Q for you Texans.....

[honey_me 7]

I love Austin, it has a very laid-back, friendly atmosphere.

Saludos,

Caro

True. Been here 9 mos...and very comfortable traveling on a bus for 2 mos. now..

Edited February 15, 2009 by honey_me

[Mrs. Diaz 1]

I'll add my 2 cents!

I've lived in many cities...Seattle, Boston, Austin, Houston, West Texas (Lubbock), London, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, WEst palm beach, Barcelona, etc....

Definitely, NYC is NYC; no other city in the states comes close to it, although I enjoyed Boston a lot....

Anyway, of all the cities in Texas I lived in, I loved the Austin area. What got me out was the allergies. I was there close to 4 years, and on my 3rd year, i developed the famous cedar allergies, and even though i had a very mild case, it drove me insane. Now, I refuse to take medications, but many other people get around this allergy by taking meds. Not my type of lifestyle. Austin is like a small town, but it has a lot of the amenities of a big city. And as somebody else mentioned, the landscape there is prettier than the landscape in Dallas or Houston. Unfortunately, you do need a car to live there, but if you live in downtown, you can get away without having a car. There is a even a bus that goes to the airport hourly.....might not be as convenient as Seattle living when it comes to public transportation, but SEattle has one of the best public bus systems in the USA.

I'm currently living in Houston, and there are better cities to live in the USA. It does have some pretty neighborhoods, but I'm quite shocked to see the polluted air around the city. It might be a clear, beautiful day outside, but if you go to a building and get on the 30th floor and you take a look outside, you will always see this film of white hanging around the city. Not a pleasant sight. Also, the roads in the city are horrible. I thought there was oil money in the town, but even the nice neighborhoods have some bumpy, terrible roads. On the plus side, texans are great people and lots of good mexican food to have. I've lived in dallas also, and well, don't remember the roads being as bad as in Houston. I think the crime rate is higher in dallas, but again, plenty of nice suburbs to live in. After all, prez bush moved to that area. There is also some nice up and coming areas in downtown,and there's where i was staying at. A lot of 'ritzy' people living there, and as one gal told me, 'you even have to put make up on to go retrieve your mail.' If I was given the choice between Dallas, houston or Austin, I would choose Austin in a heartbeat.

I highly recommend you also browse thru the postings going on at:

http://www.city-data.com/forum/

Lots of opinions there.

In the end, is all a matter of what you're looking for in a city. By the way, my wife has now seen all the major cities in Texas, and she also prefers Austin. Her words were, 'it looks prettier, and it has a unique, cozy feel to it.' I guess the phrase 'keep austin weird' has paid off.

Thank you so much for taking your time to write such a long reply! A lot of useful info too! I guess we will have to go to both Austin and Houston before we make any decisions..... I would love to stay in NYC, but the rent is way too high! NY is my favorite city in the world!

[haleywynne 0]

I'm from Austin and I'm not being biased but it probably is the best city to move to. It's not a huge city like Houston, but it's a big enough city! We have a lot of entertainment and from what I hear from several national news reports, it's one of the top cities for new jobs and cost of living. The traffic is bad of course but not as bad as Houston.

Also, it doesn't get as humid as Houston! The weather there is terrible. ikaris is right about the allergies though. I have to take Zyrtec a lot...

[NatPatBen 3]

I've lived in Austin and Houston.

Austin: Definitely prettier & "weirder." Tons of great live music. Big focus on Univ of Texas (Boooo to that, since I went to Univ of Oklahoma.) A bit expensive. More tech-y (Dell, IBM have big presences)

Houston: More diverse than Austin. Bigger, so usually more driving. Not as expensive. More oil-y (ExxonMobil, Shell, Chevron have big presences)

Both have a variety of activities to do. You'd have to try hard to get bored in either place.

I loved Austin because of how pretty it was. I prefer Houston, though, for the increased diversity.

[childress_london 3]

If you like California, you would like Austin. My ex and I used to call it "little California". lol. However, if you end up working at Bush Intercontinental in Houston, like I said, you could live in Kingwood. It's very green and lush - they call it "The Livable Forest". It's beautiful and you would have a low stress 20 minute drive to work. :-) Then you have the big city of Houston just a 30 - 40 minute drive away to experience all of the cultural events, etc.

[marieke 1]

I live in Galveston myself and can tell you first hand that hurricanes are no joke. I am about to lose my job. Ike has long gone and we are left with the BS! Houston is the closest city to us and i have grown to absolutely love it! Hermann Park, the new Discovery Green, Montrose, Galleria... all pretty and cute places. Dallas i love too, we visit there abourt 3 times year.

Austin... well of course Austin is the best city! 'Live Music Capitol of the World" right?! Keep Austin Weird! Its in the beautiful Hill Country, few hours from Dallas, few hours from San An and an hour from New Braunfels and its rivers... Nightlife is great; SXSW, 6th street...

I think if you are a city girl and you want a little Texas (Food, Countryside, Cars) and a little European taste (public transportation, parks, bars, liberals) you will love Austin!

Good Luck!

[lizandpat 0]

Hi...thought I'd add my thoughts....I'm a born and raised San Antonian and think it's the best city in the state. And I don't just say that because it's my hometown. San Antonio has so much to offer...if you like the Spanish culture then you'll love it here in April when we have 10 days of "Fiesta San Antonio". It's nothing but a huge party..LOL! There are also tons of things to do with the family...we have a very nice Zoo, Sea World and Six Flags.

If you like a bit of NY style culture, we have a wonderful theater here where they have performed such hits as The Phantom of the Opera, Lion King, Miss Saigon, etc.

We also have what I think is the most beautiful feature of the entire city....our Riverwalk! It's a very popular spot for tourist and natives alike.... ;-)

And as far as jobs and housing, our airport is currently undergoing a huge makeover and when it's completed they are going to have a new, larger terminal. We are also what is know as Military City so there are several bases here where jobs can be found.

Housing here will depend a loton what part of town you want to live in. When my fiance was here last week, we went to several open houses and found some wonderful homes in one of the most vibrant part of the city that were nice prices....4-5 bedrooms for around 150,000 - 200,000 dollars.

hehe...here i was just going to say a "little"...sorry for rambling but hope this helps a bit!

Hugs,

Liz

[Mford019 0]

El paso, is the best place to live, definetly different from any other part of Texas, and there are a lot of houses going up, and the proces are going down.

[sheree 2]

Hows the salary though? How much is the minimum wage?

Just thought of asking.....

[Mrs. Diaz 1]

Hi...thought I'd add my thoughts....I'm a born and raised San Antonian and think it's the best city in the state. And I don't just say that because it's my hometown. San Antonio has so much to offer...if you like the Spanish culture then you'll love it here in April when we have 10 days of "Fiesta San Antonio". It's nothing but a huge party..LOL! There are also tons of things to do with the family...we have a very nice Zoo, Sea World and Six Flags.

If you like a bit of NY style culture, we have a wonderful theater here where they have performed such hits as The Phantom of the Opera, Lion King, Miss Saigon, etc.

We also have what I think is the most beautiful feature of the entire city....our Riverwalk! It's a very popular spot for tourist and natives alike.... ;-)

And as far as jobs and housing, our airport is currently undergoing a huge makeover and when it's completed they are going to have a new, larger terminal. We are also what is know as Military City so there are several bases here where jobs can be found.

Housing here will depend a loton what part of town you want to live in. When my fiance was here last week, we went to several open houses and found some wonderful homes in one of the most vibrant part of the city that were nice prices....4-5 bedrooms for around 150,000 - 200,000 dollars.

hehe...here i was just going to say a "little"...sorry for rambling but hope this helps a bit!

Hugs,

Liz

Hey, Liz!

Thank you so much for you comment! There is a six flags?! That's it, I'm moving to San Antonio! lol(Well.. I do loooove going to six flags)San Antonio sounds great.... I can't believe you can get a big house for 150, 000-200, 000 USD.... That's great! ha ha.... What kind of apartment do you get for that price in NYC?! ;-) I def have a lot to think about now. I have gotten so many great tips here on VJ. All the cities mentioned in this thread sounds great.... Very hard to pick one!

Have a great weekend y'all!

[lizandpat 0]

LOL....yep, there's a Six Flags...it's called Fiesta Texas and it's a blast! When my fiance was here last summer we took my 6 year old daughter and spent the entire day there. By the end of the day we were sunburned, sore and tired but walked out with huge smiles on our faces.

If you ever want to look at some of the house they have for sale here, just let me know and I can send you a link to a local realtor website.

[Aman 0]

Wow!!!! This is Nice...My husband was born and brought up in Houston...Studied in dallas....N now is back in Houston.........Seems I am going to a nice Place

[Chelartie 0]

I have a friend who lives in Fort Worth and she seems to think it is a wonderful place to live.

I lived in Fort Worth for four years and really love the town. It has a small, but cute downtown area. Overall, it's a very laid back, friendly town with lots of personality.