Podunk, USA

[Alamode]

Unless I missed it, no one has mentioned the love Charles Barkley has for our fair city. :rolleyes

Despite his idiotic perceptions, it was nice to hear "Ginobl--eee" one more time, or two.

[leemajors]

san antonio is not a party town. it's not a bad place to live, but i am very glad i live in austin and not there. you can't blame people for saying it's not the greatest or most exciting city to live in.

[Trainwreck2100]

Unless I missed it, no one has mentioned the love Charles Barkley has for our fair city. :rolleyes

Despite his idiotic perceptions, it was nice to hear "Ginobl--eee" one more time, or two.

he thinks Sac is podunk too, but he doesn't bring it up until he has to be there

[Trainwreck2100]

san antonio is not a party town. it's not a bad place to live, but i am very glad i live in austin and not there. you can't blame people for saying it's not the greatest or most exciting city to live in.

Austin>San Antonio

[blaze89]

Unless I missed it, no one has mentioned the love Charles Barkley has for our fair city. :rolleyes


Oh...have a beer and just get over it.

[Scobe]

Who gives a shit what Barkley thinks? I don't want his big, out of control ass here in SA anyway.

[Sec24Row7]

If I wanted to live in some huge Metropolitan I would.

Barkley is from Alabama.

He lives in Arizona.

He doesn't seem like the kind of guy that loves to live in a huge Metroplex either.

He's just flapping his chubby gums.

Don't worry about it.

[T Park]

I love SA the way it is.

If it wants to get bigger thats cool.


It could use some more development true, but i wouldnt be opposed to no more or more.

[SA Gunslinger]

I think he meant SA has great poboys.

[CharlieMac]

I think he meant SA has great poboys.

Bob's Smokehouse agrees.

[exstatic]

Austin also costs like 3 times as much. I paid 132.5 for my 1800 SF house in metro SA. That will get you a 600 SF duplex in a bad Austin neighborhood. Austin is fun, and an hour away, but no thanx on the cost of living. I can always visit for a day trip or a weekend.

And their traffic? Fuck that, man...

[T Park]

Austin don't have exciting basketball to go see in the fall, winter, and spring either :D

[Sspursin06]

Austin don't have exciting basketball to go see in the fall, winter, and spring either :D

haha i live in my favorite American city and i take the drive down to my second favorite city San Antonio all the time to watch the best team in all of sports play and to eat some great food and party hardy.

SA and Austin are the two best cities in the U.S. and I'm so lucky to get to be in both of them alot and that they are so close together. They both give you something other cities dont offer.

[exstatic]

SA and Austin are the two best cities in the U.S. and I'm so lucky to get to be in both of them alot and that they are so close together. They both give you something other cities dont offer.

Here, here!!!

[blackbucket]

Austin is great when you are growing up and San Antonio is great when you are grown up.

As for Charles, he is just ruffling some feathers.

[samikeyp]

SA and Austin are the two best cities in the U.S. and I'm so lucky to get to be in both of them alot and that they are so close together. They both give you something other cities dont offer.

Well said. Its not fair to compare the two because they are totally different. Each has great things to do and between the two, there is something for everyone.

[Vashner]

Austin is white trash capitol of Texas.

[SA210]

SA Rocks!!

[SequSpur]

San Antonio does suck.

[Russ]

san antonio is not a party town.

Make sure you don't show up this weekend. :)

[IX_Equilibrium]

San Antonio does suck.


Then fucking move, asshat

[efrem1]

haha i live in my favorite American city and i take the drive down to my second favorite city San Antonio all the time to watch the best team in all of sports play and to eat some great food and party hardy.

SA and Austin are the two best cities in the U.S. and I'm so lucky to get to be in both of them alot and that they are so close together. They both give you something other cities dont offer.

How about living in New Braunfels and have the best of both worlds within less than an hour's drive? Schiltterbahn rocks!! :hat

[IX_Equilibrium]

For what I am looking for in a city, SA serves me much better than Austin would. In fact, I would prefer living nowhere else, and that is after living all across the country. SA is where I will stay.

[SequSpur]

San Antonio is a shithole. Shitty wages, shitty companies, shitty everything. Outside of the Spurs and a creek, what else is there to do?

[T Park]

GTFO, you arent tall enough to live here anyways.

Your lucky the city is tolerant.

[SequSpur]

GTFO, you arent tall enough to live here anyways.

Your lucky the city is tolerant.

oh yeah... spurs and carnival rides during the rodeo and fiesta.

San Antonio is awesome!

[efrem1]

San Antonio is a shithole. Shitty wages, shitty companies, shitty everything. Outside of the Spurs and a creek, what else is there to do?

Hey SequSpur. It might be rathole, but at least you don't have to take a 5,000-year mortgage out on your home like they do here in Sacto. The weather is nice here and there is a lot to see and do, but the traffic is terrible and some of these clowns here in Sacto actually commute 3 hours a day to the Bay Area to their work. No thanks!! :smokin

[mikejones99]

San Antonio is better than most. Just imagine if you had to live in Camden or Detroit?

[Buddy Holly]

That's Sequ's little angry dwarf schtick. Pay no attention.

[timvp]

That's Sequ's little angry dwarf schtick. Pay no attention.

Translation: :madrun

[Solid D]

Sequ, with an attitude like that, I wouldn't blame the collective city of San Antonio to return it's regards of you in kind.

[whottt]

As someone who has lived in both places(Grew up here in Austin, and live here now)...

Austing fucking sucks....it's the Tracy MaGrady, Chris Webber and Kenyon Martin of cities....a lot of freaking hype about absolutely nothing. The traffic sucks, most of the people that live here now are rude yankees that don't know how to fucking drive, that take some kind of pride in living because it used to be a nice town before all the ahole moved in, and it's culture isn't much...the only culture here is being a freaking UT homer and getting drunk.

If you aren't an alcoholic who likes to spend 99% of his time in bars and the rest of the time being brainwashed by UT, there really isn't shit to do here.

There's a hell of a lot more to do in SA if you ask me...and guess what, you can get drunk in San Antonio too.

SA is under-rated as a city and Austin is way freaking over-rated.

After you get out of highschool IE you out grow sixth street, there isn't shit to do here except, still go to 6th street and get drunk, or go out to the lake and get drunk...I have never understood why people think Austin is such a great town...it used to be fun years ago, when it was surrounded by trees and hills...but that's shit is gone and developed now. Now it's a city that thinks it's king shit but is really just a bunch of freaking bars and assholes tha think they're special.

SA's got more cultural diversity, it's got more history, it's cheaper to live there, it's less stressful to live there, and there is a greater variation of things to do there...hell at least SA has a Sea World...there are only like 3 cities in the US that can say that...it's got a great zoo, better radio stations, amusment parks...tourist attractions....Austin doesn't have shit except a bunch of alcoholic snobs that think this city is great and think they have culture because they live in a city with a big ass University(that's really just a club for a bunch of good old boys) no one can really tell you why it's such a great place, it damn sure isn't because of the people..they're assholes...

Fuck Austin...even the radio stations are better in SA.

[Buddy Holly]

Austin is way freaking over-rated.

Yep.

I've heard that many times.

[Trainwreck2100]

If you aren't an alcoholic who likes to spend 99% of his time in bars and the rest of the time being brainwashed by UT, there really isn't shit to do here.
:tu

[SenorSpur]

If I wanted to live in some huge Metropolitan I would.

Barkley is from Alabama.

He lives in Arizona.

He doesn't seem like the kind of guy that loves to live in a huge Metroplex either.

He's just flapping his chubby gums.

Don't worry about it.

That's Leeds Alabama to be precise. If there is anyone that knows podunk, it's the round mound of rebound.

[Lebowski Brickowski]

San Antonio will always be my home -- where I grew up and I love it for that. There is some lameness about it but even that adds to the appeal in a campy sort of way.
I've lived in Austin for the last 3.5 years and I'll say this: I'm suprised that the food can rival the food in S.A. For some reason though the people aren't as fat. :elephant :lol Unfortunately the bar scene and the Longhorns dominate most of Austin "culture." It gets really old. Another issue is all the people who think they are hip because they live here. Austin probably has the largest concentration of "metro-sexuals" (translation: idiots) in the USA. Bunch of imbeciles imo.
BUT -- the Austin music scene is NOT overrated or overhyped. On any given night I can find a good jazz, blues, rock, folk, country, or hip-hop show. Frickin awesome music scene. Blows San Antonio away. (even counting the White Rabbit. hahahaha)
Personally I prefer SA for it's easy going nature. Big city with a small town feel. Too bad it's sprawling out like some kind of amoeba. :lol Trying to become Dallas (where I used to live also.)
That one poster on here with all the SA Metroplex population figures and maps and shit can attest to that.

[Jimcs50]

Here, here!!!


The idiom is hear hear, not here here.


:lol

[Ishta]

After thinking that SA sucked, I moved away for 7 long years. I am now back, and will never move anywhere else again. Sometimes you don't appreciate what you have until it's not there anymore. Take it from someone who knows. There is nowhere I would rather raise my children, and live my life than in this so called podunk town. Leave if you want, but you will regret it.

[Jimcs50]

SA is a tourist city, so if you are in the tourism industry, you will do fine, but you can not make the money there that you can make elsewhere(like Austin, Houston and Dallas) The wages are the lowest in the nation for cities of similar population, that is true. That was why I moved here when I became a dentist. But, if money is not an issue with you, then SA is a great city to live. I love going back home to visit, but I can not have the lifestyle there that I can have here or elsewhere. It is a personal choice, and people should not worry about what someone says about your city, if you love your city.

Barkley mentioned podunk, because he said that the Alamo is still the main deal in SA, and that they do not have some of the things that he likes there. He was just fucking with y'all.

[Jimcs50]

After thinking that SA sucked, I moved away for 7 long years. I am now back, and will never move anywhere else again. Sometimes you don't appreciate what you have until it's not there anymore. Take it from someone who knows. There is nowhere I would rather raise my children, and live my life than in this so called podunk town. Leave if you want, but you will regret it.

That is funny, because I think a smaller city is much better to raise children than SA. SA is a dangerous city and is loaded with pedophiles. My brother in law is a Captain in the Bexar County Sheriffs Dept and from what I hear from him all the time, SA is not a safe place for kids.

[Ishta]

That is funny, because I think a smaller city is much better to raise children than SA. SA is a dangerous city and is loaded with pedophiles. My brother in law is a Captain in the Bexar County Sheriffs Dept and from what I hear from him all the time, SA is not a safe place for kids.Compared to Dallas...SA is great. EVERY city has it's share of problems, and dangerous pitfalls, but I'd take SA over them all.If you want to live somewhere that is completley "safe" please let all of us know where this "place" is.

[Jimcs50]

Compared to Dallas...SA is great. EVERY city has it's share of problems, and dangerous pitfalls, but I'd take SA over them all.If you want to live somewhere that is completley "safe" please let all of us know where this "place" is.

I said smaller city. The point is if you want a nice place to raise kids, a smaller city is better than a large city. SA according to my bro in law has more pedophiles/capita than any city in the US. That is scary.

[batman2883]

san antonio is not a party town. it's not a bad place to live, but i am very glad i live in austin and not there. you can't blame people for saying it's not the greatest or most exciting city to live in.
WERE NOT A PARTY TOWN?? WERENT WE VOTED THE NUMBER 1 BINGE DRINKING CITY IN THE WORLD LIKE 3 YEARS STRAIGHT OR SOMETHING??

[Jimcs50]

WERE NOT A PARTY TOWN?? WERENT WE VOTED THE NUMBER 1 BINGE DRINKING CITY IN THE WORLD LIKE 3 YEARS STRAIGHT OR SOMETHING??

That is something to be proud of.

:lol

[SA210]

San Antonio > Austin

[batman2883]

That is something to be proud of.

:lol
SHIT IM DAMN PROUD OF THAT..LOL YEAH!!! BUT I LOVE AUSTIN THOUGH

[ObiwanGinobili]

I grew up poor in Connecticut (with the cost of living and state income tax.. thats not a place where you should live if your poor) and then moved to Texas.
wow. what a difference. suddnelty I could afford to put gas in the car AND eat. :tu
awesome.

5 yrs later I moved to San Antonio. double WOW. this place ROCKS. :spin After goign thru most of my teen and early marriage years in shitty Victoria.. I really appreciate SA. there is ALOT to do here. I don;t know why people say there is nothing to do. Are they lookign for some clown to come over and entertain them?? What exactly are they needing??
I will never ever move from San Antonio. I love it! It is my home. And if I get poor again I know I can survive, and thats cool.

[Lebowski Brickowski]

Are they lookign for some clown to come over and entertain them?? :lol

[spurs_fan_in_exile]

Gotta love San Antonio. Taco Cabana every hundred yards, humidity that doesn't exceed 400%, no mosquitoes that could carry off house pets or roaches the size of an Explorer-it's sure as hell got Houston beat. The surrounding area is great too. Even if you hate SA there's tons of stuff to do that's less than an hour away. You got Schlitterbahn, tubing, you can go to Austin or Gruene or any other number of those little German settled towns for a day. Here in H-Town you drive for an hour and you're still in Houston.

When it comes time to have kids and such me and easjer want to move back to the San Antonio area.

[SA210]

San Antonio does suck.
What are we missing that you need?

[Jimcs50]

What are we missing that you need?


A good golf instructor?


:spin

[leemajors]

Austin is white trash capitol of Texas.

visit east texas.

[leemajors]

As someone who has lived in both places(Grew up here in Austin, and live here now)...

Austing fucking sucks....it's the Tracy MaGrady, Chris Webber and Kenyon Martin of cities....a lot of freaking hype about absolutely nothing. The traffic sucks, most of the people that live here now are rude yankees that don't know how to fucking drive, that take some kind of pride in living because it used to be a nice town before all the ahole moved in, and it's culture isn't much...the only culture here is being a freaking UT homer and getting drunk.

If you aren't an alcoholic who likes to spend 99% of his time in bars and the rest of the time being brainwashed by UT, there really isn't shit to do here.

There's a hell of a lot more to do in SA if you ask me...and guess what, you can get drunk in San Antonio too.

SA is under-rated as a city and Austin is way freaking over-rated.

After you get out of highschool IE you out grow sixth street, there isn't shit to do here except, still go to 6th street and get drunk, or go out to the lake and get drunk...I have never understood why people think Austin is such a great town...it used to be fun years ago, when it was surrounded by trees and hills...but that's shit is gone and developed now. Now it's a city that thinks it's king shit but is really just a bunch of freaking bars and assholes tha think they're special.

SA's got more cultural diversity, it's got more history, it's cheaper to live there, it's less stressful to live there, and there is a greater variation of things to do there...hell at least SA has a Sea World...there are only like 3 cities in the US that can say that...it's got a great zoo, better radio stations, amusment parks...tourist attractions....Austin doesn't have shit except a bunch of alcoholic snobs that think this city is great and think they have culture because they live in a city with a big ass University(that's really just a club for a bunch of good old boys) no one can really tell you why it's such a great place, it damn sure isn't because of the people..they're assholes...

Fuck Austin...even the radio stations are better in SA.

austin was a lot nicer when i moved here 11 years ago, but right now i have a 3/2 house with a half acre yard i am renting in north central austin for under 1k a month, i can't really complain. i have a year old daughter and only have to drive 10 minutes to work at apple. i can't really complain about radio cause i only listen to AM and have SIRIUS for music. i don't really have time to go downtown so i can't complain about the alcoholic snobs. sxsw is the worst thing to ever happen to austin - it brought in all those pricks and it hoses the city for 2 weeks, besides only having one or two bands worth seeing.

[Scobe]

Austin don't have exciting basketball to go see in the fall, winter, and spring either :D
i love watching Longhorn Basketball... wish they would get their act together in the Tournament...

[word]

Unless I missed it, no one has mentioned the love Charles Barkley has for our fair city. :rolleyes

Despite his idiotic perceptions, it was nice to hear "Ginobl--eee" one more time, or two.

SA IS a podunk town. So what ? Housing is cheap, services are cheap, and the weather is good.

I moved here specifically for those reasons.

[SA210]

It's not podunk.

[Hook Dem]

visit east texas.
Exactly!

[Scobe]

Cost of Living, Cost of Living, Cost of Living. I run internet businesses so my income is consistent no matter where I move to. But there are two places that I have residences... SA area and Rio Grande Valley (my hometown is McAllen - I have resi in Port Isabelle). The reason is that I like both places and both places are extremely reasonable to live. If you take out the cost of gas these days there really isn't anything very expensive. I had a place in Monterrey, CA for a year and that was extremely expensive. After doing that I came to my senses and went where I could get the most of what I want for the least cost. I can't complain about SA. That guy earlier mentioned that he has a 3/2 house on an acre for less than 1 k/month... my place in Monterrey was a flat for 2.5K /month. Big Difference.

[word]

I run internet businesses so my income is consistent no matter where I move to.

Pr0n ?

[IX_Equilibrium]

I've lived in Austin for the last 3.5 years and I'll say this: I'm suprised that the food can rival the food in S.A.


I've heard several people from Austin comment that they were impressed and envious of the vareity and amount of good restaurants here in San Antonio. These Austinites say that there are good places in Austin, but you just keep going to them over and over again and it becomes monotonous.

[rascal]

Housing is cheap, services are cheap, and the weather is good.

I moved here specifically for those reasons.

The weather is bad. I wouldn't call 95-100 degrees for 6-7 months straight good weather.

[T Park]

I wouldn't call 95-100 degrees for 6-7 months straight good weather.

what, would you rather be mired in the 30s?


God are you ever freakin happy?

Oughtta change his title from improve the Spurs to Eeyore.

[Jimcs50]

what, would you rather be mired in the 30s?


God are you ever freakin happy?

Oughtta change his title from improve the Spurs to Eeyore.

Tpark, there is a median betw SA's 95-100 90% humidity and 30 degrees that you speak of.

SA is hot as hell, it is hot here too, but still better than SA, and the humidity is lower in most areas of the country.

The best weather in the world is San Diego, but it also the most expensive area to live too.

[T Park]

The best weather in the world is San Diego

yeah I know, i do business there from June through July, second best is Newport Beach, where i am all of July and part of August :smokin

[word]

The weather is bad. I wouldn't call 95-100 degrees for 6-7 months straight good weather.

More like 4 months. I lived in Minneapolis for 11 years, Denver for 5 ( Denver has great weather BTW, the most under-rated in the US but Minnesota is down right misery.

All I know is, I've never had to scrape heat off my windshield or go let my car run for 20 minutes to cool it off or dodge snow plows or drive through slush and ice or wear a ten pound coat to go the mailbox or take my shoes off just to walk in my house so it won't ruin the carpet.. for 8 months AND.....AND...I've never had a $400 gas bill in San Antonio OR a $400 electric bill.

Antother small thing I found in SA. Trash removal. In Denver and in Minnesota you could put out ONE 45 gal trash can out once per week. If it didn't fit in that trashcan, they didn't take it. You couldn't put anything out on the curb or in garbage bags. ( trucks had those automatic lifters. No person ever touched your trash ) and if it wasn't in the right place and they couldn't get to it to lift with that automatic arm thing, you just had a full trashcan that evening.

IN SA they come TWICE a week in my neighborhood and you could put a fockin' COUCH out there and they'd take it I think. I've seen people put out all sorts of stuff, in ungodly amounts and they pick it up. I redid two bathrooms and put out two sinks and counter tops. They picked it up.

Amazing. Not too many cities you'll find that....

[IX_Equilibrium]

Antother small thing I found in SA. Trash removal. In Denver and in Minnesota you could put out ONE 45 gal trash can out once per week. If it didn't fit in that trashcan, they didn't take it. You couldn't put anything out on the curb or in garbage bags. ( trucks had those automatic lifters. No person ever touched your trash ) and if it wasn't in the right place and they couldn't get to it to lift with that automatic arm thing, you just had a full trashcan that evening.

IN SA they come TWICE a week in my neighborhood and you could put a fockin' COUCH out there and they'd take it I think. I've seen people put out all sorts of stuff, in ungodly amounts and they pick it up. I redid two bathrooms and put out two sinks and counter tops. They picked it up.

Amazing. Not too many cities you'll find that....

Great point, but you don't have to go all the way to Denver or MN to find strict limitations. It's that way in Austin.

[word]

Exactly. I lived in Austin for 4 years between Denver and Mpls. That's what I'm saying, the price of services, all services, in SA is dirt cheap. Whether it's trash removal, having your lawn cared for, your house painted, your car worked on. There is an abundance of cheap labor in San Antonio. Restaurants are cheap, bars are cheap...my house, in Denver would cost twice what it is here, if not more. Same as in Minneapolis or Austin.

SA has some good points. For me they over ride the bad things. My youngest is in highschool in Apple Valley MN, a suburb of Mpls/St. Paul. I assure you, he's getting a better education than he would be were he here with me. If I had kids of school age living with me, SA would be last on my list of places to live. It just has to fit for you. Every place has it's plus's and minus's.

[Jimcs50]

I've heard several people from Austin comment that they were impressed and envious of the vareity and amount of good restaurants here in San Antonio. These Austinites say that there are good places in Austin, but you just keep going to them over and over again and it becomes monotonous.

Guero's Restuarant on So. Congress is great. They have great drinks and music outdoors.

[tlongII]

Then fucking move, asshat

I'm surprised that SequSpur hasn't had your sig banned.

[Mixability]

carnival rides during the rodeo and fiesta.

don't knock em until you're tall enough to ride them.

[greyforest]

whoever was knocking on SA's public school system: jesus you cant be more right

i hate having spent so much of my childhood in school gluing dumbass shit together. a child's brain can learn several orders of magnitude faster than an adult's, and NISD fucking wasted that on gluing dumbass shit together. now im doing differential equations, wishing that they taught math worth a god damn in my public schools.

[IX_Equilibrium]

I'm surprised that SequSpur hasn't had your sig banned.


I'm surprised that his punk ass isn't banned.

[Scobe]

Lets ban everyone's punk asses.

[Jimcs50]

whoever was knocking on SA's public school system: jesus you cant be more right

i hate having spent so much of my childhood in school gluing dumbass shit together. a child's brain can learn several orders of magnitude faster than an adult's, and NISD fucking wasted that on gluing dumbass shit together. now im doing differential equations, wishing that they taught math worth a god damn in my public schools.

I am sure there are a lot of careers that require one to glue a lot of shit together...so stop complaining.

[LilMissSPURfect]

I am sure there are a lot of careers that require one to glue a lot of shit together...so stop complaining.

and where can i get me one of those jim? i will soon be a PUBLIC school graduate...... :elephant and need a job in podunk uSA! :angel

[word]

I am sure there are a lot of careers that require one to glue a lot of shit together...so stop complaining.

True story, about ...damn...let me count....30 years ago when I lived in Albuquerque, one of my friends little brother went to a temp agency and came home with a card for his job assignment...

'Pine Cone Gluer'

I kid you not. We laughed so hard we damn near puked. But THERE's a job you can do with glue.

[jn77]

Austin is white trash capitol of Texas.

Actually Abilene is the white trash capitol of Texas. San Antonio is an awesome place to live! I liked Austin in my younger days, but as I got older I learned to appreciate San Antonio's vibe. I love it! As for Charles he has a "idiotic comment" quota. He was just trying to get his in so TNT didn't dock his pay!

[word]

Actually Abilene is the white trash capitol of Texas. San Antonio is an awesome place to live! I liked Austin in my younger days, but as I got older I learned to appreciate San Antonio's vibe. I love it! As for Charles he has a "idiotic comment" quota. He was just trying to get his in so TNT didn't dock his pay!

I'd have to go more with some east Texas place like Beumont on that one.

That 'San Antonio Vibe'. That's kinda funny. But I'm with ya', SA is an acquired taste but knocking Austin is just foolish. One of the greatest midsize cities in the US and easily one of the top 5 college towns.

I somewhat see Austin/SA/New Braunfels/San Marcos as one metro area. The area hands down beats Dallas/Ft. Worth and Houston, imho.

[jn77]

I agree about Austin/SA/New Braunfels/ San Marcos I would much rather hang in that area than go to Dallas/Ft Worth!

[austinfan]

As is obvious from my username, I live in Austin and I've been here since my family moved here from South Texas (Kingsville) in the mid-1970s. I like Austin for the parks, the music, the whole funky "Keep Austin Weird" vibe, the politics, the way people spend so much time outdoors. Am not crazy about the cult worshipping of the UT football program, the traffic, the high cost of living, the mini-Dallas or Houston look of the city when you get north of 183, or the heat.

We drive through SA fairly regularly to visit my grandfather, who's ill, and I like the city for its sleepy pace, the art museums (which are better overall than Austin's), the Latino influence, I *love* the King William district, and the Mexican food blows away anything we have in Austin. People here always go on about how great the Mexican food is (and places like Manuel's and Curra's and Guero's are good) but they're nowhere near the level of what you find in San Antonio. It's the only other city in Texas, besides maybe Corpus, where I'd consider living.

Edited to add: I wish we had light rail between the two cities. Would make it a lot easier to see Spurs games without having to put your life at risk on the death trap that is IH-35.

[greyforest]

they were talking about a bullet train between SA and austin, but that never happened.

[SA210]

I love Austin and I love SA. I see alot of problems with both, but I love them both better than anywhere else.

I do see Austin as overrated and San Antonio as underrated to be honest.

[fyatuk]

Edited to add: I wish we had light rail between the two cities. Would make it a lot easier to see Spurs games without having to put your life at risk on the death trap that is IH-35.

It is being worked on. The current project is the ASA rail (Austin-San Antonio Intermunicpal Rail). Current plan is for it to run from Georgetown to South San Antonio along a Union Pacific Right of Way (recent agreements have been made for Union Pacific to route through freight traffic off that route). I think it's currently planned to have 15 stations through the corridor on local service and take 170 minutes for the entire length of the line. They also plan on doing express routes from downtown Austin to downtown SA in 90 minutes or something like that.

It is still in the planning stages though they think they can get it operating by 2010.

http://www.asarail.org

[word]

Am not crazy about the cult worshipping of the UT football program, the traffic, the high cost of living, the mini-Dallas or Houston look of the city when you get north of 183, or the heat.



You live in a COLLEGE town with a university that consistantly ranks in the top three of student population in the US with a team that just won a national title and you're tired of 'cult' worship ?

Hell, aTm is a cult my friend and they haven't won jack shit since anyone can remember. .

The traffic in Austin is absolutely atrocious. Move to Denver, although I lived pre T-rex and during the T-rex project to widen I-25. My god....made Austin traffic look.....downright light. San Antonio traffic is a blessing in comparison although...ALTHOUGH....some of the worst drivers I've ever seen in my life are in this town. Rude, inconsiderate, aggressive. Dangerous when it gets right down to it.

The 'look' is just the newer parts. I lived in the Clarksville area when I lived there and that's a nice old neighborhood. I stumbled home many times from the Tavern. Now that was a great bar before the owners sold it and screwed it up.... I worked at Applied Research Labs on the JJ Pickle campus. ( Braker & Burnett ) Traffic wasn't THAT bad but I was going the other way out of DT.

I've never heard of any part of Austin refered to as a mini-dallas. I have heard of deep ellum referred to as mini-austin.

My greatest memories of Austin are of the late 70's and early 80's and the original Antones on Guadalupe and the Austin Opry House...Used to go see SRV before anyone ever heard of him outside of Texas or thought he might be famous....

A few years ago I ran into Clifford Antone and asked him if he remembered the night SRV, his brother Jimmy, Jr. Wells, Buddy Guy and Brian Setzer played till 4:00 AM at his old club.

He says, yeah I have pictures of that. I think that was 1983 or so.

The stray cats were playing at Erwin that night and they showed up. I saw Brian Setzer leaning against wall drinking a beer and I went over to him and tried to talk to him. All he said was, 'I want to play with those guys....'

Hell I'm nobody. All I could say was, 'well then go up there and pick up a guitar and play.'

He did. And it pissed Jr. Wells off big time. He'd never heard of him or the Stray Cats. But it all worked out and fun was had by all.

Austin ? I love that focking town. And as they say every year, 'It's nothing like it used to be.'

And that is true.

[austinfan]

You live in a COLLEGE town with a university that consistantly ranks in the top three of student population in the US with a team that just won a national title and you're tired of 'cult' worship ?


You know, I don't know what it is, and I probably need to hand in my Native Texas card, but I don't get football. Doesn't matter if it's college, pro, indoor, outdoor. Naturally I tried to disguise this fact in polite conversation after UT won the championship. :)

And I've heard people refer to far North Austin as South Dallas because of the endless big-box stores, the traffic, the cookie-cutter subdivisions.

Great story about Brian Setzer and the Stray Cats!

[word]

Wow. College Football is the greatest of all sports IMHO. Nothing beats the passion and tradition of a 100+ year old rilvary. Texas/OU, Michigan/Ohio State....Florida/Georgia...Tennesee/Bama ? Notre Dame/USC....

People yap about the Lakers/Boston rivalry or ....whatever. The NBA, the NFL and even MLB is a blip on the map compared to college football my friend.

They all pale in comparison.

North Austin compared to South Dallas ? Have you ever BEEN to south Dallas ?

Or is this a round rock/waxahachie comparison ?

[redskinfan]

wher is jimcs from?

[redskinfan]

I remember when I used to work in Austin,a customer of mine (ice cream) asked where I was from I told him San Antonio, He said he liked the river walk but said it was too hot in SA, I told him to leave his parka at home next time. Austinites are the most obnoxiuos people in the state evn worse than Dallas.

[Mark in Austin]

Barkley was just yanking everybody's chain... we gave him so much shit in '03 when TNT started broadcasting from the SBC that he's just giving it back... nothing wrong with some good smack talk. Hell, he almost started cracking up as he said it, know how crayyyyzzzzeeeee it was going to drive some people.

The San Antonio vs Austin thing is so tired. A couple thoughts:

1. I grew up in San Antonio and have lived in Austin for seven years now. They're both great cities with great futures. How great they become has a lot to do with leadership and citizen education and involvement. They could both turn into smaller versions of Houston - anytown, USA sprawl for miles - or something better.

Not all growth is good - if you look at people, cancer is a form of growth. And you can grow just by gaining weight - also unhealthy. But with discipline, making hard but well thought out choices, eating right, exercise, and a little luck, the odds are good you will grow to become a healthy adult. If you continue your healthy habits, the odds are much better that you stay healthy.

The same is true of Cities. Great cities don't just happen. A lot of hard work, sacrifice, and long-term planning has to go into them. Austin's high percentage of parks and accessible green space per capita is a good example. It's one of the quality of life attributes that employers consistantly site when they rank Austin highly for places to move to. As it grows, though, it becomes harder to maintain that high ratio of parks to people, and difficult choices will have to be made about green space aquisition and how it fits in the strained budgets of a growing region.

San Antonio has its own set of issues. I think the key for both cities is not losing site of long range goals, planning and principles in the frenzy of everyday, more immediate issues. If we as citizens and the officeholders we elect don't frame the choices we make everyday within the context of the long-range plan, it makes it very difficult to have a healthy, sustainable city. Going back to the earlier metaphor of human growth as city growth, cities have their own versions of watching what they eat and drink, getting exercise, and not smoking. It can sometimes be difficult to stick with these principles, but it is easier when you're always keeping the end goal in mind.

2. Two of my favorite places in the world are in San Antonio and Austin - the McNay Art Museum and Zilker Park. I'll spare ya'll a long trip down memory lane, but whenever I go to either place, I leave in a better mood then when I show up. There is something that's tremendously healing about both places for me, so both cities will always be special places to me.

3. There was a high speed-rail triangle proposed with legs between San Antonio, Houston and Dallas-Austin years ago. A small, but well funded and highly influential cadre of landowners and businesses (Southwest Airlines in particular) was able to kill it. The new (slower, more limited and less of a threat to SW) commuter rail line between Sa and Austin looks like it might happen, but I wouldn't hold my breath for it yet.

[Buddy Holly]

San Antonio needs to get local light rail going before we discuss any commuter rail between metro areas.

It's been what, 7years since the last light rail vote, its time we stop letting those little groups ruin great things like light rail.

[Blobit]

You live in a COLLEGE town with a university that consistantly ranks in the top three of student population in the US with a team that just won a national title and you're tired of 'cult' worship ?

Hell, aTm is a cult my friend and they haven't won jack shit since anyone can remember. .
The traffic in Austin is absolutely atrocious. Move to Denver, although I lived pre T-rex and during the T-rex project to widen I-25. My god....made Austin traffic look.....downright light. San Antonio traffic is a blessing in comparison although...ALTHOUGH....some of the worst drivers I've ever seen in my life are in this town. Rude, inconsiderate, aggressive. Dangerous when it gets right down to it.

The 'look' is just the newer parts. I lived in the Clarksville area when I lived there and that's a nice old neighborhood. I stumbled home many times from the Tavern. Now that was a great bar before the owners sold it and screwed it up.... I worked at Applied Research Labs on the JJ Pickle campus. ( Braker & Burnett ) Traffic wasn't THAT bad but I was going the other way out of DT.

I've never heard of any part of Austin refered to as a mini-dallas. I have heard of deep ellum referred to as mini-austin.

My greatest memories of Austin are of the late 70's and early 80's and the original Antones on Guadalupe and the Austin Opry House...Used to go see SRV before anyone ever heard of him outside of Texas or thought he might be famous....

A few years ago I ran into Clifford Antone and asked him if he remembered the night SRV, his brother Jimmy, Jr. Wells, Buddy Guy and Brian Setzer played till 4:00 AM at his old club.

He says, yeah I have pictures of that. I think that was 1983 or so.

The stray cats were playing at Erwin that night and they showed up. I saw Brian Setzer leaning against wall drinking a beer and I went over to him and tried to talk to him. All he said was, 'I want to play with those guys....'

Hell I'm nobody. All I could say was, 'well then go up there and pick up a guitar and play.'

He did. And it pissed Jr. Wells off big time. He'd never heard of him or the Stray Cats. But it all worked out and fun was had by all.

Austin ? I love that focking town. And as they say every year, 'It's nothing like it used to be.'

And that is true.

Texas AM is a huge cult. And they suck at everything. My boss wont even hire more than one aggie because they become "clickish" and will refuse to socialize with anyone else. Those people are certifiable nut jobs and should be shot in the dark with a rusty bullet.

[SA Gunslinger]

I love cali and Austin is as close to cali as there is in Texas. If I ever get some cash accumulated to build a home, it would a tough choice between Austin and SA.

I love SA because it's home. Also, my best friend once told me that beautiful girls grow on trees in San Antonio. I would have to agree.

[Dos]

I am for building a wall around new braunfels to keep you all out ... lol.. the boom is coming from san antonio and pretty much the san marcos / austin area...

[Jimcs50]

wher is jimcs from?

Grew up in SA from 4th grade through HS, went to Univ of Maryland and SWTSU for undergrad, moved to College Station after getting my DDS degree from UT Health Science Center at San Antonio. Lived here ever since.

I like Austin and SA to visit, but do not want to live in either one. Like the whole smaller city lifestyle.

Also lived in Cali, Nevada, Virginia and Maryland. That is why am a Redskins fans.

[fyatuk]

San Antonio needs to get local light rail going before we discuss any commuter rail between metro areas.

It's been what, 7years since the last light rail vote, its time we stop letting those little groups ruin great things like light rail.

I'd be all for it... as long as it isn't a VIA proposal...