What BestPlaces Users Say about Austin
Austin, Texas is a rapidly growing city known for its vibrant music scene, outdoor activities, and booming tech industry. With a diverse population and a thriving economy, many people are flocking to this city to live and work. However, as with any place, there are both positive and negative aspects to living in Austin. In order to better understand the experiences of those who have lived in this city, I have gathered a variety of user reviews from BestPlaces.net.
According to user reviews on BestPlaces.net, there are many positive aspects to living in Austin. One user, Grace, shares that "Austin has a great sense of community and a friendly atmosphere. People are generally laid back and open-minded, making it easy to make new friends." Another user, John, praises the city's job market, stating that "Austin offers a wide range of job opportunities, especially in the tech industry. I was able to find a job in my field within a few weeks of moving here." Additionally, user Lily highlights the city's vibrant culture, saying that "there is always something fun to do in Austin, whether it's attending a music festival, trying out a new restaurant, or exploring the city's beautiful parks."
On the other hand, there are also some negative aspects mentioned by users about living in Austin. One user, Mike, expresses his frustration with the city's traffic, stating that "the traffic in Austin is a nightmare, especially during rush hour. It can be stressful and time-consuming to get around." Another user, Samantha, mentions the high cost of living in Austin, saying that "rent prices and property taxes are constantly on the rise, making it difficult for some people to afford to live here." User David brings up an important issue, stating that "while Austin is a diverse city, there are also issues with gentrification and displacement of longtime residents in certain areas."
In conclusion, many user reviews on BestPlaces.net highlight the positive aspects of living in Austin, such as its sense of community, job opportunities, and vibrant culture. However, there are also some challenges and drawbacks mentioned, such as traffic, cost of living, and issues with gentrification. Overall, these user reviews provide valuable insights for anyone considering a move to Austin, allowing them to weigh the pros and cons and make an informed decision for themselves.
based on 449 ReviewsGet to know Austin with the latest comments and reviews from people who live in or have visited Austin
Austin Summer - 7/8/2008
Austin is a terrific city with a reasonable cost of living and many activities for families. The fall, winter, and spring are terrific. The summers, terrifically hot, especially this year when we started setting records in mid
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Invasion - 7/1/2008
I see there are still a lot of ignorant people that blame Californians for their Cities problems i.e growth, rudeness over crowded; The U.S population is growing at a net gain of 1 person every 10 seconds, that’s 8640 a day (10% are illegal immigrant births) (birth every 7 sec, death every 13 sec, international migrant every 29 sec). That’s a new small town everyday! Have these ignoramuses ever thought once what drove Californians out of their beautiful State? Is it because they preferred Austin or Boise over the beach? Their 260 days of sunshine and mild climate for humid Texas or snowy Colorado? Or is it that the Asians (Asians means all of Asia i.e. India, China) drove them out of California by driving the prices and population up there? Did you know that the US population is 3rd in the world at 303 million people (4.56% of the World population), China 1st in the World population with 1.324 BILLION (19.86% of the World population), followed by India with 1.134 BILLION (17.01% of
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High Property Taxes - 6/30/2008
I think the way you're figuring property taxes is not accurate. My house (near downtown) is appraised by the county at around $310,000; my taxes are $7900. That is a rate of $25.48 per $1000 not $18. So, buyer beware. I am effectively paying someone's income taxes who makes $80,000 per year and I am unemployed and paid $100,000 for my house in 1990. So, I'm paying over $650 per month to live in my own home that's free n clear. Plus, with our hot summer this year, my utility bill last month was $355. That's not a low C.O.L. However, I do love Austin; it's a great place to live overall ---near 4 other major cities, near lots of water/lakes, terrific art and music, 6 universities incuding U.T., wonderful restaurants, hike n bike trails, parks, close but not too close to the Gulf Coast (3rd Coast), great weather except summer (lasts 5.5 months), nice people, and unlike the rest of TX---liberal and becoming Green, and it's beautiful. Bad allergy stuff though. For 12-year olds, there are
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Unbiased view of Austin - 6/26/2008
I've been living in Austin for four years now, courtesy of my Austinite husband. I originally come from NYC. There are a lot of plusses to this city, namely the climate, the laid back lifestyle, and lower crime rate (when compared to other major metropolitan areas). I especially like the people themselves more so than anything else - I was never really into the whole "weird" thing. There are also quite a few minuses that people really need to consider. Namely, the public transportation system is not completely there, so expect to spend $$$ on gas if you don't live central or downtown. The downtown area, while not for lacking in the housing department, is woefully lacking in things you'd see in other downtowns like movie theatres every two blocks, meseums by the mile, tons of grocery stores and big box retail. You will have to drive for those. Then there's traffic - even if you live central, expect to spend thirty minutes to get to work thanks to snarling traffic on the major
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Choosing to Live in Austin - 6/12/2008
I worked for an airline for over 8 years and have had the opportunity to live in places like, Kentucky, Ohio, Burlington, VT; Madison, WI; Boise, ID; Rochester, NY; New Orleans,LA...and Austin is where I fought to be assigned. Even when I left the company and went back to school, Austin is where I decided to stay and start a new chapter of my life.
Cost of living is high everywhere these days due to a weak economy. Austin offers a quality of life that is rare to come by, and that is worth budgeting.
Many native Austinites tell me how much there city has changed, and usually for the worst because they say that the city is not unique anymore. I disagree. Their perspective is skewed due to watching the change. Native Austinites: you have kept your city weird. Even the rich yuppies are touched with a bit of crazy!
Remember that every city has its issues, every pocketbook has its breaking point, however Austin is an accepting and vivacious
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Strong market remains in Austin - 5/28/2008
Austin maintains a strong real estate market. Though we have been impacted a little we are by far not a depressed market. Many areas are still going up and sells remain strong. Some of the newer tract home developements in the suburbs are suffering from forclosures and new home insentives. The Austin area has something for everyone. Yes we have traffic what big city doesnt, crime is very low, yes it is hot in the summer, better than freezing your rear off in the winter, overall I dont know of a better place to live. Contact me if you want more
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30 years living here and I don't want to move - 4/16/2008
I moved here 30 years ago in my mid-thirties. It was and still is a good place to be single and a good place to raise a family with so many diverse indoor and outdoor activities to do with a lot of others who will share your interests. Austin is one of our country's cities with the highest number of blue-sky-sunny days that I think improves my mood a lot over cloudier climes. I raised two daughters here and loved their small, central city, public school. The central part of the city offers at least two, small, open-enrollment elementary schools that you can transfer to from any of the larger elementary schools farther out in the suburbs. There are a lot of family-related activities available. There are Farmer's Markets and organic based Whole Foods Market and Central Market are popular places not just to shop but to eat and socialize and even to listen free to live music. There is definitely a large music scene here from cozy low-cost Happy Hour jazz fests to rockin-and-rollin
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Things to do - 4/1/2008
Austin is full of things to do. There are recreational activities for when the weather is great and plenty of culture to explore when there is a need to stay indoors. There are beautiful lakes, hike and bike trails, and city parks. Unfortunately when the weather is crummy, count on staying
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DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE - AUSTIN'S AWFUL - 3/28/2008
Austin may have been a nice place at one time and I'm sure it may still be one of the hottest places for wealthy young trendy posers to go strut their stuff but that's about it - not to mention it really is hot - grossly hot - even some days in the middle of winter...
This place is a fool's paradise and is degenerating into a dispicable Hell that will probably poison and destroy more and more of the world around it as it's population continues to explode and today's fools who don't even notice what needs to be cleaned up in this world run more and more rampant over this precious part of the planet and spawn more and more of their nasty, worthless offspring here (and beyond here)...
People are only happy here because they've never really experienced anything better being smack dab in the middle of Texas their whole lives or maybe they've just become retarded from staring at the neon lights, listening to the music and motorcycle engines too loudly, and have
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