Austin, TX - cool town?

[anyonefortennis]

A company is flying me down there this week for an interview - Is Austin a good time to live in?

are schools any good?

Cost of living - low or high?

I know they have a great music scene and UT but that's about it.

Also it's a hard time for us to move (baby on the way) so it would have to bee really good for us to move right now.

[CapnSev]

I was in Austin once for a little while, and was hugely impressed by it. Everyone I met was super nice, I ate at some really good restaurants while I was there, and the city was ridiculously clean (in the downtown area anyway). From the papers I picked up, the cost of living was way cheaper than where I'm at now too.

Add the music scene and warm weather, what's not to like?

(I was only there for a few days, so take it for what it's worth)

[Tommygunn]

Yeah. They have great bike trails so I've been told by my dad's friend. Good tourist city. Lots of jobs. Scenery is beat by no other in Texas and it has one of the best downtowns to walk around in all day. There is a place called thundercloud subs... worth moving to austin alone!

[GregC]

I've been down twice for a few days each time for SXSW, and a good friend of mine I've known a long time (college buddy, former bandmate) has lived there for about a decade. I agree with CapnSev, I think it's a great town and I know my friend still likes it a lot--he's got a family, too. Clean with a nice mid-size town vibe, a place you can raise kids. And yet, there's great music to see all the time as well.

I'm going back in late March to help host a GTG (connected with the Lakland Owners Group, but open to all) and I'm really looking forward to it.

[stevetx19]

austin is beautiful, but probably the most expensive place to live in texas(which doesn't say much i guess)
Take a look a little south in a place called san marcos...the commute would be well worth it.

[Brado]

I live in Buda ("Beuudahh"), which is about 10 minutes south of Austin. It's way less than central or North Austin. I used to live in San Marcos....pretty nice there too & affordable. There are even other small towns on the outskirts. As far as the Austin music scene........there are tons of bands everywhere. I play down town once a week, but prefer to take on gigs in the outer/ surrounding areas (as they tend to pay more). Austin is a super cool town. Plenty of musical networking oppertunities. If you decide to make it down this way, let me know. bradymuck@yahoo.com

[DigMe]

We have 350 acres outside of Austin. It is a nice town. If I had to live in a big town in Texas that would be the one. Recently they've grown faster than they can keep up with and the traffic can be horrible at times. That's my only complaint. Some great restaurants, great coffee houses (Cafe Medici, Frank, JP's Java) and of course...great music.

bc

[anyonefortennis]

Thanks for the feedback - we will see how the interview goes.

[Mark Wilson]

NJL lives somewhere around there.

Avoid it like the plague!

[need4mospd]

It's generally a cool music scene. There are a LOT of bars and clubs in Austin that host music, but there's 100x as many bands that wish they were playing at any cost. So you get a lot of bands playing for nothing, which sucks for multiple reasons. I've always been paid generously to play there, though I've been blessed to catch the right gig, at the right time, with the right promoter, the right band, etc.... You definitely make more playing just outside of Austin. I played a Lake Travis gig that paid for my 4 star hotel, steak dinner with the wife, and some light shopping the next day, with enough money to fill up my tank for the drive back to Houston.

[bassguppy]

Austin, an refreshing oasis in the middle of hell.