Why am I still living here?
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7/31/2014
I have lived in Austin for the past 6 years. I can't take it any more. Austin is the fastest growing city in the United States, it's exploding. It's the only major city that has no loop system, so you can imagine how horrid the traffic is here. And it's not even during rush hour, it's always backed up on I35 and Mopac both ways. Sometimes it takes an hour to drive 10 miles home from work. Second, the weather will make you absolutely miserable if you're sensitive to heat and humidity. The entire summer lasts about 6 months. Day after day Austin ranges from 97F to 100F in July and August. In 2011 we had 110F+ days. The City of Austin controls my apartment's thermostat, so they can shut off my AC during peak hours as they please. The humidity makes the heat stick around at night, and it's not unusual to take a walk at night in 90F temperatures. Imagine how uncomfortable it is to sleep here. Lastly, it is extremely expensive to live here. I'm paying $920 (rent only) for a small 1 bedroom apartment about 12 miles away from downtown. My rent increased 20% over last year. Yes, 20%. So now I have to ask myself, why am I paying so much to live in an overcrowded, uncomfortably hot, congested city?
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