Young Couple Is Austin a fit? (Dallas, Franklin: to live in, restaurant, sushi)

[SmartGXL]

I have been on this website for 7 or 8 years now, and right around this time of year, the Texas forums get flooded with inquries from people from Chicago and the Northeast, looking to escape the horrible winters!

To the OP - I am here in Texas from Chicago as well (I am also someone who did the Lakeview/Lincoln Park/Wicker Park/River North thing for close to 20 years, before moving to Texas).

If you specifically want high-end dining and want to be around others who are also dressed up, then yes Dallas (or Houston) have better scenes for that. Austin itself is a VERY laid back place, its very chill, in a West Coast sort of way. Its much more like being in California, than Texas.

What everyone else here is saying is correct; but I want to touch on some points. One poster mentioned that all of Austin is like a giant "Wicker Park"; this is only partially correct. The vibe is there for sure, but I want to point out that it does not visually look like Chicago or Wicker Park at all. Austin does have a downtown, but other than that, its a different kind of town than Chicago. It is almost a 100% driving town. They do have a bus system (CapMetro). There is a new train system getting installed, but people are still getting used to the idea of taking a train somewhere. They recently installed a Divvy-like bike system, and also set up a Divvy-like system, but with tiny rental cars, called "Car2Go".The neighborhoods can be very suburban. Some neighborhoods within Austin are newer, set amidst the backdrop of the Hill Country. Most are slightly older, built in the 60's or 70's and look to be from the same era as when "The Brady Bunch" house was built. And some of the older, close-in neighborhoods are like old 100 year old wooden shacks, as opposed to densely built brick 3-flats like you find in Chicago. But its still got a certain "coolness"...even the suburban areas have this. There are also new apartment developments going up that look pretty cutting edge. Lots of interesting restaurants all over the place, at places you wouldn't expect. You just have to check it all out for yourself.

There are hipsters here, but they tend to just live all over the place, as opposed to one neighborhood (although that is changing; it seems like the hipster/Wicker crowd is coalescing in Austin's East Side areas). You see the typical hipster stores and street vibe, but set in a mostly low-density suburban format. Just wanted to give you a heads-up on that before you come here expecting it to look or feel like Chicago (it wont).

[DCtoTejas]

You need to visit Texas in July or especially August and experience the heat for yourself before you decide to move here. Unlike heat waves in the north, it is unrelenting. Don't be deceived by the average lows in the 70's - that is for about 30 minutes right before the sun comes up, it will be 90+ by 9AM and remain that way until after midnight for day after day after week after month. I'm not trying to scare you off but as someone not from Texas I can attest it has to be experienced firsthand to be truly understood. It's still not as bad as a bad winter though.

[llkltk]

Stock up on allergy meds. My sister came for a visit from Chicago and she lost her voice and couldn't wait to get back on the plane.

[Mycity4lyfe]

My gf and I moved to austin from Chicago last year after she graduated college. Since then we have bought a home in a nearby suburb, advanced in our new careers we started here, and way more. Austin has been extremely good to us- I do desperately miss family and friends, the food (big time), the variety of things to do (concerts in my type of music (rock-post hardcore etc), pro sports, and such. Austin is experiencing tremendous growth but don't expect it to be a "big city" environment because it's years away from that. Although I don't take public transportation I do realize how important it is to city and austin is still in college town territory in regards to that. If you're looking for a change in scenery, a career, starting a family, warmer weather, and a more affordable lifestyle then austin is a good place to do that. It is highly overrated in a ton of areas so do keep that in mind when it comes to expectations- but again we love it here and I'm sure you would too. It's a great place for young couples to start a life.

[MattV]

Originally Posted by chigirl5221

Hi Everyone!

My fiancé and I have an opportunity to move to texas and live where ever we would like within the state. We are from Chicago. Currently we live right downtown off Michigan Avenue. We love the city but we also love to workout outside. One thing that I love about Chicago is the beautiful lake in the summer. Austin appeals to me because of the hills and landscape (from what I can tell, I have never been). One thing that concerns me from what I read is that there are a lot of college kids and not a lot of young professionals without kids. Also, we aren't so "hipster" if you know what I mean. Would Dallas be a better fit? I just don't like how flat Dallas is. We are huge into working out. But we also love to dress up and go out for a highend meal. We are pretty social and want to make sure we will be in a place where we can meet people. Where in Austin would be best? Help!

There are tons of young professionals without kids here. But you will see many of them hook up and within two years of being married have a kid and then disappear. But there are others that will fill there place. There's lots of interesting late 20 and 30 people here. Many events that cater to those types such as SXSW interactive and Eyores Birthday... (it's kind of a joke about Eyores Birthday, but just sort of)

There are too many high end eating establishments starting up. You'll need to go downtown for the dress up and look hip/sexy/elegant/I make money type of places. There are some good ones. They are limited, but you won't ever finish your list of must tries in a year, you won't have enough time and you will be adding to your list every week.

You'll also start finding the casual but kick ass food places are a good alternative, and maybe figure out that kick butt Mexican place that has the great salsa and amazing Margaritas where you can hang outside and listen to some live music is a better alternative to Martinis every other Friday.

I can play tennis outdoors most of the year. It's freakin hot in the summer and make sure to drink water before I get thirsty, and I play with sweatpants and layers and a beanie hat in the Winter. But, I'm out there doing it almost all year. EXCEPT FOR THE STUPID RAIN AND STUPID HAIL THAT JUST WRECKED MY PLANTS. (sorry for rant). But this has been a very rainy season.

To sum this up.

I don't write posts back to people that ask for advice moving here. There are too many of those types. And I hardly ever post here, and it is usually a shot out to the locals and asking their advice. But tonight I am going to give you some wisdom.

Move to Austin, you will be much cooler than if you moved to Dallas. Even two years here, then a move to Dallas will make you cooler than just moving to Dallas, which would not make you cool at all.

[SmartGXL]

Originally Posted by MattV

There are tons of young professionals without kids here. But you will see many of them hook up and within two years of being married have a kid and then disappear. But there are others that will fill there place. There's lots of interesting late 20 and 30 people here. Many events that cater to those types such as SXSW interactive and Eyores Birthday... (it's kind of a joke about Eyores Birthday, but just sort of)

There are too many high end eating establishments starting up. You'll need to go downtown for the dress up and look hip/sexy/elegant/I make money type of places. There are some good ones. They are limited, but you won't ever finish your list of must tries in a year, you won't have enough time and you will be adding to your list every week.

You'll also start finding the casual but kick ass food places are a good alternative, and maybe figure out that kick butt Mexican place that has the great salsa and amazing Margaritas where you can hang outside and listen to some live music is a better alternative to Martinis every other Friday.

I can play tennis outdoors most of the year. It's freakin hot in the summer and make sure to drink water before I get thirsty, and I play with sweatpants and layers and a beanie hat in the Winter. But, I'm out there doing it almost all year. EXCEPT FOR THE STUPID RAIN AND STUPID HAIL THAT JUST WRECKED MY PLANTS. (sorry for rant). But this has been a very rainy season.

To sum this up.

I don't write posts back to people that ask for advice moving here. There are too many of those types. And I hardly ever post here, and it is usually a shot out to the locals and asking their advice. But tonight I am going to give you some wisdom.

Move to Austin, you will be much cooler than if you moved to Dallas. Even two years here, then a move to Dallas will make you cooler than just moving to Dallas, which would not make you cool at all.

LOL, I have to second this...from experience!

When I moved from Chicago to Texas, I went straight to Dallas, and although I like Dallas for what it is...it's NOT a cool, hip place. Although the people are genuinely decent people to hang out with and easy to deal with, there is a certain 'rigidness' there. It's very "corporate". No one is very fashion-forward at all. I dress and look somewhat hipster-ish, and I felt really out of place all the time...although there are hipster areas in Dallas now. There is a neighborhood there called Uptown; it is sort of like Dallas' version of Lincoln Park, but the area has a very frat house/sorority house "douche-bro" vibe. Not really my scene, or at least not anymore.

Austin is like the anti-Dallas.

Both Dallas and Austin both have interesting 'foodie' scenes.

If the OP wants to find the "young but elegant" crowd in Austin, I would suggest walking West 2nd Street (west of Congress Ave) during the day, and night time as well.

[Aquitaine]

Young professionals without kids here. We moved from Brooklyn so it probably took several showers to get our hipster parts per million down to local levels.

We love it but it is a laid back incarnation and not as much of a 'scene' as, say, the meatpacking district in NYC. That's fine with us as we didn't like that stuff when we were there - we're happy to pay too much for a good meal but that's the foodie appeal rather than the 'be seen in a cool place' appeal.

Austin does have some of the later, though, just not a heck of a lot of it.

[SmartGXL]

Originally Posted by Aquitaine

Young professionals without kids here. We moved from Brooklyn so it probably took several showers to get our hipster parts per million down to local levels.

We love it but it is a laid back incarnation and not as much of a 'scene' as, say, the meatpacking district in NYC. That's fine with us as we didn't like that stuff when we were there - we're happy to pay too much for a good meal but that's the foodie appeal rather than the 'be seen in a cool place' appeal.

Austin does have some of the later, though, just not a heck of a lot of it.

Exactly!

Chicago and NYC have great foodie scenes, and although a lot of the restaurants have great food, I always suspect a lot of it has more to do with being seen in a cool place...whereas with Austin, most of the food is just great and people go there to eat, as opposed to just being part of a 'scene'.

One that place that seems kinda scene-y though, is Franklin BBQ. 350 people lined up before they even open for the day? That's just crazy. I am glad they are having success though...this town wouldn't be as fun without that kind of thing going on.

[Aquitaine]

One that place that seems kinda scene-y though, is Franklin BBQ. 350 people lined up before they even open for the day? That's just crazy

I bitched and moaned the whole 3 hours I waited last Summer. I don't like waiting in long lines for just the reason you describe: typically the appeal is as much to be seen doing the cool thing as any actual value in the product.

I ate my words. It was the best damn BBQ I've ever had, bar none. I haven't been back since a 3 hour block is hard to come by these days, but one of our friends went and got her picture taken with POTUS, who happened to be there that day!

I will say that, in terms of BBQ value per minute consumed, the runners up are much better value propositions. I really enjoy Friedman's, for instance, and it's the opposite - you get a nice table in a historic building with little or no wait. So while Franklin's is indeed 'that good' it's hardly the only show in town!

[cBach]

Originally Posted by centraleastaustinite

Two particularly horrible winters in a row = lots of non-Chicago natives living in the city questioning their lives!

When we left Chicago last fall we knew of at least four other couples who were trying to get the wheels in motion to leave town before winter hit again

Yep, a lot of West Coast and Southern folks think they want the "big city life" and "four seasons". What they don't realize is what the worst of a Midwest winter is like. That's why I always question anyone about moving to Chicago, I mean NYC has more than Chitown and milder winters at that.