Anyone who has moved from Austin, TX to St. Louis? (Creve Coeur: apartment, buying a house)

[ollivander11]

Been seriously considering moving from St. Louis to Austin, TX. While living in Texas for a few months last year, I visited San Antonio and Austin. I enjoyed both cities but I especially liked Austin. But I know that's just a tourist's perspective.

I'm looking for a new direction, a new adventure and Austin keeps popping up in my mind. I'm a former a military brat and I guess being a rolling stone is in my blood having moved every 3 or 4 years my entire life. I've grown quite restless and tired of St. Louis. I'm getting that "time to move on" feel. I have a few friends in San Antonio and Rockford, but I'd be basically going it alone, which I don't mind as I'm an introvert and use to "going it alone." I went to Missouri State for a couple of years, earned good grades, and I thought I could relocate to Austin, settle for a year or so then enroll at UT to finish off my history degree.

Here's my stats.
- I'm in my mid-20's.
- I have no children
- no husband either
- a vegetarian
- quite liberal-minded (I prefer to mind my own business if no laws have been broken)

I just want to ask how former Austinites compare St. Louis? Is it more diverse? Culture? Would you move back? How is rent? I pay $600/month for a 1br apartment in Creve Coeur. Any advice, tidbits, or things to consider?

[OA 5599]

I moved from Austin (lived there for 2 years) to St. Louis (I've been here 2 months). I think I can provide at least a reasonable comparison between the two cities. I'm originally from rural Missouri.

1. Diversity: Overall, about the same. The metro area of Austin may have a slight edge over St. Louis, but the actual city of Austin is far whiter than St. Louis. Austin is mainly hispanic-white, while St. Louis is mainly black-white.

2. Culture: Overall, Austin is cosmopolitan and trendy. It has a real yuppie/hipster vibe to it. This personally got on my nerves after awhile, but many people really enjoy it. There are many places to see live music and several huge music events (Austin City Limits Music Festival, South-by-Southwest). The nightlife in Austin is absolutely amazing in many respects, so if you want to party, Austin is your town. It is really oriented towards twentysomethings and singles.

3. Rent: Somewhat more expensive than St. Louis. Expect to pay at least $700 for a one-bedroom somewhere fun (Hyde Park, South Congress), if not quite a bit more. Buying a house there is far more expensive.

4. Would I move back?: Probably not. I got rather bored with Austin after two years there...it is about half the size of St. Louis (there isn't as much to see and do), the summers are miserable, and the trendy vibe wore on me. Many people love Austin and would never live anywhere else...I'm just not one of those people. However, I did enjoy my time there for the most part, it was a great experience, and I have no regrets about living there. If I was going to move again, it would be to a bigger east-coast city (like Boston) or somewhere in the West with better outdoors...not Texas. Austin just isn't that big, isn't that diverse, and doesn't have that great of a natural setting. So far, I like St. Louis a lot more.

The one thing that I would strongly caution you about is being able to actually enroll at UT. The admissions process can be quite strict, due to it being a good school (I'm a graduate myself), and the Top 10% law in Texas. Do your research on this first before looking into Austin any further. Texas State is also somewhat close to Austin in San Marcos, and should be much easier to enroll in (although not anywhere near as academically strong as UT).

Also, Austin is a great city for vegetarians. Many restaurants offer vegetarian options. Much better than St. Louis in that respect.