Help me!
 

Need desperate help in escaping S. Florida!Basically, have been here way too long and needless to say, it aint what it used to be!I'm a musician and this is'nt exactly the mecca for live or any other form of music for that matter other than cheesey nightclub fare.The heat and constant threat of hurricanes and the hordes of people moving here daily(god knows why)has me asking myself why am I still here? Have thought about Austin Tx. and also Asheville N.C. but I'm open to any suggestions from anywhere!Big city,small city, it does'nt matter. I'm single and in my early thirties and just looking for a fresh start in a new place.I hope I'm not too vague in my post,I'm just looking for any help Ican get! Any info would be greatly appreciated.Thanks.

you may want to try findyourspot.com to try and narrow you field of possibilities.

If you're a musician you will love Austin. Come for a visit and then decide. We moved here from Florida and believe me, it is nothing like Florida here. It still gets hot in the summer but there is not as much humidity. The only downside to Austin is the cost of living, which is pretty high if you want to actually live in Austin and not the outskirts. Like I said, come for a visit!

Thanks for the reply stbound.Sorry about not being more specific,just feeling real frustrated with this place! I'm sure you must know what I mean having suffered here yourself.I'm curious to know what you think are the main differences between so.fla and Austin.Is there really any more room there for another musician,especially for the singer-songwriter type? Any other pertinent information would be greatly appreciated.Thanks alot.

Hi Yogi,

I can't really answer your question about whether there's room for another musician or not since I'm not in that biz. But, I can tell you there are huge differences between Florida and Austin.

We lived in North Florida before we moved to Austin but have also lived in South Florida. The biggest difference we have found can be described in one word: tolerance. It just doesn't matter to most people here who you are, what you do, what your politics are, etc. It is very, very refreshing. People are extremely nice and it's a "real" nice, not just nice to your face kind of nice, if you know what I mean.

One thing you will notice immediately is how much Austinites love their home. Every person you meet will share with you their favorite restaurant, etc. The population is very young which is a huge difference from Florida. Also, I have found that most people seem very well educated too. The attitude is just different here. Even my neighbor, who is in her late 70's, is just way cooler than most people I ever met in Florida. People are very environmentally conscious which I consider a good thing. But, like I mentioned before, they're tolerant and don't expect everyone else to share their views.

The food is great - you will never run out of new restaurants to try out. If you're renting, there are tons of options. Coming from Florida, I was not used to seeing so many choices in rentals. Of course, in my opinion, the only place you really get the flavor of Austin is if you're actually in Austin. The closer to downtown the better. Basically, if you find housing in "Central" you'll be close. I would suspect you might like the SoCo (South Congress) area. It's an area that's kind of funky bohemian and full of artists, musicians, etc. Of course, the housing around town is much higher than out in the burbs.

Okay, that's all I can think of for now. Let me know if you have any specific questions!

I live near Nashville and if you don't mind being a musician/waiter, come on up! Really, it is a very nice area although we do get tornados and ice storms. But they are pretty rare. Lots of good music around here and not just country.

Thank you stjohnbound for the awesome reply. I really appreciate the info. Austin definitely sounds like my kind of place! Is the traffic really as bad as I've been reading about? I'm thinking of taking a trip there around the new year although I probably won't want to come back here! Do you know of an affordable/decent place to stay? I was reading about a place called the Oakwood apartments that offer short term leases and was curious if you know of the place. Anyway, thanks again for your help. Anything else you can tell me, good or bad, will be greatly appreciated, yogi.

http://www.wweek.com/html/yearinmusic123097.html

yogi..
We escaped N Florida, in August..to Portland Oregon.
Small big city with a thriving music scene.
Weather is better in many ways, no hurricanes :)
a lot of artistic people , musicians, artists, you name it. . they love it here.

Above is the Willamette Weekly article regarding the music scene here..hope it gives you ideas :)

And read this too ~

http://www.musicfestnw.com/

hey Scarlett, that's what I was thinking... the Pacific Northwest. maybe Seattle? check out Northwest Folk Life Festival, Earshoot Jazz, Bumbershoot (annual music festivals) or any of the tons of smaller independent music goings-on and scenes around town.

Hey yogi,

Sorry, I've never heard of the Oakwood Apartments. Do you have a location? Yes, traffic is every bit as bad as they say but is only relevant if you're a commuter. There's no problem getting around if it's not rush hour.

I thought you might like to see the Austin Chronicle. It's a free paper here and always has all the entertainment listings, etc. Here's the website: http://www.austinchronicle.com/

I saw your other thread about the Real World. I haven't heard anyone here even talking about it. Of course, they're long gone by now. I have seen most of the Real World seasons and I started watching this one from Austin and gave up. I have to say those were some major losers who spent their whole time in Austin on Sixth Street getting drunk and in fights.

I saw some recommendations here for Portland and Seattle. I think those are great suggestions too and definitely worth checking out. Portland and Austin seem very similar, except for weather of course!

Oakwood has some apts in our bldg and around town. I had never heard of them before but if they are in this bldg, the company must be very nice !
I know they can stay for 3 months or a year so that would be very helpful if you are not sure you want to stay somewhere..
Committment is such a difficult thing sometimes :)

Thanks everybody for all the input. I really appreciate it. Portland sounds pretty cool too, but I don't know how I'd do with the climate there having been in so.fla. for so long. Then again, that could be overblown. It would be enticing though, just for the fact that I woud'nt need a car. I've read they have really good public transport there. I have a few music commitments through the holidays', but after the new year, who knows. Stjohnbound, I know what you mean about the real world crew ( real world, there's a contradiction of terms! ) I was just curious what you thought about that. Those kids don't have any idea of the real world! Like you said, just getting drunk and stupid every night. Anyway, do you think Jan. would be a good time to visit? People have told me to go there when it's hottest to see how I'd like it. What's the public transportation like? Or is it essential to own a car there. Thanks again for all your help, Yogi.

Hey Yogi,

Public transportation (buses) is pretty good here but this is Texas, you really must have a car! Everything is pretty spread out except for the downtown area. I've read about the public transportation in Portland and there is nothing like that here.

January would be a fine time to visit. Weather could be anything from warm to freezing. The weather here is a lot like North Florida. When a cold front comes through it gets cold and then warms up until the next one comes through.

Visiting during August would be good too just to experience the heat, but you really won't find it that bad coming from S. Florida. Temperatures can hit 100 and above but the humidity is less so it's not so bad.

I can vouch for the TX summer heat not being an issue for Floridians. We moved from Tampa to San Antonio in March and the TX summer was a breath of fresh air compared to FL's! Because the humidity is so much lower, even though the actual temperature readings are hotter, it feels quite tolerable in comparison.

I do miss the water and beach big time, however. Don't know if that matters to you a whit, but I knew it would be an issue with us and yup, it is. We sailed every weekend and our boat is still back there.

If you give Austin a try in January, do make the short trip to Gruene and visit Gruene Hall, instrumental in starting the careers of Lyle Lovett, George Strait, Hal Ketchum and others. They get some decent groups in all week long, most unknowns, but up and coming, usually free, but an occasional pay concert...(we've seen Taj Mahal there and just saw Aaron Neville, both $35 tickets).