If you had to leave Austin, where would you live instead and why? (Houston: credit, tech jobs)

[newintown89]

If you had to live anywhere else other than Austin (a cheaper city), where would you pick and why?

[Need4Camaro]

Charlotte NC - Larger than Austin, somewhat more affordable but quietly growing very quickly, at nigh Austin levels, plenty of high paying fin-tech jobs, local the getaways between beaches, mountains, D.C. and ATL... but is mostly ignored by the media.

Raleigh Durham - Not as urban as Austin but is more naturistic and has better road infrastructure overall.

Nashville TN - Austin 2.0 - just ever so mildly more affordable. No state / income tax

Tampa/St.Petersburg - More affordable, no state / income tax, you also get the Gulf and St.Petersburg has an Austin-like skyline. Local to Orlando and Miami for getaways. Only issue is Hurricanes but Tampa / St.Pete don't get the full brunt of them as often as East Coast FL

Others I may consider:

DFW - It isn't really much cheaper than Austin when comparing desirable neighborhoods like for like but I do like it there, but it would kind of be a lateral move IMO.

Atlanta - I don't really miss living there but I've come to accept it has way more to offer than I initially gave it credit for. It is the only true urban southern city I know of (in the core atleast), largest aquarium in the world, busiest airport in the world, world of coca-cola, very urban centric core but beautiful suburbs in the North, Mountains in the far north, also very nature-centric throughout the metro. Also more affordable than Austin.

Houston - My main issue with this place is flooding, mold and Hurricanes... but I like it otherwise.

Phoenix AZ - If Austin's summers haven't gotten to you, this place can't be too much worse.. ..just more heat and more scorpions - but ironically for a place in the middle of a desert, is also just as if not more naturistic as Austin. Best road infrastructure on this list too.

[Trainwreck20]

Do I have to work? Is it a forever place to retire and I will need medical?

[newintown89]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

Do I have to work? Is it a forever place to retire and I will need medical?

If you had to work and you weren't near retirement. Say in your 30's.

[ashbeeigh]

San Antonio because that’s home.

[NightZeroTX]

Houston/Katy area.

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by newintown89

If you had to live anywhere else other than Austin (a cheaper city), where would you pick and why?

if I was in my 30s I would either move to so cal or the bay area.

If it had to be a cheaper city, then maybe las vegas

[Trainwreck20]

It is an interesting question depending on how you look at it, I think. If I take my 30 something y/o self from oh-so-many years ago and transport him to today, I might very likely look to somewhere in northern Arkansas or western North Carolina, but not necessarily near a big city. I just would need to have good access to fast internet to do my job.

[VAF84]

We've already discussed San Antonio (as mentioned, less expensive Austin) and Houston (inside loop or Woodlands/Conroe) fairly extensively in my family. Outside of that; Boise, Nashville, Phoenix/Scottsdale.

[ashbeeigh]

Originally Posted by ShadyCove

San Antonio - the cheap version of Austin!

To say it's "Austin" is untrue. It's not Austin. It's very much its own city with its very own culture, history and different perspectives. People in Austin (primarily those not from Texas who didn't have to take a Texas history class or a field trip to the Alamo) just assume you'll be in Austin in SA but you're not. There are very distinct reasons why I choose to live here instead of San Antonio, after living in San Antonio most of my life. If it was just a "cheaper" Austin I would have stayed. But it's not.