[JediMindGamez]

Ok, long story short, I am 25 and have lived in nor cal all my life. As of the moment I have absolutely nothing tying me down and think its time for a change of scenery.

I know I prefer metropolitan areas and am considering all the major cities on the west coast but was wondering about texas.

Is it feasible to say that Houston, Austin and Dallas (am I missing any other major cities) are similar to any one the west coast? What the diversity like in texas? I assuming with the proximity to mexico there will be a fair amount of hispanics but are there any asians? Pros and Cons of the cities compared to sacramento?

Anything else you think I should be aware of before I make my choice?

Thanks

 

[407Driver]

Depends on what you are looking for. If you are single, like wall to wall great looking babes, unequaled party and live music scene, terrific hill country driving.....then Austin is your only choice. San Antonio is my personal favorite. bigger than Austin lower cost of living and truly beautiful city also great roads nearby. cant say much about Houston or Dallas

 

[Quicker]

Austin is really the center of the universe. VOted best city to live in Northamerica a couple of times in the past 10yrs. I have relocated 14 times with my job, and once landed in Austin - we ain't moving again.

The quality of life here is very high. Laid-back style, music, food, sports, small-town feeling. Lots of money still around but not ostentatious, loads of heathly - evironmentally concerned folks (me not sooo much - but I like that they are looking after the place).

 

[JediMindGamez]

Any tracks in texas? How are they? And where are they?

Also any snow? I love snowboarding.

 

[Quicker]

lots of tracks. Active SCCA autocrossing - Austin has some of the big names on the national scene.

no snow. Being a Canadian - I can catch a local hockey game - but never have to shovel.

 

[dickedup]

Texas is NOT for the weak-minded amigo!

Ok, long story short, I am 25 and have lived in NorCal all my life... what should be aware of before I make my choice?

Compared to the West Coast you're going to feel as if you've stepped into Mr. Peabody's WABAC machine.

Austin IS a prettier town than many other Texas cities but still very azz-backwards in so many ways. All the good-looking women there are at the university but at your age you'll be more than able to plug-in.

Asians? The last census listed exactly 3 in the entire area. Also plenty of illegal aliens providing the manpower for all the local restaurants.

Texas is not really known for it's tracks. This is NOT the mid-west for God's sakes.

Closest snow is in Ruidoso, New Mexico at Ski Apache.

You should give it a shot though. You're young and full of beans. Grab Texas while it's still just a tad wild.

Remember the lyrics of that song "Everybody's Free" by Baz Luhrmann?

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live
in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.

 

[dfa2100]

As far is Austin goes, it's nice but I like San Antonio better. And Fort Worth. Austin is for those people that want to live in college their entire lives. Nice to visit, but gets a bit old after a while if you ask me. And if you live in San Antonio it's not too far to go there for a bit if you want to party. Anyways, I'm out of this state soon. South Dakota is where it's at. Deadwood.

 

[Elise8206]

I move from L.A. to Houston for about 4 yrs now. I lived in L.A. for more than 25 years. So far so good for me. I wouldn't say its cheaper to live here.

 

[Spudboy]

Good luck handling the humidity in many parts of TX. Houston is a sauna!

 

[dfa2100]

live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.

Good luck handling the humidity in many parts of TX. Houston is a sauna!

rotfl

 

[RichS]

I moved from S.F. to Austin because I got sick of paying for my $600k mortgage for an O.K. townhouse.

Got a really nice two story loft downtown and another house in the suburbs (used when the weekends got too wild downtown) for less than my town house in Northern California. I've since sold the loft and moved to the burbs so now my mortgage is so small that I don't even really notice it.

I'd go for it. Austin is really nice and is no where near as humid as Houston, Dallas or San Antonio although it is more humid than Northern California.

 

[aschen]

I live in the houston area and I think it make for a great life. I would put Austin in the top 10 best US cities. Houston isnt quite as exciting but it makes for a very relaxed lifestyle. I live in suburbia currently but prefed living in the middle of town as I did previously.

 

[jasperw4]

I was born and raised in Austin and except for a year in Manhattan (NY not KS) it's the only place I've lived. It's definitely the only city in Texas I'd live in. Lots of parks, great food, good entertainment, lots of good looking women (regardless of age), there's a track in San Marcos which is about 15 minutes away, another in College Station which is about an hour and a half, two in Houston (3 hours), and one south of Dallas (3 hours) and another north (4 hours).The only real drawback is the heat. It sucks. I mean it reallllllllly sucks. We've had like 65 days over 100 this summer. But there are alot of lakes nearby and a great natural spring fed pool right in the middle of town so if you like the summer outdoorsy lifestyle you're good. (I hate that crap and still live here, I just stay inside from June until September).Snow? Texas? Hah! It's alot different than NorCal but it could be a cool. Come visit and check it out.

 

[Mr. Know]

I used to live in Texas and as above, the heat and humidity will take some getting used to. Also, things are a LOT more spread out than you can imagine. San Francisco is basically a vertical city compared to Houston or Dallas/Fort Worth. I'd strongly suggest you plan a visit for a few days to see if you can handle the culture shock.

I just noticed you are in Davis...if you want a Davis like feel with a Texan flair, I'd go for Austin.

 

[JediMindGamez]

Heat doesn't bother me. In Sacramento above 100 during the summer isn't unusual. How humid is it thou? Is it like Florida (I just took a shower, left my motel room to get some ice from the machine and need another shower when I get back) humid?

I just noticed you are in Davis...if you want a Davis like feel with a Texan flair, I'd go for Austin.

Yea, that sounds about right for me. What the cost of living like in Austin? I'm assuming it much lower then nor cal but how much? Also what university is in Austin?

 

[...m...]

...having moved from houston to davis, marin, and then sonoma prior to moving back to austin and subsequently san antonio, i can unequivocably vouch that austin is a very strong analog to the bay area...personally, i prefer san antonio (less parochial, expensive, and gentrified; more international, affordable, and egalitarian) but i'm definitely in the minority in that regard as most austin residents swear by it, well, not unlike most bay area residents swear by the bay area...san antonio's probably most similar to the vacaville-fairfield-vallejo-petaluma corridor, with a good bit of rohnert park and santa rosa mixed in, albeit more urban...

...like many people, i can't stand dallas - far too soul-sucking and devoid of character for my tastes...fort worth might be the closest match to sacramento, i think, and there are a lot of similarities between houston and los angeles...houston also hosts by far the largest asian communities in texas, probably larger than any american city outside of the bay area...

...there's a profound difference between heat in the central valley and heat along the gulf coast - consider 115 in davis to be about equal to 95 in houston, and 105 to 85...there are a lot of days over 85 in houston; strong air conditioning is absolutely essential to civilised life...

 

[apk919]

Do people actually live between the coasts? I had no idea; looks uninhabited when I fly over...

 

[Scott Bowman]

Do people actually live between the coasts? I had no idea; looks uninhabited when I fly over...

Don't forget about the third coast--Gulf of Mexico--which is the source of a lot of that humity we enjoy!

 

[geezer]

I've lived in most of the major cities in Texas for at least two years (with the exception of Ft. Worth, though I did live in Dallas, and El Paso if you consider that a major Texas city).

Anyway, each of them has its high and low points - San Antonio has everthing I need, but little of what I *want*, Austin has everything I want, but is a little lagging on some of the things I need, Houston has absolutely everything, but I think one would be hard-pressed to find a more generic, suburban, utterly soulless place to live than Houston outside the loop. Dallas has world class restaurants and entertainment, and I *should* like it, but I just don't.

On the whole, I like Austin because of its central location and it's unique character, and if I were a young single guy it would be no contest. If I were an older single guy, Houston would provide a very happy hunting ground with girls that are a little more real than Dallas.

As a wine & food guy, I'd love Dallas or Houston, but Austin is more than ok, especially in the last few years as nationally known restaurants have popped up.

Tracks, yeah, Texas doesn't have Mid-Ohio but I've always thought places out west like WSIR are somewhat overrated anyway. H2R in Austin is a great place for a small regional venue with a hugely accomodating staff and some solid challenges, MSR Houston is nice, Tx World Speedway has a challenging infield and a high banked ex-NASCAR track for the straight (which is pretty serious).

Check it out - I think you'll like it.

 

[slaughtr]

I lived in Houston as a boy and go back often for visits. I would live in Austin, buy no place else in Texas, to be honest. Houston is a giant, flat, humid mess with a Home Depot on every freeway exit. Just boring, boring, boring. San Antonio and Dallas have their charm, I guess.