[agnos]

Maybe just an untimely experience, but I visited Austin once a little over a year ago during the summer, and downtown was basically a ghost town. I assumed it was because UT was on break, but still I couldn't help thinking "where is everybody?" given the Austin hype.

That being said, as a remote worker becoming increasingly disillusioned about Bay Area cost of living and politics, Austin is on my radar. Any Austin transplants here who can shed some light on moving there? How easy is it to establish a social network/sense of community as a newcomer?

[burlesona]

Would not recommend. It's a great city if you like paying almost as much as SF for housing and getting:

- High heat and humidity for 8 months out of the year

- Mosquitos that make the few nice days out much less nice

- Surprising ice/snow storms in the middle of the few months of nice weather

- Having to drive everywhere in heavy and hostile traffic

- Risking your life if you want to walk or bike somewhere

- Being surrounded by an expanse of suburban sprawl that's very ugly

- Having surprisingly few cultural institutions / resources close by

- Property taxes are eye-poppingly high so if you plan to buy a place be warned that you can afford less than you think

That said if you love strip malls and want to live in a place where people equate quality of life to quantity of stuff, then you'll love it!

[jasondigitized]

Not bad points but you didn't mention how incredibly friendly and safe the city of Austin is. Austin bashers always fail to mention the intangibles that make Austin Austin.

[renewiltord]

Austin is a generally friendly place. I lived there for a bit during the COVID times for fun. It's a cheerful vibe where people will greet you on the street and there's a few fun places to go to. I thought it was quite pleasant for the bit I was there.

I should warn you, though. It is not a city by any measure. More like a small town with a couple of streets of action. And the politics are not dissimilar in Austin proper from the Bay Area (perhaps because of the large number of people who've moved there from here).

However, because of the low cost of land in the associated area you can have things like Wonderspaces, etc. Also, there's things that are hard to do in the Bay like shooting.

Ultimately, I chose not to live there because I wanted a more urban life. And I wanted less extreme weather than the place has.

[chrisco255]

Spend a week or two in ATX and see how you like it! Downtown did lose quite a bit of daytime vibrancy during the pandemic (the night life is still active as ever, however). But I think it's coming back.