• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

Austin Versus Boston. Which is the better city to live in and why?

Phokus

Phokus

Lifer
I'm currently living in boston right now and i'm miserable here. Rent is expensive, the weather is miserable, and driving here sux. I hear lots of nice things about Austin Texas. Should i move there?

I wanna know a few things:

1) How are the driving conditions down there? Are the roads confusing like boston's? Are there lots of asshole drivers like we have here? Is there bad traffic?

2) What's the coldest it gets in austin. What other unusual weather conditions could i expect there?

3) How cheap is the rent there?

4) Anything else worth mentioning?
 
Yes.

1. Bad like everywhere else. No. No, but lots of dumb drivers. Depends what you call "bad". Traffic is always bad.

2. It snowed once. Once. T-shirt and shorts on xmas.

3. Not too bad. You could get a upscale 1-1 apt for $600-800. Top of the line condos only go for $140-150k. (then again you *could* find reeaaallly nice condos for more)

4. Scenery is pretty good. Lots of hot chicks. College chicks. Nuff said. The hills and the lake is good to look at too
 
oops i forgot Boston is UBER liberal. You will find much Bush pride down in texas. Everybody is conservative.
 
I pick Austin because:

1) The roads are much better. Better signs and better design. Of course, you will have traffic at 8am/5pm and moron drivers anywhere. Don't forget, we don't have the big monster BIG DUG construction project as Boston..LOL.

2) Low 30s are lowest as far as I can remember. The summer can be hot.

3) Rent is decent, not going to be cheap if you want to live in a nice area but won't cost you an arm and leg and more like other places.

4) More fun places to see, more entertainment. Good food, friendly people. I may be biased but I think southern folks are more friendly. Good jobs/careers potential.
 
The liberals in Ausitn will make you feel right at home for a lot less money and a much warmer climate. A bonus is that people are much friendlier in Texas than New England......that is a personal one though whether you like that or not.
 
austin is awesome

1) like any city, it has traffic problems. not to the same scale as boston though, and mostly just rush hour on the main hiways (i35 on the east, mopac on the west). the roads are not confusing (esp in comparison to boston). downtown can be tricky with all the one way streets, but as a city driver you will adjust quickly

2) winter is usually in teh 50's. occasionally with a cold front it can dip lower. no more that about once a year it will snow a bit or freeze noticeably. it is texas, so it does get hot in the summer. but, unlike boston, everything is AC so its not too bad. also, there is not quite the humidity there is in houston or florida

3) dont know too much about this. around the UT campus you can find decent 2-2 for like ~1k a month, or efficiencys for like $650 IIRC. keep in mind these are probably inflated due to their proximity to the university. generally speaking cost of living in texas is going to be much less than boston. any other austinites feel free to correct me if i am off here...

4) austin has a lot of character. lots of eclectic and otherwise interesting people. i lived there for 4 years and really enjoyed it. i would definitely consider moving back in the future.
 
Originally posted by: shuan24
oops i forgot Boston is UBER liberal. You will find much Bush pride down in texas. Everybody is conservative.
Click to expand...
not so much in austin. its a big melting pot and full of liberals and libertarians and greens. libertarian presidential candidate was from austin area.
 
I live in boston and have visited Austin. The only thing i found good was 6th street. Everything else was boring. No clothes shops, no malls within walking distance. I guess Im too used to Boston where you can walk anywhere you want whereas Austin seemed to be a place you need a car.

On the other hand, The Austin people are nicer and on a general basis, more pleasant to deal with.
The drivers dont honk their horns in Austin. There was a near-collision, and the drivers just shrugged it off and went on their business - in boston, there would have been swearing and horns at the very least.

BTW, i was there for a Chemical Engineering conference (weekend and a day) so, my opinion definately doesnt compare to that of say someone who has been living there for a while.
 
Originally posted by: skace
You don't live in Boston, you live somewhere nearby and commute.
Click to expand...

unless you are willing to pay out of your anus for a smaller apartment or what not.

Really Boston sucks, while I haven't lived in Austin I know many who have moved to Texas and have not even considered moving back withtout laughing....

Sure Boston has some nice shops and some really nice high end places to eat, but if you live on a normal salary (Say under 150K/year for your household) then this place is too damn expensive for anything.

Every place to eat that is "good" is either a chain or a hole in the wall, most good places to go are overcrowded, the people on the streets are rude, obnoxious and downright mean....

the weather blows, especially now with the cold and snow.

and as said before housing is stupidly expensive, plus taxes and other costs of living are a nightmare.

If my wife didn't just get a job here and the bio industry wasn't as good as it is we would be out in a heartbeat.
 
if you are not social and prefer getting around by car, Boston is not for you.

150K/household? What are you on? If you are talking someplace like Beacon Hill, then yeah, but not really anywhere else.

If you live in any city in the downtown area, you will always pay up the wazoo.

Yes, the wheather sucks, especially now. It was 2 degrees last night.

Traffic is only bad if you do not know your way around boston. If you go through strorrow drive at 5pm to get onto i93 N, that is your problem. If you take the tunnel from i93 S, that is your problem. There are so many ways to avoid traffic, but peopel just do not want to learn them.

Parking....no contest, Austin probably wins by a lanslide.

Women...Austin wins again. Sure Boston has colleges, but that does not work if the colleges are full of nasty women that study too much.

People in general....People in boston are somewhat snotty.
 
Originally posted by: Gibson486

People in general....People in boston are somewhat snotty.
Click to expand...
They've treated me wonderfully but maybe that's because I'm from California, not Dumbfsckastan😉
 
Originally posted by: Red Dawn
Originally posted by: Gibson486

People in general....People in boston are somewhat snotty.
Click to expand...
They've treated me wonderfully but maybe that's because I'm from California, not Dumbfsckastan😉
Click to expand...

One side of the liberal country to the other.
High taxes on both sides.

The only thing is that you got yourself a female to make the transition proper

 
Austin!

I lived there for the past 10 years. Only moved due to wife getting a job in Houston (Mechanical Engineer).

Anyway, great sports as long as you like the longhorns (big, bigger, well biggest homer town)

Snowed there on Valentine's Day last year, but only in selective areas, otherwise you watch for the occational blue northern (where the temperture drops 30 degress in an hour), and some ice in the hill country.

Great mountain biking, lots of college kids (80,000+) keep you young, it is a Liberal City as it was one of the few counties to vote democrat in the state.

Summer gets warm, 95+ for a few weeks. I like the heat and so do the college chicks.

Oh and don't forget the music scene. Clubs have now moved into age bracket groups. 18-25, 24-40, 29-55ish and so on.

Oh and the city is small. Don't let the traffic on the 1 real highway we have here fool ya. It is only 30 miles across the entire city. You could be in heavy traffic and be there in 1.5 hours. Oh, and if you want a house look on the east side of downtown. Big renovation/gentrafication happening there. Becoming very nice for not so much money.

 
Originally posted by: nakedfrog
<-- misses Mr Gatti's Pizza
Click to expand...

Fixed for ya.
I miss Austin 🙁

The traffic can be downright awful at rush hour, the city's highways werent designed to deal with the traffic load they have been given, but once you know your way around you can avoid most of it.
Downtown can be confusing with lots of 1 way streets but if you take time and learn the layout its not hard.,

Hot HOT HOT summers and generaly mild winters, T-shirts and shorts are appropriate year round.

Rent all depends on where you want to live, the closer to the center and the farther north and south you go it gets more expensive. Find a decent apartment in the buffer zones and you are set.


Austin Rules, I cant wait til I can move back.
 
Originally posted by: EagleKeeper
Originally posted by: Red Dawn
Originally posted by: Gibson486

People in general....People in boston are somewhat snotty.
Click to expand...
They've treated me wonderfully but maybe that's because I'm from California, not Dumbfsckastan😉
Click to expand...

One side of the liberal country to the other.
High taxes on both sides.

The only thing is that you got yourself a female to make the transition proper
Click to expand...
LOL, the part of California I am from is not Liberal in the least. Besides the cold weather which I am getting use too, I like Boston and it has nothing to do with the politics. In fact most of the time politics usually has hardly any bearing on ones quality of life. Sure taxes are higher but so are wages. You just adapt. (I know that if I lived in Vegas like you do my money would go as far as I would be in the Casinos all the time🙂

 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top