What I Love (and Hate) About Living in Austin

There are instances when I completely adore residing in Austin: when I’m paddleboarding on City Lake, when I’m consuming a frozen margarita at Maudie’s, when I’m hanging out in hip East Austin underneath string lights.

That becoming mentioned, there are certain things I’m a lot less fond of: the sweltering summers, the isolation, the absence of walkability.

I’ve lived in Austin for nearly two years. Here’s what I’ve arrive to appreciate and detest about it:

What I really like about Austin

The People today

By and huge, Texans are very wonderful individuals: generous, funny, and sincerely variety. When I experienced Covid, multiple neighbors brought me tortilla soup and walked my canine. Persons say good day to you on the street in this article, even if they really do not know you. Austin is by much the friendliest put I’ve ever lived.

The Foods

An additional positive – the foods. Austin’s foods scene is thriving: you can come across exceptional TexMex, Thai, Vietnamese, and of program, barbecue. Some of my most loved spots are Uchiko (sushi), Odd Duck (new American), and Loro (Asian/barbecue fusion). I’ve also developed to Appreciate frozen margaritas, ha.

The H2o

As a born-and-lifted Michigander, I desperately have to have to dwell around water (that was one particular of the factors I identified hardest about residing in Colorado). The good news is, Austin has loads of it: City Lake, Barton Springs, and Lake Travis, to title a several.

The Winters

The winters right here are delightful – the temperature hovers all over 70 degrees, and the skies are typically crisp and blue. While we do have the odd snow working day, the wintertime climate is pretty moderate.

Live Songs

I’d be remiss if I did not mention Austin’s internationally renowned dwell songs scene. I appreciate how you can walk into a random bar on a Tuesday and listen to an amazing effectiveness for the price of a Shiner Bock.

The Pet dog-friendliness

In Austin, you can carry your dog pretty much any where — I deliver my pup practically everywhere you go I go. My community CVS is even canine-friendly.

What I Hate

The Crowds

Because of to its substantial popularity in modern several years, Austin feels insanely crowded at situations. Parking is challenging to obtain, restaurants are packed, and the weekends primarily can be frantic.

The Large Charge of Residing

Austin is pretty costly. To acquire a plot of land – not even a home – in my community, expenses a million pounds.

Weak Walkability

Regrettably, Austin is not a walkable town. Bisected by two highways, Austin is a extremely auto-dependent city for walkability, it ranks 42nd in the US, between Las Vegas and Pheonix. As another person who loves to walk, this is a big draw back.

The Allergies

Central Texas has been known as the “Allergy Funds of the Planet.” There is even a everyday allergy report on the community news, exactly where official pollen counts for ragweed, grass, and mould are calculated. I by no means experienced allergy symptoms in my lifetime until finally I moved in this article — ugh.

The Warmth

The summers in Austin are brutal. Temperatures can arrive at 110 degrees (or better). Following this year’s scorching summer, 90 levels bizarrely feels rather neat to me.

The Isolation

Austin is shut to only a several towns: Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. Previously this calendar year I built the blunder of driving to New Orleans, which took 10 hours. Occasionally I feel so envious of the East Coast – consider driving a handful of hours and getting capable to obtain Boston, Philly, and NYC? Sigh.

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All this to say, I’ve been fairly happy below. I’m not absolutely sure if it’s my endlessly house (I’m not confident I have a permanently home, time period), but I prepare to remain at minimum a handful of more several years. And enjoy a lot of extra lake days and frozen margs.