Hacker News Reader

Comment by agnos | Hacker News Reader

Maybe just an untimely experience, but I visited Austin once a little over a year ago during the summer, and downtown was basically a ghost town. I assumed it was because UT was on break, but still I couldn't help thinking "where is everybody?" given the Austin hype.

That being said, as a remote worker becoming increasingly disillusioned about Bay Area cost of living and politics, Austin is on my radar. Any Austin transplants here who can shed some light on moving there? How easy is it to establish a social network/sense of community as a newcomer?

View on HN

Would not recommend. It's a great city if you like paying almost as much as SF for housing and getting:

- High heat and humidity for 8 months out of the year

- Mosquitos that make the few nice days out much less nice

- Surprising ice/snow storms in the middle of the few months of nice weather

- Having to drive everywhere in heavy and hostile traffic

- Risking your life if you want to walk or bike somewhere

- Being surrounded by an expanse of suburban sprawl that's very ugly

- Having surprisingly few cultural institutions / resources close by

- Property taxes are eye-poppingly high so if you plan to buy a place be warned that you can afford less than you think

That said if you love strip malls and want to live in a place where people equate quality of life to quantity of stuff, then you'll love it!

Not bad points but you didn't mention how incredibly friendly and safe the city of Austin is. Austin bashers always fail to mention the intangibles that make Austin Austin.

> incredibly friendly

This has NOT been my experience as a relatively recent resident. Literally the first questions anyone you meet asks is (A) when you moved here, (B) from where, and (C) why. One of the first people I met practically spat in my face when I told her I moved for work in tech, possibly saved only by the fact that I didn't move from CA.

I don't blame them for the hostility, they're being priced out of their homes thanks to the property tax situation, but you can't call them "friendly" when everyone sees you as an invading barbarian to be discouraged at all costs.

I've lived all over, and Austinites are by far the most actively hostile people I have ever encountered. (Followed by the Maastrichtenaar, who also didn't much care for foreigners.)

I have fond memories of an evening at a Mexican restaurant in Denver years ago, with a couple of women who were both Colorado natives, though one had only recently returned from Virginia. The one with continuous residence thought that all non-natives should be deported on short notice (if memory serves, by armed force if necessary), the other thought this was ridiculous. Having been born elsewhere, I kept my mouth shut.

The governor of Colorado at the time was a native of Wisconsin, and had a generally anti-growth platform.

Austin is a generally friendly place. I lived there for a bit during the COVID times for fun. It's a cheerful vibe where people will greet you on the street and there's a few fun places to go to. I thought it was quite pleasant for the bit I was there.

I should warn you, though. It is not a city by any measure. More like a small town with a couple of streets of action. And the politics are not dissimilar in Austin proper from the Bay Area (perhaps because of the large number of people who've moved there from here).

However, because of the low cost of land in the associated area you can have things like Wonderspaces, etc. Also, there's things that are hard to do in the Bay like shooting.

Ultimately, I chose not to live there because I wanted a more urban life. And I wanted less extreme weather than the place has.

Spend a week or two in ATX and see how you like it! Downtown did lose quite a bit of daytime vibrancy during the pandemic (the night life is still active as ever, however). But I think it's coming back.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com