Austin, Tx Very Un PC Question.

[DawnCt1]

We have friends whose daughter had to relocate to the Austin,Tx area because of her husband's job transfer. We asked how she was doing at Christmas and she is very unhappy. According to her father, everyone is a "red neck". They are anti Catholic and anti semitic and her neighbors supposedly spend their days trying to "save her". Frankly, I think that this has to be, at the very least a MAJOR exageration. We are a mobile society now and people move through out the country and people from all areas of the country find themselves living next to each other. As a result, her father says, she has no friends and doesn't want to meet anyone. I think that this might be due to being homesick. She has never lived out of the state before and now she is there with two little boys and a husband who travels a lot. Texans, what do you think?

 

[drakethib]

Hmmmmm.


Austin has a large Catholic population if I am not mistaken.

 

[vivilasvegas]

Hmm, I've never lived in Austin, but I do go almost every year. I actually find it to be very open-minded/liberal. Great music scene!!

 

[DawnCt1]

Very interesting. I suspected that she was homesick and this is how she gets her parents to fly to Texas once a month or so.

 

[KathyTX]

Austin is a melting pot with a huge university (The University of Texas), our state Capitol and a very large population of high-tech companies.

I'd describe it as pretty liberal. Sounds like homesick exaggeration to me, too.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Where did they relocate from???

We relocated in April from Missouri to North Texas, Dallas area.
It is NOT what I expected at all. If anything I find it to be fun, interesting,etc...
Lots of different people, lots of $$$$.

I haven't been to Austin but DH has told me that it is wonderful! I need to get down there and check it out!

 

[ckmommy]

I do not live in Austin, but I live in Houston--or a suburb of Houston. I moved her from Wisconsin and can relate to her a little bit. I do know that The Catholic faith is very strong here, but the Baptist faith is also very strong. There are some very good meaning people that take their faith for much to heart (which can be a VERY good thing), but can also take people back!! What I mean is they turn you away from whatever they are trying to teach you. I was very surprised when we first moved here and one of the first questions I was asked was what church I went to. It was literally the third question I was asked by more than a few people I had just met (1. your name? 2. where are you from? 3. do you have a chuch?). Religon is VERY big down here. That has been very good for my family and I, but it can be very overwhelming in the beginning!! I am sure she will find a church where she feels where she belongs.

Does she work, or stay at home? If she stays at home, there are a lot of MOMS (Mother's Offering Mothers Support) Clubs (not affiliated with any church group) and MOPS (Mom's Of PreschoolerS) Clubs (church based groups--non denominational) around. That is how I met most of my friends.

Good Luck to your friend. I wish I lived closer--sounds like she could really use a friend to talk to!!

 

[Tigger&Belle]

We lived in Houston for 5 years and Austin is a liberal, progressive place. We ate at a great vegie restaurant and could easily have been happy living there. I'm sure that there are pockets of close minded people anywhere and if she's trying not to be happy I'm sure that she can convince herself that Austin isn't a good place. Of course if she convinces herself that she's going to give it a shot and try and make friends, she'll probably adjust. Hard to reason with someone who's being unreasonable, though.

 

[Duchie]

We live in Austin currently and what her father described couldn't be farther from the truth! We moved here 8 years ago and have never regretted it one bit.

Think of Austin as a big hippie college town. It is a very laid-back and casual community. The word liberal comes to mind, mainly because everyone is just so tolerant of everyone else. It's a huge IT town so there are people here from all over the country and all over the world. A bunch of local businesses sell these t-shirts with the slogan "Keep Austin Weird" - maybe she doesn't like them?

It does have a huge Catholic population - in fact, we're Catholic and have several churches within 10 miles of the house. I also have several friends who are Jewish, and they have never had any problem at all. So the comment about it being "anti-Catholic" and "anti-semitic" is just unbelieveable to me.

How long has she lived here? And how old is she? Maybe she's just bored, but there's so much to do here I can't see how. Do they have kids? I have a bunch of guesses why she's saying what she is about Austin, but to answer your original question the real Austin is nothing like what she has described. At least, not in my experience.

 

[escape]

I don't think she's given Austin a fair chance. I love visiting my friends there. Tell her, if she gets a chance, to go to Lake Austin Spa for a day or 2 to unwind. It's one of the top spas in the US.

 

[va32h]

Lots of posters have beat me to it - Austin is a big 'ol liberal hippie town. Willie Nelson relocated to Austin so he could smoke his weed and play his music in peace!

Perhaps her particular neighborhood is skewed a particular way, but that is not all Austin has to offer.

 

[ckmommy]

I don't think she's given Austin a fair chance. I love visiting my friends there. Tell her, if she gets a chance, to go to Lake Austin Spa for a day or 2 to unwind. It's one of the top spas in the US.

WOW!! I just took a look at their web site. I thought maybe my DH could send me here for an overnight. Well, at $1600 for three days it had better be a great massage!!

 

[Florida_Mom]

Although I'm not from Texas, I have friends that are. They say its liberal/progressive, too. It's the home of the "keep Austin wierd" slogan.

 

[Aimeedyan]

Lots of posters have beat me to it - Austin is a big 'ol liberal hippie town. Willie Nelson relocated to Austin so he could smoke his weed and play his music in peace!

Perhaps her particular neighborhood is skewed a particular way, but that is not all Austin has to offer.

Austin is a world of it's own - and not at all what your friend has described.

 

[escape]

WOW!! I just took a look at their web site. I thought maybe my DH could send me here for an overnight. Well, at $1600 for three days it had better be a great massage!!

Oh, didn't I tell you? For $1600, you get 2 greek gods to cater to your every whim.

Actually, if you hit a special, you'll save a lot. Plus, they offer all kinds of classes...not just the typical spa stuff. If you just want the typical spa stuff...massages, facials, etc., you can go to their spa facility and get whatever you want...you don't have to stay at the resort. Staying at the resort is the expensive part but let me tell you...it is divine. The food is great, the classes are great and the pampering is even better.

 

[jimmiej]

I've lived near Austin my whole life. Graduated from UT & DD#1 is a senior there. Season ticket holder for the National Champ Longhorns.

Austin is a liberal island in a sea of conservatism. San Francisco light. That being said, it's a beautiful city set on the edge of the Texas Hill Country. I think your friend's daughter is exaggerating.

 

[Kirby]

What part of Austin does she live in? Is it Austin proper or a suburb? Sometimes I tell people I live near Dallas just because they wouldn't recognize the small town I live in. I've only really driving through Austin but I wouldn't have thought it anything like what she describes.

 

[Michie]

She is full of it. Austin is a very friendly town and the cost of living is moderate compared to other parts of the country. With that outlook no wonder she is not enjoying it there.

 

[dennis99ss]

Sorry, can't stir it up on this one.....Dead wrong. If she doesn't want to be there, and want's to be back east, too bad for her.

 

[DawnCt1]

We live in Austin currently and what her father described couldn't be farther from the truth! We moved here 8 years ago and have never regretted it one bit.

Think of Austin as a big hippie college town. It is a very laid-back and casual community. The word liberal comes to mind, mainly because everyone is just so tolerant of everyone else. It's a huge IT town so there are people here from all over the country and all over the world. A bunch of local businesses sell these t-shirts with the slogan "Keep Austin Weird" - maybe she doesn't like them?

It does have a huge Catholic population - in fact, we're Catholic and have several churches within 10 miles of the house. I also have several friends who are Jewish, and they have never had any problem at all. So the comment about it being "anti-Catholic" and "anti-semitic" is just unbelieveable to me.

How long has she lived here? And how old is she? Maybe she's just bored, but there's so much to do here I can't see how. Do they have kids? I have a bunch of guesses why she's saying what she is about Austin, but to answer your original question the real Austin is nothing like what she has described. At least, not in my experience.

She moved down there with her husband and two little boys in May. I have not heard these things from her but from her parents. One of them is flying to Texas from Ct. it seems, once a month. Her husband works in the pharmaceutical industry which is usually located in pretty cosmopolitan/university areas. IMO she may have "one bad neighbor" but I can't imagine an entire community as her father described. She could be bored. Her husband travels a lot. I do think her comments are manipulative. She was very close to her mother and they lived in the same town.