Austin dreams

[CooterBrown 18294]

The big problem with any Texas metro is the lack of outdoor space.  Public lands in Texas are a fucking embarrassment. Texas State Parks are tiny and shitty. Our one national park takes a cross country drive to get to.  Give me a metro area where I can live in a walkable urban neighborhood but that has relatively easy access to a variety of public lands in less than 2 hours and I'd be in heaven.  

[Hank_Hill 20142]

55 minutes ago, ztejas said:

Uhhh... have you looked at apartments around Rainey st or E7th recently?

I’ve lived at both 7East and Skyhouse in the past 5 years. The amenities and space I’d be getting at the same price point in Seattle are...not the same.

[Bolero88 286]

2 hours ago, ztejas said:

Sort of. Rent in Austin is only less expensive than in 5 or 6 other metro areas in the country. I guess there is no state income tax. Food and gas aren't super expensive. Property tax is through the fucking roof. Public schools are good enough, though. 

I mean unless you are moving from NY, Boston, Chicago, LA or SF then Austin isn't low cost. It's on similar footing with Miami, DC and Seattle.

No. DC is much, much more expensive unless you are looking in the hood. DC is closer to NYC prices than to Austin. 

[irishtexan 11712]

1 hour ago, troph said:

well that's fine but now it's all grown up and nothing has been done to be a big city.  leadership is a joke and transportation and housing are major problems.  if you're going to grow up, act like an adult.  solve the problems.  we should have been investing in legit mass transit for the last twenty years but we haven't.  now it takes an hour to go 10 miles most of the time.

Is there a single major city south of DC with an adequate public transit system that serves populations beyond the poor? Maybe Atlanta? I don't have personal experience there, but their rider numbers are high. But they also have a lot of poor folk there. I don't think professionals take public transit south of high-density major metro areas like NYC, Chicago, Boston, DC/Baltimore, etc. 

I don't have high hopes we'll ever have real public transit because people don't want to use it. We're married to our cars. Also, my hope is that with COVID, a large percentage of people will continue working from home or working off-hours to some degree, which could help alleviate some of the rush hour traffic a bit. 

1 hour ago, 6th Street said:

Simpler times - back in the mid 2000's I had handshake entry to Aquarium, Spill, Blind Pig and a few other Dirty 6th hotspots. Now I wouldn't even consider venturing down there when visiting because it's so ghetto. 

And prior staples like Trudy's, Z Tejas, Magnolia Cafe etc seem to have fallen off the map. Oh well

It's not ghetto. You just got old. I won't go there either. Because I'm fucking old.

58 minutes ago, crash_davis said:

Z Tejas is the exception. We still have Z Tejas on the rotation. Been there a million times and have only ever had 1 or 2 bad meals. The problem in Austin is that there are now WAY too many options. Well, that was pre-covid. We'll see what the landscape is if/when we come out of this shit. I remember when Friday happy hours was crazy shit busy at Z Tejas. Not even on the happy hour radar anymore.

I remember eating at Barlata's a many years back and the owner bitching about the sheer number of new restaurants. He said something like in the time that Barlata openend, there had been 100 new restaurants open in or south of downtown. 

I feel terrible for all the restaurateurs. But it's a fact that there were too many restaurants in this town. For as horrible as this is, when we get on the other side of this the industry might be more vibrant and eclectic than before, which wouldn't be a bad thing.  

33 minutes ago, CooterBrown said:

The big problem with any Texas metro is the lack of outdoor space.  Public lands in Texas are a fucking embarrassment. Texas State Parks are tiny and shitty. Our one national park takes a cross country drive to get to.  Give me a metro area where I can live in a walkable urban neighborhood but that has relatively easy access to a variety of public lands in less than 2 hours and I'd be in heaven.  

Where does that exist? This largely depends on how you define a walkable urban neighborhood. I would probably define it as a place with true public transportation (see post above about how few cities have real, actual public transportation) with access to a grocery store, retail, public parks, and a restaurant/entertainment/bar scene within 3-4 miles. Those neighborhoods don't really exist outside of densely-populated areas in the Midwest and Northeast. And they don't have access to a variety of public lands less than two hours away. 

I think the only cities that might meet your criteria are Seattle, Portland, and San Francisco. 

People I know who were at UT in the early 70s say people back then bitched about "Austin's not like it was in the 40s." When I moved to Austin in 96, people said it's not like it was in the 70s. Now I see people on this thread talking about how Austin's not like it was in the mid 00s. It's not that Austin has changed so much. It's that you got old and the Austin of your 20s doesn't exist anymore. You just miss being single and in your 20s with no responsibilities.

[troph 25317]

that's fine but there are tons of major cities south of DC that have at least the appearance of a sufficient road network.  Austin has no viable transportation solution, at all.  Mopac as a major highway artery is a complete joke.  there is no viable east west corridor really at all.  arguments could be made that going forward good decisions could be made out east for sufficient roads but that ship has sailed for north, south and west. so at this point, the roads are so bad and so far behind in terms of capacity that the only real solution is an over the top (probably pun intended) mass transit system. and at least for me, the traffic is so bad now that it has a tangible negative impact on quality of life with no solution available.  at least in the big NE cities you can chose to take the subway to avoid it.

Edited September 17, 2020 by troph

[4th&Five 42071]

I know I'm in the minority but other than traffic I'll take Austin now over any other time in my life (born here in '80).  More options for pretty much anything you want to do. Yeah, I miss the places I went to that are no longer there but every city has that.  

[troph 25317]

43 minutes ago, irishtexan said:

 

Where does that exist? This largely depends on how you define a walkable urban neighborhood. I would probably define it as a place with true public transportation (see post above about how few cities have real, actual public transportation) with access to a grocery store, retail, public parks, and a restaurant/entertainment/bar scene within 3-4 miles. Those neighborhoods don't really exist outside of densely-populated areas in the Midwest and Northeast. And they don't have access to a variety of public lands less than two hours away. 

I think the only cities that might meet your criteria are Seattle, Portland, and San Francisco. 

 

I'd argue that Zilker, Bouldin and Travis Heights as well as downtown (obviously) are walkable.  if you're used to walking 20 blocks in NYC or in SF from those hoods you can walk just about anywhere across Lamar, S First, South Congress in those neighborhoods and you can even get to down town if you want.   If you lived say behind Alamo on Kinney or a side street in Zilker you have a lot of restaurant options right there, the movie theatre, Gibson, Odd Duck, Maudies, ramen places, pizza places, Thom's market down on Barton Springs at the base of Kinney.  You can walk to Zach, the Long Center, Zilker park.  HEB on oltorf doesn't make a lot of sense, I'll agree.  But that walkability exists in Bouldin too.  closer to the Long Center, Auditorium Shores, all of South First for eateries.  and then the same on S. Congress for Travis Heights.  if you are used to really walking, from each of those downtown is not a hard trek to make.  Now 04 south of Oltorf, yeah not so much walkability but then that's why lots in those hoods are now pushing $800K and $2M for the larger homes with style and quality was breezed through 2019/2020 even with COVID.

Edited September 17, 2020 by troph

[troph 25317]

I will through this out there - I might actually enjoy living in downtown Austin, I think it's right on the cusp of really coming into its own as a major downtown and it really doesn't matter about traffic because well, you don't have to leave that bubble.  Now how much enjoyment depends on how much i would be willing to spend as I'm not at that stage in my life where a 1 bedroom apartment or condo works for me, even if it was a second place.

Edited September 17, 2020 by troph

[strangulation! 1716]

2 hours ago, CooterBrown said:

Our one national park takes a cross country drive to get to.

while your point is valid, we do have two national parks.

[troph 25317]

14 hours ago, strangulation! said:

while your point is valid, we do have two national parks.

I had to look up the second one.  duh.  was looking at the hike up Guadalupe Peak last week.

Edited September 18, 2020 by troph

[Patricio Swayze 17058]

while your point is valid, we do have two national parks.

As well as several national forests, national seashore and some monuments. I also don’t agree that all the state parks sucks. Big Bend State Park, Brazos Bend, Big Thicket, the hill country ones, palo duro, Caprock are all very cool.

[troph 25317]

23 minutes ago, Patricio Swayze said:

As well as several national forests, national seashore and some monuments. I also don’t agree that all the state parks sucks. Big Bend State Park, Brazos Bend, Big Thicket, the hill country ones, palo duro, Caprock are all very cool.

yes I'm not always sure the distinction matters to the visitors - parks versus forests, seashores, etc. I think Texas natural areas are pretty freaking fantastic personally.  Part of that is the familiarity of being a Texan the other part is Texas is just a fantastic place for outdoors in many parts of the state.  not to say a vast majority is a wasteland but the hill country, lakes (LCRA lakes especially), west Texas, the coast, etc. are all great.  The only issue is the freaking heat from July 1 - September 15ish. 

[utee94 16093]

I like the heat, and hate the cold, so I'm in the right place.  Honestly even Austin gets too cold for me in the winter.

Garner State Park and Lost Maples are two other good ones not named before.

 

[Pescado_Rojo 19596]

Lower Downtown Denver checks off a lot of those boxes above around walkability and urban living, and Colorado public lands put Texas to shame. They also have a major international airport and they got that legal icky. If it was closer to salt water it would be perfect. 

 

[Ignatius 4153]

On 9/17/2020 at 5:36 PM, troph said:

I'd argue that Zilker, Bouldin and Travis Heights as well as downtown (obviously) are walkable.  if you're used to walking 20 blocks in NYC or in SF from those hoods you can walk just about anywhere across Lamar, S First, South Congress in those neighborhoods and you can even get to down town if you want.   If you lived say behind Alamo on Kinney or a side street in Zilker you have a lot of restaurant options right there, the movie theatre, Gibson, Odd Duck, Maudies, ramen places, pizza places, Thom's market down on Barton Springs at the base of Kinney.  You can walk to Zach, the Long Center, Zilker park.  HEB on oltorf doesn't make a lot of sense, I'll agree.  But that walkability exists in Bouldin too.  closer to the Long Center, Auditorium Shores, all of South First for eateries.  and then the same on S. Congress for Travis Heights.  if you are used to really walking, from each of those downtown is not a hard trek to make.  Now 04 south of Oltorf, yeah not so much walkability but then that's why lots in those hoods are now pushing $800K and $2M for the larger homes with style and quality was breezed through 2019/2020 even with COVID.

Nobody in NY or SF would consider an area requiring a 20 block walk to restaurants, etc to be “walkable”, they’d consider it the suburbs....

Edited September 18, 2020 by Ignatius

[4th&Five 42071]

1 hour ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

Lower Downtown Denver checks off a lot of those boxes above around walkability and urban living, and Colorado public lands put Texas to shame. They also have a major international airport and they got that legal icky. If it was closer to salt water it would be perfect. 

 

I’ve tried to put that in the wife’s head but she can’t get past the winters. 

[Patricio Swayze 17058]

A couple of weeks ago I applied to a job at Tesla in Austin. I told my wife and she said she didn’t want to move to Austin. No problem, I need to apply to jobs to keep receiving unemployment.

 

 

My wife took the day off so we dropped the kids off at school this morning and we drove over to Austin to get away for a bit. Had Leroy and Lewis then dessert at Gordough’s (hadn’t been in a few years). Not much time for a big adventure before heading home, so decided for fast and easy dip in the lake at Tom Hugh’s Park (hadn’t been there in at least a decade). Water was spectacular and we were practically the only ones there. I’m sitting in the rocks while she is swimming and she asks “Are you looking for jobs in Austin?” I roll my eyes and reminded her what she said after I applied at Tesla. Anyways...

 

[utee94 16093]

4 hours ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

Lower Downtown Denver checks off a lot of those boxes above around walkability and urban living, and Colorado public lands put Texas to shame. They also have a major international airport and they got that legal icky. If it was closer to salt water it would be perfect. 

 

They have winter though, so no thanks.

[texasdago 7775]

Oh hi... I posted the "Austin Dreams" thread over 3 1/2 years ago.   Simply put...

Very happy with the decision and the quality of life here.

Took an early lunch today...

Funny thing... someone on Reddit posted the picture below.  It was taken in 1947.  Other than the old high dive... (you can see the base when you go, though), the pool is the same.  Looked the same to me in 1990, looks the same today.  Love it. 

[texasdago 7775]

One more thing... the Barton Springs pool picture... that was a 15 minute drive from home today from the house to parking off of Azie Morton.  I'm glad we stuck with living closer to town since we spend most of our time in town.  We are more "regulars" at places in central Austin than we are anything around here in SW Austin (other than Tacodeli 'cause Tacodeli).  

[KennyPowders 331]

I live in DT. Don't have a car. Walk/Scooter everywhere. Amazon prime can deliver groceries if I am lazy. I never fuck with traffic. I can be e 7th, South Congress, Zilker, Barton, West Campus, anywhere in essentially 10 minutes on an uber. Sometimes walk 30 minutes.

I love it. However, the rent is not fun.

[Judge Roybeanbag 11865]

1 hour ago, texasdago said:

Oh hi... I posted the "Austin Dreams" thread over 3 1/2 years ago.   Simply put...

Very happy with the decision and the quality of life here.

Took an early lunch today...

Funny thing... someone on Reddit posted the picture below.  It was taken in 1947.  Other than the old high dive... (you can see the base when you go, though), the pool is the same.  Looked the same to me in 1990, looks the same today.  Love it. 

The difference is, Johnny Weissmuller has been replaced by fatty pudpuller.

 

[troph 25317]

2 hours ago, texasdago said:

Oh hi... I posted the "Austin Dreams" thread over 3 1/2 years ago.   Simply put...

Very happy with the decision and the quality of life here.

Took an early lunch today...

Funny thing... someone on Reddit posted the picture below.  It was taken in 1947.  Other than the old high dive... (you can see the base when you go, though), the pool is the same.  Looked the same to me in 1990, looks the same today.  Love it. 

One of the key tricks to enjoying the area now is finding off peak times and I bet BS off peak is amazing - like it was 3 decades ago. Lake Travis is the same way, what I get on peak times in th first pic no thanks and off peak in the second pic yes please all day long …

 

[texasdago 7775]

59 minutes ago, troph said:

One of the key tricks to enjoying the area now is finding off peak times and I bet BS off peak is amazing - like it was 3 decades ago.

Yeah, the reality is you have to learn tips and tricks to work around the crowds.  We went out to BS on Sunday, as well... got there at about 10:45 and it was fine.  Also, people seem freaked out by the deepest part of BS pool so there's always plenty of space out there.   I avoid the gross shallow part.  That area gets crowded.  I'd rather enjoy the deep area or the diving board and the free entertainment.    Anyway, the pool today for early lunch was absolutely glorious.  

You can still make things work during peak times.  Was out at Lake Austin on Saturday afternoon... my access to the lake is near Ski Shores so busy but not nuts and it was fine in the afternoon.  Off-peak is amazing, especially the closer you head towards Emma Long/Commons Ford.

Paddleboarding on the springs yesterday afternoon was definitely busy and trying to run the gauntlet through the springs past the bridges to get around Party Island can be a bit of a mess.  Too many people who don't know how to use a kayak or paddleboard.  Once you get Party Island, man it is wide open... totally calm and chill.   I just made the mistake of existing Barton Springs Road instead of parking over by Austin High.  Realized my mistake in a matter of seconds but scored a parking spot in front of the pool... at 4:00 on Memorial Day.  Pure luck. 

But yeah, we have our own approaches to managing parking, crowds, etc.  No, I'm not telling you.  But we've done the same when it comes to going to shows (cracked the code on ACL), favorite restaurants, etc.  You just have to come up with your own system.   I get it... maybe people didn't need one before but that's not reality now.  There are more people and there are definitely more tourists.  I like the density and will not cry over the loss of ugly ass surface parking lots, just like in Houston.

 

Edited May 30, 2023 by texasdago

[ztejas 44326]

I went down to the greenbelt entrance off 360 between Mopac and Lamar the other Sunday and fucking no one was there. I mean I saw maybe 10 or 12 people the entire time. I've been down there a million times and it was still somehow prettier than I remember. Very cool to have stuff like that in the middle of the city. 

Even most of the neighborhoods here just walking on the street are pretty, safe and well shaded. The city has a lot of character and charm to it even in the mundane areas. 

Obviously once you get to Pflugerville or round Rock or circle c it's just like any other fucking city. But most of Austin proper is very nice. 

[texasdago 7775]

2 minutes ago, ztejas said:

I went down to the greenbelt entrance off 360 between Mopac and Lamar the other Sunday and fucking no one was there. I mean I saw maybe 10 or 12 people the entire time. I've been down there a million times and it was still somehow prettier than I remember. Very cool to have stuff like that in the middle of the city. 

Even most of the neighborhoods here just walking on the street are pretty, safe and well shaded. The city has a lot of character and charm to it even in the mundane areas. 

Obviously once you get to Pflugerville or round Rock or circle c it's just like any other fucking city. But most of Austin proper is very nice. 

One upside of the Circle C/  SW Austin area is an endless spiderweb of cycling trails through COA, UT, Austin Water and Nature Conservancy land.  Tons of them.  

[ztejas 44326]

Just now, texasdago said:

One upside of the Circle C/  SW Austin area is an endless spiderweb of cycling trails through COA, UT, Austin Water and Nature Conservancy land.  Tons of them.  

Yeah I just meant like the neighborhood streets and shopping centers and shit. You're right that the parks and trails are still solid. 

[texasdago 7775]

3 minutes ago, ztejas said:

Yeah I just meant like the neighborhood streets and shopping centers and shit. You're right that the parks and trails are still solid. 

We live in a particular neighborhood in CC that is unlike the rest... has more of an "in town" feel with immediate access to the trails.  That and our location allows us to be at Zilker in 15 minutes, easy.  12 minutes to Radio, Spyglass, less than 10 minutes to Violet Crown access by Spec's.  12 or so minutes to Sam's Town Point, Armadillo Den, etc.  Love it.  The bulk of Circle C architecture is very meh.

Edited May 30, 2023 by texasdago

[texasdago 7775]

For reference - https://www.trailforks.com/region/south-austin-trail-network-satn/?activitytype=1&z=12.6&lat=30.20988&lon=-97.86998

 

I used to get really worked up about getting lost on the trails but Trailforks makes it easy to figure out where you are or where you screwed up.  Also, first year of living here was eye opening getting used to dealing with elevation changes on longer rides.  Clearly very different topographically than Houston (duh... I know)

[troph 25317]

41 minutes ago, texasdago said:

Yeah, the reality is you have to learn tips and tricks to work around the crowds.  We went out to BS on Sunday, as well... got there at about 10:45 and it was fine.  Also, people seem freaked out by the deepest part of BS pool so there's always plenty of space out there.   I avoid the gross shallow part.  That area gets crowded.  I'd rather enjoy the deep area or the diving board and the free entertainment.    Anyway, the pool today for early lunch was absolutely glorious.  

You can still make things work during peak times.  Was out at Lake Austin on Saturday afternoon... my access to the lake is near Ski Shores so busy but not nuts and it was fine in the afternoon.  Off-peak is amazing, especially the closer you head towards Emma Long/Commons Ford.

Paddleboarding on the springs yesterday afternoon was definitely busy and trying to run the gauntlet through the springs past the bridges to get around Party Island can be a bit of a mess.  Too many people who don't know how to use a kayak or paddleboard.  Once you get Party Island, man it is wide open... totally calm and chill.   I just made the mistake of existing Barton Springs Road instead of parking over by Austin High.  Realized my mistake in a matter of seconds but scored a parking spot in front of the pool... at 4:00 on Memorial Day.  Pure luck. 

But yeah, we have our own approaches to managing parking, crowds, etc.  No, I'm not telling you.  But we've done the same when it comes to going to shows (cracked the code on ACL), favorite restaurants, etc.  You just have to come up with your own system.   I get it... maybe people didn't need one before but that's not reality now.  There are more people and there are definitely more tourists.  I like the density and will not cry over the loss of ugly ass surface parking lots, just like in Houston.

 

You didn’t need a plan back in the day but then again your food options were Matt’s, Chuy’s and Shady Grove. I’ll gladly go to dinner at 5pm to have more options in a crowded city. 

[texasdago 7775]

1 hour ago, troph said:

You didn’t need a plan back in the day but then again your food options were Matt’s, Chuy’s and Shady Grove. I’ll gladly go to dinner at 5pm to have more options in a crowded city. 

Exactly.  Austin food used to be relatively average but the good news is you can still wear pretty much whatever you want at "most" places (unless you are in the Domain area).