United States / Texas / 26420 / Austin County / Cities / Zip Codes

Review of Austin, Texas

Fake woke city with typical southern slave wages
Star Rating - 8/4/2020
Lived in Austin for 2 years and looking back realized its extremely overrated. Ill give 5 short reasons why:

1) Austin historically was a sleepy college town. No different than Tallahassee FL where im at now. Its now overran by corporate tech companies outsourcing their crappy Cali jobs and hasnt grown beyond that. Austin is not some metropolis like NYC, DC, San Fran or LA. Its not even on the level of second tier cities like Chicago, Seattle, or even Atlanta. Its a 3rd/4th tier city in terms of career opportinities. Your never going to get far working here.

2) This place is so fake woke its not even funny. Minorities are segregated into east austin and most companies mostly hire whites. This is a neocon/conservative leaning city that doesnt like diversity but pretends to like liberals since corporations here need good PR. Its mostly white people here with very little cultural diversity.

3) Low wage state. Its still part of the south and its still Texas. Outside of tech, which is mostly silicon valley rejects and nothing really being made here, the jobs suck here. Just like other southern states, its right to work and low taxes, which means crappy cheap employers who dont pay well.

4) Wages are out of proportion to rents and housing costs. Crappy houses range from 300-400k. There are cheaper options out in the suburbs but then your stuck driving in traffic for hours. Even if you somehow hit 100k, its too hard to buy anything or want to settle down.

5) Its still Texas. Republicans still govern the state and have been forever. People love guns and its not opted into Obamacare. It doesnt support unions, it doesnt like infrastructure or density and your high property taxes make up for no income tax.

Overall, this might be the most overrated city in america right now. Id say Texas as a whole is overhyped since its like Oklahoma but with more oil. The economy is booming with crappy jobs and you can go to jail for smoking weed.

There isnt anything special about Austin TX sides inflated pricing to live in a college town with a limited economy. You cant make better money than other places, the people are arguably more backwords than parts of the deep south, and the traffic is like a mini LA. Neat to visit but dont live here. And no, Im not saying that passive aggressively like these other dweebs. This place is a legit waste of time if you care about advancing yourself career wise or want to live in a culturally rich place.
jay | Glendale, CA
Agree 274   Disagree 271  Thanks for Voting!   Report Abuse
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10 Replies

Keep Texas Republican.
Anton | San Antonio, TX | Report Abuse
Agree 29   Disagree 15
The funny part is that liberal politics made California unlivable. Then they come to Texas and vote Democrat. How ironic! Yes the more ignorant types tend to be nice to your face and talk behind your back. That's just small town mentality no matter what state.
Duke | Houston, TX | Report Abuse
Agree 4   Disagree 9
I agree with Jay. I've lived in Austin over 20 years. I've always wanted to try CA, and maybe it's time. When I used to watch Austin City Limits on PBS, the audience typically looked bored. I've never seen so many slackers in one place. They seem to have challenges being on time, doing a good job, etc. That also includes doctors, etc. Also, lots of homeless people, sleeping on sidewalks, in doorways, etc. And, doing drugs, taking dumps, panhandling, etc. Surprisingly, I like some of the little neighboring towns much better; less hype, but, more genuine people, and less expensive.
DEFA | Austin, TX | Report Abuse
Agree 10   Disagree 9
I agree with Jay. Also, lots of homeless, slackers, high property taxes, very hot summers (hits 100+ degrees many days), little rain for gardening and high water bills, etc. Good things: lots of sunny days, dry heat, predictable weather (usually no rain), music, not too much crime but homeless people can hassle you.
DEFA | Austin, TX | Report Abuse
Agree 9   Disagree 3
I've lived in Austin since 1999. The only thing I've seen change is gaustly gentrification, explosions in traffic, elitism brought about by the excessive migration of wealthy Californians and companies seeking huge tax breaks. Housing prices are unobtainable to locals or those living below the needed salary of $98K. Trails and outdoor places are over run and over trashed (more-so now because of COVID-19). I used to love this city and now I just want to leave to someplace less racist, more affordable, and less pompous.
Donna | | Report Abuse
Agree 8   Disagree 3
how's tallahasee?
Kale | | Report Abuse
Agree 6   Disagree 3
How's tallahasse?
Kale | | Report Abuse
Agree 4   Disagree 4
I have to agree with much of this. Austin seems like a liberal city in many ways, and the younger millennials are a big part of that. But it is also the capital city of a Rupublican/regressive state and it has a strangle hold that keeps it from being what the most residents wish it to be. And there are also a number of the "true" (sarcasm) Texans with their trucks (that haul and hold nothing... ever!) and guns. My tolerance for these types is really wearing thin. As far as people claiming it is so friendly here.... it is an act. Like so many places that put on that "Southern charm", they are sweet to your face and talking smack about you as soon as you are out of earshot. We still feel more kinship to friends back on the coast, even though we cannot se them very often. I am fortunate to make good money here in tech, but I have almost always worked for companies headquartered in California. We have been here 14 years now and Austin is not the bargain it used to be. The only "cheaper" things are housing cost (buy/rent) and gas. Maybe groceries by some.But we pay a whole lot in property taxes, as much as some other states where the property is worth so much more. Downtown prices for going out are much the same as many other cities. There is some good music that comes through and is not country, but the same would be true of many other cities. My husband is done with this state and we want to go back to the West coast and access to a real ocean (gulf is just sad compared to the Pacific). California seems to have so many wildfires now and just doesn't seem like a good option to return there at this point. We are looking at Portland and Seattle, but Portland seems like it might be just a bit "too small" and wrapped up in its own uniqueness.
Leslie | Cedar Park, TX | Report Abuse
Agree 12   Disagree 24
You'll notice a theme with some of these reviews: Californians come to Texas, complain about it not being like California, and complain about it on the internet without any sense of irony.
Nathan | Long Beach, CA | Report Abuse
Agree 37   Disagree 5
Go home we do not want you or your failed policies. You morons are ruining Austin.
Andrew | San Marcos, TX | Report Abuse
Agree 9   Disagree 4
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