Austin for a late 20's single lady (Houston, Dallas: fit in, apartment complex)

[anenome]

I'm a 28 year old professional, single woman, and I'm thinking of moving to Austin for a new job this fall (I have a job offer as an administrator at the university where I'd make about 50K). I grew up and went to college in pretty urban areas of California, and I currently live in a small city in New England that is interesting and beautiful but a little smaller than I'd like. I don't know anyone in Austin, so I'm looking to make friends.

I'm pretty stereotypically sort of the nerdy/intellectual/adventurous type, I love outdoorsy activities (camping, hiking, anything on the water), swing and social dancing, going to hear music and to museums, and exploring for new shops, restaurants, and parks. I like going out to bars/clubs occasionally, but prefer going out during the day and doing an activity, or going social dancing, to going to a club or whatnot late at nights, and I'd want to avoid the college crowd and spend more time with people in their 20's/30's than early/mid 20s. I'm also Jewish (Reformish - I go to Shabbat dinner or social events about once a month, wouldn't need to be within walking distance of a Synagogue or have access to lots of kosher food or anything) and would love to live in a city with a fairly close, knit socially active 20s and 30s Jewish community.

Does Austin sound like a potentially good fit for me? Is it fairly easy to make friends and date? Are there parts of Austin, other than right near the university, that feel relatively urban rather than suburban? Any particular neighborhoods you'd recommend?

[centralaustinite]

No pretty much the whole city has a suburban feel outside of a dozen blocks downtown, but otherwise, you would be fine!

[mesmer]

I already had someone to set you up with until you mentioned you were Jewish. That could be the only sticking point in moving here as Jews make up less than 2% of the population. When I was trying to find population numbers, this website came up: New to Austin Jewish Community - Shalom Austin and they have information for young adults. It is probably worth contacting them for their experiences and advice. The Far West area is where a lot of Jewish families live due to the community center there.

Oh, and our museums suck. Other than that you'd fit in fine.

[cBach]

I think for a single woman from CA/New England, Austin would be a feast upon which to gorge. Plenty of very highly paid but introverted males, easily won over by a woman of the world. There's a Jewish part of town on Far West Blvd, it's even a "Halil" (sp)?, a special designated district, you may feel most comfortable there. The HEB (grocery store) has lots of Kosher foods and a large Jewish deli there.

[Ariel_Austin]

I'm Jewish, from California and our kids have been involved here in the community. My wife is from California and lived for several years in Boston and Maine. If you would like to talk, feel free to message me. We have a perspective on Austin that is likely more in line with many of the things you're considering.

[DCtoTejas]

I think my hometown of Washington DC would be a good fit for you. There is a large Jewish population there though I can't speak to how close knit or socially active they are except to say I grew up with lots of Jewish friends and they were social in general with everyone. It is much more urban in its core than Austin is but isn't overwhelming on the scale of say NYC, and has lots of close by outdoor activities, mountains and beach though they are both east coast style and don't quite have the majesty of the west coast. Needless to say, DC is almost a tailor made city for intellectuals and museum lovers just beware some of the people can get really type A - in a climb the bureaucracy type of way, gotta watch your back more at work there than some other cities.

[A-Tex]

There is nothing here that matches up to your description of an urban area. There are a few blocks downtown that are trying, but you wouldn't be able to afford to live there on that salary without significant sacrifices.

The Jewish population of Austin is very small --- there are estimated to be only 18,000 or so Jews here. If you're only interested in dating and marrying within your faith, my single Jewish friends tell me it's like the Hunger Games of dating. It's nothing like major metropolitan areas on the east and west coasts. As others have mentioned, the Northwest Hills area has the largest Jewish population, but it's very upper middle class suburban and family oriented --- pretty much the polar opposite of what it sounds like you're seeking.

[balor123]

To be honest, I never found Jewish dating in Boston to be all that plentiful either. There's certainly lots around, I don't know they were just hard to find. The best spots are really NYC and Philly. Other major cities are ok too. I would estimate there's a few hundred Jews actively dating here so you might meet someone. I'd recommend becoming active in YAD. Community isn't great in San Antonio but it's not far away. I've had friends who dated in Dallas or Houston, much bigger communities. The good news is that the city is growing and changing rapidly so at least there's always new faces around, even if there's not a large number at one particular time. True, most are around the JCC but I wouldn't suggest hanging around here to meet young Jews. Go where young people go, downtown or South Austin. Hard to know for sure but there's estimated to be a lot of young Jews in the city who identify but don't seek out others, maybe bringing the pool into the thousands. I've never seen Noah Kagan at the JCC for example. A friend of mine met a nice girl in his apartment complex in El Paso just by chance for example. El Paso. The good news is that unlike the hyper-efficient dating markets of a place like Manhattan, it's not as hard to find someone interested in a long term commitment here. My friends in NYC churn through girlfriends really quickly because you can always find another one in a split second for even the smallest flaw.