Austin Area TW Chapter (all gens welcome, even T4Rs; heck, just make it a Toyota and we're good)

It was. And that spring, I was out in the front yard, shoveling the last of it out in the street, so it would melt and be gone. My girlfriend then, wife now, asked me why I was doing that, and I told her I was tired of not seeing the grass!

 

You gotta fight for your lanes, GRRRRR

 

Don't know the hours but typically MFG is 8 - 4 1st shift, that commute here would take .... 20 minutes? maybe 25? Just curious if we're talking 1 hour, 15 minutes, etc. Also, it's only 11 mi so on decent days I would be up for taking the bike instead. Google is saying during commuting time ~30 minutes. Just curious. So far I've literally only seen the job posting, and we're very early stages

 

See here's the thing....I drove around Austin before COVID stuff, and the driving down there was phenomenal compared to RI. And traffic? Not a damn problem compared to RI - I have a feeling it's not good, but RI is just so bad and we're so used to that, that Austin will be a dream even on your worst days

Plus the driving. Like. Seriously. I took a 6600 mile road trip, I was cut off in Buffalo, had someone pull out on me in the middle of F nowhere, Georgia. I got cut off in Houston, actually - forgot about that. 6600 miles, 12 ish days, dozen or so states. 3 "incidents", otherwise pretty good.

I get back to RI...........Just on my trip back once I crossed over the RI border, cut off 3 times, emergency braking two of those 3, and since then I've had a ton of shenanigans and needing the horn/hard braking. And so far I've only gone to get my 'rona test, and to the local park off hours to get the dog out. Literally 2 trips (quarantining because of the 'rona). It's just so bad up here, I have a feeling Austin and everyone saying "Oh my god it's sooooo baaaad" is comical in the eyes of Mass/RI driving

 

Have no idea where you driving down from but 35 is usual a nightmare when I travel to/from Dallas. It has been a while so maybe all that damn highway construction is complete. I hope.

 

If you're working in Heritage Hills, you should just plop down roots somewhere in that area, perhaps Rundberg, which is where everyone wants to live!

amirite, fellas?

 

Going North or South and having to cross the entirety of the city is going to cost you at least one hour in the best of days.

going east and west during rush hour is actually remarkably quicker.

if you're working in heritage hills I will try to live east or west from there and not south. on bad traffic days it will take you forever if you are south

Yikes! That area is so shitty I wouldn't even take a job there....

 

Good to know. I mean, that was one job I found - so just curious, because I have a feeling most of my opportunities for manufacturing will be north/east. Or...San Antonio

I mean that's the other stuff I just don't know some of these areas too. I won't get too attached on the job choice, realistically it's something to get us down there while we explore. Maybe we stay in Austin, maybe Dallas, maybe etc etc. I think for the initial hop we'll aim for living in Zilker area renting. Ideally a house, so we have easy access to a yard to let the dog out.

 

Well I'm just being a little harsh too... If you get a job there, def take it if it fits.

North and South travel at rush hour is the worst part. I actually live 40 miles west of Austin and commute into downtown every once in awhile in the before time. It would take me 50 minutes on a good day and I don't even go to the office when it's raining.

City of Austin has grown massively and there are lots of places to live, that rundberg area though is really not a good area to live

 

Or dare to leave my truck up there.

I couldn't imagine having to commute 5 miles on mopac during traffic. Although, I'm a native and remember when you could go north to south without a problem.

 

Little nippy this morning, had to put on a hoodie in the house

 

They have done a lot of 183 improvements, so that's at least better than it was. Expect to spend a lot of hours of your life in slow-and-go traffic on IH-35 and 183. That part of IH-35 has been in discussions for a major overhaul, and I would expect it to become a 20-year construction zone as soon as the South Austin project (Slaughter-to-71) is completed. You've got some multi-lane surface streets in that area that can move some traffic through, plus a lot more alternate routes in the event that one or two of them aren't viable on a particular day. If you can get in there, it doesn't appear to be that bad. Again, depends on where you work and have to commonly travel to.

I think the traversing Austin really depends more on where your gig is at. Learning the surface streets is probably going to be your best bet in getting in and out of wherever you are. I live Way South and get to/from work primarily on clearer surface streets rather than the highway (and have multiple options in case of a wreck). I don't travel IH-35 at all if I can avoid it. I could save 5 minutes or gain 30 - it all depends on whether there's a wreck or a construction lane closure.

So...where's the gig?

 

Hey! There are a lot of jobs every day on Rundberg! Blow jobs, but still!

 

A lot of city and county workers live in that area because it's close to all of those offices. Some decent old neighborhoods but those houses were built to 1960s code. If it hasn't been renovated, you're buying 4 walls of problems.

 

Right now, my gig is in East Providence, RI I just found a few postings for potentials, and they seem to show that manufacturing is north/east, makes sense.

Good to know. I'll start looking to see if I can find stuff south of the city, would be ideal. Unofrutnately I have a feeling the Tesla factory would be a great option, I think that's going near the airport.

LOL my house now was built in '55 and is on the "better" side of things around here. One more reason I want to move.

Caught myself today - sad that I couldn't go enjoy the weather, and it's because "it doesn't last forever" - in a few months, we be in flannels and hats. Even while it's still currently nice out, hot, sunny, etc - you get a little sad because you don't get to go outside now, even while it's nice out, because you know it's going away! THAT is the big reason we want to move. I think Austin will be the first move to the warmth, from there we might explore - the rest of Texas, AZ, maybe out to the Carolinas, etc. And even at that - I loved Dallas, San Antonio, and Houston when I went through.

 

Tesla will be far south east in the poorest area of the county - Del Valle. Land is cheapest there because it usually only has trailers on it.

The airport is close to town by comparison.

If you get a Tesla gig, look to some of the new homes off of McKinney Falls Parkway. Easy access to South Austin from Slaughter, William Cannon, or straight down to 183, plus outlets to 71 and the COTA area. That area is growing rapidly and should have more services and additional business infrastructure in a year or two. Right now it's mostly homes and apartments.

 

This is good advice!

 

Cant even get gas at the Valero on Machaca and Ben white anymore since they opened up that soup kitchen.

Stopped there for the last time today since I was getting tacos eight there at El chilito.

Dude sees me and walks across the street and comes up to give me an elbow with no mask on asking for change so he can buy a beer.

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Told him I want a beer too but I have to fucking work.

 

I keep it locked and moving through that intersection.

I want to carry a RPG whenever I visit that Randalls. I'd go to the one at Brodie/Slaughter but for some reason that Ben White shithole has better deli fried chicken.

 

They're fried chicken is great but I'll never go there again unless I absolutely have to because they don't have any cashiers or self checkout.

I worked for Randalls for a long time and they treat their employees like trash and pay them worse.