Austin or Boise?

[GAME05]

I will be getting my Masters degree in May and have no real reason to stay in the Greensboro area. I have friends in/moving to Austin, TX and Boise, ID. I was curious if anyone here has lived or been there, and what your thoughts are.

 

The singles' scene is important to me, and I've heard Austin has a lot of people in their mid-20s. Not to mention I never liked the Wisconsin winters and want a warmer place. And of course who doesn't like live music?

 

Boise certainly has a lot to offer for the outdoors, and I am big into hiking and flat-water kayaking. I don't know a lot else about it, though.

[Nottso]

I've never been to Idaho, but have been to Texas a few times. We like Texas so much that it is on our "short list" of retirement options.

[TooLiveBrew]

This shouldn't even be a question... Austin by a mile

[chadomac]

Agreed. Austin is definitely where you want to go. I know people that live there. It's very liberal, not much like the rest of Texas, great arts/music scene, SXSW, go there.

[Menotti80]

my uncle owns a bar in boise. so that's my pick

[SenatorShriv]

If you prefer outdoor adventure take Idaho for sure. If you prefer live music and the feel of a bigger college go to Austin. I've been to both and you can't really go wrong with either in my opinion.

[craigharmann]

As one who lives in San Antonio....Austin is a great place. The temperature down here gets cold-ish in winter....usually lows are about mid 20-30s.....for a time. Then it warms up. It may snow in Austin once in a blue moon. Summers are hot, but you're trading cold and snow.....so take your pick. There are places to do some kayaking and outdoor stuff....San Marcos and New Braunfels, about halfway between Austin and SA has lots of stuff to do on the Guadalupe River.

[TooLiveBrew]

If you prefer outdoor adventure take Idaho for sure. If you prefer live music and the feel of a bigger college go to Austin. I've been to both and you can't really go wrong with either in my opinion.

I definitely don't think there's anything wrong with Boise -- Austin just rocks. Plus, GAME said he wanted to get away from winter http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[Diskono]

Do you like blue astroturf or not? That should probably be the only question to ask yourself.

[Oldcity]

This would not even be a question for me either. I would love to live in Austin.

[PlayerHader]

I've heard that Boise is actually a pretty sweet place to live for a young adult.

 

I've also heard that Austin is about as sweet as can be. Madison but with warmer weather and hotter women.

[Schlitz001]

Population Aged 20-34

Boise - 24.83%

Austin - 33.75%

 

Average Temperature (July/January/Yearly)

Austin - (84.8/48.8/68.6)

Boise - (74.0/29.0/50.9)

 

Music

Austin - ACL, SxSW, huge local music scene and always on tour schedules

Boise - ummm, they get some big acts occasionally

 

Outdoors

Austin - accessible, if not crowded state parks, lots of bike trails, springs, pools, reservoirs

Boise - elevation, national parks and forests, some of the best hunting in the lower 48, skiing, snowmobiling, backpacking

 

For your preferences I would go with Austin easily. I've been to Austin once and had a great time. It's the place to be if you're single and enjoy music. That said, I've lived in Montana most of my life and been to Boise enough that it would be hard to pry me away from the outdoor activities. I know you've done Georgia to Maine, GAME and the backpacking opportunities in the northern Rockies are incredible. I've never been a big city person, and I love the mountains so the choice is easy for me.

[theavrock]

I had to make somewhat of a similar choice. I was deciding between Austin and Albuquerque. At first it seemed like a no brainer and we were moving to Austin. After some careful thought and deliberation we couldn't decided and ended up flipping a coin and moving to ABQ. I couldn't be happier, although I am sure I would have loved Austin as well.

Since I don't know much about Boise I will stick to what I know about Austin

Pros:

Awesome social scene. Tons of bars, live music and things to do

Warm Weather. Its beautiful there. A little on the muggy side but not as bad as a place like Houston or Florida.

The other big 3 in Texas are all very close. Going to San Antonio, Houston or Dallas is no more than a weekend trip away.

Great Vibe. The city has an amazing energy to it.

Job market and economy in general in TX has been better than most places during the economy

Cons

Expensive housing. At least to live where the action is (Downtown, Congress, Hyde Park etc)

Traffic is awful. The city has grown too fast for its infrastructure.

There is a decent amount of things to do outdoors wise, but the terrain isn't nearly as "interesting" as you would find in the West.

In the end we opted for something a little slower paced, with awesome access to the outdoors and a little cheaper. One major thing that led us to ABQ was the climate. It is the best all year climate in the country. We get four seasons but none of them are that extreme and there is no humidity. That is the one thing that led me away from Austin, but we were in the position were we couldn't really choose a bad city.

 

PS: I'm 26

[bball123h]

Austin and the burbs just finished adding a tollway, so although traffic is bad, it's not as bad as it once was.

 

As far as nature, if you head west from Austin, you'll end up in Hill Country, which has some pretty awesome views. The Round Rock Express are located there, and it's possibly the nicest facility in MiLB. The music scene is awesome, and if you happen to feel like an MLB game, Houston and Arlington are each about a 3-hour drive.

[GAME05]

Thanks everyone for the help.

 

I'll actually be able to move anywhere, but I'm thinking one of these two places just because I'll have friend/s there. I've discovered it makes a big difference whether you enter a place with connections or not. As such, I may also have to consider this in terms of 'Which friend/s would I rather hang out with?'

 

hmmmmmm, Austin's single's age-range and population is far better, yet Boise should have more like-minded people. eh, I could probably think of a counter-argument for everything.

 

Well, I've got time yet to think about it. and heck, maybe if i don't find work within three months in one place, then just move to the other.

[theavrock]

Also the best advice anyone ever gave me was go visit both places and you will know.

[Teatoe993]

My pick would be Austin. It's one of the most exciting cities in the nation. Boise is a nice town no doubt and great scenery. Especially the girls. There's quite a large Latter Day Saints population there and the Mormon girls are stunning. The thing is that you gotta walk em down the isle before you get to sample the goods. You probably won't have that problem in Austin. And they do grow them bigger in Texas so they say.

[Invader3K]

I'd pick Austin on the basis that you could drive to Houston or Arlington to see live MLB games.

 

Also, having seen Game05's posts in other places, I don't think he's going to be interested in LDS girls... (sorry if I'm making incorrect assumptions).

[Schlitz001]

I can't find any data to back me up, but in my experience, the mormon population in Boise is relatively low. Areas in eastern Idaho like Pocatello, Idaho Falls and Rexburg have much larger mormon populations. However, I think it's a fair assessment to say that overall Boise is more religious than Austin.

[GAME05]

admittedly, the singles' scene is a strong variable in my decision. Austin is apparently awesome in general and Boise has more an outdoors crowd, which is more my thing. and Invader is right, LDS girls aren't my type. although Google shows a decent number of churches in Boise that are of my ilk.

 

 

I'm leaning 60% Boise right now, but I've got some time yet. I won't have a ton of money when I leave, but maybe I'll still do my best to take the very long way to Boise by way of Austin, and at least go for a visit.

[Polish Falcons]

I would definitely go to Boise over Austin. It's a somewhat small city, but still has plenty of night life and entertainment options and you are not going to have problem with this singles scene concern, especially if you are going to be in college, come on now. The outdoor entertainment options outside of Boise are hard to beat whether you like hiking, rafting, skiing, snowboarding, biking, fishing, or whatever else people do when they are surrounded by beautiful mountains. As far as the outdoors go I think Boise is vastly underrated which means it is not crowded with tourists and the cost of living is relatively low. The also have a rookie league baseball team.

 

Austin seems kind of like a novelty to me. I'd love to visit but don't see many advantages to living there unless you're the kind of person who needs to be surrounded by cutting edge new live music every day. There is nothing to do in Texas outside of Austin.

[bball123h]

There is nothing to do in Texas outside of Austin.

I assume you've never been.

[Jimbo]

In 2000 I did a road trip through that part of the country. After driving for hours and seeing open space, going by Boise was sort of breath of fresh air. Seemed pretty modern with malls, office parks, airport. Looked liveable. If I had to relocate anywhere in those parts, Boise would be it.

[PlayerHader]

There is nothing to do in Texas outside of Austin.

I assume you've never been.

Also, if you are going to use that as a standard, I'd like to see the list of things to do in Idaho outside of Boise.

[craigharmann]

Austin seems kind of like a novelty to me.

That's like saying "All they do in Milwaukee is brew beer". Go to Austin, visit, and you will be surprised. There's a lot more than just music in Austin. It's a college town, so it's a lot like Madison in that regard, that there's plenty of bars and activities....but because it's in a climate where cold/snow isn't really an issue, there's a lot of outdoor stuff to do, like go to Zilker park, etc. It's a short drive to many scenic areas, and there is absolutely plenty to see, eat and do.