How does Austin compare to San Francisco?|109049

I live with my wife and 2 kids in the SF Bay area and could possibly move to Austin for my job. Can anyone tell me how these two cities compare as far as quality of life, schools, culture and outdoor activities?

In several ways....

1. It_s very liberal.. They have always said that Austin is the most liberal city east of San Fransisco. I think that_s why we_re most known.

2. We_re pretty gay friendly - That_s what people know San Fransisco for.. Gay friendly. Austin is also very gay friendly.

3. Great environment - As much as Austin is growing, and we_re growing rapidly.. Tkae like the size of Louisville.. We_re growing that many people in as little as a few years. Anyways, point being, as much as we_re growing, we_re keeping an awesome environment. One person came here and said as much as Austin looks like a mini Houston growth wise, it is so green and nice. That_s the truth.

4. Arts - Great art stuff? lol, idk a whole lot about that.

San Fransisco is a city mixed with politics, and university students. That_s the same with Austin. VERY political, VERY left, GREAT place to live, one of the best paces to raise your kids, the best place for Hispanics to live, one of the ebst places for shopping, and one of the most friendliest places. It_s a minuture SF, and pretty soon it_ll be bigger lol.

The weather is also very hot, but for the past few years, it_s snowed several times. :) so that_s cool. It_s usually in the 50_s- in the winter, and 90_s+ in the summer. Texas weather is very wierd. One part of town may get 5_ of rain, and the other part may get a trace. One day it was like in the 70_s, and the next day it snowed lol.

Sports are pretty big too.. The University of Texas is what most sports are tho, so it_s not usually proffesional.. Even tho austin is getting a NBA basketball team i think, lol. not to mention we_re not far at all from Houston, Dallas, or San Antonio. We_re like in the middle, lol.

You need to learn to like hot weather and live in air conditioning most of the time. Traffic isn_t very bad. It_s got a nice downtown. Great airport. Learn to like TexMex food. It_s very different from the Bay Area. Outdoor activities are limited with the heat. With University of Texas there, cultural activities are pretty good, but remember it_s Texas, not San Francisco. Good luck!

its the best. always something to do in/out. schools good, lay-back
life style. and the only time the ground shakes is when the UT football team takes the field. GO HORNS

I think Austin is great! I have lived here 4 years and it gets better each year. There is a great quality of life and plenty to do outside. Many people jog the 10 mile lake side jog trail in downtown. For biking Austin is a very great place. Bike Friendly Roads. Austin has 3 awesome lakes. Lake activities are very popular. Wake boarding, water skiing or just hanging out on a boat. There is also very child friendly areas around the lake as well. If you have a dog, it will love life in Austin. I think the most pet friendly place ever.There is also many safe and easily accessible neighborhoods. Austin housing market is also something BOOMING!! Buying property in Austin will PAY BIG!!!! Especially high rises. But all is doing great. Food is pretty good here too. MEXICAN FOOD YUM-MM SF is great but to expensive. I would say very comparable if weighing pros and cons.

Austin is 100% better than San Francisco in quality of life, schools,culture and there_s lots of outdoor activity. Good Luck.

I have never been to San Francisco, but Austin is a family friendly city. I have been here for 20yrs.

Look up the demographics at Best Places to Live:


http://www.bestplaces.net

Better learn to love the heat.
Beyond that Austin has everything you will want except major sports.

Austin is hot and humid but a great place to live....a major university...top notch college sports....housing is much less expensive....lots of outdoor activities...biking is big (Lance_s home town)...best of all, its never going to fall into the pacific ocean becuase of an earthquake!!

How should I plan a trip to Ocean City, Maryland?|195324

It will be my girlfriend and I, 19 and 20 years old. We_ll just be going for the weekend, staying Fri, Sat, and Sun night in the summer. First off, is this a good place to go for people our age? Is the boardwalk known more for its rides, games, or dining? Where could we stay for the best experience and price? What other things have people done there that are fun?

i live near there and just a heads up, book a hotel now cuz its gets PACKED but most people your age go there and there is sooo many things to do there like rides the beach the boardwalk and just whole lot of other things

hope you two have fun!!!

I got pages on OCMD , Pix and reviews...

T.A.- ripken2131
V.T. - ripken_hof

ck. em out..if not my pages, these are both travel info sites, and have alot of info..have fun..

Any advice on getting used to living in New York City?|124302

My friend is planning on moving there,next year for college.
She has visited many times and loves it there.
I can_t relate to her because I have never lived there.

So does anyone have advice on getting used to living in New York City?

Thanks!

Coming from someone who lived in Florida for the first 20 years of their life, moving to NY was an experience I could never have expected. I have been here now going on 5 years.

Don_t get me wrong, I do love NY, but what a culture-shock!
The fast-paced impatience of life, the different ethnicities of it_s people, the deep pride from the natives of their own city.

It was hard to adjust.

People are too busy to care about the little insignificancies, and everyone is in a rush to get to where they got to go! You walk down the street and you find people looking down to avoid contact, they don_t say hello.... I would imagine this to be common in many big cities... :\ People can be cold and rude!

My advice? Take things in stride because New Yorkers have a tendency to take you too seriously and will get offended!

Grow a backbone, or else NYC will eat you alive!

-Strong in NYC.....but relocating to Southern Cali in a month :D

ive never lived there but both my parents are from brooklyn

all they ever say is its noisy and its an different world down there
good luck!

No worries. Getting adapted to life in NYC will take less time than you think. You_ll spend more time worrying about it actually! When you get there and somewhat settled, take a walk, ride or tour around town. Have something to eat. Ask questions from local merchants. You_ll be surprised how many will want to help you out. The part about life being fast paced, cutthroat and maniacal is true. Again you_ll adapt. Keep your wits about you and learn the lifestyle. Once you figure out that_s there not much you can do about it, like NY traffic, the rest falls into place. Navigating your way around town is easy once your accustomed to it. There_s no shortage of transportation. If you do own a car, get ready to pay extraordinary high prices to park it. Prices for everything are high in NYC, but you should expect that. In all, life in NYC really is OK and you_ll end up loving it and the city too.

OK, I_m gonna do this in list form, I live in NYC, have for the past few years, and here are some thoughts:
First off:
NYC is not as bad as you think. Not as noisy, dangerous or expensive.

Rich people complain about how expensive it is, poor people rejoice in how cheap it is.

NYC is full of real people and it is full of phonies. Which are you?

Get rid of your car. it is a liability, and you will get nowhere fast with it. You will get tickets and it will get stolen, and you will still have to pay tickets on your stolen car.

You will be amazed at how fast you get used to not driving.

Don_t be mean to panhandlers and homeless people. They were here first and their situation is exponentially worse than yours. And most of them are not lying.

It is far better to offer help to someone who might not be worthy of it than to withhold it form someone who might be worthy.

Don_t be afraid to smile.

There is lots of cheap fun here

Central park is the best. So is Prospect Park and Inwood Hill Park.

The cheapest boat ride in the harbor is the Staten Island Ferry. it_s free.

You wont be able to bank the money you save by not having a car. You will spend it on housing.

Nobody moves to NYC because it_s clean

We measure rats here in terms of beverage containers:
Small baby rat: V8 can
Small adult rat: beer can
Average sized rat: 16 oz bottle
Large rat: 1 liter bottle
Very large rat: 2 liter bottle
huge rat; 3 liter bottle (yes we have them here!)

rat watching off the subway platform is fun.

it is considered polite to leave your newspaper on the subway for the next person to read, if you are done with it.

Your favorite restaurant has probably been cited a few times by the board of health. Don_t worry about it.

There is no north or south. it is uptown and downtown.

You will get very tired of seeing film crews on your block (but it is kind of cool to see your building in Law _ Order) Mine has been in it a few times!

If you are friendly and be yourself, you will make a lot of friends here. If you try to be someone you are not, you will make a lot of fake friends here.

Get good shoes. You will be walking a lot.

The food here is really cheap, and really good. Except in Midtown Manhattan. There it is overpriced.

Forget Seinfeld. Forget Sex _ The City. it_s not really like that.

People everywhere else are proud of how much stuff they have. New Yorkers are proud of how little stuff they have.

New York winters are cold _ sloppy, New York summers are brutally hot. New York springs and falls are beautiful.

The New York Public Library is your friend.

Real Estate brokers will lie, cheat, and are generally out to screw you. They should be drowned like rats in a bucket of water!

It_s ok to drink the water here....it_s actually really good.

Keep your MetroCard in the same place (I like to use my left back pocket)

Welcome to New York.....We_re not as bad as all that!

What are toll expenses usually priced at?|191252

I plan on driving to Virginia and I live in Michigan and don_t know toll road or turnpike prices.

MapQuest will help you with Toll charges and also gas prices.

All the traffic will bear and look out _cause VA is looking for ways to fill in for lost income.

Tolls vary across the country. Carry a lot of loose change and $1 bills.

What is the difference between a hoagie and a sandwich?|165175

I don_t understand it. You can put the same ingredients between two slices of bread. I guess what I am after is what really makes a hoagie a hoagie??

You make a sandwich at home.

A hoagie is bought from a Mom and Pop store on the corner, and it has lunch meat, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, onions and a delicious oil on an Amaroso roll.

I live in Los Angeles. I cannot get a hoagie here :-(

Can you send me one?

Amoroso_s rolls are what make a hoagie a hoagie!

__The hoagie (aka hero, submarine, grinder, and poor boy (or po_ boy)) is a sandwich defined by the bread- a small Italian (originally) or French bread loaf and its amount of stuffing (large compared to the average sandwich). Some of the names and the composition vary regionally, but the real deal is always a BIG sandwich.

I grew up in Philly and have heard many variations, but i beleive the commonly accepted historical source for the word hoagie, came from the old time Hog Island workers and the unusually long , overstuffed sandwiches they became known for bringing to work with them. It was often two meals for them since their shifts were so long. It became a popular regional treat and then grew from there! A hoagie is basically a sandwich overstuffed on a long roll, normally italian. And if you are from the area it has to be Amoroso_s bread ... mmmmmmm I miss it!

A hoagie is made on a hoagie roll which contains more breading than a thin piece of bread.

Usually a hoagie is an open faced sand which and it has been baked or broiled in an oven and a sand which has not

You gotta use the right roll to make a hoagie and S Philly has the best bakery_s for rolls and Amoroso_s is one of the most popular rolls to use. But it isn_t a hoagie if it is on bread it is just another sandwich.

A hoagie is a type of bread, a sandwich is a general term. All hogies are sandwiches, but not many sandwiches are hoagies.

Just got a camper and looking for good places to camp with kids within 3 hours of Hartford CT?|190185

The kids are 4 and 7. I have tried to find reviews of campgrounds in New England/New York/New Jersey but have not found any good sites. Most have so few reviews I cannot get a good comparison. I would like to find a campground with lots of things we can do (biking swimming playgrounds etc) that is very family friendly and possibly has some inexpensive activities in the area such as wineries, kid museums or outdoor adventures.

Catskills State Park in NY is only 2 1/2 hours from Hartford. It_s GORGEOUS and there_s a lot to do in the area. We love Woodstock (no hippies now). There are some wineries (not at the level of California, but nice) and plenty of outdoor activities. As far as family friendly - you can_t get more family friendly. Families go there every year in the summer. There are some links below that might help-

How do you meet someone who has a white collar job?|123897

Personally, I_ve been working fast food all of my life and it_s like I_m always around high school kids and I never get to meet a guy who is a businessman, lawyer, doctor, etc, and has a college education. I also recently just graduated from college and looking for jobs. I just want to know will I meet a nice and well, educated guy in my line of work?

when you start working a corporate job

First of all, stop looking for men while you_re working. In your spare time go to museums, art exhibits, theatre, and seminars. Culture yourself. Find things that interest you so that when you do meet someone you can carry a conversation intelligently. Men, (especially white collar) love intelligent women. They can also spot posers in an instant. So always be honest and never be embarrassed by your line of employment. Men find that even if the job isn_t so hot your attitude can be. They will respect you for your honesty. You could also try enrolling in some computer classes to find a better job. Good luck honey.

find a job wherever they are and you_ll meet one. Too bad I can_t ask you a question because I_m Blasian and I_m a businessman. If you_re ever in Oakland or S.F...........