Living in Austin, Texas?

moderndarwin

moderndarwin

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I am from California (but abroad at the moment) and am thinking of places to settle down. I always thought it'd be San Fran, but average rent for a 1 bedroom is $2,700. I've spent the past 4 years in studio and 1 bedrooms and want to pick a place to settle down and start my career/family. I've always had a good time visiting Texas, but anyone know what it is truly like living in Austin? How much is rent/places/things to do/safety/driving/availability of finance and accounting jobs?
 
I grew up in NorCal and have been in Austin for a long time. We pay $975 for a town home with a garage/yard but apartment costs vary depending on what you want. Average apartment cost is probably in the $700 range for a nice 1 bedroom. We have one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country and have a number of large companies like apple, dell, google, eBay, visa, etc. traffic sucks, but that's true in most big cities. Public transit is mediocre. Austin is generally pretty safe and offers tons of stuff to do. I'm still not used to the summer heat.
 
Please don't do it. Don't buy into the amazing, hipster place that the media makes Austin out to be.

It's cool, fun place to visit. But it's small and congested. For a family? No. Austin caters more towards the 18-25, hipster, eco-friendly, single crowd.

If you do move there, get a bike.

I really like Austin but I wouldn't live there.
 
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It's cool. If you're white and enjoy live music, you'll have a great time.
 
Enjoy Austin y'all suppose to be the next town with that google fiber. Can't wait till it comes to the bay. Suprised San Francisco ain't one of the first places with it
 
I have a friend that moved down there a couple of years ago, and he said he enjoys it. He also said it's a lot more laid back than the other cities down there.

Me personally, would rather live in Houston though.
 
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Austin is good for UTA and college girls. Other than that, I wouldn't want to settle down there.
 
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It's cool. Can get crowded traffic wise.
Houston is much worse.

Love San Antonio. It's big and has a lot of people, but you'd never know it.
 
ModernDarwin said:
I am from California (but abroad at the moment) and am thinking of places to settle down. I always thought it'd be San Fran, but average rent for a 1 bedroom is $2,700. I've spent the past 4 years in studio and 1 bedrooms and want to pick a place to settle down and start my career/family. I've always had a good time visiting Texas, but anyone know what it is truly like living in Austin? How much is rent/places/things to do/safety/driving/availability of finance and accounting jobs?
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I was born and raised in Austin, so I think I can answer just about any question you have about the place. I can name a ton of cool things about Austin, but I'll start out with bad:

Traffic - There are just too many cars on the road at random times. Mix in SXSW, UT football, Formula 1, ACL, and all the marathons and 5ks and it gets pretty frustrating.

Summer/heat - You'll have 4 months of 100+ temps.

Hipsters - I'm serious... it's enough of a problem that I posted it. I still don't get it. They are all a little "too cool".

Cyclists - Very bike-friendly town which is cool, but hipster bike riders are douches. They will literally take a whole lane during rush hour traffic while pedaling a $2500, that I don't get how they can afford, bike at a leisurely pace.

This next one is my opinion:

Austin does not does not really cater to minority cultures. There really isn't a large number of Hispanic/AA professionals here. I have a couple of friends who drive to Houston every weekend cause there aren't any hip-hop/rap clubs, concerts, etc here in Austin... there isn't even a dedicated hip-hop/rap radio station. I am a 31 year old Hispanic and I don't want to go to a bar and listen to some guy on a stage playing rock/country. 

I can go on and on about all the great stuff about Austin if you wanted to know. For your specific questions: rent can be all over the place depending what you're looking for, tons of stuff to do, Austin is one of the safest cities our size in the country, and our job market is fantastic. I know a few people in finance and accounting that are doing great.
 
I am getting the hell out of houston to move to Austin
Born in the bay and had to move here to work and take care of fam... Austin is the close in the environment of the bay
Houston people are not as nice as austinites
If you like hipster chicks, cheap bars,live music, nature... I say go for it like me
Austin>San Antonio>Dallas>houston
 
Damn what do you know...

I'm actually flying out there tomorrow for work purposes...

Only two days though, and I have a friend that live in Houston so I might see what's good.
 
While I was there it was pretty fun. I loved the feel of Austin. Feels like my soul is still there.
 
I would suggest Houston. Not to sound biased but I couldn't see myself anywhere else. Born and raised. Cost of living is cheap as hell. U can find u a nice 2 bedroom apartment for $800. Its a big city in regards to land but it has a small town feel to it. Although we don't have any landmarks, its always something to do down here almost everyday.

Read this article below about Houston being on the rise...

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articl...at-american-cities-aren-t-what-you-think.html
 
I've been here four years and sadly I'm leaving soon to go back to Houston( great place also).

I've enjoyed the experience in Austin, there's always something to do I feel like.
-If you like being outdoors, you'll love it here. The parks are awesome.
-The people are nice as hell but like someone else stated the you can get tired of some of the hipsters trying too hard
-The music festivals are a lot of fun, if you love music you'll love Austin.
-The food! So many good food trucks out here too.
-The nightlife is pretty good, I've grown tired of sixth street. I prefer a more chill night down Rainey St
-Traffic sucks, Austin was never built with the thought of having this many people
- Rent just varies, obviously the closer you get to downtown the more you'll be paying. For something within 5 miles, a 1 bedroom apartment can cost 1,400 but if you don't mind commuting through bad traffic then you should be able to find something cheaper that's more than 5 miles out.
 
Man I love Austin, go a lot from Houston. Dope city to hang out and relax in. Just walk around, eat, and grub in. It's a nice city socially, but seems small. They have a lot of $ out there if you're in to IT.
 
Houston and Dallas are massive city plexis like LA, Austin is more akin to something like San Fran. Austin is the most expensive city to love in TX,but its worth it. The people on Austin are different then the other cities, partly due to the hippy history of the city, and partly due to the California transplants but its very laid back and liberal where most of the state is very conservative.
 
is austin as expensive as DC or NYC?

since its the state capitol, i would love to live there if there are jobs in the field that im interested in.
 
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