Considering coming to Austin! (Houston, Dallas: apartments, rent, home)

[sheezymaneezy]

Hi all, I'm 22 and am graduating in a few weeks in business. I'm from Australia, and have lived here since I was born, but because I am graduating, I basically get a no-questions-asked 1 year working visa.

My last trip to the States was from November till February, so I have been there before, but never to Texas.

I'd love to move to NYC because it is NYC, but the astronomical rent there is stopping me from doing so. So I've narrowed it down, and Austin is one of my first choices.

What is Austin like to live for a younger person? I've played sports most of my life, and professionally for about 3 years. So I'm hoping there is a lot of sporting activities there! Are there professional sporting teams in the city? Is there any college/high school teams that are big?

On that note, what are the colleges like? I'm only asking because they'd be close to my age, and I know they're still in the partying phase (which I'm still stuck in )

What areas would I be looking at to stay in? I'd like somewhere right in the heart of everything, because I won't be buying a vehicle. I'd like to be able to walk everywhere. I'd love to bring my longboard too, or buy a bicycle! In the heart I mean I can walk a few blocks and be at a grocery store, bar, restaurant/cafe and public transport.
What price range am I looking at in each area? I'd like to get my own 1 bedroom place. Hoping to make my place a nice social spot for the people I meet!

Erm, I'm sure I have lots of other questions, but they're not coming to me at the moment.

Thanks in advance for the replies!

[love roses]

There are no pro teams in Austin, although we do have UT (University of Texas) teams and Football is huge here. They may as well be a pro team There is also Minor League baseball but they play at the Dell Diamond in Round Rock, abt. 30 minutes outside of Austin, so if you live Central as it sounds like what you want to do, you'll have to figure out a way to get to those things (Well, baseball at least. UT Football Stadium would be the closest). There is a new Center in Cedar Park that will soon host Hockey, but again, Cedar Park is not Central Austin so to see Hockey games you will need to find a way to get there. The nearest Pro team is in San Antonio (Basketball: San Antonio Spurs) and Dallas and Houston also have Pro teams.

[shankaupas]

I've lived here since I went to college. Austin has one of the largest colleges in the United States. It's called the University of Texas and it hovers around 50,000 students. And Texas State University, a smaller college (i.e. 30,000 students), is about 30 miles south of Austin. So yes, there is a huge young adult population in the Austin area. I think Austin is always ranked in the top 10 cities to live in the US for the young and single. Austin is also the capital of Texas and also calls itself the Music Capital of the world. So you have a very unique mix of people living here. Austin's motto is "Keep Austin Wierd". There lots of sports leagues you can join, however being a little older now, I don't know of any specifically unless you want to play soccer or basketball with 10 year olds. Austin is in the South Central part of the US so the weather is mild all year round. It can get pretty warm in the summers but we usually only get down to freezing temps maybe only once in the winter.

[hoffdano]

Austin is a great city for young, athletically minded people. It is a city where adults can run, swim, cycle, row etc. There are leagues for organized basketball, soccer, rugby, softball, volleyball, and surely others.

Many elite athletes live and train in Austin - some are ex-UT athletes but others are not. Lance Armstrong still makes his primary home in Austin. Aaron Peirsol, Ian Crocker, Brendan Hansen, Kirsty Coventry, and Scott Spann are all Olympian swimmers and train/trained here (Crocker and Hansen recently retired).

[ATXIronHorse]

Originally Posted by sheezymaneezy

Hi all, I'm 22 and am graduating in a few weeks in business. I'm from Australia, and have lived here since I was born, but because I am graduating, I basically get a no-questions-asked 1 year working visa.

What is a "a no-questions-asked 1 year working visa" in the U.S.? What visa are you talking about?

[AustinTraveler]

Definitely leave the longboard at home and buy a bicycle instead. It's a LONG way to any surfing spots.

[mark311]

Originally Posted by AustinTraveler

Definitely leave the longboard at home and buy a bicycle instead. It's a LONG way to any surfing spots.

I'm guessing that he meant longboard skateboard.

[shankaupas]

Originally Posted by AustinTraveler

Definitely leave the longboard at home and buy a bicycle instead. It's a LONG way to any surfing spots.

Depends on what you consider surfing. There are lots of people surfing on the lakes in the wakes of boats. Austin is about 4 hours drive to the gulf of Mexico but there is not much surfing that I know of in the gulf.

[mark311]

I think Austin is a great place to live for most people. However, if I was in your shoes, I would not choose Austin.

I think I saw in another post of yours that you will just be working as a waiter or bartender. Those jobs don't pay nearly as much here in the Austin area as they do in other larger cities because of the high supply of College aged people living here. Since you are looking for a walking lifestyle and Austin is a very spread out city, the areas that allow you to live without a car tend to be on the expensive side in Austin. That paired with the fact that you probably won't have a high paying job leads me to believe that you might be able to afford to live in a larger more dense city just as well as Austin that has more of what you're looking for. Financially, you'll make more money as a waiter or bartender in a bigger city.

It sounds like you would love a place like Pacific Beach in San Diego. That's where I would try to move to if I were you. You could get a studio or 1 bedroom apartment there for about the same price that a small apartment would cost in downtown Austin. You could definitely find cheaper apartments in the Austin area, but it wouldn't provide the lifestyle that you're looking for in my opinion. I'm sure there are many other larger more densely populated cities that would give you the experience that you're looking for. I would also strongly consider any cities where you already have a friend or two since you mentioned friends on the East coast. That might come in handy if you need a couch to sleep on.

[Jennibc]

I agree with Mark 311 on this. It would be tough for you to live without a car here unless you were going to live downtown and that would require high rent. I also think that you might prefer a more densely populated city with better public transportation based on your post.