Moving from LA to Austin!?

Well, I'm originally from Texas and went to Austin 3-4 times a year. I have friends and family that live in Austin and the surrounding Hill Country.

Austin doesn't have a lot of freeways and interstates so it takes a while to drive from one side of town to another. I still don't think the traffic compares to LA though.

The big cities in Texas, Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio are liberal. It's the suburbs and small towns that are nutso conservative. They like to call themselves the buckle of the Bible Belt.

It gets very hot and dry there or it can be very hot and humid. I'm talking you break into a sweat walking to your mailbox type of heat. That goes on for 8-9 months of the year. The mosquitos are vicious. The good thing is everything is air conditioned and the homes have central air conditioning which I miss dearly.

Well over 1 million acres have burned in the past month. My parents live in the Hill Country around Austin and they are sick with all of the smoke and ash in the air. Due to the wildfires around Austin one of my friends just lost her house.

The Gulf of Mexico in no way compares to the beauty of the Pacific Ocean. You have to drive to Padre island to find a decent beach.

Just like California though, unless you live in an upper middle class to upper class neighborhood the schools will suck and if you're white than your kids could be the minority. Be prepared to get paid less although housing and gas is much cheaper there.

Austin has plenty of outdoor activities, parks, hiking, jogging trails, cultural events, etc. My friends did adventure racing in the area around Austin. Instead of the ocean people party on the rivers and lakes. Go tubing on the Guadalupe while drinking a Shiner Bock for me.

It's the home of the University of Texas and the state capital so there are a lot of government workers. It's also the home of quite a few high tech companies.

6th Street in downtown Austin is home to bars, restaurants and many, many live music venues. South by Southwest Music and film fest happens in Austin and so does Austin City Limits. There are also some crazy festivals like Eore's Birthday Party.

The people are nice, I miss the homes built out of stone, I miss good BBQ, Texas Chili Parlor and Amy's Ice Cream. In Texas you eat Tex-Mex and it's hot and spicy-I miss hot and spicy Tex-Mex. Cal-Mex is very bland to me. I could name 50 different only in Austin places that are worth checking out. Waterloo Records is a great place to buy music. Alamo Drafthouse Cinema is a great place to see a movie while drinking a beer. Stubbs BBQ is very over-rated though.

While you're visiting Austin watch the millions of bats emerge at sundown from underneath the Congress Street Bridge. It's in downtown Austin.

You should ask this question in some of the Texas city travel forums.

I'm still happy I don't live in Texas anymore though. The conservatives in Texas make the conservatives in California seem like peace, love and happiness hippies.

More diversity than LA? Ha, ha. That is laughable! Um, sorry but Austin is for the most part boring. LA-- close to the ocean, mountains (real ones with snow), there is so much more to do. Austin is more affordable, but that is about it. Austin has received so much hype, sorry but it is not that weird, and I found racism to be alive and well deep in the heart of Texas, this so called bastien of liberalism and tolerance. (ha)

Austin also has a thriving movie industry!

Visit 6th street and South Congress Ave. for an eclectic nightlife, entertainment!

Look for a house in the suburbs - Round Rock, Pfluegerville, Cedar Park (North) Kyle or Buda (South)

UT of Austin is downtown !

Plenty of lakes for water sports, activities!

San Antonio is about 75 miles due south!

Bergstrom International Airport is NOT that crowded all!

* Cost of living is lower than Cali. but everything is BIG in Texas!!

The people in the Austin forum can help you out. You posted under the Los Angeles forum.