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We lived in San Francisco and San Jose and are both in tech. We have been to Austin several times, lived in Denver, and have been in Raleigh 8 years. Austin and Raleigh are both good places. If you want more of a west, funky vibe, then Austin is your place. It is a bit harder to get places from Austin and I did just read an article yesterday stating it was the most overinflated housing market in the US! It gets hot in both places of course but Austin gets hot earlier in the year and is on average hotter than Raleigh. I like Austin for the biking, hiking, music, and lake actives. The BBQ and Mexican food is simply awesome! It is also easier to get to San Jose or the area on flights. If you live in Raleigh and have to travel to San Jose don't forget it takes an entire day to get home.
In Raleigh you can drive to the beach, DC, FL, mountains, etc all within a day. In Austin you can drive around Texas and get to New Orleans. Of course there is the gulf but in Texas as well but I think the NC options on the beach front are better. Austin has worse traffic.
I've been in your spot recently and I would suggest weekend trips with a realtor to both places and it some restaurants and plan some things to do. Raleigh has grown a lot since we moved here and Austin is booming as well.
The thing that jumps out at me regarding your question is the sheer size of the areas you are comparing. I recently read that Austin is the 11th largest city in the US...I knew it grew, I just didn't know how much. Raleigh, on the otherhand is on the smaller side of a mid-size city. There are pros and cons to both. As I wrote in another post today I wanted city amenities in a much smaller scale and have found those here (I am from NY). Austin was a consideration for awhile but it was growing too large too fast, has a nasty traffic issue, and it's landlocked. If you are a live music fan, it is one of the best places in the country for that. Also a fantastic restaurant town. Those things are here too...just on smaller scale...which might be okay for you given that you are not in your 20s/30s.
Another Austin con is the weather; I just can't do Texas heat.
dasearch and Tri-Love: Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you for sharing your thoughts and informed opinions. I sincerely appreciate hearing your ideas and suggestions. I do want precisely what you described, Tri-Love, essentially, big city amenities in a smaller more affordable package. And we're agreed, as I too think Austin is becoming too large, too fast, and is thus becoming too expensive with too many big city problems, such as terrible traffic. From what I've read recently, I do think I'd be quite satisfied in Cary, Apex, or Holly Springs. I could travel to the ocean, mountains, DC, & NYC as well as enjoy what the triangle offers in terms of culture, festivals, and events.
Faith1011: Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts. And we agree! The triangle area is within a reasonable drive to the ocean, mountains, DC, NYC, and even FL. I'm not 20 anymore, so I don't need Austin's night life, and would probably welcome the slower pace of the triangle area (slower compared to living in the SF Bay area). I think I would love it, and have been in NC, Raleigh, mostly, during the summer heat, and it was hot & humid, but honestly, Minneapolis is often hot & humid in the summer as well, AND has terrible, long, horribly frigid winters.
Austin and Raleigh are similar, with the major difference being that Raleigh is somewhat smaller but at the same time, more affordable. There's more natural scenery immediately around Austin but there's more natural scenery within a day's drive from Raleigh. And in the Texas summer, you wouldn't be hiking anyway.
I'd check both cities out and get a feel for them. I'm staying in the Triangle but if I had to move for whatever reason, Austin would be one of my top choices.
Hi Doux, as a Raleigh native who now lives in Austin, I look at what you've said here and I think Raleigh is better for you. I am also a mobile worker, I also am a big outdoors person, I also appreciate professional culture. While Austin is a great city, the outdoors leaves something to be desired for me here. For one thing, the heat, the heat, the heat. Also, as another poster commented, here I can road trip around Texas and to New Orleans, and in terms of topography, I feel more limited than I did in Raleigh. In Raleigh, various mountain ranges are within beautiful drives, as are barrier beaches of unparallelled beauty. Also, Austin is a tiny, mostly liberal pocket in a huge red state. Raleigh is a very liberal pocket in a state that is much more "purple".
As a Raleigh Native I strongly disagree with those saying Raleigh is strongly liberal/leftist. 95% of the people, from all age groups, that I know are quite loudly conservative, or at the very least Libertarian. My job requires me to meet people on a daily basis and there is an insanely higher concentration of right-winged attitudes here. On the other hand, a lot of people are very liberal/open about sexual rights, from what I've seen, but when it comes to topics like Gun Control.... you will be very hard pressed to find anyone here that favors it.
Also Raleigh is quite Small compared to Austin...
Raleigh as a city is very small and as a city does not offer very much (in my opinion as someone who has lived here for the last 20 years). On the other hand, just south and south west of raleigh you'll find a lot of really nice rural neighborhoods and houses not too far from the city. North Raleigh has a bit of a different vibe to it and is totally different from Downtown Raleigh. Durham to the North West is different as well, with very high crime rates in some areas, with very wealthy areas in other parts.
I've never been to Charlotte myself but I've heard a large number of people suggest that Charlotte should be the capital of NC because Raleigh pales in comparison.
I just got back from a few days in the Triangle (well, really just Durham and Chapel Hill and areas around them) and can give you a full report if you want. In short -- LOVED IT! There was something that was a mix of my old city (Seattle) and my current city (Buffalo) that came through -- blue collar and industrial, yet urban and progressive. I was impressed and I have traveled and seen a LOT. :-)
Siroxian, you've lived in Raleigh 20 years and never been to Charlotte? Wow. Don't travel much, at least in NC.
The political leanings are easy to look up via election results. Raleigh is pretty middle of the road going for Obama about 55% to Romney and McCain 45% in 2012 and 2008. Durham and Chapel Hill/Orange County have much more liberal election results.
I was comparing the two cities as well. Currently I am in Twin cities Minnesota. Really had enough of the cold. Last winter was the final straw. I just visited Austin ( planning to visit RTC in the next month) even in late Sept it was muggy. I felt like Austin was Minneapolis of the south instead of bone chilling cold it was gutt wrenching Hot. Austin appears to be growing big,fast very fast. It can be both good and bad. After my visit to Austin my bets are for Raleigh. I am in my early 30 and work in Technology industry. I had also thought and Charlotte but only thing I saw was banks and Duke energy. I would want to work for a technology company. Raleigh seems offer that more.
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