TrainedEye

I wouldn't put much stock in anything Gyro says. Though the gushing about Austin is partially deserved (I did my undergrad there and lived there for about four years after I'd finished; I loved it the whole time), the suggestion that Austin is an "oasis...of decent human behavior" is probably the silliest thing anyone's ever written on this forum. How exactly is Austin more "diverse" than, say, Houston or Dallas? And in what way does Austin exhibit more "decent human behavior" than San Antonio or Lubbock? I've spent a considerable amount of time in many of the major cities in Texas and don't find Austin to be that different from any of the others apart from its cultivation of really nice outdoor recreation spaces and its ridiculously INaccurate reputation for being "weird." There are definitely cool things about Austin, but it isn't an "oasis" of anything except perhaps self-righteous know-nothings like Gyro who establish pride of place by denigrating other cities they've likely never even visited. Texas is a nice place through and through and is actually well known for its hospitality and good nature, both qualities I would consider quite "decent." The only thing people moving from other parts of the country should be prepared for is brutally hot summers, loud, flashy thunderstorms, and the absolute necessity of owning a car with a working air conditioner.

I wouldn't put much stock in anything Gyro says. Though the gushing about Austin is partially deserved (I did my undergrad there and lived there for about four years after I'd finished; I loved it the whole time), the suggestion that Austin is an "oasis...of decent human behavior" is probably the silliest thing anyone's ever written on this forum. How exactly is Austin more "diverse" than, say, Houston or Dallas? And in what way does Austin exhibit more "decent human behavior" than San Antonio or Lubbock? I've spent a considerable amount of time in many of the major cities in Texas and don't find Austin to be that different from any of the others apart from its cultivation of really nice outdoor recreation spaces and its ridiculously INaccurate reputation for being "weird." There are definitely cool things about Austin, but it isn't an "oasis" of anything except perhaps self-righteous know-nothings like Gyro who establish pride of place by denigrating other cities they've likely never even visited. Texas is a nice place through and through and is actually well known for its hospitality and good nature, both qualities I would consider quite "decent." The only thing people moving from other parts of the country should be prepared for is brutally hot summers, loud, flashy thunderstorms, and the absolute necessity of owning a car with a working air conditioner.

My advice is to bring a car if there's any way for you to do so! If you don't own one or just can't, sure, you can make it work as a pedestrian in Dallas. But it ain't easy. The Highland Park/University Park area near SMU is quite walkable (though brutally expensive as far as I know), but you'd really be hemming yourself in by counting on that area to meet all your needs. Plus there are downright sketchy neighborhoods bordering the nice areas near SMU.

As for transit, the DART rail is a pretty nifty option, but its service area is extremely limited. And the bus system is lousy. It's actually very extensive, but the routes are a mess. In my experience you can't get anywhere on DART buses without tranferring two or three times.

Also keep in mind that it gets very, very hot in Dallas as early as May and can stay that way into October. Walking around in 103 degree heat can be not only exhausting but also downright dangerous. Plus the DFW metroplex is the definition of urban sprawl. If you really want to experience the city, you'll need a vehicle to get out and about to visit the places worth visiting. There are *lots* of fun things to do in DFW, but none of them are remotely close to one another. So to reiterate, bring a car if you can. You'll be glad you did. And congrats on SMU! Great school with a nice campus in a beautiful neighborhood.

I presently live in Halstead (one of the College Houses co-ops) and love it. Austin is already a very diverse city (Texas is not. Austin is merely an oasis of culture, environmentalism, & decent human behavior.) and the co-ops here represent the most diverse sampling of the student population. You will, of course, occasionally have to deal with party people being pathetic people & not cleaning up their messes, but you can also write them up & then later evict them for not doing so after they've done it several times.

The ICC houses are smaller & more house-like. The College Houses co-ops are in larger buildings with bigger populations (ranging from ~70 to ~130). As College Houses co-ops go, Halstead is easily the cleanest, 21st Street easily the filthiest, each of us with the health inspection histories to show for it. (To be fair, 21st is one of the coolest residences in the world otherwise.) Taos is farther north, nearer to the engineering & math/physics buildings, and it has larger rooms but is a bit rundown [as of early 2012].

The best part of co-op living, of course, is the built-in community. I can easily say that my quality of life is much better for it, and my experience over the past couple years has been such that if Berkeley ends up accepting me, I plan to live in one of the co-ops there. The friendships developed in these environments are many & varied.


Hope that helps someone down the road. In the meanwhile, a few other words of introduction to Austin...

Did you know...

Our natural water pool, Barton Springs, is nearly a quarter mile long & is ~68F all year long.
It is part of Zilker Park, our largest city park, host to the annual 3-day music festival ACL, & this weekend the Zilker Kite Festival.

We have a symphony orchestra with regular concerts, and next door is an event center with bi-weekly roller derby matches---a sport revived right here in Austin!

The Paramount Theatre just a few blocks south of the Capitol (taller than the national Capitol building) runs a classic film series every summer, some in 70mm prints!

We have many other theaters playing foreign, indie, & arthouse flicks, including many limited releases, the Arbor, Violet Crown, & Alamo Drafthouse to name several.

Every Spring Break the city is host to SXSW, which includes a film fest & a whole week of more live music than you can shake a stick at, including more free shows than anyone can possibly attend.

We have a pinball arcade with over 120 pinball tables & many arcade games.

We also have two 24-hour coffeeshops (Epoch on North Loop & Bennu on MLK) & more hipster coffeeshops than I could hope to count. Most of them make very good coffee, and all of them have many bike racks.
Along those lines, the 24-hour eating is good too, with Kerbey Lane a particular local favorite. And you'll never find a more vegetarian friendly city in all the south.

This past summer, with the exception of a couple rural locations between here & Oklahoma, we were literally the hottest swath of the ENTIRE HEMISPHERE. And it was humid. And miserable. But it's only for a few months. If you can survive the heat, which is easy enough if you mostly stay indoors, the rest of the year is great.


That's about all that's coming to mind right now. For people not interested in co-op living, the best places for grad students to live are just north of campus (between 30th St & 53 St near Speedway or Duval St, say) if you want apartment style living, or just east of I-35 (near Manor Rd or MLK) if you want house style living. The crime is no longer in East Austin so much as Southeast Austin (ie south of the river, east of I-35), so it isn't a legitimate worry in the areas near campus any more than it is in west campus.