I enjoyed Susan Egan's July 24 Commentary regarding "What Texans don't miss about New York." She has now relocated from Loudonville back to Austin.

We did the reverse three years ago. After living in Austin for more than 25 years, we left it for Albany.

Yes, Albany "is marred in some neighborhoods by urban blight, violence and shootings," as Ms. Egan says. But in East Austin there is a similar scene. We love our inner-city neighborhood, Hudson/Park. Only a few neighborhoods in Austin offer the diversity, historic homes, shopping, cultural and recreational opportunities that our neighborhood does.

What don't we miss about Austin?

We don't miss having to drive almost 500 miles to see a mountain. Albany is spectacularly located, within quick driving distance of the Catskills, Helderbergs, Adirondacks, Berkshires, Taconics and Green Mountains.

Want to go to the beach?

Here, they are 150 or so miles away with blue, cool water. The nearest Gulf beach with brown sand and very warm brown water is some 200 miles from Austin. It takes a 300-mile drive to see semi-white sand and bluish water.

We don't miss Austin's traffic. Austin is now the 13th largest city in the U.S. and traffic is unbearable.

In a national survey on congestion conducted by the Texas Transportation Institute, the Austin area was ranked No. 3 worst for the second year in a row. The Urban Mobility Report found that Austin motorists spent some 38 hours a week stuck in traffic.

Bumper to bumper traffic can start around 6 a.m. and continue until 9 a.m. At 3 p.m., the snail's pace resumes and continues until 7 p.m.

Then there's the weather. It can be hot in Albany, but nothing like in Austin, where air conditioners run constantly for eight or more months and electricity bills rise to astronomical heights. Last year, there were 40-something consecutive days of temperatures over 100 degrees there — and no rain. Talk about high watering bills! The blast-furnace heat starts in May and can continue on through October. This year, Texas had record heat into the 100s in June, causing power shortages.

Yes, we have cold winters here, but I'd trade that anytime for the blistering heat and high humidity of Austin. And we enjoy four seasons, particularly the fall with its glorious colors. Austin has really only two seasons, too hot and too cold.

Ms. Egan touches on New York politics. In Texas, almost every state elected official is an ultra-conservative Republican. Inner Austin, thankfully, is a small liberal island surrounded by a rapidly rising sea of conservatism in its ever-expanding suburbs.

Let's start with their governor who appears to be against anything the federal government does. Who can forget Rick Perry's "oops" moment? Or that he doesn't want Medicare expanded in his state though Texas has the highest percentage of uninsured people in the country with more than 25 percent lacking health insurance. That's 6.3 million folks.

The state Republican Party's platform is embarrassing. They're against mandatory immunization, and its platform states: "We oppose the teaching of Higher Order Thinking Skills, critical-thinking skills and similar programs." They do want some very selective federal intervention, however, such as saying "no" to abortions and gay rights.

Yes, companies are flocking to Texas because of the state's "pro-business" policies. There is very little regulation and that comes at a great quality of life cost for Texans — smog, dirty industries and ground and water pollution.

Anyone considering moving to Austin should know that Austin ranked ninth unhappiest in a survey conducted by CareerBliss, which asked 43,000 employees around the country to evaluate their workplace using 10 factors including the work environment, compensation and company culture, etc.

Finally, Ms. Egan wonders why there are no New York state flags flying at residences here. She's right that I've never seen one. But in all my years in Austin, I don't remember seeing one Texas flag flying at a home there either.

I do hope that she is happy in Austin and enjoys the city. We're definitely very glad to be here in Albany.

Claude M. Gruener lives in Albany.