Much needed Advice on Austin :) (Arlington, Bowie: houses, theater, university)

[EzPeterson]

Originally Posted by Phil1989

My name is Phil and I am from New Haven Connecticut looking to relocate to Austin. I am 27 years old single male. I am in Automobile sales make around 50,000 a year. I really want to find a place with a great nightlife, great job opportunity's and friendly down to earth people. I have read and heard amazing things about Austin and here are my questions.

1.How much is the cost of living for a studio apartment on or near 6th street? I most likely can afford no more than 1200 a month. I would like to live downtown. Is 6th street the only happening spot?

2. How is Austins Job market compared to lets say Dallas or Fort worth. I am in Auto sales but also have a bachelors degree in Marketing, so the sales and marketing fields.

3. Being single and 27 is the nightlife as great as everyone says it is, and are the women down to earth and friendly.

4. Are the summers really that bad? I live in Ct and we had temps in the range of 94-97 and it was hot but tolerable.

5. I also am looking into Denver and Nashville as options, any comparisons?

Thank you very much in advance for advice..

Really sounds like you've never been to Austin. Ever been to Texas?

Do yourself a HUGE favor. Visit first - it's not shangri-la for everyone.

[Phil1989]

No I have not been to Texas yet but I am in dire need of a change. I would like to come visit this August so I can get SNEAK preview of your famous hot and humid Texas summers. Where I live now the winters are long and cold and the CT job market is very weak. The nightlife is very poor because you have alot of nightlife in New Haven and Hartford which are very dangerous city's.

[CarnivalGal]

Yes, come here first. Austin (well, Texas in general) is NOTHING like the Northeast. Those who move here from your neck of the woods generally have the hardest time adjusting. I know, I am from Philadelphia. I've lived here for 20 years, and still haven't adjusted. And although I don't hate it, I don't think I'll ever love it.

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by Komeht

1. You should just squeak in at 1200 for a studio in the heart of downtown. 6th Street is a meat market, a boozy stroll of a place with nothing going on during the day until 10,000 students descend on it to drink until they puke and either pass out or pass along a STD - depending on how well they can hold their liquor. There are much much much better locations that are vibrant and fun and full of life and energy.

2. Generally - much worse. Dallas has higher salaries in most fields and more opportunity generally. There are exceptions for specific markets. Not comment on Auto sales but if I had to guess, Dallas would be a far far superior market for this as well.

3. More or less - yes its true.

4. Yes - some are worse than others. But lately they've been hot, they've been miserable and they've been long. This one hasn't been so bad, yet.

5. Been to both but not enough experience to compare. You should spend a significant amount of time here before deciding to move - it's definitely NOT everyone's cup of tea and it would be hard for any city in the world to live up to they kind of hype Austin gets.

@ Phil1989, don't pay all that much attention to Komeht's opinions, he has very narrow opinions on many things. 6th street is a lot of fun, even retired people such as my self can take friends down there and have a good time. Obviously we can tell what Komeht has spent his time doing down there "6th street is a meat market, a boozy stroll of a place... 10,000 students descend on it to drink until they puke and either pass out or pass along a STD".

Interesting to read that, I have never had any of those experiences when I go down town. Depends on who you associate with I imagine.

[clarksvillemom]

I think there are better places to live near in downtown than 6th street. Look at the other places mentioned, like 4th, 2nd. Also, there are some new buildings by Zach Scott on Lamar that would be close to downtown. Not downtown proper

[Komeht]

Originally Posted by CptnRn

@ Phil1989, don't pay all that much attention to Komeht's opinions, he has very narrow opinions on many things. 6th street is a lot of fun, even retired people such as my self can take friends down there and have a good time. Obviously we can tell what Komeht has spent his time doing down there "6th street is a meat market, a boozy stroll of a place... 10,000 students descend on it to drink until they puke and either pass out or pass along a STD".

Interesting to read that, I have never had any of those experiences when I go down town. Depends on who you associate with I imagine.

Listen to CptnRn at your peril - it's about on par with most of the rest of his posts.

The rest of us are correct - 6th street is a party street - good for drinking and hookups, whatever, not good to live in the middle of.

[hoffdano]

I agree more often with CptnRn on posts like this.

I would not want to live super close to 6th. But don't just think of it as 6th. There is 5th, 4th, and nearby streets that are each a bit different and less dominated by college kids. Some of the best restaurants in Austin, which college kids would not go to, are in the general vicinity.

I have a hard time believing a good car sales person couldn't get a job in Austin. Car sales are hot. Austin buys more small cars and hybrids per capita than other Texas cities. And you'll definitely want to learn about pickups. Texas drivers buy a lot of them. And since you probably get paid commission, you want the price and profit margin of a pickup compared to selling Corollas. It is easy to pay $50K or more for a Ford crewcab.

[Phil1989]

How does the nightlife in Austin compare to the nightlife in Dallas?

[alwaysmiling]

6th street austin - Google Search

Bourbon street is the closest comparison. There is more to austins nightlife than just the dirty 6th area. Lots lots more... But they shut down the street every weekend so people can party their brains out.

[clarksvillemom]

Dallas is a bigger city but the clubs and such are in lots of different places and downtown is not as lively in Austin. I feel like the nightlife in Austin is concentrated in a few areas which can be fun for bar hopping