Phoenix vs Austin

[Corbic]

So I've committed myself to finally getting out of this Midwest hell and move to warmer pastures.

I'm more or less torn.

I've already nixed Seattle/Portland areas off the list due to sheer cost. Florida and my native Georgia are also low because of the humidity and bugs.

Phoenix and Austin are the top of the list these days.

Phoenix and the surrounding desert is beautifully. Housing is affordable, it's hot all year with no snow and seems to be a busy happening place.

The downside is the mass influx of snow birds, students and satellite kids every winter. Drivers seem to be horrific, putting Miami and Atlanta to shame. I also worry over time I may actually miss green.

Recently, my two friends moved to Austin. They rave constantly about the entertainment, dating scene and overall better vibe of the city. It helps they also love their jobs.

City is expanding and job market appears to be better then Phoenix. Downside is housing is now Colorado expensive and on its way to being West Cost priced. It's also ungodly humid in the summer.

I've never been to Austin (going this Thanksgiving) but I'm not a huge fan of Dallas/FT Worth, to which I've been multiple times.

Other person considerations.

I own firearms, hi-caps and have a CCW. Both states are a go.

I have a big brown dog of the bully breed. I'm unaware of any BSL in the Austin/Phoenix areas.

I have a 600whp Cobra. It is obviously modified but still has 4 x 02 sensors and cats. It throws no engine lights.

My understanding in Austin (Urban Texas), it just has to pass a OBD2 ready check, which it seems it would do.

I'm unsure exactly what Phoenix requires, but what I've read they are certainly more restrictive.

Any personal or anecdotic experience, general advice or comments are all greatly appreciated.

3 seats to myself coming back from AZ - SCORE!!

 

[DHG1078]

In seattle is very expensive, but you can live outside of seattle, in a very nice area, for a fraction of the cost. Especially if you don't mind being on the opposite side of the sound.

 

[roy_1031]

Phoenix is hot as hell and the humidity alone would keep me out of Texas. I've never been to Austin but I'm going to visit my friend in Austin for New Years. My brother lives in the DFW area and like you, I'm not a fan and I'm pretty sure my bro isn't either. You're on a plane, where are you flying to?


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[VNOMIS]

I live just outside of Austin. Your friends are right about the stuff they've raved about. Traffic does suck absolute horse dick 90% of the time though because the city is growing so fast and drivers suck as well but I think that's just about every city. You have to pass smog here. As far as humidity goes I guess it's all relative. I lived in East Texas most of my life and that was more humid to me. If you've never lived in the south then it probably is gonna be outrageously humid to you. There is usually a breeze most of the time in Austin and the surrounding areas so it makes it a lot easier to deal with heat and such. The hill country is quite nice. There's more than enough things to do and see in Austin.

 

[MFE]

I've visited Austin several times going back 25 years, and as recently as a year ago. I live in Phoenix now. Austin has a more vibrant nightlife and a WAY better music scene. And Phoenix just doesn't know ****-all about barbeque, whereas Austin owns it. OTOH, Phoenix is likely way more affordable, and it's only a 5-6 hour drive to beaches in San Diego or L.A. area. 6000 foot elevation and cooler temps are only 90 minute drive away. Grand Canyon 3.5 hours. Lots of cool things to do and see all over the state. No matter what you like to do outdoors, hike, bike, climb, swim, boat, dirtbike, camp, hunt, you can do it all here without planning an expedition. And the traffic doesn't suck nearly as bad. We love it here.

 

[DriftwoodSVT]

I've been here 10 years and can say traffic here sucks. Way too many people moving here and the road infrastructure was not designed to handle this traffic. And good luck affording a house, you'll be moving out to the burbs.

However, I have no smog test. It depends on what county you live in.

 

[DHG1078]

Moving anywhere would be an improvement in traffic for me, lol. Worst traffic in the U.S. and 10th worst on the planet.

http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Media/Slideshow/2016/03/22/10-Worst-Cities-America-Traffic?page=9

 

[Corbic]

Moving anywhere would be an improvement in traffic for me, lol. Worst traffic in the U.S. and 10th worst on the planet.

http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Media/Slideshow/2016/03/22/10-Worst-Cities-America-Traffic?page=9

What is scary is how low DC is on that list.

I've always saw Chicago has subpar for the course on traffic with Indy being worse. But DC is horrific.... so yeah, I can't imagine dealing with LA.

California is just out of the question. Cost, laws, regulations, taxes, housing, congestion, etc.

If we could just wipe it all out and start back at 1950, I'd move in a heat beat however, lol!

 

[DHG1078]

What is scary is how DC is on that list.

I've always saw Chicago has subpar for the course on traffic with Indy being worse. But DC is horrific.... so yeah, I can't imagine dealing with LA.

California is just out of the question. Cost, laws, regulations, taxes, housing, congestion, etc.

If we could just wipe it all out and start back at 1950, I'd move in a heat beat however, lol!

yup. Don't forget high crime rates. its getting to be too much to bare for me.

 

[Voltwings]

Being from Houston i have always found Austin a wonderful place to visit, but not somewhere i think i'd want to live. It just doesnt have the same business opportunities, folks are just a little too "hippy" for me. Granted, some of that is what makes Austin a great place to visit due to the extreme diversity, but on the other hand you get the people trying WAY too hard to make Austin, "Austin," you know. The housing market is also retarded, i imagine just living in Phoenix in general will be much more affordable. People in Austin also have a bad habit of voting for all kinds of dumb shit and not realizing it affects taxes, which is part of the reason it is so expensive.

I have zero input on Phoenix, i've literally just driven through on the way to Vegas. I'm not sure what i would do if i were you, but i would just make sure you do a lot of research on cost of living. Night life is very cool in Austin, but if you cant afford to go out lol... what's the point?

 

[97desertCobra]

I live in Phoenix and I'm wanting to move to Houston but may end up in Austin depending on jobs. My current employer has a big center in Austin and Dallas. Houston not so much so I may switch companies depending.

I like Phoenix for the most part. Housing is affordable. If you are into outdoors activities Arizona is amazing. Phoenix lacks a night life. Pretty sure any major city has a better night life. Phoenix is extremely sprawled out which can be good or bad. It is only 6 hours from the beach and 5 hours from Vegas though.

I want to move because I'm completely over the heat. I love running but the heat severely restricts how often and how far I can go at least 6 months out of the year. This summer it got to 122 degrees. Not the "feels like" temperature bs, the actual temperature. Yea I ran in that shit. Do not recommend. I want to run along a beach or at least have better weather the majority of the year.

 

[Blown 89]

-Phoenix has a solid night life compared to Austin. I wouldn't say one's better than the other it's just different. MFE is right though, if you're into music Phoenix isn't very good.
-Dating is a wash. Phoenix women border on the bitchy side in comparison IMO as the people here aren't nearly as friendly as they are in Austin.
-The food here in Phoenix is heads and shoulders better as the culinary scene is going hog wild at the moment. The BBQ here sucks though. It's really bad but that's what backyards and smokers are for.
- What wins Phoenix over for me is the sheer number of things to do. The car scene both in Austin and here are jawdropping but outside of that Phoenix's outdoor life is second to none IMO. The freeway system in Phoenix is amazing and it's easy and quick to get just about anywhere. Traffic isn't too bad either depending on where you live.
- If you're into firearms Phoenix is the place to be. We have what is considered the best shooting complexes in the world here. You can't cross the street without hitting an indoor range and there are a ton of amazing outdoor ranges and training facilities around. If you're into competing there are enough choices that you could compete against legends in the sport almost daily here.
- If you're into sports head to Austin. Phoenix's sports scene is atrocious and that's being nice.
- Emissions sucks here. You're going to have a go through some hoops without cats but it's not hard, you just have to find a competent tuner. Any of the shops around here know how to get around it. They used to just do an OBDII check but they've gotten wise to everyone just turning the rear sensors off.
- You're right. The drivers in Phoenix are horrific....the absolute worst I've seen in any state. I almost rear ended someone today that stopped (as almost locked the tires up to a complete stop) in the middle of a 6 lane road to, get this, stop and pull a map out. Not a phone map, a 3 foot wide paper map that they opened like a newspaper in front of their face. You can't take your eyes off the road here even for a split second or you will get in an accident.
- Racing here is awesome. There are tracks everywhere.

-And finally, housing. Don't fool yourself. The cost of housing in Phoenix is absurd. The surrounding suburbs have low house prices that throw our averages off and make it appear that the price of housing isn't that expensive. Good luck if you want land too.

 

[mustangvsix]

-Phoenix has a solid night life compared to Austin. I wouldn't say one's better than the other it's just different. MFE is right though, if you're into music Phoenix isn't very good.
-Dating is a wash. Phoenix women border on the bitchy side in comparison IMO as the people here aren't nearly as friendly as they are in Austin.
-The food here in Phoenix is heads and shoulders better as the culinary scene is going hog wild at the moment. The BBQ here sucks though. It's really bad but that's what backyards and smokers are for.
- What wins Phoenix over for me is the sheer number of things to do. The car scene both in Austin and here are jawdropping but outside of that Phoenix's outdoor life is second to none IMO. The freeway system in Phoenix is amazing and it's easy and quick to get just about anywhere. Traffic isn't too bad either depending on where you live.
- If you're into firearms Phoenix is the place to be. We have what is considered the best shooting complexes in the world here. You can't cross the street without hitting an indoor range and there are a ton of amazing outdoor ranges and training facilities around. If you're into competing there are enough choices that you could compete against legends in the sport almost daily here.
- If you're into sports head to Austin. Phoenix's sports scene is atrocious and that's being nice.
- Emissions sucks here. You're going to have a go through some hoops without cats but it's not hard, you just have to find a competent tuner. Any of the shops around here know how to get around it. They used to just do an OBDII check but they've gotten wise to everyone just turning the rear sensors off.
- You're right. The drivers in Phoenix are horrific....the absolute worst I've seen in any state. I almost rear ended someone today that stopped (as almost locked the tires up to a complete stop) in the middle of a 6 lane road to, get this, stop and pull a map out. Not a phone map, a 3 foot wide paper map that they opened like a newspaper in front of their face. You can't take your eyes off the road here even for a split second or you will get in an accident.
- Racing here is awesome. There are tracks everywhere.

-And finally, housing. Don't fool yourself. The cost of housing in Phoenix is absurd. The surrounding suburbs have low house prices that throw our averages off and make it appear that the price of housing isn't that expensive. Good luck if you want land too.

Lived in Phx for five years and that sums is up pretty well for me. People are just rude/standoff ish for the most part and driving is very agressive. If there is a gap; someone will fill it. Otherwise it isnt a bad place to live and it is growing rediculoisly fast.

 

[VNOMIS]

I've been here 10 years and can say traffic here sucks. Way too many people moving here and the road infrastructure was not designed to handle this traffic. And good luck affording a house, you'll be moving out to the burbs.

However, I have no smog test. It depends on what county you live in.

Just to add onto this for smog. Travis and Williamson counties are the only 2 counties that require smog test.

 

[Drive XR7]

Keep Austin Weird.

 

[RedVenom48]

I want the **** out of California. Lived in AZ and while its nice, Phoenix is a 7th gate of hell hot in the summer. Man up, deal with a little humidity and head to Austin.

Im a Chicago native and while i dont like dealing with humidity, ill put up with it to live in nice, green east Texas. Someday i hope to get out there. TX car scene shits on anything here in CA, Phoenix is getting crowded. And i hear the women in Texas are worlds nicer and still beautiful than the west coast. At least thats what my chubby short ass hopes is the case haha.

 

[03cobra#694]

Just don't move here. We're full, and getting fuller.

 

[bullitt2735]

I live in travis county, they don't do a tailpipe if its obd2 though, just the readiness check ...my focus st passed no problem and it totally has the stock cats on it and not an aftermarket downpipe ;-)

Also Austin sucks! Its a terrible place to live, the people are rude, the BBQ is terrible, there's no late night car scene/racing every weekend, no good live music, not many microbreweries...so yeah you should move to phoenix /s

 

[robraySVT]

I live in San Antonio. Summers are humid, but fall and winter are nice. The city is growing like crazy tho and traffic is becoming a nightmare and people drive like shit. I guess that is just about any big city. The housing is very reasonable down here tho and there are beautiful crazy Mexican women everywhere if you are single.

 

[Corbic]

Yeah, what is up with God damn Texas drivers?!!!

You have flat open roads that seem loosely enforced. Speed limits range from 70-80mph!!

Yet it seems like no one wants to go over 65mph!!

I also experienced countless traffic jams which seem to result from someone going 70mph right up until they almost rear end someone doing 55mph, they slam on their brakes and everyone begins slamming on their brakes.

Ughhh


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