Exploring Austin, Texas – 10/29/18 – 11/29/18

It’s hard to believe that we’ve been in Austin for six weeks already!  Karen and I have definitely been enjoying our time here – it’s been great to hang out for an extended time with Emma and Robin.  It’s also been fun exploring Austin, too.  Before I go any further, I need to gloat a little about the weather.  As I’m writing this blog entry at 2:00 on the 29^th of November, it’s currently 74 degrees here (it’s 37 in Gaithersburg – yikes!) and the next three days are all expected to be in the mid-70s.  As someone who has spent 60+ years in the New England and Mid-Atlantic areas, I’ve never spent significant time in a warm climate at this time of year, so I’m definitely not taking this nice weather for granted!  Of course, the flip side is that during the summer, Austin averages over 90 degrees and it’s not uncommon for them to suffer through many 100+ degree days.  This past summer, they had a streak of 15 consecutive 100+ degree days and a total of 51 100+ degree days!  To be fair, it was their 3^rd hottest summer ever.

As many of you know, Karen and I have two primary goals for our RVing journey – to explore many of the beautiful areas of the country and to identify areas for us to consider living when we eventually stop full-time RVing.  With the second goal in mind, our plan is to drive the RV to an area and then stay there for several weeks so that we’ll have ample opportunity to find out what it would be like if we chose to live there. Along that line of thinking, I thought I’d use this blog post to give you some of our initial impressions of Austin, as well as share some photos.

Prior to coming to Austin, we had heard that it is a very “blue” city inside of a fairly “red” state. We arrived in Austin about 3 weeks prior to the mid-term elections, so we got to experience the Austin/Texas politics first-hand on a daily basis, especially with the Beto O’Rourke vs Ted Cruz contest for the Senate.  I had to laugh at one of Ted Cruz’s ads that ends with the line “Beto is as weird as Austin”.  I don’t think the word “weird” does Austin justice. Rather, I think the appropriate word is “funky”.  Austin is often billed as being much like San Francisco, in terms of being “hipster”, except more relaxed and more affordable.  It has an active music scene (of which we have yet to take in), a good nightlife, and supports those who love arts/creativity.  An example of the latter is a plot of land in downtown Austin that encourages “artists” to come and spray paint on huge concrete blocks (see photo below).

Austin is home to the University of Texas – with the college campus located in downtown Austin.  This gives a sizeable part of downtown Austin the feel of being a college town, which is what also makes it funky.  One place that I imagine could be quite popular with the college kids is called “Voodoo Doughnut” that is open 24 hours a day and has a very unusual selection of donuts. 

Since we’re talking about donuts, let me continue down the food avenue.  Many folks who heard we were heading toward Texas said to make sure to have some barbecue.  Karen is a vegetarian and I’m not a big red meat eater, but I decided to indulge in some brisket a few times just to give it a chance.  I have to say, it did not disappoint!  And, you’re hearing that from a guy who grew up in a household where my mom made (and still makes!) the best brisket around.  The other cuisine that is extremely prominent in Austin is Mexican/Tex-Mex, of course.  The authentic Mexican fare was really good and we’ve had some of the best tacos (mostly fish and shrimp) that we’ve ever had.  But, here’s the thing that has been a most pleasant surprise – Austin has every kind of cuisine you could want and all authentic.  We’ve had great sushi, Moroccan, Thai, and Indian food, just to name a few.  In addition, most places cater to the various dietary preferences – vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, etc.  We even found a fun sushi restaurant that has a revolving sushi bar — a conveyor belt that transports sushi next to your table and you can pick whichever sushi appeals to you as it passes by.

Of course, if we’re doing all that eating, we also have to make sure to get some exercise and work off all the extra calories!  As you’d expect in a warmer climate, there is easy access to a variety of outdoor activities. There are tons of tennis courts and basketball courts around.  We see so many runners and bike riders, too.  One sport that we’ve really started to enjoy because it’s easy to pick up, very fun and isn’t overly taxing from a physical perspective is Pickleball.  It’s a mixture of tennis, badminton, paddleball (like on the beach), and whiffle ball.  Austin has lots of Pickleball courts, both indoor and outdoor, so we’ve been able to play any time we want.

About 20 minutes northwest of Austin is a huge man-made reservoir, Lake Travis, which is fed from the Colorado River.  We went to Lake Travis last week for a couple of hours and it was easy to see that water/marine activities are extremely popular.  Here are some photos that I took with my drone while we were in one area of Lake Travis:

Some of you may know that there are a couple of bridges and caves in Austin that are famous for the huge populations of bats that live under/in them.  Folks will gather near these places at dusk awaiting the bats to take flight in mass for the night.  So, how many bats take flight at the same time from one of the bridges?  Get ready for this……over 1 million!!  Sadly, Karen and I arrived in Austin right at the end of the time period this takes place (March to October), so we haven’t seen this spectacle yet.

The last thing I want to quickly talk about is that Austin has some interesting places for hiking.  For example, a couple of days ago, we went to McKinney Falls State Park, which has a couple of waterfalls along the creek that flows through the park.  While the waterfalls are the main draw, we thought that the rock formations near the waterfalls were more fascinating.  Here are some photos I took at the park:

Here is a link to a 1-minute video clip I shot as the drone lowered toward the falls. Notice the large holes and channels that have been hollowed-out in the rock surrounding the falls:

So, what’s the bottom line – do we think Austin is a viable contender as a place to settle after RVing?  Here are the pros and cons so far:

Pros:  Warm climate most of the year; aligns with our politics/values; youthful/vibrant/funky; plentiful outdoor activities; affordable cost of living; variety of cuisines; supports music/arts

Cons:  Extreme heat during the summer months; a “blue” island surrounded by a mostly “red” state; while it has its pretty areas, it’s not overall a beautiful city.  You don’t walk outside each day and marvel at it’s physical beauty.

Right now, despite the cons, I think that Austin should stay on our viable cities list, but we’d definitely have to head north during the summer!  Of course, I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out that it’s easy to assess each area on its pros and cons, but a factor that will obviously weigh heavily for us in any decision about where to settle will be where Jillian, Emma, and Gabe decide to put down roots.

That’s about it for now. We’ll be in Austin through the winter holidays and plan to head out RVing again right after New Years.  In case I don’t post another blog entry before that, I wish you all very happy holidays and appreciate your taking the time to read my blog!