Where to live when working downtown

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by austin-steve

Not trying to throw a wet blanket on your idealism, but just offering a dose of reality. You will absolutely be married to your car and it will be indispensable.You will pay a lot for parking downtown (if not provided by your employer) and you will spend a lot of time in traffic whether driving or riding. Others may disagree with me and tell you something different, but I would use this as your baseline assumption.

I agree with all of this. Plus during the hottest times of year or rainiest walking across downtown from parking near IH-35 to Congress Avenue was a guarantee that you would arrive at work hot and dripping with sweat from the heat and humidity. I was fortunate during the later half of my career that my employer provided a parking space, as I frequently had to travel to job sites all over Austin.

I commuted to downtown for over 22 years from the SW Austin, Oakhill area. Traffic was frequently a 45 minute commute on a good day, which is not as bad as many of the other commutes going into downtown. I will also attest that during certain times of the year the sun is in your face in the morning. I don't recall it being a frequent problem in the afternoon commute, until Winter when it sets earlier and is very low in the sky.