Don't Listen to the Negativity! - 1/23/2020
Great city! Yea the traffic is bad and cost of living is high but that's a sign that lots of people want to live there because there are so many great things going on! Tremendous growth and opportunity Read More

Austin has enough to be what you make it. - 11/19/2019
Oh the haters. I cant decide of they just hate life OR if they are trying to post negative things to keep the invading hordes away. Anyone game for the truth, well my version of it anyway.
1> Lots of things to do here. I like an active lifestyle- hiking, boating, getting outside the walls. This place is great for that except in summer. Then just go to the lake. Yes I know its crowded.
2> The people are what you make of it. Yes some are rude, some are very friendly just like anywhere else. There are some fine human beings in this town from all over. Maybe some posters here need to work their angles.
3> Growth and Sprawl : Yes its a problem and a big one. The road and transport system is for a city half this size. Austin has a gov that is more concerned with buying hotel rooms for all of the homeless than fixing real urban problems that effect homelessness to begin with. They are totally reactive instead of proactive to the point of feel-good only Read More

Austin is overrated - 11/13/2019
Moved after a week. It’s a crowded, busy, expensive, dirty place to live. I don’t understand the good reviews of living in Austin. To get to work it was over an hour each way from round rock to Austin. I got honked at for letting a pedestrian cross the street, evidently I was expected to run them over. My co-workers were expected to work from home due to the Austin traffic. Property taxes are very high, even in small towns 30 miles away property taxes were around $800 - $1,000 per month. Most people can not afford to live in Austin so they look in small towns outside of the city. Even in small Historic towns like Georgetown You can’t get away from the crush of people & traffic. It’s all tore up with road construction & toll roads are the norm. For lunch it was $80 for BBQ for four people & not a lot of food. Everything is brown and dirty looking nothing green or pretty. If you don’t enjoy crowds, traffic or the high cost of living you won’t like Austin. Read More

Austin Does SUCK! - 10/27/2019
On Man! Where do I start??!!! I have been here going on 8 years and I have SEEN so many changes. Very pretentious!!! Like a little LA (it has been dubbed.) I am middle aged and this is not for people in my age group. Plus, almost ALL of the Iconic Austin Haunts (that made Austin...Austin) are going away. They either cannot no longer afford their rent, or their property taxes have become too high. I.e. Threadgill's, Hill's Cafe, Nutty Brown (people are complaining about the noise), Maria's Taco Xpress (her property taxes are thru the roof)...how long is the Saxon going to be able to hang on? Anyway, I am making steps for my exit (as many of my friends Read More

Growing and changing fast... it - 9/18/2019
Austin isn’t perfect by any means, but it’s great for people in their 20s or 30s who work in tech.

Rent is pretty reasonable, especially compared to the other major tech hubs (SF/SV, Boston, and Seattle). Real estate is getting pricy, but again, it’s a steal compared to the big cities of the Northeast and West Coast. Your salary will go MUCH further here.

Nightlife is excellent. There are five or so bar districts (depending on how you count them), and you can find virtually anything you’re looking for... except for upscale dance clubs, for whatever reason. Austin is a bar city, not a club city. The nightlife is still light-years ahead of cities like Denver, Seattle, or Minneapolis though.

Cityscape/transit: Austin is also the fastest-growing city in America, and one of the most obvious effects of this is its changing urban form. City planners have placed a high priority on increasing density, so five-story apartment buildings and condo towers Read More

Austin is the worst!! - 8/18/2019
I am ready to get the Hell out of here...I moved recently from Sunny Isles to Austin temporarily but Austin is a very terrible place to live in..To start with ; something is wrong with the people here; they burb out loud in public and very nasty people which is disgusting...My current next door neighbour smashed my car thinking he is smashing the next door neighbours car; the remainder of the time I am here I will deal with this bullshit l...Toooo slow...

Rainey street, 6th street etc it is all dirty which I never go..you can’t even walk by people without smelling their sweat...
It is good for couple days of visit but not a place to live...There is really nothing to do here...People who say there are a lot to do here are the people that has never been anywhere else and see what’s really out there...
I am counting my days to move back to Sunny Isles... In the end; it is still Texas ...
Ohhh all these stupid looking trucks ...
They can’t even drive Read More

Stay away from Austin TX. - 7/22/2019
Austin is absolutely the worst city I have lived in. It used to be a clean, safe city 20 years ago. NOT anymore. Austinites are the rudest people on earth, especially the young drug addicts who now dominate Downtown. Amazon and Google are the only two real employers, so most Austinites are unemployed or very underemployed. High violent crime rate and homeless rate. I moved away in early April and I am very happy I did. Don't move here, don't listen to people who like it. It is horrible. Read More

Austin is AMAZING! - 5/31/2019
I lived in Austin for 6 years and loved everyone. Of course, the weather is hot and humid but everything else is great. They have all the best restaurants and food. I loved it so much and would move there in a heartbeat. I think everyone should go! And if you do, go to Rudys. It is to DIE for! We went every Saturday and I loved it so much. Austin is Read More

meh - 5/31/2019
Been in Austin since 1998 so to most residents I'm practically a native. I've always been ambivalent about Austin - the weather can be crushing. It gets hot here and stays hot. Like summers they nickname "100 days of 100," meaning 100 straight days of 100 degree weather - yikes! And unlike other areas it doesn't cool at night, maybe down to 80. It does get cold in the winters, briefly.

Mosquitoes are a problem. If you live near any trees or landscaping or water, you'll have those big vicious "Tiger" mosquitoes; you know the ones that carry Zika and West Nile.

Housing is expensive; renting will eat your paycheck and buying (provided you can find something) is better but still expensive - since the state doesn't have income taxes, they get their revenue from property tax. My property tax nearly doubles my mortgage payment. Renters don't fare better because the landlords pass the cost onto their tenants.

Work is plentiful if you have Read More

The truth vs the hype about Austin - 4/10/2019
The only people who are happy in Austin are its repugnant millionaires. The job market here in virtually any sector besides tech is no better than the rest of the country - but cost of living is waaay higher. The rent on my 350sf studio apartment has gone up THREE times in the past two years and now costs me $1200/mo. Cost of water bill for 1 person averages $70/month. If you own, property taxes will crush your soul, they're nearly the highest in the country. Traffic is a ceaseless nightmare in every inch of Austin, and everything is crowded and ludicrously expensive. Thanks to our ten billion population of fire ants, you'll never be able to sit or even walk on grass if you move here. But don't worry, the four inch long flying Texas roaches and scorpions provide a distraction. Sperling's positive climate rating of Austin makes ZERO sense -- it's between 95 and 115 degrees every single day for SEVEN months out of the year. I can't wait to leave this hellhole. Read More