Walkability

[rebeccmeister]

You know, downtown Austin is fantastically walkable. I would credit the Texas-wide sidewalks.

It’s just that housing here is unaffordable. And Austin is still in Texas.

I have gotten out to row here twice. One of the rowers who has lived here since the 1980’s says she has been surprised by how the political demographics even here in the capital have shifted in a more conservative direction.

Austin is an economic and social contrast to Albany.

Comments

[mellowtigger]

"And Austin is still in Texas."

I lived in Austin about 7? years (and Texas the rest of my life prior to then), before I drove straight up I35 to get from Austin to Minneapolis in 1998. Back then, they were already targeting local liberal bastions like Hippie Hollow. The metro area here has the same "vibe" as Austin did, but in a state that's a lot less red. Technically, we're purple here, but still leaning blue. Minnesota might even get legal marijuana this legislative session. I don't regret making the switch. The river walk in Austin is nice (not as nice as San Antonio) at night, but the good vibes were already getting swallowed by corporatism and conservatism when I left.

[rebeccmeister]

I personally felt an enormous sense of relief when I moved from College Station up to Lincoln, Nebraska, during my postdoc wandering phase. I was also pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed Lincoln and Nebraska.

There has been such an enormous amount of growth in certain urban areas in the US over the past decade. I used to think I was a 100% big city girl, but that time in Lincoln helped me to appreciate the benefits of mid-sized cities and cities that have been more overlooked in the current era of urban transformation. For one thing, in smaller cities there's a larger potential for direct impact and change. Costs of living are lower and housing is easier to find as well.

In Albany, though, I'm perpetually frustrated to be in a place that SHOULD have a functional, walkable urban core, but that has been gutted of meaningful shopping possibilities. All of the shopping is in big-box stores in strip malls and malls at the periphery of the city, which are extremely annoying to get to. My recent art store expedition is but one example of this.

[mellowtigger]

Oh! I spent a few years at College Station too before moving to Austin. ("I escaped college", as I like to phrase it, since I didn't get a degree.) I grew up in Midland/Odessa (in west Texas), and on my last spate of job hunting I considered the Fargo/Moorhead area (northwest Minnesota) which had the same mid-size vibe when I visited for the weekend on a job/apartment search. I'm not sure I'd want "small town America", but mid-size is definitely to my liking. :) I'm still considering moving to Fargo/Moorhead then returning to college there, if I don't find a 100% remote job here soon in the coming weeks/months.

[rebeccmeister]

Yeah, Bryan/CS was slightly *too* "small town America" for me, overall, although I made some very good friends while there and have at least some good memories of that time.

It sounds like you may have had some similar life experiences as scrottie with regards to college. Life takes us all in all kinds of interesting, unexpected directions, I suppose.

[cmcmck]

We have a couple of friends who lived until recently in Austin. They moved to Wisconsin last year and don't appear to be regretting it.