So I've been researching places to move (overseas), and while Adelaide is not a city in Australia on my list, it is remarkable how similar they and Austin really are. Usually when there's a sister city affiliation, it means nothing. But:
- Austin was a planned state capital founded in 1839, Adelaide is also a planned state capital founded in 1836
- Metropolitan populations are 1.5 and 1.2 million respectively
- Temperature and rainfall are fairly (25-30 inches), except in summer when Austin is a good 5-7 degrees warmer at night and during the day. However, winter is remarkably similar - their July high of 15 C is the same as our January high. Snowfall is rare in Adelaide as it is in Austin, but Austin reguarly freezes more because it's inland (Adelaide being on a bay)
- Known for being a university town, government center, and nexus of liberalism in an otherwise conservative state (South Australia)
- Both of our airports are located about 7 miles from downtown, and both serve about 6 million people a year
- Both cities have a very big arts/music festival scene known all over Australia / US respectively
- The median price of Austin's housing is about half that of many other metropolitan areas like Seattle or Sacramento, Adelaide's housing costs are about half that of Sydney or Melbourne
- The State of South Australia bank collapsed in 1992, causing a huge recession in Adelaide - the Savings and Loan Busts of the early 90's in Texas cause a huge recession in Austin
- Adelaide derived most of its water from dammed reservoirs in the Adelaide Hills, just like Austin and the Hill Country
- both cities are aguably the Bike Capitals of each respective country (Austin being more an outdoor bike place than, say, Portland)
- both have wine industries nearby (although South Australia's is exponentially larger than ours)
They have a tan Hyatt hotel on their riverfront next to a newly-refurbished coliseum:
They have a suburban freeway meandering through scrubby hills
To the east of Adelaide (and to the west of Austin) is a much-adored range of hills and escarpments, the Adelaide Hills and the Hill Country respectively. Both were settled by German Lutheran immigrants during the 1830's-1850's - with German town names like Hahndorf and Lobethal (Fredericksburg and Schulenburg anyone?)
The Adelaide Hills and Barossa Valley bear striking resemblance to the Hill Country:
bears a striking resemblance to a church out on 71 near Pedernales Valley or something, doesn't it?
I see a little bit of Dripping Springs in this one:
They also have a Mount Barker (although theirs is a suburb similar to Marble Falls)
The evergreen scrub trees combined with bare deciduous trees is another doppleganger for a place like Barton Springs Golf Course"
Hamilton Pool? McKinney Falls? Something like that? No, it's The Waterfall Gully.
Not too unlike our skyline in the 80's when viewed from the Capitol, eh?
This could be 620!
of course, there are a lot of differences - adelaide being the only major city for 300 miles or more, being on a bay, having a big shipping/defense industry, a GM/Holden auto plant, lots of palm trees, not quite a high-tech leader like we are. They also have rapid bus, one tram line and 2 or 3 commuter rail lines.
Anyway, I thought it was interesting to share these similarities - I have a feeling if you wanted to still live in Austin but leave America, you could move to Adelaide and be sitting prettier.
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