My wife is looking at a job with the state which would entail a move to Austin, Tx. We live in north Texas. How Hamb friendly is the area? I haven't been there in years.
You're kidding, right? HAMB headquarters are there, in the Atomic Industries complex between the Collosseum and the board track.
Where we are right now, there are no city enforcers, no HOA's and everyone leaves you alone. I haven't lived in a big city in a long time, I figure that there will be issues with working on my cars or bicycles on our property.
Phttt, nothin to do with hot roddin' ever happens in Austin. I guess its a done deal anyway but if it wasn't I would encourage you to go. Lots of HAMb friendlyness goes on in Austin. If I believed in luck I would say that you are a very lucky man.
Austin? Bad music, lousy food, ugly women, crappy cars, warm beer. Nuthin' doing. Of course, I've been wrong before.
This isn't O/T. Living in a hot rod friendly area is very important and I think some So Cal guys don't realize just what they've got. Come and try to build a steel hot rod in the medieval city Chester and you'll see how important having access to a local scene is....
Ugly women, well it can't be all bad. If you wanna be happy for the rest of your life, better make an ugly women your wife. . .
Has the humidity because it has been pissing down for weeks. Plenty of warm bitter beer if that's what you're into (it's a lot stronger than American beer though - seen a lot of Americans make that mistake). However, I'm just drinking an ice cold Peroni in a frozen glass - appropriate because Chester was established as a Roman garrison town in AD 79 by Emperor Vespasian. One of the original roads built by the Legions for their punitive missions against the Welsh runs along my back garden fence... Seriously, there are very few hot rodders in this area. Those that are here are very committed and experienced guys. Most hot rodding activity in the UK is around Essex and Bristol - possibly due to the presence of large American bases there.
It isn't like living in Cisco. I lived in Abilene for a long time and am in Brady now. If you are used to a rural, west(ish) Texas vibe, lifestyle and the freedoms that come with living out of town, Austin doesn't readily offer that. If you move close to Austin, you have a better chance of enjoying the best of both worlds, but there's going to be some trade-offs. Lots of crazt\y traffic, lots of life-style choices, etc. I lived in Buchanan Dam for 9 years, so I was far enough away to go when I wanted and leave when I wanted. I think a lot of it will depend on where you move to. Hopefully some residents will chime in. Good luck.
Peroni? Cat piss! You need to come over and tour the Micros, I have some IPA favorites that will blow your head open with their Hoppiness. Several of the Crowns subjects agreed with me at Speedweek the last couple years. I have never spent time in Austin but the guys and gals I have met from there would put it at the top of my list on that alone.
Cedar Park, Leander, Liberty Hill, Taylor, Hutto, the list goes on and on for places to live near Austin. We love it, just have to deal with the traffic. And the neatest old drag strip in the world is 45 mins. from the house (Little River).
In my little town there's me and one other guy on here. We stand out here in small town Oklahoma since we don't have mud trucks, generic***affliction t-shirts and a diesel with a 8" stack going through the bed. I think I hang out more with the older street rod guys. LOL Austin would be great
Thanks for all the input. It's been kinda lean the last few years for us. We are still in the early stages of this. This possible opportunity has come all of a sudden. I've been laid off twice in the last 2 years (including last Friday). My wife is almost through with her Doctorate and we will end up moving for her job. There're no jobs in this area unless you sell meth or work in the oil field. I grew up in Corpus Christi, so any car that still had most of its body unrusted was considered a classic.
Second pint is going down well enough. I hear good things about the beer and food in Texas though. Austin is sounding pretty good to me...
Well, Gary....if you like to keep several old cars and bicycles around, and they stay outside---you might want to consider being in a small town on the outskirts of Austin. I suspect there are rules in the city, plus probably HOAs in some nice subdivisions. No one has actually answered those questions yet, but I suspect some know how it is.
You got that right. My dad is not an old car guy but lives in austin and lot's of it is very clicky and may not approve of you changing out your transmission and having a few cold ones(as we say relaxing). Pflugerville or west of round rock would be good too. Hop skip and jump.
Try to find a place to live in one of the small towns outside of Austin, but close enough that the daily commute isn't going to wear you down...
Just got back from a visit to Austin. Found out we have some old friends who live in Leander on the north side of Austin. They gave us the lowdown. Looks more like we may end up there. Waiting to hear on jobs, but everything looks pretty positive. Starting to get a little excited. Found a couple of houses that are reasonable, but they have tiny garages.