Planning on moving to Austin: Female Late 20's-- Austin Activities?? (West: apartment, house)

[calgirl81]

So I've read a handful of these threads and understand that the night life on 6th is mainly for the college crowd. I'm planning on moving to downtown and was wondering what there is to do at night, or where the appropriate night life is for the late 20s/early 30's crowd.

I don't know too many people in Austin and am actually single so looking for ways to meet people and really enjoy my surroundings when I'm finally there! Or am I making a big mistake moving from Los Angeles?

Austin seems perfect for me... Liberal, vegetarian, outdoorsy, rights for animals, etc... I've visited Austin twice and have enjoyed it thus far. City seems to have some similarities with Berkeley and I enjoyed living in Berkeley... just heard that Austin passed a law where shelters cannot put down strays if there are open kennels... Awesome

Anyway, any thoughts would be helpful.

[hoffdano]

I'm afraid I can't offer any advice on the social scene questions.

But just thought you should hear from someone that Austin is nothing like Berkeley.

Outdoorsy - yes
Vegetarian friendly - yes
Animal friendly - yes
Liberal - compared to Berkelely NO

Austin would never try to prevent the US Armed Forces from recruiting in the city. No one would ever be allowed to tree sit for weeks on the UT campus protesting an expansion of the stadium. Etc.

[Vector28]

I would hate to think Austin had any similarity to Berkeley.

[boredelmo]

You are right about 6th being very student dominated. The good thing about students is that they have to go to class during the weekdays. Head out during the week and you should encounter way less kids. Caveat: Students start their weekend on Thursdays!

There is also a divide in the bars/clubs. Every one of them typically has a different group of niche customers. Find a lounge that also serves good food like 219 West or a club with a small stage and bar area separate from the dance floor (such as Shakespeares).

For the type of things you enjoy, I would suggest the Green belt area (lots of nature and parks/dog parks to enjoy) or Hyde Park (plenty of mom and pop stores and farmers markets). Both locations are still 5-10 minutes from Downtown. Send me a PM if you need help finding an apartment in general. Welcome to Austin!

[SmartGXL]

Originally Posted by calgirl81

So I've read a handful of these threads and understand that the night life on 6th is mainly for the college crowd. I'm planning on moving to downtown and was wondering what there is to do at night, or where the appropriate night life is for the late 20s/early 30's crowd.

I don't know too many people in Austin and am actually single so looking for ways to meet people and really enjoy my surroundings when I'm finally there! Or am I making a big mistake moving from Los Angeles?

Austin seems perfect for me... Liberal, vegetarian, outdoorsy, rights for animals, etc... I've visited Austin twice and have enjoyed it thus far. City seems to have some similarities with Berkeley and I enjoyed living in Berkeley... just heard that Austin passed a law where shelters cannot put down strays if there are open kennels... Awesome

Anyway, any thoughts would be helpful.

Austin is a totally cool place, but you may have to adjust your expectations towards what it will be like, at least compared to level of quality you are compared to over in LA.

True, 6th street is dominated by a younger crowd. But over on 4th street, which is called the "Warehouse District", the crowd is more late 20's/30's crowd and is a little better. Although, I would have to say, that the quality of the clubs themselves, and the music played etc, is not as good as what you find in LA/NYC/Chicago. The bigger cities' clubs seem more cutting edge and eclectic. Not sure what Austin is doing wrong on that front; I cannot put my finger on it.

But yes, Austin is a great place, great weather and great people (most of them).

[Spec 1]

Originally Posted by calgirl81

So I've read a handful of these threads and understand that the night life on 6th is mainly for the college crowd. I'm planning on moving to downtown and was wondering what there is to do at night, or where the appropriate night life is for the late 20s/early 30's crowd.

I don't know too many people in Austin and am actually single so looking for ways to meet people and really enjoy my surroundings when I'm finally there! Or am I making a big mistake moving from Los Angeles?

Austin seems perfect for me... Liberal, vegetarian, outdoorsy, rights for animals, etc... I've visited Austin twice and have enjoyed it thus far. City seems to have some similarities with Berkeley and I enjoyed living in Berkeley... just heard that Austin passed a law where shelters cannot put down strays if there are open kennels... Awesome

Anyway, any thoughts would be helpful.

Great question, I'm going to be in the same spot if I move there later this year. Was reading elsewhere that 6th street on the West side of town has our age range, as well as 4th & 5th. Will be doing a lot of searching when I visit in two weeks... sure I'll find a few good spots.

[TexasHorseLady]

Originally Posted by hoffdano

No one would ever be allowed to tree sit for weeks on the UT campus protesting an expansion of the stadium. Etc.

Well, actually, this did happen, back when Frank Erwin wanted to expand the stadium. He ended up applauding while the trees were bulldozed after the tree sitters were dragged out of them, but they were there for a while.

[dburatti]

I second 4th Street, aka The Warehouse District. Also check out the bars and restaurants on West 6th say west of Guadalupe, South Congress just south of Riverside, N. Lamar between 6th and 12th, and various places around town. Google The Draught House on Medical Parkway, NWNX near Gateway in NW Austin. Oh, the Domain in north central offers upscale and a laid back dining and bar scene.

Good luck! I hope you enjoy Austin. Just don't try to change the things you don't like b/c chances are many more people like those things you dislike.

Also, check out Spamorama, Eeyore's Birthday, Carnaval, SXSW, Austin City Limits Festival, and various other festivals and celebrations around town.

D

[tongpa-nyi]

Originally Posted by calgirl81

Austin seems perfect for me... Liberal, vegetarian, outdoorsy, rights for animals, etc... I've visited Austin twice and have enjoyed it thus far. City seems to have some similarities with Berkeley and I enjoyed living in Berkeley... just heard that Austin passed a law where shelters cannot put down strays if there are open kennels... Awesome

First, your demographics (age and gender) are perfect for dating if you're straight. In that age bracket, males outnumber females by a margin that is significantly higher than in most other cities. It's something like 55% male between the ages of 20 and 35.

Second, your lifestyle and political tendencies are perfect for the type of person I'd love to see more of here. Yes, we have all that, but it's not as concentrated as it used to be. In some ways I suppose there is more of the type of person you describe yourself to be, but because they've all been driven out of the heart of the city by rising prices, they've created a lot of hip districts that you have to find for yourself.

Social networking here is easy. Use Meetup or Tribe to find your peeps.

As for comparisons to Berkeley... I suppose you could call this the Berkeley of the Southern Plains. In other words, Austin is to south central USA as Berkeley is to the Bay Area. Catch my drift? I happen to enjoy the balance here more. I've lived in Berkeley and found the political correctness to be oppressive. The Left is so adept at splitting itself into little factions, Balkanizing itself into irrelevance. So the Berkeley City Council is constantly doing ridiculous things like passing proclamations about national policies. Yeah, that's cute, but it's a total waste of time.

Austin proper is much prettier than Berkeley. Of course if you go into the hills on east side of B then it's nice, but I still don't think it comes close to the beauty of comparable neighborhoods in Austin. And you can't go white-water rafting in the Bay Area like you can within the city limits of Austin after a good period of rain.

[latikeriii]

Join a social sports league, easy to meet tons of people.

Austin Sports and Social Club