Name: Austin, TX
Rating: 0.0

( 91 Ratings )

Living in Austin, TX

Ranks better than 83% of areas Follow

Population

965,872

Median Age

33.7 Years

Austin Area Facts

Austin has a Livability Score of 83_/100, which is considered exceptional
Austin crime rates are 51% higher than the Texas average
Cost of living in Austin is 30% higher than the Texas average

What do the locals think about Austin?

53%

Family friendly

31%

Public transit is accessible

26%

Walkable to grocery stores

28%

Yards are well-kept

60%

Lots of parks

26%

Walkable to restaurants

Friendly neighbors

Safe at night

Pet friendly

Streets have sidewalks

29%

A quiet area

35%

Sense of community

Based on 78 votes from AreaVibes users. Take the poll

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Austin Reviews

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Heat & Texas 3.5 rating By Anonymous ( Aug 05, 2022) Austin is family friendly, has lots of amenities and parks, it's pet friendly and your neighbors will be really nice. It's generally pretty easy living if you have an apartment or house you can afford. The worst part of Austin is the heat for like 5-6 months and the Texas state g ...Read More overnment. It's a really chill place to live other than the things mentioned before. The heat is really tough when you have young kids because it limits what you can do and it's relentless. That said there are a ton of neighborhood pools that are free and nice. If you live here and you see too many students or are in a crowded area, trust me that is not most of Austin. You can avoid all of that. The allergies stink if they affect you, the traffic can be bad but unlike some other big cities you usually have a couple routes you can take. It is growing a lot and getting less quaint and cute in places but that's like any growing city. There really are a lot of great things about Austin but I can see people getting tired of it... and by it I mean the heat and Greg Abbott. Read Less

Over crowded, very high cost of living, and limited professional jobs 2 rating By Anonymous ( Oct 21, 2020) Have lived here for 10 years. Love the city. Alot of foods to try out. Great nightlife. People are friendlier. Mostly younger crowd.

Due to tech companies moving in to hire young talent for their inside sales jobs, it has over crowded the city and traffic along with it. Includi ...Read More ng the skyrocketing costs of housing, either renting or buying a home.

The city vibe has changed alot including the vibe due to influx of people moving to Austin, and bulldozing of arts and crafts areas for high rises. Read Less

please learn road safety 2.5 rating By Anonymous ( Oct 11, 2018) Austin isn't that bad. Yea traffic sucks and yea it's fast growing but that's the cost of living in a city let alone the capital. My only problem with the city is people not knowing basic driving rules. Like just today, everything is going fine, went to the bank and then went to ...Read More pick up the lady from work. On the way home I almost rear ended this car. The light turns green, as they do, and we start moving forward. Then, out of nowhere they stop in the middle of the intersection and turn their blinker on. Now, we are NOT in a turn lane, the left turn lane is to our left and has cars waiting patiently, yielding, for their turn. This car just stops. I have 10 plus cars behind me. So, I press my horn, hoping they will continue straight and turn up ahead, the shopping area has multiple roadside entrances. After I press it a couple times, not laying in it, I'm being very polite with my passive aggressive horn use, they exit their vehicle in the middle of the intersection to complain to me. We have been sitting here a good minute now and the lights about to go red with 3 cars in the intersection. They ask me what I want from them and that they just have to turn here, and I replied with a question: why aren't you in the turn lane then? They just got in their car and made the turn, honestly I think they made cars in the left lanes stop for their entitlement. Multiple accidents could have happened either with me rear ending them, or them crossing traffic not in a turn lane and not waiting. This is just one example of the entitlement Austin city drivers have. I have one thing to say to you guys, please, if you miss your turn, keep going. No one's safety is worth you missing a turn, and in 30 seconds you can either turn up the road or make a U-turn if allowed at that designated stop. Driving is a privilege and not a right. Read Less

Austin is meh 2.5 rating By Anonymous ( Oct 08, 2018) So, I've been living in Austin for my 18 years of living, and all I can say is that it's okay. I haven't been to many places outside of Texas, much less the U.S., so I don't really have any other city to compare it to. Austin is a city that is fun and cool if you or your family h ...Read More as money. It's a pretty nice city, especially at night, but growing up poor, I've never been to any of the events that happen here. I haven't been to SXSW, ACL, nor any other big festival here. I've never been to all the nice places such as Hamilton pool, Franklin's BBQ, Alamo Draft House, nor Paramount Theater. I've been to the Bob Bullock a few times for a field trip as a kid, but that's about it, I think. Downtown is pretty nice though, especially at night, and the new library that was built here recently is pretty cool too, but it's still kinda boring. The big thing I really don't like about Austin though is not just the big hipster culture, but the people who come here and pose as Texans. What I mean by this is that there are lots of people here from California, or New York, or any other state that's not part of the South and will try hard to act like a Texan, usually by trying to use words like "Y'all" or "Ain't" casually, even though it sounds awkward. I'm usually not the type to be all "Quit stealing my culture", but this just gets annoying, especially when it's a huge hipster with weird glasses and dyed hair that says it. It just comes off as if the hipsters moving here are huge posers who try to act Texan, yet never really do anything that makes a person culturally Texan. I like Austin, especially since it's the city that raised me, but I really don't like telling people out of the city that I'm from here, due to the big hipster culture that just seems to raise crybabies all the time. Anyways, this review got a bit long, and congrats if you're still reading this. By the way, if you like stuff like anime, go to the UT anime club. It's in a building pretty close to the UT tower called Painter hall, on the fourth floor. They have their own website, so you can look for the room number there. Also, the anime club there isn't full of hipsters with dyed hair that you'd see around at times but full of pretty cool people. Lastly, I personally hate the saying "Keep Austin Weird", because it's not weird. It's like any other big city that tries to call itself weird because of how many hipsters there are. It's a normal city with lots of spoiled people (not everybody though, just lots) who desperately want to be 'unique' by dying their a bright color and who will at times say that they don't care what your thoughts or politics are, but then try to subtly test you by bringing up certain events causally and see if they like your answers.TL;DR Austin is full of posers from California and other states who try to act Texan, but just come off as pretentious. Also, you need money if you want to go to any interesting events here. Read Less

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please learn road safety 2.5 rating By Anonymous ( Oct 11, 2018) Austin isn't that bad. Yea traffic sucks and yea it's fast growing but that's the cost of living in a city let alone the capital. My only problem with the city is people not knowing basic driving rules. Like just today, everything is going fine, went to the bank and then went to ...Read More pick up the lady from work. On the way home I almost rear ended this car. The light turns green, as they do, and we start moving forward. Then, out of nowhere they stop in the middle of the intersection and turn their blinker on. Now, we are NOT in a turn lane, the left turn lane is to our left and has cars waiting patiently, yielding, for their turn. This car just stops. I have 10 plus cars behind me. So, I press my horn, hoping they will continue straight and turn up ahead, the shopping area has multiple roadside entrances. After I press it a couple times, not laying in it, I'm being very polite with my passive aggressive horn use, they exit their vehicle in the middle of the intersection to complain to me. We have been sitting here a good minute now and the lights about to go red with 3 cars in the intersection. They ask me what I want from them and that they just have to turn here, and I replied with a question: why aren't you in the turn lane then? They just got in their car and made the turn, honestly I think they made cars in the left lanes stop for their entitlement. Multiple accidents could have happened either with me rear ending them, or them crossing traffic not in a turn lane and not waiting. This is just one example of the entitlement Austin city drivers have. I have one thing to say to you guys, please, if you miss your turn, keep going. No one's safety is worth you missing a turn, and in 30 seconds you can either turn up the road or make a U-turn if allowed at that designated stop. Driving is a privilege and not a right. Read Less

Austin is meh 2.5 rating By Anonymous ( Oct 08, 2018) So, I've been living in Austin for my 18 years of living, and all I can say is that it's okay. I haven't been to many places outside of Texas, much less the U.S., so I don't really have any other city to compare it to. Austin is a city that is fun and cool if you or your family h ...Read More as money. It's a pretty nice city, especially at night, but growing up poor, I've never been to any of the events that happen here. I haven't been to SXSW, ACL, nor any other big festival here. I've never been to all the nice places such as Hamilton pool, Franklin's BBQ, Alamo Draft House, nor Paramount Theater. I've been to the Bob Bullock a few times for a field trip as a kid, but that's about it, I think. Downtown is pretty nice though, especially at night, and the new library that was built here recently is pretty cool too, but it's still kinda boring. The big thing I really don't like about Austin though is not just the big hipster culture, but the people who come here and pose as Texans. What I mean by this is that there are lots of people here from California, or New York, or any other state that's not part of the South and will try hard to act like a Texan, usually by trying to use words like "Y'all" or "Ain't" casually, even though it sounds awkward. I'm usually not the type to be all "Quit stealing my culture", but this just gets annoying, especially when it's a huge hipster with weird glasses and dyed hair that says it. It just comes off as if the hipsters moving here are huge posers who try to act Texan, yet never really do anything that makes a person culturally Texan. I like Austin, especially since it's the city that raised me, but I really don't like telling people out of the city that I'm from here, due to the big hipster culture that just seems to raise crybabies all the time. Anyways, this review got a bit long, and congrats if you're still reading this. By the way, if you like stuff like anime, go to the UT anime club. It's in a building pretty close to the UT tower called Painter hall, on the fourth floor. They have their own website, so you can look for the room number there. Also, the anime club there isn't full of hipsters with dyed hair that you'd see around at times but full of pretty cool people. Lastly, I personally hate the saying "Keep Austin Weird", because it's not weird. It's like any other big city that tries to call itself weird because of how many hipsters there are. It's a normal city with lots of spoiled people (not everybody though, just lots) who desperately want to be 'unique' by dying their a bright color and who will at times say that they don't care what your thoughts or politics are, but then try to subtly test you by bringing up certain events causally and see if they like your answers.TL;DR Austin is full of posers from California and other states who try to act Texan, but just come off as pretentious. Also, you need money if you want to go to any interesting events here. Read Less

Can't give it a rest 1 rating By Anonymous ( Sep 26, 2018) They have a week long festival that starts in summer. People from all over hold up traffic with their broke down motorcycles. They have 2 week film festival that for the most part when defunct and turned into a tech festival, that starts in spring just when every other city is ge ...Read More tting a rest from the holidays. Nope. Not Austin. If a festival isn't happening, they'll find maintenance reasons to block off the roads. They just can't give it a rest. It's sucks living here and the people here are getting greasier and more hipster like by the year. I thought leftists were about human equality. Im stuck here for the moment but as soon as I can. ✌ Read Less

Austin is ruined. 0.5 rating By Anonymous ( Sep 26, 2018) This used to have a reputation of being affordable. Now it's a hipster hangout and working class people are being essentially kicked out of the city. It's the 23rd most expensive city in the US and what you get for that price is roads that weren't made to handle all the troll fr ...Read More om CA and N.Y. and homeless people trying to guilt you on every street corner. Sometimes even fight you just because you were there. I'll be glad when I leave but can't shake the feeling thatI'm being made to leave despite being a contributing member of the city. Read Less

Great Place to Call Home 5 rating By atxrepro1 ( Mar 16, 2018) Many people call wherever they grew up “home” and I get it, it’s a place that had a huge impact on you as a person during formative years. Austin is unique in that I have never been anywhere that had such a large number of individuals who called Austin “home” even thoug ...Read More h they grew up elsewhere. Perhaps it’s a regional thing, but the more likely answer is Austin Texas is rare and has the perfect mix of specific factors that make home Austin, not where I grew up possible. Some of the elements that make this possible are great people, community acceptance of newcomers, open mindedness, abundance of opportunity (economically & socially), respect for the environment, self respect, empathy, and hope. Austin is a giant small town focused on maintaining and creating a great place to live that includes everyone in the process. I grew up in New York, but without a doubt Austin, Texas is home!! Read Less

LaQuinta Hotel at 1603 E. Oltorf Street 0.5 rating By juliemarlenesmith ( Oct 26, 2017) We stayed here on our first trip to Austin and paid $257 per night it had flees and cockroaches and was filthy with bad odors!! ...Read More Read Less

Review of Austin & Surrounding Areas 2 rating By sharonmac ( Aug 06, 2017) I have lived in the Austin area for over 30 years. I have seen it morph into what used to be a great place to live, into a huge traffic-infested nightmare, extreme crime, horrible regulations for businesses, long wait times for getting into restaurants, football games or even cit ...Read More y parks. Things that used to be free now require big admission prices & parking fees. Forget about affordable housing cause you Won't find it here, plus utilities, especially water, is Totally out of control! It's a nice place to visit, provided you got Big-Bucks, but I would Not advise living here. Read Less

It suckers 1 rating By Rmorris ( Mar 12, 2017) Austin tx sucks! They don't have uber!!!! You have to pay $50 for cab service! This town makes no since get us neither 21st century ...Read More Read Less

Austin is Disgusting 0.5 rating By Knott Happy ( Dec 10, 2016) Bums everywhere begging, dirty streets. Parks like Hamilton Pools are reservation only 6 plus months in advance. Roads have not kept up with the population, signage is lacking. I do not know how the Mayor sleeps at night. Austin Texas is Disgusting! ...Read More Read Less

Austin -The Backstory 2 rating By EquusCaelum ( Aug 23, 2016) A lot of what has been written here already describes what Austin has declined to become: a less-than, if not downright undesirable, place to live. Therefore I'll not reiterate what has already been stated. Rather, it might be useful to some to understand that a lot of the critic ...Read More al comments written here are not simply rants from malcontents. If you understand what Austin used to be and what it has become you will also understand that the negative things written here are more likely statements of frustration and a warning: don't believe the hype or let yourself be fooled by visiting for a weekend. Austin has a negative frustrating gritty side. Present day Austin is rather like a peanut-centered M&M. To the casual observer the candy coating is shiny and tastes good. Underneath is the chocolate and that's pretty good too. But if you dig deeper you'll come to the nut. If you like nuts, and Austin is full of them - especially on the city council - you might be content there. However, even if you're ok with Austin at first, there's a good possibility that eventually you'll find it to be cloying.Austin was a different world in the 1970s and 1980s. It was Camelot. I'll not go into the details but know that it was much smaller and dramatically less crowded. It still had a soul. The beginning of the end happened in the late 1970s and early 1980s when the California developers discovered it. Some blame the sudden rise in popularity of country music and the popularity of hits like "Luckenback, Texas" as well as songs that mentioned Austin by name. Who knows if that's true but one thing is certain, the developers came, liked what they found, and never left. At first the growth seemed like a nice thing. For some Austin had been a bit too provincial for too long. There weren't many good restaurants and there were no great ones. There was only one shopping mall. If you wanted more than that you had to drive to San Antonio or Dallas. With the developers came new swanky, (by the standards of the day), apartments in what was then heavily wooded northwest Austin and young adults, myself among them, clamored to move to that new untouched part of town accessible via the largely unknown MoPac expressway. Two big new shopping malls were built. New upscale neighborhoods sprang up in the hills along RR 2222. New restaurants popped up. It wasn't bad at first. But the boom-town atmosphere had an edge to it. Those of us who had been here for a long time had a gut feeling that Austin as we knew it was disappearing bit-by-bit, day-by-day. We were right. Growth continued unchecked and now it is out of control. I'll not get into a criticism of my own here other than to point out two things now one else seems to have touch on. First and most importantly, Austin is running out of water. Despite the short-term respite that last season's rain brought by filling Lake Travis, the supply won't last in the long run. That of course can potentially impact property value. No one wants to buy property if there's a question about access to a quality water supply. The other issue is the quality of city governance. A room full of drunk monkeys would be more fiscally responsible than the Austin City Council. Historically there have always been one or two contrarian council members with good heads on their shoulders but their voices are always drowned out by the majority who are complete nit wits when it comes to common sense. Know that the city is, and for decades has been, controlled by residents of the 78704 zip code. The reasons for that are too complex to go into here. However, that said, it's an indisputable fact that whatever 78704 wants they generally get. That's more than unfortunate because what's good for the people in the urban core of 78704 may not be good for the residents in the suburbs. The fact that the council has gone to a single member district system has had no effect on control. If you enjoy seeing your tax money wasted on foolish things you'll be ok with the city council. If that bothers you you'll find it frustrating beyond words. All of the foregoing having been said I'll close by saying that it you're reading this because you're considering moving to Austin think carefully before you decide. To be sure there are a few ok things about living there, particularly if you are young, single, have few responsibilities, and don't need to commute during rush hour. Otherwise there are much better places in the state to live. I lived in Austin for more than 40 years. Now I live somewhere else. Had I known then what I know now I wouldn't have waited for a family situation to force my hand. I'd have moved long before I did. Read Less

Hidden Gem transformed into Hell Pit 1.5 rating By rexman ( Oct 05, 2015) As a native who grew up here, I have seen this city go from a charming middle size town with lots of advantages to an overcrowded, rude, and repulsive place. The traffic is insane, now ranking 4th worst in the nation. That's what happens when you have a city council in the pocket ...Read More of the greedy real estate developers. We are well on the way to be Houston II. Also, being a sanctuary city is code for " losers come here and get free handouts!" I am for charity for sure. The people here are mostly generous. But we are overstretched, overcrowded, and have had at least 40 per cent increase in population with NO planning. It is not the city I grew up in where I could go to Barton Springs for 50 cents and see the bottom of the spring because there was no pollution. All the cool hippies have left because they can't afford it....hey middle class people can't really afford it either! In case you haven't guessed, when I retire, I will move immediately!! It could work for you if you are a yuppie living downtown who can walk to work, but for others, forget it. There is a traffic death almost every day now..... Read Less

The Texas Toilet 0.5 rating By Phil Theeballs ( Jun 24, 2015) Austin is one of the most disgusting places one could ever live. Downtown smells like a urinal. This city is full of bums. Homeless street bums and young 20 something hipster bums.
If you like poor quality Mexican food and lousy washed up musicians hacking out played out cover tu ...Read More nes, this place might be for you. Especially if you have a beard and a Hitler youth haircut. Full of dirty, boring bars with the ugliest women in America. People here also don't know how to drive. At all.
the only plus side to this is that more of them might get into accidents rendering themselves either dead or too crippled to leave their run down ranch homes to clog up the I35. Read Less

Austin is a posers paradise 1.5 rating By johnicer ( Dec 31, 2014) The simple fact of the matter is that Austin offers nothing in way of quality. Sure it maybe the live music capital of the world, but it is not offering acts that have anything more then free time on their hands. The hippies contributing to Austin's scene do more to take away f ...Read More rom it then they do to add. The rudeness of the people is only outweighed by the dirtiness and never ending turns and bridges found throughout the town. Driving is difficult and time consuming. If there is a good thing to this it is the never ending homeless people littered throughout the town. New York had pigeons, DC has politicians, and Austin has bums. As far Austin's great music scene: skip it. You will find my passion and talent at your local high school marching band. If Austin has a let down beyond the music it is its restaurants. Nothing but trendy places trying to sell an ideologue and no thought about ever serving a meal. Farm to table, even if there's no farm available. Read Less

Good and Bad - Depends on what you want 3.5 rating By dawsonclawson ( Apr 29, 2014) You have hipsters. You have college kids. You have California transplants, and you have tourists.

Everybody has pretty much nailed this stuff down, ad nauseum.

Austin is a great place if you are a Texan but do not identify with the larger metroplexes or the rural Easts and W ...Read More ests. You have museums (though the Museum of Natural Science and History could use more funding), theaters, art galleries, and everything a contemporary big city needs. You have several colleges and uni's to pursue your life of paying back loans. There are literally tons of outdoor things to do involving your feet, a paddle, a boat, or a tent within a 45 minute drive in any direction. The music scene is overkill and it is something you grow to deal with. I am a musical hobbyist. I won't call myself a musician, because everyone here wants to be called that. The real musicians work their asses off. I've met a few, which is why I won't sully their profession. But there is literally music everywhere you go and this is something I still love to death.

Austin is a paradox. There is an insatiable desire to cram more and more festivals into the calendar, yet the out-of-towners are shutting all the bars down due to noise complaints - bars that have been here forever. Austin wants to attract more people, yet the people are causing property values and taxes to go up, so iconic businesses are being priced out of their locations. Homeowners, too. Finding a place to live at a reasonable price is getting harder and the city thinks the best thing to do is build more skyscrapers, not cheap apartments or houses. Austin is getting a slick sheen to it but it still wants to be the gritty and weird live music capital of the world. I feel that the population growth and influx of 'normal' people is going to gentrify the whole city. I mean, how weird is a smattering of multi-use retail living facilities? That's not weird, that's awful.

Cyclists want to share the road but they refuse to obey the rules of the road. It makes driving nerve-wracking and that doesn't even touch how dense traffic is becoming. I35 traffic is bad. Not as bad as Houston or LA, but it is bad for a smaller city. People have become more aggressive on the road and it gets really bad when it rains, which is once every 6 months. And the road infrastructure leaves a lot to be desired. Construction and capacity are constantly behind demand.

If you love festivals, you will most likely hate festivals here - but the same way you come to hate pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving. SXSW takes up almost a whole month, there is the R.O.T. Rally, F1, now the X-Games, Marathons, Bike Races, Austin Fan Fest, Fun Fun Fun Fest, Psych Fest, Eeyore's Birthday, the Kite Festival, ACL, blah blah blah. And if you like food, you don't even have to go to a restaurant. There are food trucks everywhere serving everything under the Sun.

Speaking of, the weather is hot. We've been in a drought for years. Lake Travis has been 30 feet below normal levels for years, too. Stage 2 water restrictions mean watering your grass becomes a hard choice. One summer we had 4300 days in a row over 1100 degrees. People just started melting right on the sidewalk. It's a great time to buy (formerly) waterfront property, if you can afford it.

I love Austin. I'm glad that I've moved here but it is becoming both a shadow and a caricature of itself. I respect and appreciate Austin Police and city services. I love that APD is so interactive with the community. But despite their work, Austin can sometimes feel full of careless drunks and punks. 6th Street smells like bodily fluids and it seems like more and more people are dying there.

If you want to move to Central Texas, move to a town on the outskirts like Dripping Springs, Wimberley, Del Valle, Pflugerville, etc...You might have to pay a lot and drive a bit, but you're going to be doing that if you tried living in Austin, anyway. Might as well live in a place where your community feels more tightly knit.

Hook 'em. Read Less

I do not like Austin. 10 word limit on titles. 2 rating By luckybear ( Mar 23, 2014) Austin is full of vicious, smelly hippies, 20 somethings trying to make it in life. The only thing to do in Austin is going to bars that are catered toward 20-something hippies. Urbanites. Aspiring musicians and people thinking they're going to make it big. And thats all you need ...Read More to know. There is nowhere to go in Austin that doesnt smell like a toilet. Unles you are a 20-something that hasnt grown up yet, you probably will not enjoy living here. Note how the previous reviewer called the people that lived her "beautiful". ..Ugh. I dont know how its got an A+ in prices either, if i recall correctly it is expensive to live there. Read Less

Austin, TX: Where Beer and Exercise Join Forces 4.5 rating By Anonymous ( Nov 24, 2011) I've lived in Austin for the last five years. Austin is the perfect amalgam of eclectic and struggling artists, exciting nightlife, urban appeal, abundant nature, and high powered executives. Austin is a city where the man stepping out of the Maserati in the Armani suit most like ...Read More ly has a full-sleeve tattoo under his dress shirt. Almost everyone has a dog that seems more human than canine. In the same city block, you can find people kayaking in Ladybird Lake, fixed gear enthusiasts biking in the middle of the street, and college students stumbling home from the night before. Austin is packed to the brim with restaurants and food trailers, each hipper, smaller, and more crowded than the one before it. There are multiple greenbelts for fans of the outdoors and the downtown area caters to people who love to drink.

Austin is a party town filled with tons of young, ambitious, driven, and beautiful people. It is a city where on any given Saturday, the sun is shining and everyone is hungover, yet they all seem to be starting pickup soccer games, hiking trails, and jogging in the bike lanes. Yes, Austin is a city of fit, healthy, and intelligent individuals. Although, what else would you expect in a city with a combined student population well over 60,000?

Austin's only downfall concerns the oppressive heat that blankets the city from May to September every year. Each summer is hotter than the last, and hundred degree days are the norm. In fact, Austin is so hot that we often end up with sweat-inducing weather sprinkled into October, November, December, and January. The summer of 2011 was the hottest on record and felt unbearable, and I've lived in Texas all my life. Read Less

Keepin' it weird. 5 rating By Ragdoll ( Jan 20, 2011) I've been to Austin countless times over the years and am absolutely in love with it. The city motto is "Keep Austin Weird". It's like a small San Francisco. The mix of bohemian, tattooed kids with Masters degrees, fitness/health freaks, business people and politicians is amazing ...Read More , and yes...weird. This being Texas, everyone is pretty friendly and you can find someone to hang out with whatever your hobbies are.

Independently owned shops, restaurants, and music venues are tucked away everywhere in this eclectic city. Every time you explore you can find something new even though the city itself is rather small. Austin and it's inhabitants are big on green, healthy living. On any given day you'll see a huge amount of people riding their bikes or walking. There are some great parks and trails to walk/ride/run through. The city is also host to several big events like SXSW and the ACL Music Festival. There's always something going on: bar hopping on 6th street, small live music events at Stubb's BBQ/Mohawk's/etc, or hitting up the kooky Toy Joy for random, fun gifts.

As with everything, there are some downsides. The traffic in Austin is horrendous. To navigate you've quickly got to become good at traveling through side streets as you want to avoid 35 and MOPAC at all costs. Housing is also fairly expensive. You wouldn't expect it from such a small city, but small houses will easily cost you upwards of $300,000. Rent is also a bit pricey, though there are quite a few excellent properties to choose from.

All in all, Austin is an amazing city. You've got all the fun and excitement of a larger city, but with a friendly, small-town feel. It's definitely worth visiting and if you can find a way to move there it's a great city to live in. Read Less

Is Austin the tech hub of the midwest? 4 rating By ryankelly ( Jan 18, 2011) I live just down the road on I-35 from Austin in San Antonio, but frequently visit Austin and love that city for a variety of reasons:

1. Austin is often compared to Silicon Valley (San Francisco) because of the abundant tech companies, startups and venture capital and angel in ...Read More vestors in the area. Austin has a thriving startup community and is a great place to start and build a company. There is more access to technical people and web developers compared to other areas.

2. Green living. If you are all bout green living and eco-friendliness, then Austin is the place for you. Lots of people walk or ride bikes to work, and Whole Foods has their corporate headquarters there. Everyone there just seems to be green-minded and less wasteful. In San Antonio, everyone get's in their Suburban to go down the road to get milk.

3. Health and fitness. Austin has some great parks and recreations centers like Zelker Park, which has a large walking/bike trail, a river for kyaking or boating, playing fields and so much more. Everyone in Austin seems interested in their health and fitness. Most parks in San Antonio are empty :(

However, Austin does have a couple of drawbacks as well. After all, you can't have everything :)

1. Traffic is horrible. Austin has some of the worst traffic in Texas, and trying to get through downtown and get to the north side of Austin is a nightmare. Even the MoPac highway is congested.

2. Real estate is quite pricey. A lot of the properties here are very expensive, and could cost upwards of $300-400K for something like a bungalow. For the size of Austin, you just wouldn't expect real estate prices that high, but they are! I'm sure you can find deals out there, but Texas hasn't had the same real estate downfall as other states, and so a lot of Texas cities are "holding their own" as a result. Read Less

Awed by Austin, Texas 5 rating By Anonymous ( Apr 29, 2010) I have traveled to Austin, Texas, many times and always enjoyed myself. The biggest issue in the city is the traffic situation as it can quickly come to a stand still.

If you enjoy the outdoors, the hiking trails and flying bats are wonderful experiences that you should not pas ...Read More s up. Additionally, there is plenty of shopping destinations to choose from with a wide variety of designers represented. There is also a wide range of specialty restaurants in Austin. I have never had a problem finding some new and interesting food to try while I'm there.

The nightlife in Austin can be crazy, especially on 6th Street. However, there is always a cultural event taking place as well. For example, Austin City Live is a long-running music show out of Austin. Additionally, the city hosts its own film festival each year. As you can see, there is a wide variety of events happening around Austin at any one moment and the local people who call Austin home are always willing to be friendly and helpful to visitors. Read Less

Compare Austin, TX Livability

Austin, TX

Keeping Austin weird is the mantra of this fun and quirky city deep in the heart of Texas, and Austin is one of the most exciting capital cities in all of America. While the city is actually the seventh capital of Texas, it is clear that it is number one in the hearts of the 950,000 plus residents who call it home. With home prices that are much higher than anywhere in the state, there are other reasons that people are attracted to the area. These include an amazing culinary scene and scenic runs or bike rides along the miles and miles of trails on Lady Bird Johnson Lake.

While it may be surprising to some that Austin would be the largest city in the United States without a pro football team, the city is home to the Texas Longhorns and the powerful squad that could give the Cleveland Browns a run for the money in many seasons. UT-Austin is a huge state school that is one of the best academic institutions in the state. Austin is also home to the only Formula One Racing event in the country, so the city is able to provide enough sporting alternatives to keep everyone happy.

I-35 is the main freeway that services Austin, and given the city's population, commute times are surprisingly reasonable in large part due to the number of residents who choose to commute to work by public transit or bike. The Capital Metro system has a robust network of bus routes that go all around the city. The bikeshare and scooter program are also ways that the city has worked to cut down its carbon footprint and also reduce the number of vehicles that are on the road.

Austin's cost of living is relatively high for Texas, but the tradeoff is an entertainment and dining scene that are second to none. While you can certainly find amazing BBQ joints in Austin, there is so much more to the city. Trendy farm-to-table restaurants are popping up left and right, and millenials are forcing chefs to step up their game and try new things to stay on top of the competitive market.

Allandale, Bouldin Creek, and Zilker are just a few of the neighborhoods that are vying for the love of homebuyers in the Austin market. IBM, the university, and local government are some of the largest employers in the area. Austin is also home to a thriving entrepreneur community as the Capital Works project has made Austin the Silicon Valley of the Midwest with multi-million dollar deals being struck on a daily basis. This energetic vibe and thriving economy are just a couple of the reasons why Austin is great.