What I Love (and Hate) About Living in Austin
There are moments when I unquestionably adore residing in Austin: when I’m paddleboarding on City Lake, when I’m ingesting a frozen margarita at Maudie’s, when I’m hanging out in hip East Austin underneath string lights.
That remaining said, there are specified points I’m much less fond of: the sweltering summers, the isolation, the lack of walkability.
I have lived in Austin for virtually two a long time. Here’s what I’ve arrive to really like and hate about it:
What I love about Austin
The Men and women
By and large, Texans are incredibly wonderful folks: generous, humorous, and sincerely kind. When I had Covid, various neighbors brought me tortilla soup and walked my canine. People say hello there to you on the road here, even if they do not know you. Austin is by significantly the friendliest area I have ever lived.
The Meals
A different beneficial – the foods. Austin’s foodstuff scene is thriving: you can find outstanding TexMex, Thai, Vietnamese, and of system, barbecue. Some of my favorite places are Uchiko (sushi), Odd Duck (new American), and Loro (Asian/barbecue fusion). I’ve also grown to Appreciate frozen margaritas, ha.
The H2o
As a born-and-elevated Michigander, I desperately require to are living in close proximity to h2o (that was just one of the matters I uncovered hardest about residing in Colorado). Fortunately, Austin has a lot of it: City Lake, Barton Springs, and Lake Travis, to identify a handful of.
The Winters
The winters here are pleasant – the temperature hovers around 70 levels, and the skies are typically crisp and blue. Even though we do have the odd snow day, the wintertime weather is quite mild.
Reside New music
I’d be remiss if I did not mention Austin’s internationally renowned are living music scene. I love how you can wander into a random bar on a Tuesday and hear an remarkable functionality for the selling price of a Shiner Bock.
The Puppy-friendliness
In Austin, you can carry your canine practically anywhere — I bring my pup practically everywhere you go I go. My regional CVS is even pet dog-pleasant.
What I Detest
The Crowds
Owing to its huge popularity in recent yrs, Austin feels insanely crowded at moments. Parking is tricky to find, dining places are packed, and the weekends primarily can be frantic.
The Large Price tag of Living
Austin is pretty costly. To purchase a plot of land – not even a dwelling – in my neighborhood, expenditures a million dollars.
Weak Walkability
Regrettably, Austin is not a walkable town. Bisected by two highways, Austin is a extremely auto-dependent city for walkability, it ranks 42nd in the US, involving Las Vegas and Pheonix. As someone who enjoys to wander, this is a big draw back.
The Allergic reactions
Central Texas has been known as the “Allergy Money of the Environment.” There is even a everyday allergy report on the nearby information, where by formal pollen counts for ragweed, grass, and mold are measured. I never experienced allergy symptoms in my life right up until I moved below — ugh.
The Heat
The summers in Austin are brutal. Temperatures can get to 110 levels (or larger). Just after this year’s scorching summer time, 90 degrees bizarrely feels to some degree neat to me.
The Isolation
Austin is near to only a handful of cities: Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. Before this year I built the miscalculation of driving to New Orleans, which took 10 hrs. From time to time I sense so envious of the East Coast – picture driving a number of hrs and becoming in a position to accessibility Boston, Philly, and NYC? Sigh.
All this to say, I’ve been quite content right here. I’m not confident if it is my for good house (I’m not certain I have a eternally house, period of time), but I plan to continue to be at minimum a couple of extra yrs. And appreciate many more lake times and frozen margs.
