Moving from France to Austin, TX...?

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whiskeyman510

Hi there

I'll answer your specific questions first before I expound.

Is it a nice city to live in?

It is a great city. Tends to be very liberal poltically (unlike the rest of Texas), has several major universities so there is a large college crowd, and it's known as the music capital of the South, so LOTS of live music options.

Is it expensive?

Compared to the rest of Texas? A little. Compared to LA or NYC, London or Paris? Not at all.

Is it possible to meet people easily, like socialising, etc?

Yes! There are tons of bars, restaurants and live music clubs. There is also a very active park and hiking/biking trail that's good for meeting people too.

Also, how easy is it to find an internship (in a newspaper or the media).

Not sure about this one. The only major newspaper is the Austin American Statesman, though the most widely read free paper is The Austin Chronicle.

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I just want to briefly add, before I add to the question, that answerer ilikepie1231, who answered below has obviously NEVER been to Austin from her description. Austin and the surrounding area is known as the "hill country" and is FAR from flat, and there's no farm land in the Austin city limits.

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OK, someone else mentioned traffic, and if you grew up in Austin (like I did), it does seem bad. If you have lived in someplace like LA or San Francisco (I have done that too), the traffic is NOTHING.

I would also add that Austin has great food. Mostly casual dining, though that has improved some over the past few years with the influx in Californians moving there. There are also more 24 hour restaurants there than anyplace this side of NYC, so lots of options for a quick bite after you've seen a show of been to a bar.

Housing-wise, South Austin (anywhere south of the river they call "town lake") is considered the "hip" "funky" "artsy" community, whereas East Austin (east of I-35 interstate highway) is the cheaper side of town. North Austin tends to be fairly generic unless you are in one of the wealthier neighborhoods like Tarrytown or Hyde Park. West Austin can be pricier too, and is pretty family oriented.

In the past 1-2 years, lofts have sprung up like weeds, so if that's your thing, there's no shortage of choices, though native Austin-ites prefer the older 1950's homes that used to dominate the town.

Austin pretty much has 2 seasons, Winter and Summer. Winter goes from November-April and rarely gets below 40 degrees (farenheit) and can often be in the 60's. Summer can get up to 110, though last Summer rarely got above 95. However, the humidity can make that feel a lot hotter.

For outdoor activities, you have 3 primary bodies of water. The aforementioned Town Lake, Lake Travis and Lake Austin. There's great swimming, inner tubing (at nearby rivers), boating, etc.

mmmkay_us

Yes I live in Austin on Lake Travis one of the best qualities of the city are the People

We are the Live Music Capital of the World

September is the Month of the Austin City Limits Music Festival a 3 day event at Zilker Park this years head liners are the Foo Fighters, Beck, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss and about 150 other bands go on line now and get your 3 day pass before it sells out

http://www.aclfestival.com/default.aspx

you are going to love this city

"Keep Austin Weird"

Rudy

Texas is a GREAT state. The thing that you will find hard to get used to is the way that Texans do everything... BIG! In France, the portions of food are small. In Texas, they are BIG! In France, cars are small. In Texas, their pick up trucks are BIG!. In France, you eat snails... In Texas, you eat rattle snake. In France, you fry, poach or broil everything. In Texas, you Bar-B-Cue! In France, you drink wine... In Texas, you drink BEER! In France, men like fashion. In Texas, men like chicks!

....Man, you're in for the change of your life!! The good news is that Texas women are some of the most beautiful country girls you'll ever find. Hold on to your hat son, you're in for a WILD ride!!

YEEEHAWW!!!

You will love it here. The local cuisine revolves around Barbecue -- smoked brisket, sausage, and ribs. It's the Live Music Capital of the World albeit most of that music is alternative-country or rockabilly.

Expensive -- no, it is one of the cheapest cities in the country to live in, definitely the cheapest awesome city, if by awesome city you mean New York, San Francisco, Chicago, London, or Paris, I mean what other city compares to it?

Socializing -- yes. People are the friendliest of any major city. You can start a conversation just about anywhere and meet friends just about anywhere.

Nice city -- Austin frequently ranks in the top two or three in the following areas -- go to CondeNast.com or TravelChannel.com or just google it:

* acres of parkland per capita
* places to be single and dating
* places to get married and have a family
* bookstores and movie theatres per capita
* dog friendly city
* places to look for a job
* places to be a hippie
* places to be a redneck

As far as finding an internship, well you probably need to be a college student to even be considered. You might want to consider alternative paths to your dream job or career. But hey *alternative* started here in Austin.

Austin is one of the most cultured cities -- by that I mean a significant percentage of the population work in arts or entertainment industries or else they have a job that is considered creative -- so that means there are lots of opportunities, but also a lot of competition.

You will love it here!

superperson

its a great city, the only actually cool city in TX

~Lovely~

oh wow you will love Austin.

Traffic is pretty crappy. but YES you will meet MANY MANY MANY amazing people. There are a lot of laidback people there.
I got every other Saturday to Austin to visit my friends there.

We like to go to the pubs.

The lakes are beautiful. Everywhere is pretty much beautiful there.

I'd say live over by Barton Skyway off Mopac.. it's kind of pricey but not tooo bad, but it's a good area.

but I don't know what kind of area you'd like to live in, I mean, you can find cheap or very over priced depending on what area you'd like to live in. Austin's pretty huge..

Dora G

texas in general is a very freindly state !! and the food is amaazzingg !!! remeber to brush up on your spanish because alot of people speak it

please answer mineee http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AqeE20hAjfChPUvRMTu5DyXsy6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20080414183224AAI7mPj

ashley_in_austin

Austin is great, I think. I just moved here from San Diego, and the rent is cheaper, the groceries are cheaper, the city is smaller, GAS IS CHEAPER, and Austin has fewer "texans" than any other city. By that, I mean the stereotypical Tex the cowboy, wheres my beer, redneck thing. I love living here, the people are about a million times nicer than in San Diego. One think I will say negative, It is crazy hot, there are too many bugs, and a rediculous amount of bats! Other than that, it is great. Every major store is available here, so it feels like a big city, but it is pretty spread out so it has small town feel. The locations that I would recommend to live in are leander and cedar park area. I like that it is quiet, friendly, and I feel closer to the country. Good luck on your move! (Also, I feel at less of a risk of burning down here... much better than San Diego!!! LOL)

Kris

I don't need to say anything other than Whiskey hit it the nail on the head. Everything he said is true - I back it up 100% and I have lived here my entire life (except for 4 years in San Antonio).

I also agree that Austin is ANYTHING but flat. Hello? "HILL" country. Haha, that's why it's such a great place to ride road bikes + jog! Great challenging workouts...I run in the hills every day and MAN your calves will burn even after you've been doing it for years, haha.

This is an amazing city. If I ever have to move out of it I'll be very disappointed.

I've had 3 relatives visit from New England and they loved it so much here that they moved here. 2 friends (both from LA) moved here w/in the last year!

If you have any more questions about finding a place to live, or anything about Austin in general, feel free to Email me.

PS - buy a lot of TUMS before you eat the mexican food. lol

Jennifer D

I think you will love Austin, and I have been to many many european cities, as well as lived in West Hollywood CA, Sacramento CA, and traveled throughout the usa. I love Austin a lot!

kwitcherbitchen

Austin is great. You'll love it here. Lots of nightclubs, friendly people and good food.

Lady in Pink

Pretty city... big buildings... nice atmosphere.
Texas is one of the lowest cost of living states...
Texas is very HOT. Summer temps= 90-120* regurally.
Austin is well know for its night clubs. Very social overall, lots of parks..
Dont know about finding interships, but work is avaliable.

Try a yahoo image search for 'Austin Texas'

http://www.austin360.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin,_Texas

Eug

You must be crazy

Chris R

Stay in France....

DOOD STAY IN FRANCE.

Don't come here.

This economy is failing. You guys have great benefits.

ilikepie1231

well let me tell you that texas is nothing like Los Angeles or New york.... texas is like flat open farm land. personally, i dont like texas, and i would probably kill myself if i had to move there (im so sorry for you).

never lived there, but im sure you'll be fine with friends/jobs etc

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