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These are really altogether two different regions and altogether different themed and purposed cities. They are incomparable. I will play along anyway though.
COL - This gets tricky. Austin is more expensive than Tampa and Orlando but San Antonio is reasonable. You also wouldn't move to Austin for the same kind of jobs you would move to Orlando or Tampa for. Austin pays pretty well. Orlando and Tampa are kind of in the middle of the road. San Antonio is still very blue collar, although it too has white collar industries. I'm going to give a nod to Orlando / Tampa on this one as unless you're moving to Austin for a white collar job, its vastly unaffordable for the masses.
Education - Austin / San Antonio by miles.
Economy - Austin / San Antonio by miles.
Transportation - Slight edge to Orlando due to Sunrail, however Austin also has a commuter rail 'Cap Metro' people for some reason seem to be completely obvious upon, although it's not really spectacular...it does exist.
Culture - San Antonio takes this.
Scenery - Austin / San Antonio by miles. Hill Country is right outside of Downtown Austin and close to San Antonio and is quite scenic. The only thing FL has over it are its beaches.
Recreation - Hmmm this really depends and I personally feel this is closer than people would like to admit. Austin is very live - work - play. Great bar scene for all ages, trails, bike friendly, boating and kayaking, very nature orientated and amazing music scene. San Antonio also has Six Flags, White Water, and the River Walk. Orlando has all the theme parks you can dream of, and Tampa of course has the bay... Its pretty close IMO. I'd say if you want recreation that doesnt depend on an season pass, Austin / San Antonio easily. If you dont mind the season pass, Orlando by a slight edge.
Location: Depends once again. Austin's airport has many direct flights to popular destinations but Orlando / Tampa being on the east coast is more accessible... but it's no Atlanta by any means in this aspect.
Dining: Unfortunately Orlando has one of my favorite pizza joints. Unos Pizza. Outside of that, Austin / San Antonio easily.
Entertainment: Like I stated before in recreation, Austin is full of entertainment. Austin's entertainment packs a punch and is far less expensive than those theme parks. I'd say it's pretty close but I'll give this one to Orlando.
Better Future: After Covid-19? Austin / San Antonio EASILY.
Anybody visiting or passing thru Austin for the 1st time, if you're coming from the north on I-35, take a 20 to 30 minute detour and take the RM 620 exit in Round Rock, and head west on 620 until you come RR 2222. Head east into North Central Austin on 2222. You'll be able to tell you're in the Texas Hill Country. You'll see just how scenic and hilly West Austin is. I think it's the most scenic entrances into Austin. People passing thru Austin on I-35 miss the most scenic parts of Austin. I doubt there's anyplace in Florida where the landscape is as scenic as 2222 in Austin.
Anybody visiting or passing thru Austin for the 1st time, if you're coming from the north on I-35, take a 20 to 30 minute detour and take the RM 620 exit in Round Rock, and head west on 620 until you come RR 2222. Head east into North Central Austin on 2222. You'll be able to tell you're in the Texas Hill Country. You'll see just how scenic and hilly West Austin is. I think it's the most scenic entrances into Austin. People passing thru Austin on I-35 miss the most scenic parts of Austin. I doubt there's anyplace in Florida where the landscape is as scenic as 2222 in Austin.
They dont even need to go that far out of route. Just take I-35 to TX-45 to Loop 1 (Mopac) and head South on Mopac.
You get several options.
#1 Get off at Loop 360 / Capital of TX Hwy, turn right, and follow it for its entire length, it has scenic stops where you can view downtown Austin from the hills.
#2 Get off at FM2222 and turn right to visit the North Hills district.
#3 Get off at Lake Austin Blvd, turn right, cross over the river at Redbud Trail (left turn), and drive through West Lake Hills, that area is very hilly and less than 10 minutes from downtown (without traffic)
#4 Get off at Loop 360 (south side) turn either left or right and you'll be in the hills, turning left will put you in Barton Hills
#5 Following Loop 1 South, the remaining exits are within very hilly suburbs.
People who say Austin is flat, dont know Austin or have only visited for maybe a day and havent spent time to look around.
COL - Austinonio. Both regions offer pretty good affordability, but Austinonio pays more so I’ll go with that.
Education - Austintonio. UT in Austin is ranked as the 48th best college in the nation by US News, while San Antonio’s University of the Incanate Word is ranked #272. Tampa’s USF is ranked #104 and Orlando’s UCF is 166. Public schools are generally pretty good in Orlando and okay in Tampa but I’ll take Austin’s school district over all the rest.
Economy - Austintonio. More diversified fields and less tourism means they are better able to withstand a downturn like we’re going through right now.
Transportation - Orlampa. Public transportation is bad in all these cities, but Orlando has the Sun Rail, which is better than anything Austintonio has.
Culture - Draw. This is pretty subjective. Orlampa has more variety of cultures and foods, with pretty large black, Puerto Rican, Cuban, South American, and Haitian populations. San Antonio and Austin have large Mexican populations, with some Asian sprinkled in Austin. San Antonio has much more history than all the other cities combined, though Tamps has some historical elements to it as well.
Scenery - Orlampa. Both areas are pretty flat but at least Tampa has the bay and Florida has beaches, palm trees and gorgeous sunsets. This is close though, with Austin having the Colorado River running through it and San Antonio having the River Walk, and Orlando having Lake Eola, all of which are very beautiful.
Recreation - Orlampa. Water sports and theme parks make this a pretty easy decision, though recreation is very subjective depending on tastes.
Location - Orlampa. Both regions are 3 hours from other large regions, although I prefer being close to the coast.
Dining - Draw. I have no clue. Food is food to me. Both regions has multiple James Beard semifinalists (in Austin and Orlando). Orlando has a huge food truck scene and Disney hotels offer top-notch fine dining. Austin’s bars are the best of the bunch. I don’t know enough about dining to make a choice here though.
Entertainment - Orlampa. I conflated this with recreation I guess. Same applies here. Tampa is more of a major city than Austin or San Antonio, which means more professional sports, with the NFL, MLB, and NHL. Orlando has the NBA and MLS, while San Antonio only has the NBA and Austin MLS. Tampa and Orlando combined get more major concerts than Austin and San Antonio. Gasparilla and EDC are large festivals Orlampa has, although SXSW is the largest event in either of these cities. I think Orlampa overall has more to offer.
Better Future- Austintonio. Both regions appear primed for growth, but Austin is in a class by itself. In the next decade, it’ll be Seattle. Tampa, Orlando, and San Antonio all seem to have bright futures.
It’s pretty close, but I give the slight nod to Orlampa over Austintonio.
Since when are Austin and San Antonio flat? They're both on the Eastern edge of the Texas Hill Country.
Just looked it up! Wow! Had no idea! Been to Austin many times but literally never heard of Mount Bonnell or saw any elevation. FWIW I live in Orlando and never heard of Sugarloaf Mountain until I just googled highest point. Yep I should definitely revise but welp, I can’t lol
Lol, yeah. I was also gonna add to my previous quote, that the Western half of Greater Orlando is relatively hilly. Not as majestic and high up as the hills of the Texas hill country, but definitely rolling and scenic. Orlando sits next to the Florida Highlands Region.
Recreation - Hmmm this really depends and I personally feel this is closer than people would like to admit. Austin is very live - work - play. Great bar scene for all ages, trails, bike friendly, boating and kayaking, very nature orientated and amazing music scene. San Antonio also has Six Flags, White Water, and the River Walk. Orlando has all the theme parks you can dream of, and Tampa of course has the bay... Its pretty close IMO. I'd say if you want recreation that doesnt depend on an season pass, Austin / San Antonio easily. If you dont mind the season pass, Orlando by a slight edge.
Location: Depends once again. Austin's airport has many direct flights to popular destinations but Orlando / Tampa being on the east coast is more accessible... but it's no Atlanta by any means in this aspect.
Dining: Unfortunately Orlando has one of my favorite pizza joints. Unos Pizza. Outside of that, Austin / San Antonio easily.
Entertainment: Like I stated before in recreation, Austin is full of entertainment. Austin's entertainment packs a punch and is far less expensive than those theme parks. I'd say it's pretty close but I'll give this one to Orlando.
Re: Theme parks. Are you forgetting Tampa's Busch Gardens and Adventure Island? You don't have to spend hundreds of dollars at Disney to enjoy theme parks in Central Florida. Busch Gardens is quite possibly my favorite theme park in the Orlando/Tampa region. Not to mention, if you live here, it costs FAR, FAR less than the usual to go to places like Disney and Universal.
Not to mention, if you REALLY want to go cheap, Orlando also has 2 Fun Spot parks, with one neighboring recently-built ICON Park. While obviously not large-scale parks like Six Flags and all, it still makes for a fun outing with enough rides to last an afternoon out, especially when combined with ICON.
I'm quite an expert on the Orlampa side of the coin having lived on both sides of it for the past 11 years. San Antonio I haven't been to since elementary school... Austin I have made two visits to in the past year.
COL: I think it would go from cheapest->expensive: San Antonio->Orlando and Tampa (somewhat similar overall.. though Tampa has higher peaks and valleys than Orlando)->Austin (though I am just thinking of Austin proper.. deals might be available by comparison further out of Austin. Tie
Education: University of Texas has a more esteemed reputation than UCF or USF-I think both have a decent number of higher ed options. I can't comment on K-12 other than to say that as large metropolitan school districts go, Orange is well regarded.. and that I would assume Austin as a metro is most educated overall by a comfortable margin. Austintonio
Economy: Austin has the most dynamic economy of any of these individually, though Tampa likely still has the largest economy.. for now. I think that based on that though it should probably go towards Austintonio, as overall economy there is IMO more diversified. Austintonio
Transportation: Can't really speak to this on any sort of detailed level. Here's my impression of each though.
San Antonio: Scant public transit to speak of, but due to number of highways, etc. in area, probably the lowest traffic volume of the four.
Austin: Probably has the least developed highway system of this group.. therefore, traffic at rush hour and in certain areas might be worst.. though it's easier to get out into open road/space from Austin than in FL cities. Austin does have a commuter rail line, though I'm not sure how it compares with Orlando's
Tampa: Traffic is overall, contrary to perhaps popular belief, worse than Orlando, and perhaps Austin as an overall metro and a lot of places. A big population in region compared to any in this group, geographic challenges caused by the water, polycentric form, and limited public transit infrastructure, plus extending sprawl directly into other metro areas.
Orlando: I think this might be the overall winner here, or San Antonio, depending on taste. Traffic can be bad, but primarily it is limited to certain areas (I-4 leaving downtown at rush hour, and Disney/Universal area). The rest of the metro is pretty comfortable to drive around by comparison, in my experience. It also has SunRail and a better and more connected bus system (Lynx) than I have experienced in other metro areas. Inconclusive
Culture: I saw someone else mentioned San Antonio for history. San Antonio would indeed quite clearly win history (and Austin probably would be a comfortable 2nd), but I wouldn't intertwine those two. Considering culture as classical form (performing and visual arts organizations/venues/museums), Tampa Bay wins. Not so much for Tampa, mind you, but on the strength of Sarasota and Saint Petersburg, almost certainly. San Antonio would be 2nd (I haven't actually been but I'm assuming it has a pretty good group of organizations as a longer established city)-then a gap. Then Austin. Then another gap and then Orlando (though Orlando does have a large scale performing arts venue now within last few years, so it has narrowed that gap). Orlampa
Scenery: This one is so HUGELY subjective. I will rank each of them and my order of preference, and why:
1) Austin: Immediately set on the Colorado River (of Texas), with perhaps the best metropolitan park and recreation system in the southern US. Forested neighborhoods surrounding. Geologic features and relatively mountainous terrain out to the north and west not far from the city, with dramatic cliffs overlooking sizeable lakes.
2) San Antonio: A lot of what applies to Austin applies here. If we are talking what is further out, within about 90 minutes of the city, San Antonio might even have an edge-but San Antonio's recreation infrastructure, and immediate natural setting aren't quite as impressive, so I'll give Austin the edge.
3) Orlando: Inland, but set amongst a number of natural lakes. Less than an hour removed from the Atlantic Coast, which subjectively, I prefer to the Gulf Coast. Lots of natural freshwater springs (in fact, perhaps one of the best spots in the world for those). More deciduous subtropical vegetation and shade providing trees than Tampa has, because it's further removed from the tropics? A little hilly out on western edges. Orlando has a good bike path network extending north and east from downtown.
4) Tampa: For watersport people, this area would win as it has a significant estuary and then open sea, which lend themselves to a variety of unique activities. As you move north towards northern end of metro, more scenery and nature similar to Orlando (but, it is further off, as is the "hill country") from town. The metro area as a whole has a poor recreation infrastructure, though Pinellas County does a very good job here of maintaining parks in spite of it's reduced open space overall. As you move further south in the metro, you move closer towards the Everglades.. there are fewer shade producing trees, and though it's more tropical and with palm trees.. it's also swampier/less deciduous on average. That and the ocean are why I prefer Orlando. Austintonio
Recreation: See above
Location: Hmm... I don't love the location aspect of either (sorry!) Honestly though.. I think I'll go Orlampa. Further east, and thus closer to more cities... and though that is more unique, I think I prefer being 7-8 hrs. from NC Mountains/lushness than 7-8 hrs. to Guadalupe Mountains/Big Bend.
Just looked it up! Wow! Had no idea! Been to Austin many times but literally never heard of Mount Bonnell or saw any elevation. FWIW I live in Orlando and never heard of Sugarloaf Mountain until I just googled highest point. Yep I should definitely revise but welp, I can’t lol
I was too cheap to use Florida's Turnpike when I drove back to Houston from Miami and Orlando a few years ago. I left my hotel in Kissimmee and drove up US-27 to Clermont to catch FL-50 to the interstates. It was starting to get hilly after turning right from the US-192 terminus, like I was in Canyon Lake (halfway between S.A. and Austin) again. (Sugarloaf Mountain is just up US-27 on the opposite side of the Turnpike, overlooking Lake Apopka.)
I thought the entire Peninsula of Florida was flat and swampy until I drove to Clermont! But the hills didn't surprise me because of the karst topography that both Peninsular Florida and the Texas Hill Country share in common. Turns out Western Orlando and Northern Tampa are hilly!
If you stayed in Downtown Austin, the buildings can obscure the view of Mount Bonnell. The hills are not very pronounced until you drive to the western part of the metro.
But I would vouch for Orlampa. Tampa is the second largest city on the Gulf Coast, after my hometown of Houston. Orlando is getting popular because of snowbird's memories visiting the theme parks, and Miami-Fort Lauderdale is getting crowded, old/decrepit, and expensive.
I thought the entire Peninsula of Florida was flat and swampy until I drove to Clermont! But the hills didn't surprise me because of the karst topography that both Peninsular Florida and the Texas Hill Country share in common. Turns out Western Orlando and Northern Tampa are hilly!
If you stayed in Downtown Austin, the buildings can obscure the view of Mount Bonnell. The hills are not very pronounced until you drive to the western part of the metro.
But I would vouch for Orlampa. Tampa is the second largest city on the Gulf Coast, after my hometown of Houston. Orlando is getting popular because of snowbird's memories visiting the theme parks, and Miami-Fort Lauderdale is getting crowded, old/decrepit, and expensive.
The sad thing is so many people don’t realize this about Orlando and Tampa. Stupid people who haven’t explored (just like me with my comment about Austin being flat ) spread the narrative that Florida is flat and boring because they’ve visited the beach or the attractions area a handful of times. Ignorance at its finest. I too need to do a better job of educating myself about a specific area before talking out of my
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) spread the narrative that Florida is flat and boring because they’ve visited the beach or the attractions area a handful of times. Ignorance at its finest. I too need to do a better job of educating myself about a specific area before talking out of my 
