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Traffic I’m Austin is horrifically bad. Felt worse than LA honestly
Whats worse is the quality of the roads. Austin traffic could be alot better than it is but the city council does not believe in improving transportation infrastructure. Our traffic signals are horribly synchronized to the point where many of them actually do a better job at mitigating traffic when they're inoperable and they build dense community after dense community without improving the adjacent road, instead they throw up a bike lane on a road that carries 1,000 cars and 10 bikes per day. Add to that they will not hesitate to throw up speed bumps along corridors with speed limits of 40 MPH which is ridiculous. They block up roadway improvements at intersections that have been known to be dangerous where many people died.. ..to save tall uncut grass and a few trees adjacent to it. It's a lack of planning that makes Austin's traffic so bad. Living central isn't so bad as you can walk to alot of stuff but outside of that you pretty much live on an auto-centric island. Maybe the $7 Bil transit referendum will change this.. ..but who knows.
Whats worse is the quality of the roads. Austin traffic could be alot better than it is but the city council does not believe in improving transportation infrastructure. Our traffic signals are horribly synchronized to the point where many of them actually do a better job at mitigating traffic when they're inoperable and they build dense community after dense community without improving the adjacent road, instead they throw up a bike lane on a road that carries 1,000 cars and 10 bikes per day. Add to that they will not hesitate to throw up speed bumps along corridors with speed limits of 40 MPH which is ridiculous. They block up roadway improvements at intersections that have been known to be dangerous where many people died.. ..to save tall uncut grass and a few trees adjacent to it. It's a lack of planning that makes Austin's traffic so bad. Living central isn't so bad as you can walk to alot of stuff but outside of that you pretty much live on an auto-centric island. Maybe the $7 Bil transit referendum will change this.. ..but who knows.
I read back in the day it was "if you don't build it, they won't come." They came anyway. There was talk of making I-35 around campus a park or something. Not sure how that could happen and the construction would take forever. I hope it's not too late for Austin.
I read back in the day it was "if you don't build it, they won't come." They came anyway. There was talk of making I-35 around campus a park or something. Not sure how that could happen and the construction would take forever. I hope it's not too late for Austin.
It would have to be approved by the Feds. Hopefully our country hasn't gove that far south yet. I hope they just build I-35 sub-level and put a cap on it.
My advice in general in larger cities versus smaller cities is to focus on which city provides you the most overall value for you as opposed which is cheaper.
You can always find something cheaper. You could find cheaper clothes at the Walmart versus say Nordstrom. You could shop at Family Dollar for groceries or you could shop at Whole Foods. Someone might buy their clothes from Walmart but buy groceries at Whole Foods because they value organic foods etc. (I’m not calling Austin Family Dollar btw)
I find living in DC (from Charlotte), my salary goes further for what I value. I have no car (that alone saves $400/month.) in Charlotte id probably have a 1 bedroom or larger apartment or house, I’d definitively have a car. in DC I have a nice studio. I live beside a metro station, groceries, by the river, there’s plenty of bike lanes, Lots of urban neighborhoods that are walkable, etc. I like running the National Mall at night.
If you want more space, a yard. If you prefer a vehicle and don’t mind driving to a strip mall for whatever you need or the movie theatre etc. then there is less and less valid in living in larger dense and “higher cost” cities.
But it’s all up to what you personally value.
I agree with this point of view. I have personally visited both and I think both cities are great. NYC is greater. It's just, is NYC worth the extra cost? I did some calculations and it looks like I would be saving around 30-40k a year if I were to live in Austin instead. Personally, I've only briefly visited both cities so it's hard for me to judge if NYC is worth the extra cost.
I personally think for the value, Austin still hits pretty decently hard, but not as hard as it used to. Austin has become alot more expensive over the decade and its still on an upward trajectory in terms of costs. However there are some huge lacklusters Austin has for a city that costs as much as it does.. ..we don't have any world class amenities where as Chicago, a city that is more affordable than Austin kicks our tail when it comes to Museums or civic amenities (outside of music fests).. We also do not have anything close to resembling a good transit system where as Chicago and Philadelphia, both cheaper than Austin will absolutely demolish us in and once could make an argument for Atlanta in this regard too...
...In terms of social scenes however, Austin hits above the bar here. You won't be bored in Austin, there is always alot to do.. ..sure you'll be taking an Uber or a Lyft to get there because you won't find parking anywhere near your destination.. ..but hey you'll have a good time once you get there. However there is another, dark side to Austin.. ..anyone not in tech and also living further out due to affordability issues has a really hard to in Austin and its honestly difficult to justify it because you pay the Austin premium with none of the Austin amenities and the horrendous Austin commutes.
In NYC, you can live much further from Manhatten and be connected to transit as if you lived in the inner city and not need a car. Not so in Austin, unless you live central you will need a car.. ..so if you subtract car expenses from NYC, the gap may be alittle closer.. ..however; you DO get more house for the same dollar value in Austin than you do in NYC.. ..so if living space is important, Austin has the edge in that arena. I personally live in the burbs but I am a remote work tech employee with a six figure salary so I'm not too heavily phased by it and can dip in and out of Austin any time I like.
I agree with this point of view. I have personally visited both and I think both cities are great. NYC is greater. It's just, is NYC worth the extra cost? I did some calculations and it looks like I would be saving around 30-40k a year if I were to live in Austin instead. Personally, I've only briefly visited both cities so it's hard for me to judge if NYC is worth the extra cost.
NYC could be worth the extra cost, but it would depend a lot on what you're looking for and what you prize. The more detail you have, probably the better the answer you'll get. One thing to consider with NYC on the cost basis is how tied towards vehicle ownership you are as that can be a pretty dramatic cost difference. Vehicle ownership isn't cheap even in Austin, but it's even more so in NYC. However, much of NYC's, and most likely the parts you'd be interested in, does not require a vehicle for your day-to-day or for seeing friends or going to events. There's also the question of just how remote your job will be in NYC. Is it just a nice option to go to the office or will you be required to be there often? What part of the city will you be working in? To some degree, rent prices correlate with transit commute times to the central business districts in Manhattan your place is, but if you're seldom going to the office, then you can probably live in a bustling neighborhood that is more affordable.
I think the suggestions of Chicago and Philadelphia are good given they have a lot of that urban buzz of NYC, but at quite low prices and even more affordable than Austin in some respects. Chicago might be out if you're already wary of the cold in regards to NYC, whereas Philadelphia's climate is very close to NYC's.
Last edited by OyCrumbler; 02-23-2022 at 11:49 AM..
As far as dating goes I don't think NYC can be beat. You'll simply encounter and meet so many more people that you will be more likely to run into someone compatible. It will also be easier to meet people if you are going to an office vs. working from home.
When you say nature what specific activities are you talking about? Do be aware that Austin is extremely hot for 4 months/yr and during that period the only thing you will want to do outdoors is swim. Austin's natural features can also be annoyingly crowded these days as well, unfortunately. (You often need to wait in line to go to Barton Springs for example).
Great points about the dating.
As a general rule of thumb, dating (for men) is easier when you move towards the East Coast and easier (for women) as you move towards the West Coast. A straight male can make out like a bandit in places like NYC or Atlanta whereas women would have more options in San Diego, aka "Man Diego."
Speaking as a Dallas native, Austin is getting fairly expensive and lacks the quality of public transit you'd find in NYC. The flip side is that if you already have a car, NYC can be a pain in the *** when it comes to finding parking and just driving in general. Austin does have some hellacious traffic with I-35. The city wasn't meant to be as packed as it is, so take that into consideration.
You get 4 seasons in NYC which may be a plus or minus depending on what you like. Summer is hotter and more persistent in Texas; it's generally going to feel like summer from mid-May until early October most years, sometimes later. A single day during an NYC summer might be hot/humid and yucky but it comes and goes. It can definitely get cold but it's not Minnesota or Wisconsin cold....though much more snow/cold weather than anything you'd see in Austin.
If I was young with a lucrative job and no ties to either place? I'd probably pick NYC for a few years and then move to the Sunbelt. Of course that's coming from someone in Dallas. If you grew up in a smaller town or burb, Austin might seem like a more reasonable jump into urban living.
Folks in NYC are friendly--some of the most diverse, fascinating and coolest people you'll meet.
A person who has lived here for more than say, 4 or 5 years, has become accustomed to putting on a serious/more focused/grim face due to the rigors of commuting, seeing anything and everything, and sending out body language to any crazies on the train or the street to "stay away--not interested."
Other cities have folks who seem a lot friendlier on the surface due to a much less hectic lifestyle. But, developing small talk and friends in NYC is easy, if you are a people person.
If you aren't a people person in general, it will be tougher. But my advice is to join a social group or two, and you'll develop friends fast.
I would agree with this having visited NYC a few times, briefly living in Chicago and living in Dallas. NYC is what you want to make of it. An introverted person that wants to be left alone will have no problems avoiding others. A sociable person will have lots of ways to meet new people.
For someone looking to move to Texas, I usually suggest Houston or Dallas before Austin since the other two cities have more "big city" feel if that's what someone is looking for....basically they have mostly everything Austin has but more and better except for the natural topography.
NYC is it's own thing and it's probably worth living there at least for a little while just to see if you like the energy. Another plus of NYC is that it's much easier to visit other states in that part of the country. Philly is roughly 100 miles from NYC and DC is about 226 miles away.
By comparison, Austin is almost 200 miles from Dallas....and Dallas is about 240 miles from Houston.
Thank you for your detailed responses and stats guys! Still not 100% sure yet, but you guys are helping me with my decision. I do want to mention I'm in tech and would prefer to live somewhere that has a great tech scene. Also want to mention I come from a more small city/town, so any of the cities mentioned would be a big change especially NYC.
Thank you for your detailed responses and stats guys! Still not 100% sure yet, but you guys are helping me with my decision. I do want to mention I'm in tech and would prefer to live somewhere that has a great tech scene. Also want to mention I come from a more small city/town, so any of the cities mentioned would be a big change especially NYC.
At this point you have all the information you need. Just visit each for a week and then decide what works for you. Don't let dating and outdoor recreation be the deciding factor but instead soak in the lifestyle.
As for cost sure you can save more money but an Austin twenties will be pretty generic compared to a few years of being young, high income and single in NYC. Despite its reputation Austin is not really that weird.
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