My new job will be covering Texas and I have the choice to office in Dallas or Austin. For those that have spent a lot of time in both, what would you reccomend as a place to live? I'm 29 y/o and have a girlfriend, not planning on having kids anytime soon and I'll be working remotely. I typically prefer big city living and like to travel a lot. From the few times I've been to each, it seems like:
Austin - If you're downtown, it almost feels like just as big of a city as Dallas. Outside of Downtown starts to fall off quick. Nightlife seems great but is all consolidated to a few streets so I have a feeling it gets boring once you live there. Seems like there are less big city personalities here. Better amenities such as the lake/trail. Easier place to live. There seems to be a lot of transplants here, both internationally and from throughout the US, but they just seem to be a bit more "vanilla" compared to the type of people I've met in NYC, Miami and LA. I like Austin a lot when I visit, but my concern is that I'll outgrow it very quickly.
Dallas - Much bigger city but most of it just feels like suburban sprawl anyways. Either way, you still get more of the big city personalities. Better flights for the most part since I like to travel. Overall actually a bit cheaper than Austin. I feel like when I visit, Dallas feels more boring than Austin, but I have a gut feeling that it is actually a more fun place to live long-term since it's a bigger city.
I’d lean Dallas over Austin due to its bigger city feel. Real estate is insane in Austin and the city is starting to feel more and more like San Fran.
what type of role are you moving into?
Is that still the case? I've been mulling this move for over a year, and when I was looking late 2022 it seemed Austin real estate was significantly more expensive but now when I look it sems comparable. Downtown Austin pretty close to living in Uptown.
It's a CRE role covering all of Texas.
I'll add that while still undecided, I may be in the "never have kids" bucket, and I don't have much interest in owning a house (i use my money to make CRE investments instead), so i'll probably be a forever renter and want to live in an urban area. I'm coming from a larger city which I love, but this is a big career move for me so I'm really looking to pick the place where I'm less likely to lose my mind on the weekends given I'm accustomed to big city amenities.Not sure if one is better than the other than that. On my work trips to Austin, it always seems like a fun place but I really get the sense that will fade away within a few months of actually living there given how small it is, but is Dallas much better? Even though it's bigger, it doesn't really feel that different to me in terms of things to do vs. Austin. I'd also love to save on rent since I'm the breadwinner and gf doens't have a 6 figure career, but if it's a difference of a few hundred bucks a month in rent, I'd rather just live the place I'll enjoy more.
Austin is great. But it's getting so crowded and I think the real estate market is still kind of stupid for what it is. Dallas is likely more conducive to settling down and growing a family for the long term with lots of very nice suburbs, public schools, etc. These exist in Austin, just to a lesser extent.
Dallas by a mile
I lived in both Austin & Dallas in the past for more than five years in both cities.
5-10 years I would've said Austin in a heartbeat. Now I think Dallas wins by a smidge. Both are "big" cities, but Austin real estate and general cost of living is getting out of hand. Like OP mentioned the fun places are concentrated in pockets in Austin, but its largely the same in Dallas. Dallas does also have nature walks, and events and all the things a young-ish soon to be 30s would look for. You just gotta drive a bit further to find/get to. Maybe the pockets are just bigger in Dallas on account of suburban sprawl. If you're into the Cali/SF vibe in terms of city culture then Austin. Otherwise, I think Dallas is a good bet. Flying from Dallas to anywhere in Lower 48 is very convenient given the central location (~3hrs to most cities). Also Oklahoma is an hour away with a large casino on Indian Reservation, if that's your thing.
Thank you. Great reply. OP here - which one have you lived in as of recently? The reason I ask is because I think both of them (Austin especially) have changed so much in just a few years that I wonder if it's still the same as the time you were quoting.
In terms of cost of living - i'm looking at apartments in Downtown Austin vs. Uptown Dallas. They seem comparable now days. I'm sure that will change very quickly once Austin picks up again - even though they've built a ton of supply, their base of housing is still so low relative to the amount of large companies relocating there and people moving there in general that it just gets out of hand as soon as the market is hot again. Dallas is growing just as much, but they have a way larger housing stock to start with, so their population growth relative to existing housing is much smaller than Austin which keeps the housing market more tame.
I think I might be SOL in either city - but to give you a sense of what I like to do. I really don't enjoy the sort of midwest/college town bar scene that Austin seems to have, and I don't know Dallas well enough but I have a feeling it's most the same. As mentioned, I also don't plan on having kids anytime soon, and I love that in my time in my current large city, there's tons of 30-somethings that are still career chasing and living a younger lifestyle and you can go out to any type of nightlife you want whether it be a fancy rooftop or an underground 5am rave and meet plenty of people in their 30's who have careers and are back to their Equinox membership on Monday morning. My life is basically working / going to the gym Monday - Thursdays and generally living a healthy lifestyle where I only go out maybe 1 to 2 weekend nights a month, but when I do I want it to be exciting. The sort of midwest / Austin nightlife scene just seems predictable to me which I get bored of easily - basically a group of 10 bars that everyone goes to and running into the same people over and over who are all the type of people that LOVE that whole mid-size city scene and think places like NYC suck. What I enjoy is when it's Saturday afternoon and I decide to go get dinner or drinks somewhere and I have no idea what sort of turn the night will take. Maybe I'll be in bed at 10pm, maybe I'll meet some interesting people that invite me to a cool event, who the hell knows. I know from my time in Austin that it isn't like that there, but is Dallas any different? I also take several work trips to Austin a year, and when I first started I was pretty awed by all of the great restaurants and having such a walkable downtown. After a couple years doing that, I already feel like I've seen most of them, and when new ones open it's just your typical trendy concept going into a brand building without any character (yes, I know there are some interesting places that are different but there's so few that I feel like I'll wear them out in 6 months). But again, is Dallas different?
In terms of cali vibe - I hate SF, i actually like LA quite a bit. I don't lean left by any means, but it generally doesn't bother me so long as it's not overly in my face like places like Portland and Seattle. I've seen some of those type of people in Austin, but never close to the extend of some other cities. And the people I've met in Austin that are actually relatable to me (strong careers, interesting lives) have always seemed more moderate than even NYC or LA. I also don't mind the other way around. I don't want to live in Alabama, but I'm just as happy to be around a more right leaning community like I imagine Dallas/Houston to be. Basically, so long as it's not on either extreme end of the axis, I'm fine.
Sorry for the rant - but the perspective of someone that has lived in both is exactly what I'm looking for, and I've searched on Reddit but honestly I've found the opinions from there to be basically useless for the type of people that stroll WSO. Basically, I love how easy it is to live in Austin - get an apartment downtown with amenities, walk to everything, trail/lake, airport 15 minutes away, etc. but I'd give that up for a less predictable and more exciting city, and I'm trying to figure out of Dallas fits the bill or if it's more or less the same.
In terms of flights - I've played around looking for flights and it actually seems like Austin is cheaper and plenty of options to fly to places like NYC, LA, Miami, Vegas which is great. But I also like to do a lot of international travel and usually I don't have enough time to take weeks off so I want convenient options to places like Mexico or Colombia a few times a year and Asia/Europe once each. Seems like Dallas has better options for that type of stuff, but I'm not sure it really moves the needle much.
Also have lived in Dallas and Austin (more time with the former). I think based on your personality of just having more centralized living, renting with luxurious amenities, etc., Austin is probably worth it to start. The city still has some charm left compared to Dallas, with interesting nature / different elevations, more local urban hikes, and a growing young population. I recall loving rowing on Lady Bird Lake and the sites at Mt Bonnell/Lake Travis and I was there as recently as last year. In socal now and I definitely miss the city sometimes — it really feels unlike any other place in Texas while still being very Texan. Dallas is great too, it’s just rather unremarkable. Great place to settle down/have kids, more spread of things to do, but that also means more driving. Bigger airport, but that means longer lines, etc.
I’d say try Austin first, Dallas will always be there and be more or less the same. Maybe you can watch Austin completely go to shit but I think it’s still growing as a city. The hype around it now is definitely overdone but don’t let that sully your objective perspective of just how much more beauty there is in that area.
I am currently living in Dallas right now. So probably should've caveated that early on. Haven't lived in Austin for a while, but still go back a few times a year so generally kept up. DT ATX and Uptown Dallas more or less the same in terms of lifestyle. You have a set of nice(r) houses/apartments next to party spots (overpriced imo). But Dallas you can get further away and still have enough fun spots to checkout.
For housing stock, I feel like Austin is more limited due to geographic limitations. Dallas is always expanding northward with more recreational/shopping districts being built. There is more areas like Addison or Las Colinas that has the suburb feel but 10-15min drive to the fun places (concert halls, parks, bars etc.).
In terms of going out, there's different areas of Dallas you can go out like Uptown, Downtown, Arts Bishop, Knox/Henderson, etc. With Austin you can exhaust your choices pretty quickly (at least I did). Restaurants are all the same. You get your fancy concept places that'll go out of business in a few years when the fad dies down.
Austin is the dot of blue in a sea of red, Dallas is kinda the same. However, Austin I would say on avg is more Cali/SF type vs Dallas would have more "don't California my Texas type of people". It's not a huge polarizing split but Dallas is more right leaning because of the old O&G money.
You will need a car in Dallas. There is no walkability unless it's to the neighborhood bar 2 blocks away. Same with Austin but maybe its 4 blocks away. Travel is more convenient because DFW airport is American Airlines HQ/Hub so all the major flights (domestic & international) would likely be routed to DFW. Austin International airport is a glorified regional airport that flies to Mexico and Canada. It doesn't move the needle but it saves a lot of time when you don't have to reroute to a hub every time you fly.
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