Gloria wrote:What do you Texans have to say about it?
with Fiona. As a lifelong native of Texas, here are some of my thoughts.UT at Austin is my alma mater, and I also worked there for a few years, so I lived there for a while. This old country boy would never consider living there again, though. (But then, I've always been a country boy, with absolutely no interest in adopting any other persona). Back then, at least you could find a convenient parking place in the city, once in a while.
If you're in a hurry to get somewhere, don't go near Austin. These days, driving through Austin (even on I35) makes you wonder if you made a wrong turn, and you're driving through New York City — rush-hour traffic seems to last all day long, and when rush hour actually arrives, it really gets rough.
I live about 50 miles NE of Austin, and Austin is driving up land prices around here.Otherwise, I reckon it's not a totally intolerable place to live.
It's a yuppie haven, if you like that sort of thing. It's been a long time since I've been to Chicago, and I never did more than just pass through without spending much time there, but if you like Chicago (except for the cold — it was as cold as a well-diggers butt when I was there), you would probably love Austin — it's congested, but it has a much more relaxed, laid-back atmosphere, and the natives are friendly. 
Oh! And you have to consider that the summer of 2011 was one of the worst in about a century, and 2012 wasn't too far behind. 2011 was kinda like living next door to hell, just about everywhere in Texas. We've had above-normal rainfall recently, and we're currently over 5 inches above the normal total annual rainfall where I live (normal total annual rainfall is 35 inches, probably roughly half of the average annual rainfall in your part of the world).
And fortunately, the hot summers are offset somewhat by events such as the ice storm that's predicted to move into the area tonight.
The other good news is that unlike Midwesterners, who are used to driving on snowy or icy roads, the average Austinite doesn't have the foggiest idea how to drive during a gentle rain, let alone during or after a snowstorm or icestorm. 
If it's sprinkling rain, don't get on the roads unless you have good insurance, and you want a new car, 'cause they'll run over you or run into you every chance they get, and their excuse will be, "The road must have been slick!" Tex
There was an ice storm in late 2010 (or it may have been early 2011, I forget now), and they were covering the roads with sand. On what planet does sand mitigate the effects of icy road conditions? Nice not having road salt eat holes into the road, and worse, your car, however.
