Moving there after a stint in Chicago, have spent a little time there visiting but would like to know the real "heart" o the matter from folks who are there.

What are the go's and the no's.

It's as close to Kali as we get in Texas

There are no real no-go places like there are in Chicago. East of I-35close to downtown is the "bad" area, but it's not like you'll get shot if you drive through it.

Austin is probably the best city in Texas to live. There's the UT (Iniv. of Texas) crowd, which tends to be quite liberal or otherwise colorful. Austin is also the state capital, so there's a bunch of state gov't people here, too.

For industry, tech is probably the biggest. Dell, Motorola (Freescale), IBM, Applied Materials, AMD, Samsung, and a plethora of smaller companies are in Austin.

Traffic sucks during rush hours.

....and thare's a bunch of ARFComers who live here, too!

Quoted: ....and thare's a bunch of ARFComers who live here, too!

You won't be the only Illinois refugee either.

There are some decent ranges within a reasonable drive, and a few different active shooting clubs.  Cost of living is substantially below Chicago, and you'll probably never again have to scrape a layer of snow off your car.

Anything specific you want to know?

I'm actually a native Mississippian by way of Florida, so i'm not too concerned about any Southern Culture aspects... I'm down. (Save for the fact that TX barbecue is inferior in every way to Chicago BBQ, which is a default extension of Mississippi BBQ )

Real estate costs in the Austim Metroplex are immensely attractive... I'll probably be buying a couple Duplexes right off the bat. As best I can tell, the overall economy of Austin is quite strong and sustaining a good level of growth...

I guess i'm just looking for that sort of information that only people who live there, day in and day out, can provide.

Quoted: So what do I need to know about Austin...

Don't drop the soap.

Quoted: I'm actually a native Mississippian by way of Florida, so i'm not too concerned about any Southern Culture aspects... I'm down. (Save for the fact that TX barbecue is inferior in every way to Chicago BBQ, which is a default extension of Mississippi BBQ ) Real estate costs in the Austim Metroplex are immensely attractive... I'll probably be buying a couple Duplexes right off the bat. As best I can tell, the overall economy of Austin is quite strong and sustaining a good level of growth... I guess i'm just looking for that sort of information that only people who live there, day in and day out, can provide.

Quick, hurry -- tell everyone you were only joking before you hear some drunk Texan yell "Git a rope!"

Nope, it's the truth.
I can prove it.

6 th street...  go there    fullclip

Quoted: Nope, it's the truth. I can prove it.

Really?

That's an uphill battle. But then, you'll have that rope handy  

Quoted: Nope, it's the truth. I can prove it.

Bring it on.  Be prepared to find out the truth.  

Well, it was a nice place before all of the yankees started moving in.  

Great.  Another U-haul truck on the way to Texas.  Oh well, as long as you meet the 30 gun minimum and stay out of Starbucks you are welcome.

If you are looking for a home, buy on the west side of town.  Better value, better neighborhoods, less traffic from that way.(For now)

Where will you be working?

Salt lick (South of town, officially in driftwood I think) is the best BBQ anywhere I've been (and that's been a lot of places).  I'd belly crawl through broken glass for their brisket (luckily I don't have to).

County Line is pretty good BBQ also.  Best ribs in town.

F. Weigl Ironworks smack in the middle of downtown is also great (good beans).

In general, Austin is a great town for food.

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Largest concentration of hardbodied hotties I've seen anywhere (though there are some places that are close).

The range situation around here isn't great, but at least there are places to shoot.  A couple of decent gunstores, but currently nowhere I could just hang out in and talk guns for hours on end.

4-5 hours drive (or less, depending on what you want) from great hunting/fishing.

The weather is great, the traffic sucks.  No state income tax, but outrageous property tax.

Lots of liberals (mostly West coast imports for the tech biz) and unreconstructed hippies, which can be annoying.  

Overall, I moved here a month after my 17th birthday and haven't wanted to live anywhere else since. Almost 20 years later both my parents want to retire here....