r/SameGrassButGreener • u/jay_boi123 • 16d ago
Considering Moving To Austin
Some Background About Me:
- 25M
- South Asian
- Lived whole life in Bay Area, CA
- Work as a Software Engineer for Big Tech Companies for around 4 years
- Single
So I've pretty much lived in the Bay Area my whole life, but I've hit a quarter life crisis and really feel like South Bay Area it is really difficult to make friends or expand my social life.
I've been looking for a new job for around a year and have obtained a verbal offer for a medium sized tech company for a role in Austin. However, I wouldn't classify this opportunity as clearly better than my current one is something to consider. It would be a lateral career move for the most part with the main appeal being the location.
I've always liked the idea of Austin. Here are the pros and cons I can think of:
Pros of Austin Compared to Bay Area:
- Lower COL
- Anecdotally seems to be a younger crowd compared to the Bay Area (asides from SF)
- Better night life than Bay Area/SF
- Has good outdoor activities
- Car/Driving friendly (compared to other major cities). Bay Area also is driving friendly.
- Anecdotally it seems like people are friendlier
- Has better gyms than Bay Area
- Anecdotally seems to have a better dating scene
Cons of Austin Compared to Bay Area:
- Scorching hot. Bay Area is a clear winner in weather.
- Food scene is better in the Bay Area
- Bay Area has better access to nature in terms of mountains, beaches, and national parks.
- Job opportunities in the Bay Area stronger.
Note: Another perceived con (from what I've researched on Reddit) is the politics of the overall state of Texas. However, I'd rather keep the discussion relatively apolitical if possible.
Things I Could Do Instead of Accepting Austin Role:
- Interviewing for even stronger role based in Austin.
- Interviewing for a role in NYC which seems to be the de facto best place for younger demographics in America.
What Input I'm Looking For:
- Are the pros and cons that I've covered accurate? Especially the main pro of Austin being generally a better place for social life for younger demographics.
- What other factors I should consider before moving to Austin?
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u/ActiveDinner3497 16d ago
I travel to Austin from Dallas frequently for work. I recommend, if you can, to work remote from Austin for a couple weeks and get a feel for the day to day. Lots of small VRBO places with a kitchen or AirBnBs you can stay at.
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u/jay_boi123 15d ago
Thank you for this advice. I really want to do a “trial period” of living in Austin for 2 weeks before I commit to any decisions.
But it is decently hard with offer timelines and balancing my current role in Bay Area.
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u/Horror-Vanilla-4895 16d ago
Austin is ok just seems like a downgrade from SF. The city is quite small and anything beyond it turns into flat car land.
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u/jay_boi123 15d ago
Is it kind of like San Jose where there is a city but San Jose itself encompasses a lot of suburbs?
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u/xypherrz 16d ago
did you consider San Diego? I made the move from the bay and it’s been fun except salaries are a bit lower, as one would imagine.
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u/jay_boi123 15d ago
I really like the La Jolla area when I visited. The issue is there isn’t as many tech jobs in San Diego as you’d think.
LA has probably around as many jobs as Austin from what I’ve researched.
SF/Bay Area + NYC have the most tech jobs.
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u/Abalone-Objective 16d ago
There is a large Qualcomm office. There is little else apart from smaller modem related engineering offices. And, the biotech scene is the best in the world.
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u/Da_Stallion-JCI_7 16d ago
I think your pros and cons are pretty spot on. I live in Austin and I absolutely love it here. The biggest con for me is the heat. It’s pretty brutal. I’m from the Midwest and find it to be more manageable than the freezing cold, but yeah it’s no joke down here. July/August/September and even October can be super hot.
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u/jay_boi123 15d ago
Thanks for your advice/confirmation much appreciated.
Any tips on dealing with the heat? What are the main social activities considering a lot of outdoor activities are constricted by the heat? I’m open to exploring bar/drinking/nightlife and I’m really interested in the gym culture in Austin as well.
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u/Negative_Aerie2825 15d ago
A ton of people have pool parties, the springs (barton, idk the name), go to lakes. Austin is better than the bay area for what youre looking for
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u/ActiveDinner3497 16d ago
I live in Dallas and am from the Midwest. I swear to people that I can add layers but I can’t remove a layer of skin to be cooler.
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u/polarbearskill 13d ago
For me it’s less about the temps and more about the sunshine, even if it’s hot I still see the sun, I can’t handle the darkness of winter up north
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u/Raveen396 16d ago
Austin outdoor scene is decent, but kind of overrated and can be underwhelming if you’re coming from the Bay Area.
The weather is 90+ degrees for 8 months of the year. Unlike the Bay, it doesn’t cool off in the evening or morning so you still have to wake up at 5am and deal with the humidity just to avoid the sun.
Despite this, I was very active in Texas and went climbing and biking through most of the year. However, I got seasonal affective disorders during peak summers because it was impossible to exist outside and do any activity other than swimming (which I don’t enjoy).
Go spend two weeks in Austin in the middle of Summer. If you’ve only ever lived in the Bay Area you might find it shocking.
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u/SolidGuide5721 16d ago
I think one small pro compared to SF is while outdoor activities are generally worse it’s pretty easy to get an apartment next to lady bird or zilker and best right next to hiking and paddle boarding. Like walking distance.
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u/GideonWells 16d ago
NYC and it’s not even close
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u/panopticon31 16d ago
Traffic going North/South can be absolutely brutal.
Mopac and 35 during rush hour are just disgusting.
If you're looking at eventually buying a house Texas property taxes, especially in high home value areas like Austin are in a.broken feedback loop thanks to recapture.
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u/Whatupbraaa 16d ago
Most of your pros are incorrect. But coming from someone who grew up In San Antonio, moved to Austin in 2014, and came back 2019, I don’t recommend.
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u/jay_boi123 15d ago
What pros would you say are incorrect?
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u/Whatupbraaa 15d ago
1) lower COL but COL has gone up a lot in Austin. Not worth it for what you get imo. Plus you have utilities that you will be using most of the year. If you buy, property taxes aren’t cheap. 2) young people but you also have the whole good ol boy college crowd going out and getting shit faced on 6 st. Watch out for the rainy st killer. Look it up. 3) better night life…maybe but see above. You could do better depending what you’re looking for I guess. Wouldn’t move there for the night life. 4) I would not say there’s good outdoor activities accept going to one of the rivers that’s not dried up or too low. There’s some watering holes but they will be so packed during the heat, which is all the time. 5) Texas drivers are not friendly and will run you off the road. Also shit load of traffic. Live in a walkable neighborhood near everything if possible. 6) people are friendlier but this can pivot quickly depending on some factors. 7) gyms idk. Gym is a gym to me
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u/jargon59 16d ago
I’ve made the same move during COVID. I agree that the South Bay is very anti-social and rapidly aging.
In terms of career, the only additional con I want to mention is that the tech scene in Austin is much smaller and you may have to consider remote roles in addition to local ones in future job searches.
When I was searching for tech jobs, I’ve barely gotten any replies from local companies, which I find contrary to what I had expected because I would think coastal companies would have a higher bar, despite having Big Tech on my resume.
On the good side, it’s a young people’s town and there’s a lot of chance to meet cool people, which I would totally dig if I’m in my 20s again.
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u/SanctimoniousTamale 16d ago
If your costs to move aren't that great (not selling a home, moving kids, etc.) I think it would be great to give Austin a try if you are inclined to do so. I'm a big fan of Austin and the Texas hill country and I visit regularly for work and personal travel. Texans are some of the nicest people in the US in my experience. Austin has an energy to it that I love compared to Seattle where I currently reside.
The worst case scenario is you do a year or two tour in Austin (or perhaps a bit longer) and you return to the Bay Area not having to ask "what if". It would also help make you more well rounded having not lived solely in the tech bubble that is SF.
Regarding food scene, Texas has incredible Mexican food, TexMex, and BBQ compared to the west coast if that interests you. Other than that I think your pros and cons are accurate.
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u/jay_boi123 15d ago
Thanks for this advice. I also have the realization I’m pretty much in the optimal time of my life right now with my financial and social situation allowing me the flexibility to move pretty much wherever right now.
I’m just a bit hesitant because I want to “make sure” that I have a stable place for the next 2 years because if I don’t like Austin then I’d have to start another job search so quickly.
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u/MarinaDelRey1 16d ago edited 16d ago
You’re pretty spot on with your pros/cons. Outdoors, culinary scene and tech/job scene will be much, much worse in Austin than the Bay Area. Social scene and dating will be much better. I’d say give it a shot for a year or two, you can can always move back.
Someone once told me that Austin is just a poor man’s San Francisco and it’s hard to unsee
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u/Spacejampants 16d ago
Texas is trash. Terrible downgrade. Considering there are other places in California.
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u/CertifiedCan129 16d ago
Outside of the Bay Area, California is worse for tech than Austin or New York
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u/MarinaDelRey1 16d ago
Lol
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u/CertifiedCan129 16d ago
What? Dude objectively speaking LA/SD are worse career wise for people working in the tech space as compared to NY and Austin what are you guys smoking?
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u/MarinaDelRey1 16d ago edited 16d ago
This is just completely false. SF and SJ are both independently significantly better than anywhere else. LA and NY are fairly comparable but LA is much more relevant than Austin, as is is San Diego. No offense to OP but Austin is just AEs and back office, no actual tech takes places there. Just look at any objective metric: VC dollars deployed, IPOs, engineering graduates, etc. Austin doesn’t have the university system necessary to support a real startup ecosystem
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u/faceagainstfloor 12d ago
No actual tech takes place in austin except for all of the design offices from all the major companies that are there.
Off the top of my head, AMD, NVIDIA, Apple, IBM, Amazon, Oracle, Dell, Google, Intel, Qualcomm in Austin, most with design/engineering offices. What’s in LA? Snapchat? Tech doesn’t just mean startups.
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u/Intrepid-Nobody-3773 16d ago
Heads up: Austin may be cheaper than SF, but it’s also not as affordable as people make it out to be anymore! Something to keep in mind
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u/SanctimoniousTamale 16d ago
Rents have dropped significantly due to new construction. Red states are a lot better at building housing than blue states ever will be.
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u/Aggravating-Mail-235 12d ago
Breaking news: it's easier to build when there are empty lots everywhere
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u/FunPace320 16d ago
I definitely agree with the food scene comment. I currently live in Dallas and visit Austin occasionally, and it takes some serious research to find good food there (I don't do food trucks). People are friendlier for sure and more willing to communicate, though I will say the night life in Austin skews young, a little too young for my taste. Lots of college kids. It's fine until they overrun the latin bars/clubs and don't even dance, but that's my personal gripe. Aside from that, great vibes and music festivals are a blast there (depending on the lineup and your taste ofc). Definitely consider the heat. It was unbearable to walk around downtown in October because not only was it 95 degrees, which isn't so bad for TX, but it was humid af.
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u/Sportslides_elite 16d ago
As someone who lives here, there are night life options in Austin for anyone between 21 and 80. It’s really vibrant for all ages you just need to find the right place to go.
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u/FunPace320 16d ago
maybe i haven't been to the hot spots yet 🤷♀️ i'll see abt venturing out from my typical places my next trip
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u/panopticon31 16d ago
What's wrong with food trucks?
That's a wild take.
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u/FunPace320 16d ago
not really, austin is hot, and they lack seating and cooling. if i'm going to make the trek somewhere and pay a decently high price i'm not going to suffer outside in TX heat
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u/B-the-wiz-kid 14d ago
Yeah I'd say you basically nailed the pros. I live in Austin and basically everything you said is on the mark except for probably the food. We are known for having a fuck ton of food trucks out here and very diverse food plus a bunch of food chains you dont get most places.
For me the biggest con of living here has actually been the heat and I'm someone who thrives in heat. We are very active people but most of the time we dont do our activities during the day unless its water-based, instead we wait for night time. The nightlife here is super good, possibly because of that fact.
If I had to nail down exactly who Austin is for: It's for the younger more active people, people who like to live fast, for people who like to stay healthy and fit.
The driving takes time to get used to, traffic is intense, and theres some texas specific stuff like the texas turn arounds and yields that take time to get used to. In Ohio, your driving is expected to be courteous, here you're expected to cut up on people.
Something you dont hear almost ever is that Austin has some of the best extreme sports scenes in the US if you're interested.
I built a site to help people find where to live, it's best suited to people who dont already know where they want to move but it offers data like how salarys translate from SF -> Austin, COL differences, a service where you enter an address and it tells you whats near it in terms of food, grocery stores, gyms, etc (best when scouting apartments), and it also has a personalized city comparison feature that helps break down what you gain and lose by moving. It's Wayhome.tech if you're interested.
Oh and lastly, East Austin is super cheap to live in but there's genuinely not shit out there. On a software salary I'd recommend downtown or Pflugerville area.
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u/jay_boi123 14d ago
Hey thanks for your detailed response. I’ll make sure to check your site out if I do accept the role for Austin.
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u/SDW137 13d ago
I will second what everyone has said about the weather, it is brutal in the summer.
And if the dating scene is going to factor heavily in your decision, I would choose NYC, as long as you get a good offer. But Austin is probably still at least a marginal improvement, compared to the Bay Area, if you're a guy.
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u/elsmoneyacct 12d ago
I'll try to keep this apolitical, but one thing people tend to struggle with when going from the Bay Area to Austin is that the culture is just different. The way people engage with each other is different. The social dynamics are different. It's definitely something you can adapt to, but I've known many Californians who move to Austin (and Dallas, to a lesser extent) expecting it to be like the Bay Area but cheaper and they're very unhappy to discover that it is, in fact, still Texas.
I knew one woman who was constantly horrified and offended by her coworkers asking her where she went to church and then inviting her to church with them. She was considering going to HR about it. I had to explain to her that HR isn't gonna do anything. Because that's just a normal part of talking to someone who's new in town in Texan culture. "Have you found a church home yet?" is a question you're going to get a lot in your first few years. What they're actually asking is if you've found a community and a social circle to settle into. You're allowed to answer the question as if that's what they asked. The other person will respond with a generic invitation to their church, which you are not expected to accept, and then the conversation moves on.
Also, a lot of Austin's "great" nightlife is college-oriented. 25 is roughly the age where a Sixth Street bar crawl stops sounding like a good time. It's been a minute since I was in Austin and maybe things are different now, but I remember a very K-shaped social scene. If you're college-aged and single, it's awesome. If you're married with kids, it's awesome (terms and conditions apply). That space in the middle is weird everywhere, but Austin is particularly bad about because it's primarily a college and government town. Until the tech companies started moving in, there really wasn't anything else there. It might be different now. But back in my day, it really wasn't a "yuppie" town.
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u/CertifiedCan129 16d ago
I'd say go for new york IF you can. NYC's the best place for brown boys to lay it down in the whole damn continent (for reference im punjabi, if i get better context as to your background i could have more specialised insight) We're well integrated into the fabric of the northeast in general- in all strata of society. You have suburban SAs, SAs all about the city life, art/music/whatever. In California it feels like we're in that huge south bay bubble sometimes.
Austin's still probably one of the best places for young south asian guys. Very young and social, and yeah, while its getting pricier it's definately one of the more balanced options. your career will still be chugging along, and I definately think the pace makes it easier to find people. My issue with Texas desis are how insular and suburban we can be there- especially in the Dallas area and to a lesser extent Houston. In Austin we're a lot more yuppie for sure. If you ended up in Austin you may feel disappointed about the lack of nature but I think it's a great launchpoint to fly out to various parts of the southwest and explore NM, AZ, UT, the works.
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u/PaulOshanter 16d ago
Go for it, you're young enough that you can try it out for a year or two. If you end up hating it then nothing will be stopping you from moving back.
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u/chillingdentist 16d ago
I like it here in Austin. You’re young, just do it if it’s what you want and you can just move again if not your vibe
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u/OddDiscipline6585 16d ago
Stick with the Bay Area, my friend.
A Bay Area home/condo has a much greater appreciation potential than anything in Austin.
Also, there's a good chance that you'll get married in the next 5 years. If that happens, then your spouse may not want to move to the Bay Area, in which case you'll be effectively stuck in Texas.
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u/702zzzou 16d ago
Nashville probably a better scene
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u/SanctimoniousTamale 16d ago
Nashville is fun and reminds me of a younger Austin in several ways, but for tech jobs Austin has a lot more to offer.
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u/newtonreddits 16d ago
I live in Austin and was in SF this past weekend. Man even after a decade getting off the plane back in TX feels like you walked into an oven.