Anybody in Austin, TX?

weightliftingdiva
weightliftingdiva Posts: 522 Member
in Introduce Yourself
Hi everyone! I'm getting ready to do an 8 week summer program in Austin, TX (specifically at UT), and I was wondering if anyone was in the area and had tips for restaurants, or logging dining hall food at UT Austin, or things to do. I'm from NJ and I've never been to TX, so I'm looking forward to exploring.

Replies

  • weightliftingdiva
    weightliftingdiva Posts: 522 Member
    Bump, anyone?
  • mowree
    mowree Posts: 74 Member
    I'm not from Austin but have a MFP who is, busywaterbending. Look her up on myfitnesspal. There's lots of fun, cool things to do around Austin. I had a work-related class in Spicewood, TX. ( northwest of Austin) there's 's a wonderful restaurant there called Opie's Barbeque. You gotta try it. Absolutely BEST brisket I've ever eaten. Would LOVE to have some more of it.
  • busywaterbending
    busywaterbending Posts: 844 Member
    hi!

    yelp and meetup.com are great ways to find out more about austin. Also, message me and we can go hit up the hill country swimming holes or hikes around austin. Beware of any yelp review that has 1 star. Anything with 1 star is to avoid! There's too much touristy stuff in the city. Groupon has great packages and deals on activities around the area too. Just yelp the activity first before purchasing anything.

    word of waring (I'm a nyc gal), don't mention the East Coast! TXans kinda take offense if you compare the east coast with the third coast.

    there's ton's of stuff to do and you will love it. Just be sure to have a good hat for when you are outside and some cool sundresses and sandals. And a cute bathing suit for tubing down the rivers.
  • segovm
    segovm Posts: 512 Member
    So I used to work for Dell and hung out in Austin from time to time, it will become obvious after a few days there that Sixth Street is sort of the hub of the entertainment for college folks there. TONS of really great micro venues for live music and sort of a year round mardi gras attitude.

    I'm a sucker for blues and normally found something great to listen to whenever I was down there.

    The area seems to be a pretty bike friendly local and I went out on some trails there a few times which was a lot of fun. Since it's a pretty flat place, getting a bike if you don't already have one would likely help you meet some new folks and stay healthy if you can stand the heat!

    When I went out there all the time one of the places I thought was oddly cool for some reason was a restaurant called the Oasis on Lake Travis. Sort of overhangs the lake and has some nice views... Not sure that the lake actually has any water left in it though, it was receding when I was there.

    Oh, when there is a thunderstorm warning out there, it's best to sort of take that as a sign on an impending apocalypse. They tend to strike hard, drop a TON of rain and make a load of noise and then pass as if they were never there. First time I saw one I didn't understand why the streets had cleared and everything went silent but as I tried to drive home through the flooded streets it made more sense.

    Last thing is people are really friendly there at least compared to my experience coming from California. Took a while to get used to people actually saying hi to strangers instead of just ignoring them.

    Good luck and have fun!

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