Austin, TX

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Does anyone live here? I'm thinking of moving to Austin for school, but I have mixed feelings. On the one hand, I'd love to live somewhere in the south, southwest, etc. On the other hand, it's Texas. Even if it is weird Austin. Is Austin a good place for aspies? I mean, if you're not that into the live music scene and you can't afford a car... what else is there to like about the place?

Plenty of outdoor stuff. And Austin is a very high-tech city--Dell is headquartered in nearby Round Rock. Austin is generally regarded as the most liberal of the major cities in Texas.

I live just outside of Houston, and I envy Austinians.

Tim

I will have to warn you that UT Austin is very competitive when it comes to admission, and is expensive, even for in-state students.

The admissions deadline for UT Austin is March 1. If you want to live in Austin, but can't get into UT, try Texas State University in San Marcos, which is not too far to the south, and the students there have a very similar mindset as those at UT.

Tim

I live in San Antonio. It's about 90 miles from Austin. I get to the Austin area about twice a month. It's a nice city, and I like south Texas in general. Lots of traffic, but nice people.

There are some local Aspie support groups in the Austin area if you are interested in that. There are also professional services available in the area for Aspies. Check it out. Austin has lots to offer. I'd rate it as an Aspie-friendly place.

I believe that last time I checked, Austin was on the list of fastest growing economies so if you live there then you will benefit from that. Beyond that all I can think of is that it is more politically liberal than the rest of Texas, and that it has whatever benefits it gets from being the capital of Texas which you already know of. Really, I don't know what makes a city aspie friendly, as most cities have some things in common no matter what and many people have completely different interests AS or not. If you are looking at UT, I would say that the school does have some good points as it has a high quality engineering and business school and a decent honors program for the truly gifted. It is rather big though with 50,000 students. I would not discourage it though, depending somewhat upon what you are interested in as certain schools are known for certain strengths.

I lived in Austin before I moved to Tulsa for school, and very much miss it.
There is a LOT to do in Austin, and not all of it can be easy to find. An example is that REI (a camping/sports store) sponsors a lot of outdoor activities, and advertise several companies and groups that do those activities. You won't find out about them unless you walk into REI and see it with your own eyes.
If you don't have a car, Austin has a pretty good public transportation system, called Capital Metro.
You don't have to be "into" the live music scene to enjoy the benefits. The local bands' singles and CDs often can be found in even the chain music stores, like Borders and Barnes and Noble.
Alamo Drafthouse is a fun place (maybe not for an Aspie, not sure). Its a movie theater that serves food during the movie. The darkness makes it a very unique experience.
If you can't stand traffic, try to stay away from Downtown, MOPAC/Loop 1 and I-35 at rush hour.

Austin, Texas here. Lived here most of my life. Graduated from UT. Diehard Longhorn for almost 30 years now.

Yes, the traffic sucks- it's getting just as bad as Dallas and Houston. We have a pretty good bus system though, so it's possible to get by without a car. I ride to work every now and again. If you're going to UT and live off-campus, try to find an apartment on a UT shuttle route or on a Cap Metro route that goes near campus. You ride for free with a student ID.

As others have mentioned, tons of outdoor stuff to do- wonderful hike and bike trail system around Town Lake, great mountain biking (Barton Creek Greenbelt) and road biking (Lance Armstrong trained here), camping, hiking, triathlons, rock climbing, you name it and there are people and clubs that do it around here.

Much love for the Alamo Drafthouse! Greatest movie theater on the planet. I love it when they have theme nights based on the movie. For Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy the actually served Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster coctails and gave away 'Don't Panic' towels. For Sideways the served wines from the vineyards in the movie exactly as the characters were drinking them. It was really neat to hear what the wine obsessed character was talking about and actually smell/taste it yourself. They also have "Master Pancake Theater" nights where they show really bad movies and have professional comedians make fun of them- sort of like a live Mystery Science Theater 3000.

Can't speak about Austin aspie services or support groups because I haven't used them. I first heard of AS only about a year ago. Had I known earlier in my life, support groups would have been a great help. Instead I learned to deal with the NT world the hard, painful way.

Feel free to PM if there's anything in particular you would like to know.

There is a movie theater in Houston that serves food during the movie. It's called Star Cinema Grill.

Tim

I'd like to go there, for a holiday, sometime. I have an uncle who's been there a few times.

If you ever make it down here, be sure to stop by the Dog and Duck (near UT campus) and/or the Ginger Man (downtown). The're very nice, unpretentious 'British-ish' pubs. The Dog and Duck has fantastic fish and chips. And since you in the neighborhood also stop by Hillsboro, a little town about 2 hours from here. There is a red bus there I understand you're quite fond of.

Also, there is a little town called Crawford about 2 hours north of Austin. It's known for a certain someone who has a ranch there.

Tim

ahh leave it to a thread like this to bring out all the texan aspies on here! i live near san antonio, just up (or down?) the 35 from you..i'd have to say austin and here have something to offer to aspies, although i think austin would be a more aspie-friendly place..what with the atmosphere and all (it's more a music mecca to me though)

With the exception of El Paso, all the big cities in Texas are just a 3-hour drive from each other.

And although not in Texas, Baton Rouge is within 3 hours as well.

Tim

i suppose you caught the austin mardi gras this week? if not, it's usually around this time every year..another austin favorite is 6th street..

Kinda makes me wonder if Highway 59 in Houston will ever, for once, *not* be under construction.

Tim

Wow, didn't realize there were so many of us Texans on WP.

This was always very ironic to me because it's right next door to Mount Carmel, were David Koresh and the Branch Davidians took on the ATF. There's something odd about that area around Waco.



Didn't go this year because my wife is pregnant. The main marti gras festivities are on 6th street- they block it off between Congress and I-35 for the parade and it's pedestrian-only after that. 6th street is great for college kids and 20-somethings. Had many good times there back in the day. But when I go there now I really feel old, so we usually go (well, with a baby on the way I should say used to go) to the Warehouse District instead. It's another downtown bar/restaurant area that seems to appeal more to 30-somethings like me.

There's a huge music festival here next month called South By Southwest. I haven't had a chance to go in a few years because of work. But this year I'm taking a couple days off and going to see lots and lots of live music! Gonna be fun!