Is Austin comparable to Chicago? (Dallas: offices, company, requirement)

[ashbeeigh]

Originally Posted by atxcio

Well, I'd say San Antonio is less diverse, and the border cities are less diverse in the opposite way.

But the rest of your message, yes that history is true.

San Antonio demos:

San Antonio Demographics
According to the most recent ACS, the racial composition of San Antonio was:

White: 80.34%
Black or African American: 6.95%
Other race: 5.99%
Two or more races: 3.02%
Asian: 2.83%
Native American: 0.77%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander: 0.10%


https://worldpopulationreview.com/us...-tx-population

Austin demos

White: 72.63%
Black or African American: 7.83%
Other race: 7.77%
Asian: 7.59%
Two or more races: 3.47%
Native American: 0.66%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander: 0.06%

https://worldpopulationreview.com/us...-tx-population


Depending on your definition of “diverse”.

[ScoPro]

You can break the “white” down to “white-non hispanic“ and “hispanic”. Those percentages will look a lot different.

[cheeva]

Originally Posted by ScoPro

You can break the “white” down to “white-non hispanic“ and “hispanic”. Those percentages will look a lot different.

No kidding, and talk about burying reality in "stats" by Ashbeigh. A blue-collar Latino is not the same as a rich White tech-bro, even if you call them both "white"

https://pics4.city-data.com/sgraphs/...Antonio-TX.png
https://pics4.city-data.com/sgraphs/...-Austin-TX.png

[cheeva]

Demographically, everything south of I-10 feels like a different state, or country for that matter.

People from CA know what I'm talking about.

In demographic terms:

Dallas and Austin= Northern California (more White / Asian wealthier)
Houston and San Antonio = Southern California. (more Hispanic and lower income)

[KerrTown]

Originally Posted by cheeva

Demographically, everything south of I-10 feels like a different state, or country for that matter.

People from CA know what I'm talking about.

In demographic terms:

Dallas and Austin= Northern California (more White / Asian wealthier)
Houston and San Antonio = Southern California. (more Hispanic and lower income)

Actually, Houston has the largest Vietnamese population outside of California (Bellaire Blvd vs. Bolsa Ave) and the largest Chinese and Filipino populations in the South. But the growth from California shown above is correct.

[tugofpeace]

Originally Posted by Willpetdogs

I'm really curious what the OP decides! Please come back and let us know. There's some really good advice here.

If you hadn't already lived there I'd say 100% Chicago, but it sounds like you want something new and maybe you like Texas and being near your parents. Having lived in pretty much all the places mentioned in this thread, I'm inclined to believe you would like Houston if you picked the right neighborhood. It's diverse, there's a ton of stuff to do, you'll meet people from all walks of life and the vibe is different from Dallas.

If being in Texas is not a priority, maybe look into Boston or DC? Or if you want a place as interesting and cool as Chicago maybe Toronto! But like some others have said, you are young and can move around, so just pick a place and give it a try. But I'd suggest Houston over Austin.

Hey, I'm the OP. I ended up just staying in Dallas for now. Frisco to be specific.

I'm somewhat glad I made the decision because had I moved and my job mandated vaccines, I would've been in a bad position. Right now I have no liabilities (no car payment, rent payment, etc) so can leave my employer if they decide to mandate.

The places I had considered before (Jersey City, Boston, NYC) are just not feasible anymore due to the political landscape surrounding vaccines.

The only place I can really consider now is Chicago or Austin/Dallas. The fact that Texas has banned vaccine mandates is huge, and at this point my company has not enforced a mandate, but it may be coming. If it does end up going into effect, my best option is to stay in the Austin/Dallas area so that I can secure a job and stay close to family.

Surprisingly the bigger consideration isn't even lifestyle at this point, but safe harbor from the vaccine mandates and proximity to family, unfortunately.

Austin to me seems more down my alley simply because I love city life, but I don't know if it will scratch the itch I have for a downtown Chicago environment. Dallas definitely doesn't.

[CarnivalGal]

Originally Posted by ScoPro

You can break the “white” down to “white-non hispanic“ and “hispanic”. Those percentages will look a lot different.

Still doesn't make either of them that diverse.

[Willpetdogs]

Originally Posted by tugofpeace

Austin to me seems more down my alley simply because I love city life, but I don't know if it will scratch the itch I have for a downtown Chicago environment. Dallas definitely doesn't.

Thanks for coming back to your original post and not leaving us hanging. Good luck with whatever you decide.

Just my opinion, but "city life" in Austin isn't going to be anything like city life in Chicago. You might love living in Austin and it might be the perfect place for you, but it won't give you anything even comparable to Chicago. It will most likely be very much like Frisco.

City Life in Chicago: Constant sirens, very noisy, always things going on, festivals, you can walk to work, stores, doctor appointments, or take a train. There's a lake -- you may live right on it. Extremely diverse in culture as well as ethnicity, home to some of the greatest museums in the world (all accessible by public transportation), great city for food, more professional sports teams, probably an unpopular opinion here but WAY better music scene, world class universities, Theatre! Opera! Diverse architecture, super cold

City Life in Austin: Pretty much need a car to go anywhere unless you live somewhere like The Domain where you can walk to some shops but still need a car, areas in the core of Austin are very expensive, relatively quiet, has big lakes, but you have to drive a car to get to them (unless you are rich), couple of museums like Ransom Center, UT Austin nice parks, people, great for festivals and conventions, ACL tapings, F1 if you are into that, some neat buildings downtown but pretty cookie cutter for the most part. Central Market, super hot. I think Frisco's weather is probably more tolerable than Austin's.

[Taynxtlvl]

For the OP Dallas and Houston are the only thing remotely close to Chicago in Texas for multitudes of reasons with maybe a slight edge to Dallas for the climate and topography. The lack of pro sports alone is a major ding to Austin. Also both Houston and Dallas has two airports which serve way more destinations and it matters ALOT! because connecting can be a pain. There are lots of other reasons but I'll just start there.

[Trainwreck20]

If you are at a 'large' company, the mandate against vaccine mandates won't hold up, unless vaccine mandates are overturned at a federal level - in which case it wouldn't matter what state you are in.

If you are at a small company, it seems unlikely to be mandated, but it is possible, I suppose.