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i dont know how active this forum is, but does anyone here live in austin? im just wondering what its like to live there.

from what i have seen on tv and some shows about real estate prices and stuff, it seems that the prices are much MUCH lower there than around here. i also keep hearing that austin is a lot of fun, and i know about its live music scene. im just wondering how much of a culture shock it will be if i were to move from nyc area.

ive been here for pretty much 18 years. went to college around boston and pretty much hated it. i mean, the town itself was ok, but the scene was just way too different. so im wondering if its gonna be the same w/ austin.

anyway...im rambling. i want to hear from all of you from around there.

 
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You should probably come for a visit before taking the plunge. Other than high propety taxes, traffic and 100 degree summers it's great. I'm sure most large metro areas have at least 2/3 of these negatives, but Austin has a lot of good things going for it. I like living here, but honestly, if I could, I would pick up sticks and go back to San Diego, or somewhere in the bay area.

 
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well, yeah, i want to live in san deigo or like orange county somewhere...but cost of living there is insane. i mean, just renting a place is gonna be all my money...that is if i can even find a job there.

im not really considering moving to austin, just something im curious about because i saw that show.

 
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well i just moved there well acually to Pflugerville which is only about 5 miles to austin, the Traffic is one of the worst things here, i hate it ALOT.. 2nd is homeless people on every single corner, 3rd is the heat, 4th is that most people cant drive here, or they forgot how.. this is based on a 3 weeks of living here basis..

 
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well...compared to nyc, im pretty sure the only thing thats worse is the heat. lol

ive also driven in boston, and they are absolutely the worst (well, 2nd to RI) in america. so those things dont really phase me.

im more curious about the way of life. like, is it a fun town to live in? hows the nightlife? what time does stuff close? because in boston everything shuts down at 2am...thats it. nyc is totally different, here things stay open till 5am, 8am...all night long. you just gotta know where to go. thats why i love it so much, there is always somewhere to go if you dont feel like going home.

also, is it like a typical TX atmosphere? i mean, am i gonna get lynched for being a yankee if i were to move there?

 
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well if you go to 6th street there is alot of clubs and ****, there is a gay street (4th street) if ya swing that way, i went down that street and will never go again lol. Its a really fun city to live in,,,

 
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I just got hit yesterday! Some dumbass in a mommy van drilled me, and I think my civic may be totalled. I was going about 40 and she darted out from a side street trying to make it all the way across the street I was on and hit me in the front-left corner of my bumper. The whole front end is bent and my back end swung around and hit her van and dented up my rear left quarter panel. My head bounced off the driver-side door where the window and roof-line meet and gave me a nice contusion. I can't believe the air bags didn't go off. I think I'll be looking for a bigger car and one that has full side curtain air bags so my head doesn't get cracked again.

 
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Nah we won't lynch you Dan, also you will never find so many nice people any where else in the US. Everyone in Texas is friendly. I just got back from Missiouri and they are all *******s. So basically we will accept you as one of our own here Dan. Got luck on whatever you decide.

 
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it's really hot, and really humid, most people don't mention the humidity. if you're going to visit, i would suggest doing so this month just to get an idea of the extreme... 105 w/ 60% humidity.
austin is sweet, though. a lot of college kids and people that dress like it's seattle 1994.

 
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60% isnt bad...we have 93% humidity right now. lol well, its also raining, but whatever.

but i didnt realize it was that humid in austin. i thought it was more of a dry heat down there. or is the dry heat in nevada and arizona?

 
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I've been living in Austin for about 4 years now. At first a lot of people do not like it, but then it grows on you.

Austin has probably one of the best club scenes in all of Texas (6th street). On top of that, a friend told me that UT (University of Texas @Austin) has been voted the number one party school in America. Some people are not into the loud club scene. If you're one of these kinds of people, Austin also has a very laid back and chill side as well. There are plenty of live band places/bars you can hit up, so you can stay away from the college craziness if that's not your thing.

Overall I think most of the people in Austin are laid back and this is kinda how I am so I enjoy it here. If you plan to rent, stay away from the capitol metro and the UT campus area because the rent there is pretty high. The further you move away from central Austin the cheaper it gets. I'd love to live in North Austin/Round Rock area, but I'm still a student at UT so I need to live a bit closer.

If you're into the car scene, Austin also has some pretty hardcore tuners along with the ricer packs that you mostly see. The more hardcore tuners usually hold gatherings and whatnot (check out http://www.texasracingscene.com/).

I can't think of anything else to comment about Austin right now other than YES it's hot during the summer and YES traffic is bad during rush hours.