Great responses guys. Now I really want to get out and actually explore the different cities you all have experienced. I've been in Houston practically my entire life(20 years) and he only places I've been to where Austin(UT trip) and Dallas(six flags). Both were underwhelming since I didn't get to explore much and returned a few hours after going there. Sadly, from reading all of this, it sucks to know how understandable it is for star players to not want to play for the Rockets by forgoing Houston for other "glamorous" cities.
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Man....this happened years ago. Austin (and it's denizens) has gotten too big for its britches. I was thinking about starting a thread about this, but I'm just gonna do this here and now: Dear Austin, - Your traffic sucks. In fact, I-35 reminds me of the Katy Freeway 10-15 years ago. And no, I'm not exaggerating. - Your weather isn't that great. It's marginally better, if that. It's still hot as hell here in the summer, and plenty humid, too. Houston is hotter and muggier, but ATX ain't San Diego, which is what most of y'all seem to think. - This is entirely subjective, but your "live music scene" isn't that great, either. Sure, there are live bands all over the place, but I got some news for you: your rock & roll scene sucks, and DJs are NOT musicians. 'Musical artists,' perhaps, and I can respect that, but a MacBook isn't an instrument. Sorry. - Opera? Symphony? Ballet? HMNS? MFA? Oops....looks like ATX has nothing to offer. - I hate to break it to you, but Austin isn't a weird college town anymore. It hasn't been such for 15-20 years now, probably more. I understand that Houston is a zillion times bigger, but y'all talk about Austin as though it's some quaint mountain village that's away from the hustle and bustle of big-city life. And y'all are fooling yourselves. - For all your hippie idealism, your diversity sucks. I'm white. I like white people. But good-god-damn this is the whitest major city I've been in outside of San Fransisco. And that blows. - Your sucky food is the only thing that sucks harder than your sucky lack of diversity. Unsurprisingly, your lack of diversity has a direct impact on this. - Yes, Austin is prettier. There's hills and stuff. But I really like trees. I'd like to extend an invitation ~2.5 hours east so that y'all can see what a real tree looks like in its super-tall splendor. So, please stop your masturbating about green space because your trees are a joke. Sad, but true. I've been here for about 6 months now, and I'm generally happy. But damn, y'all. Austinites have a massive chip on their shoulder.
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I avoid 35 like the plague and I have no clue how they are going to expand 35 in the downtown area. If I go down south I just take Mopac, Lamar, or Burnet if I can. I live up by the Arboretum off Jollyville Road now. It's nice having everything within 5-7 minutes of me and not having to even get on the highway if I don't want to. Who in the world thinks Austin weather is anything special? It's hot. Agreed, but I don't see a ton of that here. I guess it just depends where you go. Agreed, but do you really go to those or do you just like being able to say your city has them? This is true and it has really changed a lot over the past 13 years I have been here. However, it is nice having a city that has zoning and city planning and tries to emphasize local business over Barnes and Noble, Best Buy, Staples, Petsmart cookie cutter urban sprawl is nice. Live on Riverside if you want diverse But yeah they have done an impressive job at gentrifying Austin. That said I'll take the annoying hippie idealism over the Houston crime and the thuggish rep yo city H-town attitude. There are more white people here and less black people here. I'm just gonna doubt that you frequented a ton of black owned establishments in black neighborhoods in Houston. If you did frequent black owned establishments then I'd direct you to Hoover's off Manor road. Good food. I think the lack of a high level economy like Houston's economy is what directly affects the Austin cuisine. All the upper end restaurants are pretty much all chains. On the lower end there are tons of those food trailers that have popped up. I know the ones I have ate at before were pretty good, but I imagine the quality has to have come down a lot since there are so many now. Outside of that there are tons of locally owned eateries up and down Lamar and Burnet. Where do you go in Houston for good, diverse food? I don't hang out in the parks a lot and they don't have big trees, but that's a function of how dry Austin is relative to Houston. Live Oaks and Cedars dominate Austin trees since every other tree won't live here during drought. Houston has more flexilbility with what trees and plants will grow there due to more rain and warmer climate. Also, I don't know anyone who jacks off over the green space here. That being said it's nice having the hills and the lakes here.
The city of Houston is actually really desireable for a lot of nba players. A ton of them make Houston home in the offseason.
I'd like to see stats on where NBA players live in the offseason, something by percentages. Do you think Houston would be on the top ten cities? It's possible, but I think the fact that Texas has no state tax is part of that reason.
Damn bro, start traveling. You have a good attitude, go visit some other cites and then make a decision on which one you like best, save up about 8 months worth of living expenses and then move there and find a job. You are only 20, so it's something you should seriously consider.
i grew up in houston and lived in austin the past 6 years before moving back to houston. imo, both cities are great and have distinct advantages to living in them. no need to bash one to pump up the other, everyone knows dallas is the butthole of texas. let's talk about that.
I don't have any percentages but am speaking anecdotally. I think cost of living may have something to do with it but it is one of the better cities for African Americans (you're not going to find places like Boston on that list).
Damn near everyone I've met, that's who. I used to work at HMNS and I've generally gone to at least one opera per season for many years. Same with the ballet. I think the lack of a high level economy like Houston's economy is what directly affects the Austin cuisine. All the upper end restaurants are pretty much all chains. On the lower end there are tons of those food trailers that have popped up. I know the ones I have ate at before were pretty good, but I imagine the quality has to have come down a lot since there are so many now. Outside of that there are tons of locally owned eateries up and down Lamar and Burnet. Where do you go in Houston for good, diverse food?[/quote] It's not just about white and black. You'd be hard-pressed to find another city as ethnically/culturally/racially diverse as Houston. As for where to go...hell, pick a place. Mexican, Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai, Indian, you name it. People in Austin are surprised when told that trees exist in Houston. And that's annoying. That's well taken care of, but thanks. PS -- I still love you, Austin. But please, for just a moment, take your blinders off and look outside of yourself.
I'm coming up on my 1 year mark in Austin, and to Lynus' comments, I'll generally say. Weather: Of course Austin weather isn't "great". It's still freaking south Texas. But it undeniably is better than Houston. The lack of mugginess alone is amazing. But beyond that, and especially out into the Hill Country, or even jsut Dripping Springs, or heck, even closer to town where I live, you get a much nicer disparity of weather between night and day than in Houston. In other words, today for example, my old Houston address is high of 69, low of 53 today. In Austin, I'm at a high of 71, low of 45. That's not a huge difference, but a meaningful one, to me, as it also continues throughout the year. So you combine the lack of mugginess and the day/night disparity, and it is a LOT more comfortable... to me. to be able to be outside at 8 oclock in September and have beautiful weather, instead of being completely eaten my mosquitos and sweating in 2 minutes is a big difference. But it's clearly not Hawaii versus Houston, or even a cool 4 season place ala Denver vs. Houston. Museums/Etc.: Houston definitely wins here. We didn't go to the opera or symphony much, but did occasionally. We did make use of HMNS and the Zoo, fairly frequently, and increasing so with the little ones. Austin has an ok Children's Museum downtown. It's got a cute little zoo, but nothing like Houston's. Don't get me wrong, there ARE museums and the like here, but not the quantity or quality of Houston, of course. Cuisine: Houston wins here, also, but not by a lot, imo. First, Austin's restaurant scene is leap years ahead of where it was when I used to visit the city in the 90's. Contrary to what someone mentioned, there are a lot of new, non-chain upscale or casual-upscale restaurants, with a exploding young-hot-chef driven scene. Almost annoyingly so. Plus the food trucks. Plus better vegetarian fare, which matters to me. That said, Houston has more options, more diverse options, and better options. Diversity: I think it's a draw. Houston actually IS more diverse, factually, but not in how it affected mine, or most people's, everyday life. You associate where you associate. I wasn't benefiting from Houston's diversity anymore than I am from Austin's. Both cities have their fair share of Hispanics, African Americans and Asians. Austin has more younger, white kids and liberal looking hippies. It doesn't mean there is a lack of diversity. Moreover, and in a completely non-racist way, I happen to be a younger, white dude. Trees/Green Space: Austin wins. I was the first to admit Houston gets a bad rap for being a concrete jungle. In some instances (I-45, I-10...well, highways, you get the point), it is. But Memorial Park, Hermann Park, access to the gulf, access to the Piney Woods, etc. are great to have. But Austin simply has more to offer here. From Town Lake, to the Barton Creek Greenbelt, to the Hill Country and access to it, to the lack of the concrete jungle feel, to the other various parks (Emma Long, Wild Basin, McKinney State Park, Zilker Park), Austin wins. It's fine and dandy if you prefer pines to the smaller cedars and oaks, here, but I love the trees here. My neighborhood has much more of a classic fall/winter look to it than any I ever lived in while in Houston. Moreover, the change of pace has been nice to me generally, from a landscaping perspective - take a trip to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower center in spring and you'll see some really amazing, awesome, colorful, native landscaping. Houston had its own unique ecosystem, Austin's is different, and I really like it. Those were most of the issues. Personally, I feel it's important to keep population in mind. Despite those clamoring that Austin has gotten too big for its britches, by Texas city size, it is still small. Coming from Houston, I am always amazed at how easily I can get from the Domain all the way south to the Y at Oak Hill for example. Comparably in Houston, this would be like a trip from Sugarland to Spring, and take an hour+. Austin just is a much smaller city than Houston or Dallas. So while it might be big to some, it still is relative small, with pockets of quaintness to me. Moreover, given its size, while it's fair to say Houston beats Austin in restaurants, or museums... well, yay, it SHOULD. It's got 5 times the population. NYC beats Houston in those categories... not a shocker. My personal preference is for smaller. I, too, would prefer Austin to be even smaller, like it "used" to be. But given my line of work, I probably wouldn't have moved here, then. I personally much prefer Austin's smaller size, growing pains and all, with fewer amenities in certain areas for more amenities and options in other areas.
