Rules for living in Austin

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This was sent to me at work the other day. Most of it rings pretty true. Enjoy!

1. First, it's pronounced AWS-TUN. It doesn't matter how they say it in other places.

2. Forget the traffic rules you learned elsewhere. Austin has it's own set of traffic rules. There's no book about them. All you can do is get in your car and hope you survive to learn them.

3. All directions start with " Go down Mopac...'cause you don't want to get on I-35."

4. Burnet, Braker, and Lamar have no beginning and no end.

5. It's impossible to go around a block and wind up on the same street that you started on. The Chamber of Commerce calls this a scenic drive"

6. The 8:00 am rush hour is from 6:30am to 9:30am. The 5:00pm rush hour is from 3:30pm to 7:15pm. Friday's rush hour starts on Thursday morning.

7. If you actually stop at a yellow light, then you cannot be from Austin. You may only apply your brakes when the end of a yellow light and the beginning of the red light create a "burnt-orange" hue

8. If you like being an individual, don't even think of working for Dell. You'll be branded like cattle and made to walk all over town with your "Dell tag" around your neck or clipped on to your belt loop. About 98% of the people within a 200 mile radius work for Dell. When someone says "Michael Dell", Dell employees are trained to face Round Rock, hit their knees, put their face to the ground, weep, and rock back and forth.

9. Just remember that Mopac is Loop 1, Capital of Texas Hwy is 360, and Research and Ed Bluestein are 183. And 2222 is Northland or Allendale or Koenig. Don't try to figure it out. Just accept it. If you question the intelligence behind this naming invention, people will simply tilt their heads to the right and stare at you.

10. Do not attempt to access any road after an apocalyptic event like snow, a UT football game, or South X Southwest.

11. Construction on I-35 is a way of life, and a permanent form of entertainment. Get used to it!

12. Keep in mind that the sloppily dressed "hippie" in sandals and earrings is probably the latest IPO millionaire around here.

13. Stay away from the Congress Ave bridge at sundown if you don't like the thought of being in an Alfred Hitchcock movie.

14. And, yes, we all know there's a man in a teddy and tiara on Congress. It's Leslie, and he probably makes more money than you do.
 
I saw a similar list of rules for Dallas and for Houston. I think someone changed a few street names and sporting events to make one for each city...
That being said it is pretty true but could use a few more pronunciation keys: Burnet is "burn-it," Koenig is "k-nig" and Manchaca is "man-shack." One of my pet peeves is people that pronounce Burnet 'bur-NET.'
 
The traffic rules are bogus - go to Houston, Austin's traffic isn't that bad. Red light running isn't as bad as H-town either...

Other than that - good list...
 
i don't get all the bitching about austin traffic. has anyone ever been to houston or LA? there's no "rush hour" in those cities - seems like permanent gridlock. it takes me 10 minutes to get from my house to downtown, maybe 15 in traffic. in houston, the same distance would take at least 30 minutes.
 
Austin was made for about 500k people, not the 1 million we have now.

Please tell me what is so special about that town. I lived there for 9 years and haven't figured it out... The traffic is the worst I have ever seen. How long does it take to get from Leander or Cedar Park to downtown? What about RR to downtown?

The housing is double what it would cost you in Houston or Dallas. Well maybe not double but 40-50% higher. The property taxes are outrageous. The selection of shopping and dining are inferior to Houston or Dallas.

there is nothing special about Austin and if one is over 32 yo, I suggest you leave, because this town is meant for kids.
 
PC,
if you care about small eateries, there are plenty in Dallas or Houston, plus you will get the entire gamut of ethnicities. Here in Plano of all places, I have an Indian, Chinese and Italian place within 5 minutes of me, none of which are a chain. If you want to eat at a fancy place, you will find 5 star places all over Dallas, from all over the world.

Austin has lost its charm for about 20 years. Traffic is horrendous, there is no place to park, real estate is overpriced, the good places to live are much beyond the reach of the middle class (West of Mopac). Ced Park/Leander/Round Rock are lousy places to live and too far out with painful commutes. Also, as I said, if someone is over 32, I suggest leaving to a more mature city like Houston or Dallas. Austin is geared for the single 18-32 party-outdoorsy-hippie-fratty-techie crowd. I lived there for 9 years and glad I got out.
 
I just can't force myself to pay $300K for a 2000 square foot shack thats only draw is that you don't have to drive an hour to get everywhere. Housing is ridiculous for what you get.
 
Went to school there until '99 and still go back every year for some football games. It's changed a lot in that amount of time. Austin has just as many strip malls as Dallas/Houston per capita, people. The only unique things left about Austin compared to Dallas is that the bums are high instead of drunk, the University and topography. That's it.
 

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