Austin is Awesome...Warned you. ; )

[OrangeFoo]

That's gonna be tough for him to come out of without a commit. Hate to be pessimistic, but if you've been to Austin, you probably get it. Wish we had the first crack! Especially since he is enrolling in like a month.

So I moved from Chicago to Austin last February. I work in downtown and live a little out west of the city. If you have a family and are used to the costs of cities like Chicago and Boston then Austin is like a little slice of paradise. Especially when you take into account the fact that the temperature is in the high 70s right now and you can bbq year round.

Now here is where I will make a controversial statement: if you are a college kid who can't legally drink I don't think Austin is that different than any other urban campus. The campus is firmly in the middle of the city... and there is a TON of construction going on all over the campus. To make it worse it's hot as anything from July-October, the time that football players spend the most amount of time practicing. There is definitely an allure to being a part of the UT tradition but in my opinion its totally oversold and fading fast. UT thinks they are all that but I just don't see it... Baylor, TCU and AnM have all surpassed UT in status. There's a very real chance that Strong is out after next year if he doesn't fix his offense. Sonny Cumbie turned down the UT OC position and a 3MM/3yr guaranteed contract to become OC at TCU (he was co-coordinator last year but the dude calling plays there looks to be headed to Tulane).

Now I'm not saying that this kid won't commit over the weekend, but I'm guessing it's far from a done deal.

 

[rackman18]

Yes and keep him off 6th Street. lol There is still a part of my memory that is missing from the last time I was there. That is definitely a "party city"!

 

[SUFaninNJ]

I just can't get past the fact that there's a town near Austin called Dripping Springs.

 

[jekelish]

I just can't get past the fact that there's a town near Austin called Dripping Springs.

That's got nothing on Gun Barrel City, Texas.

 

[Nicknack]

I've lived in Austin for about 5 1/2 years now, and this paragraph is nuts.

But, I'll refrain from boring the board with arguing the particulars of Austin, which I'm quite sure nobody cares about. Instead, I'll just ask this - you said you don't think Austin is that different than any other urban campus. How many major college football programs have a campus "firmly in the middle of the city"? Not many, and THAT, in and of itself, is a selling point.

Maybe so, but THAT was a big negative for me when I was looking at colleges way back when. One of the things that attracted me about Syracuse was the beauty of the campus and being self-contained rather than in a large city - no thanks.

 

[OrangeFoo]

I've lived in Austin for about 5 1/2 years now, and this paragraph is nuts.

But, I'll refrain from boring the board with arguing the particulars of Austin, which I'm quite sure nobody cares about. Instead, I'll just ask this - you said you don't think Austin is that different than any other urban campus. How many major college football programs have a campus "firmly in the middle of the city"? Not many, and THAT, in and of itself, is a selling point.

Just to name a few off the top of my head:
Pitt
Wisconsin
GaTech
USC
UCLA
Cincy
Miami
Florida
Nortwestern
TCU
Ohio St
Syracuse
Rutgers

I'm sure there are many many others. You can argue about the size of the city they are in but all of these are urban campuses.

 

[OrangeFoo]

Maybe so, but THAT was a big negative for me when I was looking at colleges way back when. One of the things that attracted me about Syracuse was the beauty of the campus and being self-contained rather than in a large city - no thanks.

Interesting... I'd say SU is in the middle of the city even if it's self-contained. I guess then you'd have to argue about what it actually means to be in the middle of a city.

 

[OrangeFoo]

I've lived in Austin for about 5 1/2 years now, and this paragraph is nuts.

But, I'll refrain from boring the board with arguing the particulars of Austin, which I'm quite sure nobody cares about. Instead, I'll just ask this - you said you don't think Austin is that different than any other urban campus. How many major college football programs have a campus "firmly in the middle of the city"? Not many, and THAT, in and of itself, is a selling point.

I will say the music scene in austin is probably better than a lot of places. I guess my point is that for a college kid I'm not sure how much the city they are in plays a role as much as the campus itself, the dorms, the facilities, the weather, etc...

 

[chugg21]

Moved to San Diego a few months ago and already contemplating the next move and think Austin is going to be next. Seems like it might be the best city in the country to live in for late 20s/early 30s.

 

[tep624]

Moved to San Diego a few months ago and already contemplating the next move and think Austin is going to be next. Seems like it might be the best city in the country to live in for late 20s/early 30s.

I've visited there once and really liked it. I'd consider living there if I was to move out of So Cal.

 

[chugg21]

Haha, Its only been a few months but I'm already sick of my 30 mile commute taking 75-90 mins & the $2000+ rent for 1 bedroom condo. Visited Austin in October for the F1 race and a UT game and was pretty much sold on it being my next stop.

 

[rackman18]

I was there the year Syracuse basket ball won the National Championship and I believe we were playing UT in the semi finals and I was the only one in the bar that was a SU fan. Needless to say when SU kicked their butt it was very hard to hold back my emotions with ALL those UT fanatics ready to kill someone. But when I got back in my car, I wooped it up. :rolling: Go SUball

 

[ottodaorange]

Just to name a few off the top of my head:
Pitt
Wisconsin
GaTech
USC
UCLA
Cincy
Miami
Florida
Nortwestern
TCU
Ohio St
Syracuse
Rutgers

I'm sure there are many many others. You can argue about the size of the city they are in but all of these are urban campuses.

And if you want to go Ivy League, there's Harvard, Columbia, Penn, and Yale.

 

[djorange1989]

Haha, Its only been a few months but I'm already sick of my 30 mile commute taking 75-90 mins & the $2000+ rent for 1 bedroom condo. Visited Austin in October for the F1 race and a UT game and was pretty much sold on it being my next stop.

San Diego is a pretty awesome place. I dig the Gaslamp District. I wouldn't dig the $2000 rent for a 1 bedroom but that is one great city. Great food too. My older daughter wants to go to college out there, I think I will visit a lot! good luck there, and in Austin when the time comes!

 

[jekelish]

San Diego is a pretty awesome place. I dig the Gaslamp District. I wouldn't dig the $2000 rent for a 1 bedroom but that is one great city. Great food too. My older daughter wants to go to college out there, I think I will visit a lot! good luck there, and in Austin when the time comes!

I've been to San Diego once. Within 30 minutes of getting off the plane, I wanted to move there. But then once I figured out how expensive the city is, well, that plan went straight out the window.

 

[chugg21]

I've been to San Diego once. Within 30 minutes of getting off the plane, I wanted to move there. But then once I figured out how expensive the city is, well, that plan went straight out the window.

San Diego is a pretty awesome place. I dig the Gaslamp District. I wouldn't dig the $2000 rent for a 1 bedroom but that is one great city. Great food too. My older daughter wants to go to college out there, I think I will visit a lot! good luck there, and in Austin when the time comes!

Its honestly not that expensive of a city beyond housing. Everything else is pretty comparable to any other city, its just that housing costs are completely nuts. I had 4 bedrooms and 50 acres out towards Buffalo and my mortgage was half of what my rent on this 1 bedroom is. People here call it the Sun Tax, you get 325+ days of sun per year but you have to pay for it.

The Gaslamp District is alright, its sort of like the main district in any city where the 20 year olds are getting bombed all weekend but there are certainly some great places mixed in there. I love this city mostly for the breweries, over 190 in San Diego county alone.

 

[Symphony Steve]

I love Austin. The only reason NOT to encourage Texas to secede from the United States to start its own country. Well, maybe San Antonio as well.

You oughtta see that State Capitol. Big, as you might expect since it was built by Big Oil. Yu-u-u-ge, actually. The University of Texas is pretty much a liberal bastion in a conservative state. I loved all the music on 6th Street, and even went to Antone's near UT (where Doug Sahm and his friends used to play). Don't know if Antone's is there any more. A great music city, nonetheless. Go if you get the chance.

 

[Killdozer]

Austn is a sweat box for eight straight months. Could not wait to get out of there. One of the worse places I have lived

 

[Toga]

can we keep this thread about the recruit from michigan?

I wonder what Reese thinks of Austin.

 

[CuseLegacy]

Do I have to start a ..."Living in Austin is awesome thread". How about we get this one back on track and keep it on Reese. And BTW my nephew lives and works in Austin and he loves it.

 

[PhatOrange]

oh and by the way, National Geographic's Drugs Inc show last night was about the meth trade in Austin and the meth coming from the Sinaloa Cartel (?). If you use meth buy it before the 'festival' because they bump the price up to $200 a gram. Good stuff.

 

[cuse309]

I've been to San Diego once. Within 30 minutes of getting off the plane, I wanted to move there. But then once I figured out how expensive the city is, well, that plan went straight out the window.

 

[SWFLCUSE]

I love Austin. The only reason NOT to encourage Texas to secede from the United States to start its own country. Well, maybe San Antonio as well. You oughtta see that State Capitol. Big, as you might expect since it was built by Big Oil. Yu-u-u-ge, actually. The University of Texas is pretty much a liberal bastion in a conservative state. I loved all the music on 6th Street, and even went to Antone's near UT (where Doug Sahm and his friends used to play). Don't know if Antone's is there any more. A great music city, nonetheless. Go if you get the chance.

I was just in Austin for a convention in early August and woke up a couple hours to walk up to the Capitol just to see it and I was not disappointed one bit.

 

[PhatOrange]

lol

 

[TexanMark]

Moved to San Diego a few months ago and already contemplating the next move and think Austin is going to be next. Seems like it might be the best city in the country to live in for late 20s/early 30s.

Generally yes...but like anything...living in the cool part of town and finding work in the cool part of town...make or break it. Austin traffic SUCKS! The city is very linear. It is essentially about 5 miles wide and goes on for 50 friggin miles from San Marcos (South) to Georgetown (North). The city has several choke points which slows down traffic immensely.

Like any high growth city...if you can be within 10-20 mins of work and can stay off the freeways...it is nirvana.