What Living in Austin is Really Like
A midwesterners view of the Austin charm
The Good
In 2019, Austin,Texas was awarded the Best Place to Live in the U.S. for the third year in a row. To many, this comes as no surprise. Austin takes pride in its thriving music and film scene, delicious restaurants, and diverse population. A few of the most well-known events include Austin City Limits, South by Southwest, and Austin Film Festival. These festivals attract hundreds of thousands of tourists, musicians, and actors each year and give local residents the chance to see some of their favorite artists right at home. Austin is also well-known for its brisket, Tex Mex, and food trucks. Thats right, food trucks. Food trucks are an Austin staple. To many, food trucks have a negative connotation, which is fair. But not in Austin. Food trucks carry a variety of delicious foods, including breakfast tacos, chocolate dipped bananas, and waffle sandwiches. You name it, a food truck has it.
For those who love sports, Austin does not have an official professional sports team, but it does have the University of Texas right downtown. In the south, everything is bigger. And that includes athletics. UT has one of the largest football stadiums in the United States and hundreds of thousands of fans to cheer their favorite team on. Even if you don’t like football or Texas, you need to go to at least one game to see college footballs favorite mascot, Bevo. UT also has a killer women's volleyball team that has consistently ranked 1st in its conference in the past 10 years and is regarded as one of the best teams in the nation.
With large companies like Apple, Dell, Indeed, and Amazon putting roots down in Austin, job opportunities are plenty available. However, of these large companies, nobody employs more than the City of Austin itself. Being the capital of Texas, Austin hires hundreds of social workers, lawyers, judges, and clerical positions for the city. The job market can be competitive, but new jobs are always appearing.
Don’t like sports, food, or a well-paying job? Austin still has opportunities for you. Local attractions like Zilker park, Ladybird Lake, and Barton springs provide Austinites the opportunity to relax, swim, bike, and participate in other fun outdoor excursions. Austin has a plethora of outdoor trails; making it easy for you to stay active.
With such large companies, great food, and vast entertainment readily available, it is no wonder Austin has been named the best place to live three years in a row. Yet, like most things in life, there is always another side to the coin.
The Bad
No city is perfect. And every person has their own preferences on where they live. Some prefer warmer weather, while others prefer milder climates. Austin finds itself on the more extreme side of heat. In my four months of living in Austin, the average temperature has been in the high 90’s to low 100’s with anywhere from 40 to 90% humidity.
Unless you are a cactus, summers in Austin SUCK.
This past month, temperatures have averaged 100 degrees with little to no rain. AC is not to be taken for granted and like South Dakota winters, it is best to avoid going outside in its entirety. Pools and local parks like Barton Springs can provide momentary relief from the suns scorching rays, but outside of that plan on staying inside during the day. It is worth noting that I have been told the rest of the seasons are much more comfortable and will not peel my fair skin. So that’s a plus!
Housing in Austin has also become an increasingly bigger problem. With more and more people moving to Austin, cost to rent and own a home continue to increase. If you want to live within 30 minutes of downtown, it could cost anywhere from $1,200 to $3,000 to rent an apartment. Homes can range from $200,000 to $800,000 depending on size and location, but average close to $400,000 if you include Austin’s inner city. Property tax in Austin will cost you a pretty penny too. On top of this, houses on the market in general tend to be scarce. With such high demand, houses sell fast.
The Ugly
Before I start with the ugly, I want to say I have loved my time in Austin. It truly is an amazing city with a lot to offer. I plan on continuing to live in Austin. However, I want to inform others of the poor traits of the city that are not listed on “the Best Places to live in the U.S.” page. So, here we go. First, the city is becoming overpopulated. With over 50,000 people moving to Austin each year, Austin has increasingly become more and more crowded. This in turn continues to affect rental pricing, commute times, overall crowdedness and the homeless population. There is a reason people who have lived in Austin for 10+ years tell people not to move here. Austin can’t handle more people. Combine this with the annual fluctuation of UT students, and everything becomes even more crowded.
There is a reason people who have lived in Austin for 10+ years tell people not to move here.
Speaking of crowded, lets talk about the infamous Austin traffic. What would normally take 15 minutes to drive can take up to an hour during busy times in Austin. With there only being two main highways, traffic can get crazy to say the least. Now, Austin is no Los Angeles, but for those who have lived here most of their lives, I can see why this would be frustrating. Austin ranked no.14 in Business Insiders list of cities with the worst traffic; not the worst but certainly not the best. Nobody wants to sit in traffic for two hours of their day. The metro system has helped alleviate some of the traffic, but inconsistent arrival times and buses that fill up quickly can make it a less practical mode of transportation. If you are looking to move somewhere with light traffic and a short commute, Austin may not be your place.
My final point of ugly may come across as judgmental, but a serious problem that Austin has been experiencing is its homeless population. If you are stopped at a busy intersection, drive through an overpass, or are walking downtown, chances are you will see several or more homeless people. If you walk by Austin’s downtown homeless shelter during the day, you will see dozens and dozens of people clumped like sardines waiting to be let in. Austin has addressed this issue, but still lacks the resources and capacity to do much about it. In fairness, Austin does not fit into any rank of the worst cities for homelessness, but they do not have enough resources to provide shelter, food, and resources for those in need. According to the Daily Texan, homelessness has reached its largest since 2011. There are plans for more shelters to be made, but until that happens thousands of people will remain without the proper resources to survive.
With all that has been mentioned, it is important to understand that a lot of these problems are common among big cities around the world. Most big cities have awful traffic, high amounts of individuals that are homeless, and increasing housing prices, which can all be found here in Austin. Yet, there are a lot of amazing things that Austin has that other cities don’t offer. But, for the sake of housing prices, visit but don’t stay.
