I am thinking about moving to Austin, TX. I have never been there before. What do you like about Austin?

Question

I am thinking that Austin would be a good place to move. Does anyone love Austin? If so, please tell me what you like about it. How are the Universities? Are the people nice? Is the city dog friendly? Is it safe? Is rent high for a one bedroom apartment? How's the music. Thanks.

Answer 1

GREAT CITY!
I love the nature of the city, so green and welcoming. Top universities, some people are nice. But every random act of kindness inspires more! Lots of places to walk your dog. Yes safe, not too sure about rent costs, just check out the city site. Austin is a great music city! 6th street, you got to try it, you'll be hooked!

Answer 2

We have lived here for 16 years. We like Austin quite a bit, but a lot depends on you and where you are coming from. We came here from Boulder, Colorado, and so we didn't immediately take to Austin. Also, people from small towns or other small cities might find Austin expensive, though it is much cheaper than many places around the country (LA, Denver, Pheonix, the east coast, etc).

- Universities - The most notable school is UT, which is a good school (for a state university). There are also several smaller colleges and community colleges in the town.

- People - I think most Austinites are pretty nice. I think that is because it is a still a small city with a younger and more liberal population.

- Dogs - Renting with dogs is hard. I had a friend who was an apartment manager and he told me that rentals that allow dogs are getting rarer and more expensive. There are many parks, but few with leash-free areas. I would not rate Austin as a particularly 'dog friendly' town (but neither is it particularly anti-dog).

- Rent - It can be high. Because this is a college town, rentals tend to be in high demand and so landlords can afford to charge more. However, there are affordable areas and a lot depends on what you consider 'expensive'.

- Music - There are a lot of concerts in town and many bars with live music. If you are into music, you should find plenty to do. I personally think the 'Live music capital' thing is little more than a marketting slogan, but the night scene is pretty good.

In general, I think Austin is a pretty good place to live.

Answer 3

Austin is horrible. Nothing to do there, not sure about the other people that are answering this question. Don't think that they have lived anywhere else. Usually that's the case for Texans, they think that TX is the end of the earth. I lived in Austin for 9 loooooooooooong years, it was boooooooring. I guess if you don't know any better coming from a small town then maybe Austin is happening. I came from a big city and would never want to live there again. But if you want to blindly go, then go at your own risk. It is very expensive if you are buying a house, good luck, if you are renting, then good luck also as rents there are high as the property taxes are ridiculous. Go forewarned.

Answer 4

I love Austin. I have lived here my entire life. There is so much to do, whether you like nature, exercise, music, or sports.
The University of Texas is by far the biggest university in the area, but there are many smaller colleges surrounding Austin, such as St. Edwards and Southwestern. That leaves many opportunities for college sports.
I believe there are very few truly mean people here. Everyone has their bad days, but the majority of people in Austin are genuine and nice.
Austin is safe. It really depends on the area you are in. East Austin is the roughest, and west and northwest Austin are in general the wealthier areas.
Rent will be pretty high for your apartment, especially if you are looking downtown. Then again, rent is high in most large cities for apartments. If you want to feel okay about paying quite a bit for an apartment in Austin, compare the price to an apartment in NYC and you will feel much better.
Music is great! There are lots of clubs and festivals that offer many different types of live music.

I really do enjoy it here. I love the lakes the most. I think it is beautiful, the hills and everything. Enjoy!

Answer 5

I actually did some reasearch last year at this time about austin texas because I also was thinking about moving there. I'll give you some websites that you can check out to know more about the city. It's very beautiful there to start.

http://www.austintexas.org (there is a tone of information here about the city culture and more.

http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/ (the offical city govt web site...you can find any laws that you're looking for here)

http://austinwebpage.com/ (some photos and more information on the city here)

the cost of living in austin texas is actually much lower than the national average and the jobs pay slightly above average. to find a 1 bedroom apartment at a community visit http://www.rent.com

http://www.statesman.com (a link to austin's newspaper) you can read news and find other apartments here.

hope any of that helps

Answer 6

The city is lovely. I love that they've got so many venues to see bands perform. Most of them are cheap ticket prices also. You know, we are the "Live Music Capital of The World". Also, the food is awesome! If you do decide to move, eat at the Roaring Fork, they have great food.

The city is very dog-friendly. You see so many people walking their dogs on Saturday afternoons.

We've got the University of Texas, we won the Rosebowl in 05 or 06, I can't remember. We also have St. Edward's University.

I'm not sure about rent for an apt, because I live in the Hill Country about 45 minutes away.

The night life is great. If you're into performing arts, we've got Esther's, on 6th street downtown. If you want tickets, it's best to get them in advance, because they are always sold out. Shows are on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

There's so much that you need to know about Austin, I can't possibly explain it. It's great, very liberal, city.

The lakes are awesome and the shopping is great. We've got Lake LBJ, Lake Austin, Lake Marble Falls, and Lake Travis.

Let's just say, there's something for everyone in Austin and it's surrounding areas. Come for a visit and check it out, it will be a blast.

Answer 7

I have two younger brothers who live in the Austin area. They love it. Me, I can't stand it. I'm not a UT fan, nor do I like the "pretentiousness" that permeates from Austinites. That's just me. I don't like the drag worms, the far left politics, or the whole Keep Austin Weird thing. It seems like Austin is a city for people who don't want to grow up. I tolerate visiting there for Thanksgiving or Christmas.

It is a decent place to live if you are young and impressionable.

If I had to live there, I'd go to Round Rock. More family oriented and a lot more conservative. My next younger brother lives there.

Answer 8

I've only been there once. I liked the downtown lakefront and park, the abundance of parks in the city, the State Capitol, and Sixth Street.

The University of Texas is the largest university in America with 50,000 students. The city is very dog friendly; you can walk them in something like 10,000 acres of parks. The rents in Austin (after looking them up) are higher than any place else in Texas, minus maybe the very historic "old money" parts of Dallas and Houston. A 1BR apt. will probably run $800/mo. in a safe neighborhood.

I've considered moving there. However, I've heard stories about how the city has lost its Texas hospitality and its drivers are horrible. I don't think Austin is "unfriendly," per se; however, liberal-leaning cities tend to not be as genuinely warm and welcoming as they tout themselves to be. I thought San Antonio to its south, Fort Worth to its north, and Houston to its east were considerably friendlier. That was in 2001.

Answer 9

It's young, vibrant, has an active downtown, best city in the country for singles, awesome college scene. It's among the safest cities in America for its size. University of Texas was number 46 out of hundreds of colleges in terms of quality. It's about the most liberal place in Texas.

It is the "Live Music Capitol of the World". It's a pretty city. I would think it is a little more expensive than Houston though. It's everything Houston is not. I hear that people absolutely love it there.

Here is a link for all of the cities in America with information you would find helpful.