin is Italian food, but in general the food and dining options for a city its size are top notch.

I've lived in both Houston and Austin - there are things Houston scores a lot better on but these are just two tough points to knock Austin for.

The diversity thing is true. Austin is the least diverse major city in Texas. The black population is basically zero relative to Houston or Dallas. Beyond that, it is also incredibly segregated. All US cities are to some extent, but Austin takes it to a level few can match. I definitely notice the difference every time I leave town.

[Nueces River Rat 5528]

The Bulverde-Canyon Lake area is full of assholes, stay away from here. Move to NB or San Antonio please.
 
 

Can you make room for this asshole?

[KaiserSoze 997]

2 hours ago, gmr548 said:

The flight thing is dumb.

You're as obtuse / trigger-happy as Lobo. It's a true statement. I never said it was a deal breaker or a reason not to move to Austin, just that it's a noticeable shortcoming compared to his current situation- coming from someone who made the same move he's considering.

Get over yourself.

[futureman 22411]

[F250 28659]

3 hours ago, Nueces River Rat said:

Can you make room for this asshole?

Eh, just stay east of 3009.

[texasdago 7550]

On 7/4/2019 at 12:20 AM, futureman said:

it was a 500 year storm.  maybe 1,000.  it’s almost guaranteed not to happen again while you’re there.  don’t uproot your family, stay in houston. 

LOL.  Do you live in Houston?  These storms are becoming more and more frequent.  Memorial Day floods, Tax Day floods, Harvey... that's in a 3 year period.  This past May, Spring got 13" of rain in one day.  I'm tired of it.  Tired of hurricane season.  

On flights, Austin has LH to Frankfurt.  Half of my international trips are through Frankfurt (and would be more if I had a choice) so that's a bonus for me.  I was in Frankfurt three weeks ago connecting back home.  Not an issue for me personally and I can handle connections in the US. 

As for Italian food, the greatest amount of Italian food I eat is cooked by me at home because, unless you live in NYC or a few other cities, Italian food in general is pretty sucky in most places in Texas with a few isolated exceptions. 

Went out to Driftwood today... swimming in Onion Creek, swing by Salt Lick, over to Duchman.  Was 40 minutes from where we're staying in Austin.  WTF do we have 40 minutes from Houston?  By that point, I'm stuck in traffic near Clear Lake to go to suckass Galveston.  Otherwise, I can get past Sealy.  

Oh, an my $600Kish budget for a house is based on finishing paying off this house and then just going across.  I can up my budget by taking on a new mortgage.

Edited July 5, 2019 by texasdago

[Eggo 3974]

I don't recall where you said you'd be working, but believe me when I say - taking less house for a shorter commute in Austin will absolutely pay dividends is saved sanity. I know I know, Houston has bad traffic. But a rush hour accident in Austin is like setting a fire in a single exit hallway. There's almost zero alternatives routes you can take. 

[Neonmoon 38127]

Seems like you just need to decided between Dripping Springs, Lakeway, and Driftwood 

[South Austin 52037]

28.6 people on average die on Austin-area roads each day and the average commute time no matter where you live is 5.3 hours. These are facts. Look them up.  Don’t move here.

[CooterBrown 17875]

Houston may a a larger number of better restaurants and "world class" activities, whatever the fuck that is, but living central in Austin off Shoal Creek, outside of rush hour I can be to anything in Austin worth going to in 15 minutes or less. In Houston, you're looking at a fucking hour plus to get to anything that's not in your immediate hood.

 

[hornbri 1367]

22 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

I don't think I've encountered a line at a gas station in months.  I usually fill up either at Mesa & Spicewood Springs, Burnet near Steck, or Koenig near Lamar. 

'Where the hell are you people (YOU PEOPLE) finding all these lines?

Yeah some of you just seam to be anti-Austin for whatever reason. I live in NW Austin and do not experience long lines at HEB (when it is open) or gas stations. I have plenty of spots that are close to the same as 25 years ago and still love it here. To each their own I guess. 

[Eggo 3974]

2 minutes ago, hornbri said:

Yeah some of you just seam to be anti-Austin for whatever reason. I live in NW Austin and do not experience long lines at HEB (when it is open) or gas stations. I have plenty of spots that are close to the same as 25 years ago and still love it here. To each their own I guess. 

They're not anti-Austin, they just want non-Austinites to be a little more anti-Austin

[Murfdogg21 4412]

I lived in Austin ‘98-‘03 then moved back with wife 2010-present. Two very different cities, and not for the better IMO (/get off my lawn). You said it’s not nostalgia driving you, but making sure because many of my UT friends constantly act jealous like all we do is tailgate, drink at Crown and Anchor, and swim in Barton springs all day. I’m just adding a +1 to all the bitching about overvalued real estate, associated escalating property taxes that don’t seem to get us any better services/utilities/roads, traffic like a mofo, and everywhere being crowded AF. If you made it from Duchman winery to downtown in 40 minutes, congrats, but was this at 11am on a Sunday? Prepare thy anus for driving anywhere near centra Austin 8-9:30am M-F or 3-6pm seven days a week. 

The wife and I thought were going to cash out our house equity and GTFO in 2017, but wife got a new job and we had a baby. Ended up selling and parlaying into a larger house that has since jumped $100k in value. That’s wonderful except when the tax man comes. The AISD public schools are mostly crappy, unless you were fortunate enough to buy near Mopac pre-2012 or are willing to pay out the nose for it now, and get into a western AISD school (we are not). Since we’ve had kids combined with always increasing cost and crowdedness, we’ve been to two UT football games, no ACL, no Barton Springs, and Zilker a handful of times. Not even sure why we still live in Austin except for our jobs are both good (not golden handcuffs, more like brass handcuffs).

[irishtexan 11442]

2 hours ago, South Austin said:

28.6 people on average die on Austin-area roads each day and the average commute time no matter where you live is 5.3 hours. These are facts. Look them up.  Don’t move here.

You have to wait in line for like 90 minutes to buy gas. The airports are broken. And the average home is priced at 3.7 million with annual property taxes of $1 million. And the schools are bad. And the food is terrible. These are facts. Don't move here. 

Edited July 5, 2019 by irishtexan

[HenryJames 65868]

And HEB is never open.

[Guest Lobo]

And the homeless camp in your front yard legally.  And take shits in your cars before you head out for your 3 hour commute so it stinks so bad by the time you get to the office.

Actually, that one may be true.  

[Nueces River Rat 5528]

1 hour ago, irishtexan said:

You have to wait in line for like 90 minutes to buy gas. The airports are broken. And the average home is priced at 3.7 million with annual property taxes of $1 million. And the schools are bad. And the food is terrible. These are facts. Don't move here. 

You Austin guys need to add.....  Downtown  is in the process of becoming the largest campground  in Texas thanks to the Austin Silly Council.  

[Armybrat 40678]

And there is no more $1/pitcher night at Scholz’s either.

[Murfdogg21 4412]

18 minutes ago, Armybrat said:

And there is no more $1/pitcher night at Scholz’s either.

Was that a thing? Life was so great under President Harding!

[Guest Lobo]

21 minutes ago, Armybrat said:

And there is no more $1/pitcher night at Scholz’s either.

Says the guy who was there on opening night in '66.  

 

[tx 3 putt 76159]

1 hour ago, Lobo said:

Says the guy who was there on opening night in '66.  

 

1866 

[dirtonia 269]

I think it’s time for me to GTFO of Austin, want to buy my house?!

[texasdago 7550]

I should start every post with, "I can work from home" since no one seems to see it.  

Went to Gus Fruh park today... took the family for a swim.  Took us about 20 minutes from where we are at 360.  Never felt too crowded.

Here's the deal... I never pined and waxed poetically for the Austin of the early 90s when I went to UT.  Texadelphia and GM Steakhouse are gone.  I'm not going to go play spades at Abel's.  Don't care about 6th street.  I've come back regularly since graduating and, I hate to tell you this but there are a lot of changes that I actually like.  Certain parts of town have made big strides compared to 1993.  There are many new places that have had a positive impact on Austin.  Have they brought more visitors, hipsters and D-bags?  Yes.  But that happens anytime an area improves.

Your problem should be with Californians trying to move here, not Longhorns who just want to come back.  I'm not coming back for the nostalgia.  I see what Austin is now, even with garbage traffic and long soup kitchen lines (allegedly).  Oh, and I love all the people in Austin "selling" Houston.  Kind of funny since Austin always looked down on Houston.

 

Edited July 5, 2019 by texasdago

[texasdago 7550]

One last note - my home value has tripled in 18 years - which is a good thing in many ways - so I'm used to seeing property taxes go up.  Not to mention that a Fortune 500 energy company is relocating their HQ to a new building they are putting up about 2 miles from my house.  Values will keep going up.

[jimmyjazz 45513]

41 minutes ago, texasdago said:

One last note - my home value has tripled in 18 years

6.3% per year.  Pshh.  You need to move to Austin, we're close to hitting 10% per year.

[Continental Op 3934]

Surly Austinites: Every time someone moves to Austin it is bad and horrible except of course for when I moved to Austin!

[South Austin 52037]

4 hours ago, Continental Op said:

Surly Austinites: Every time someone moves to Austin it is bad and horrible except of course for when I moved to Austin!

You know what, Napoleon? You can leave!

[dcbc 14388]

On 7/4/2019 at 8:31 PM, gmr548 said:

but in general the food and dining options for a city its size are top notch

I think we all can agree that Top Notch has very tasty burgers.

Edited July 6, 2019 by dcbc

[UTPhil2006 3790]

On 7/5/2019 at 5:10 PM, dirtonia said:

I think it’s time for me to GTFO of Austin, want to buy my house?!

Go on...

[Your Mom 4789]

I’m south in the Slaughter/Brodie/Manchaca area and I’ve never waited in line for gas.  Restaurants seem about the same.  I eat out every day and more often than not, twice a day.  I avoid chains but I also avoid hotspots on Friday and Saturday nights.  Seems about the same as it always has. 

The “Austin has changed” crowd isn’t necessarily wrong but it’s exaggerated.  Austin hasn’t been a sleepy little town since the 70’s. People who complain that it’s not as cool and fun as it was a few years ago are full of shit because it was already that way then... they just didn’t notice because they were younger and more oblivious. 10 years from now there’ll be another cycle of 30-something’s complaining that it’s not as cool as old Austin was back in 2019. 

There are plenty of good places to eat without crazy lines. I have no idea when the last festival was because it’s not what I pay attention to. I drive in Austin traffic and Houston traffic a few times a month... they suck equally on my routes. 

It’s not the greatest city in the world but I don’t have much to complain about other than the heat. I was born here but I’m leaving when my kids leave. Colorado or Utah or somewhere like that. Then 10 years later I’ll bitch about how it’s not as great as it was in the glory days which are defined by whatever years I happened to arrive. 

Edited July 7, 2019 by Your Mom