What I Love (and Hate) About Living in Austin

There are instances when I unquestionably adore residing in Austin: when I’m paddleboarding on City Lake, when I’m consuming a frozen margarita at Maudie’s, when I’m hanging out in hip East Austin below string lights.

That staying claimed, there are sure items I’m significantly less fond of: the sweltering summers, the isolation, the deficiency of walkability.

I’ve lived in Austin for almost two many years. Here’s what I’ve appear to really like and despise about it:

What I like about Austin

The Men and women

By and massive, Texans are amazingly pleasant people today: generous, amusing, and sincerely kind. When I had Covid, numerous neighbors brought me tortilla soup and walked my pet. Folks say good day to you on the street here, even if they really don’t know you. Austin is by significantly the friendliest place I have at any time lived.

The Food items

Another optimistic – the foodstuff. Austin’s meals scene is thriving: you can come across exceptional TexMex, Thai, Vietnamese, and of training course, barbecue. Some of my most loved spots are Uchiko (sushi), Odd Duck (new American), and Loro (Asian/barbecue fusion). I have also developed to Enjoy frozen margaritas, ha.

The Water

As a born-and-lifted Michigander, I desperately have to have to dwell in the vicinity of water (that was 1 of the factors I uncovered hardest about living in Colorado). Luckily, Austin has a good deal of it: Town Lake, Barton Springs, and Lake Travis, to identify a couple.

The Winters

The winters listed here are delightful – the temperature hovers all around 70 degrees, and the skies are generally crisp and blue. However we do have the odd snow day, the winter climate is really mild.

Reside New music

I’d be remiss if I did not mention Austin’s internationally renowned are living tunes scene. I appreciate how you can stroll into a random bar on a Tuesday and hear an unbelievable overall performance for the value of a Shiner Bock.

The Pet dog-friendliness

In Austin, you can deliver your canine pretty much any where — I convey my pup virtually just about everywhere I go. My regional CVS is even pet dog-helpful.

What I Detest

The Crowds

Owing to its massive level of popularity in new years, Austin feels insanely crowded at moments. Parking is really hard to uncover, places to eat are packed, and the weekends in particular can be busy.

The High Value of Living

Austin is incredibly expensive. To obtain a plot of land – not even a home – in my neighborhood, fees a million dollars.

Lousy Walkability

Unfortunately, Austin is not a walkable town. Bisected by two highways, Austin is a really car or truck-dependent city for walkability, it ranks 42nd in the US, amongst Las Vegas and Pheonix. As somebody who loves to stroll, this is a huge draw back.

The Allergic reactions

Central Texas has been known as the “Allergy Cash of the Entire world.” There’s even a daily allergy report on the neighborhood news, wherever formal pollen counts for ragweed, grass, and mould are measured. I by no means experienced allergic reactions in my lifetime right until I moved listed here — ugh.

The Warmth

The summers in Austin are brutal. Temperatures can arrive at 110 degrees (or bigger). Right after this year’s scorching summer time, 90 degrees bizarrely feels considerably amazing to me.

The Isolation

Austin is near to only a couple of towns: Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. Before this year I designed the slip-up of driving to New Orleans, which took 10 several hours. Sometimes I experience so envious of the East Coast – visualize driving a number of several hours and becoming in a position to access Boston, Philly, and NYC? Sigh.

All this to say, I’ve been fairly happy right here. I’m not sure if it’s my forever home (I’m not guaranteed I have a for good dwelling, time period), but I approach to keep at the very least a couple additional yrs. And delight in numerous additional lake times and frozen margs.