My granddaughter is moving to Austin from Boston suburbs. As a 3rd generation Texan I have mixed

[CTyankee]

emotions. I was born/raised in Dallas but had an uncle and cousins who lived there. My uncle was once a state senator who reportedly was making a speech on the floor of the Senate when he got word that his son, my cousin Bill, was lost over France in WW2. So I have history and background with Texas.

I know Austin is a cool place but I have started a conversation with her about living in a red state which she has NO experience in. She has lived in the Boston area for all of her life. She has already started her paper work in register to vote.

Any Austin folk have some advice for her? I'd love to report to her from staunch liberal Dems living there.

[Skittles]

1. first things first

will she be able to handle the heat? it is bad now already

[CTyankee]

2. Yes, she has mentioned that. She'll manage fine with A/C everywhere.

She's young, mid 20s. She'll go from air conditioned building to air conditioned car with no problem at all. She's living her dream. That makes all the difference.

AND, she is a strong DEMOCRAT.

I'll tell her the story of my uncle, Ephraim Davis, who led the effort to get Texas PAVED.

[Skittles]

4. A/C won't help if the grid fails again

and they are warning about that already

still, your girl can help us get Beto elected

GO BETO!

[CTyankee]

5. She is already talking about working for Beto. She comes from a very political family. Her dad is a

political consultant for a liberal Democratic advisory group in Boston.

[Skittles]

6. I lived in Austin seventeen years

when I arrived there I was actually stationed at Bergstrom Air Force Base, which was turned into the current Austin airport

it was a really cool town back then; alas, the last couple of times I have visited it seemed to have turned into a mini-Dallas

[CTyankee]

9. I thought that Dallas now has a very vibrant gay community which surprised me. I thought the city

was a waste. I hated everything about it and moved to New York as soon as I could. Kennedy's assassination didn't surprise me but it sealed the decision I had made never to return there.

[vrguy]

7. Austin is blue she will be ok! N/T

[LT Barclay]

8. I've never lived in TX, but I did 20 years in the USCG, I attend evangelical churches, and I've

lived elsewhere in the south.
I kept my mouth shut for 20 years in the USCG (my retirement speech ruffled some feathers) and survived 8 years in the south.
Anyone can learn to get by no matter how bleak it seems. My advice would be to be careful of friendships and find organizations of likeminded people. I'm of more an environmental bent and I wish I had been more active in the Sierra Club when I was in the south. People who volunteer are probably more liberal as conservatives just don't give a sh$$, so she could find a cause she cares about. Libraries and other hangouts that are similar tend to have more liberals. Areas around universities are more liberal (probably the only thing that kept me sane at Clemson).
Hope that helps.

[CTyankee]

10. Her dad is Jewish and that is how she was raised. She had a Bat Mitvah.

She'll volunteer for Beto's campaign I would wager!

[LT Barclay]

15. Good for her!

[TwilightZone]

11. First of all, ignore every stereotype you've ever read here about Texas.

They're, in a word, bullshit, especially when we're talking about Austin. Texas is not a monolithic red sea. There are few things as tiresome on DU as the red state/blue state, lump-everything-all-together nonsense. Much of "blue" Minnesota, for example, is way redder than the big metros in Texas.

Yes, the state-level political leadership is nuts, but Austin is blue, as are many of the suburbs. I live just north of Austin proper and our district went about 60/40 Biden. All of our local politicians and judges are Democrats.

Been here for about 10 years and like it quite well. It's scenic, there's lots to do, tons of great restaurants and entertainment, heavy focus on health, trails, parks, and people are generally quite friendly (way more friendly than when I lived in SD and NE -- Midwest Nice, my ass).

The downsides are basically traffic, the never-ending heat, and housing prices, though coming from Boston, the latter probably isn't as much of a shock as coming from a lot of other places. Or the former, for that matter.

In my experience, people here also aren't as politically or religiously overt as the stereotypes would suggest. There are exceptions, of course, but you'll get that just about anywhere.

[CTyankee]

12. Thank you. I know she'll be just fine. At her age, 26, she has her whole life ahead of her.

[Paladin]

18. Nicely put. Thank you.

And that's an informed opinion of mine: I'm a life-long Texan who grew up in Austin. The city has gotten way too big and hectic for my tastes these days, but I still maintain contact with many childhood friends there; they spend lots of time griping about (A) traffic, (B) taxes, and (C) massive influxes of newcomers---but they'll never, ever leave.

[Cracklin Charlie]

13. Stay away from I-35.

Good grief, it’s a death trap.

I don’t live in Austin, but I’ve traveled there a couple times recently. Made a mistake of listening to GPS at a critical moment, and got in some super bad traffic. It’s just nuts, and I don’t believe they can’t fix that.

[LeftInTX]

16. Hate I-35!

I took the toll road to and from last time just to avoid it!
I live in San Antonio, so I drove all the way to Seguin on I-10!

[yellowdogintexas]

14. She is going to love it.

However she will miss Boston's wonderful public transit !!! I spent 2 years there 1969-1971 and still miss the T
Austin traffic is abominable.

I would recommend she find the local Democratic Women's Groups

www.tdw.org is the website. All the local clubs are listed.

Also the county party will have info on all the grass roots groups.

Glad she is ready to work for Beto! We have a runoff coming up to choose LtGov and AG nominees.

she absoloutely needs this: https://www.traveltexas.com/

You can order the travel guide in printed format to keep in the car. Every festival, museum, natural wonder, historic location etc is in this book. We have lived here since 1989 and we still get a new one every couple or three years.

One can have a lot of fun in Texas!

[LetMyPeopleVote]

17. My middle child and her husband live in Austin with their two beardies

They enjoy it.