Dallas vs Austin?
 

Wife and I are thinking of moving to either of these cities from D.C.

Thoughts, impressions, etc etc?

Thank you in advance! I know this isn't 86 related but I enjoy hearing opinions from this community

Dallas: great city for young to middle age professionals. Plenty to do, diverse, can be a suburbia. People sometimes feel that Dallasites are pretentious, depends on who you know, what you do. decent traffic conditions depending on where you live.

Austin: Also great city for young to middle age professionals. Plenty of outdoorsy things to do, more "free flowing" crowd. Chances are high you will see weird stuff, but it's what makes Austin great. Great music scene, lifestyle oriented city. it is currently overrun with hipsters I think. Since everyone loves ATX, the traffic is always bad. Always. Bad.



All in all, it just depends on the lifestyle you want to live. You can go wrong either way, you must weigh the pros and cons and do plenty of research.

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San Antonio, it's an hour from Austin, and great as far as cost-to-live, schools, employment, and traffic isn't too bad compared to dallas or Austin. relatively all sorts of styles of living here too, some hill country, some downtown, some rich areas, and lots of average suburbs.

And you will be closer to the 3 Sisters run!

Austin over Dallas.
Dallas has great small cities that are just outside the city limits that I would recommend moving to vs in city living. Dallas has some dreadful highway systems. They seem to always be under construction. The lanes on some parts of the highways are narrow as they can be. I was pulling a 20 ft trailer and was terrified it was going to hit someone. Though the upside is no one texts and drives or you know who did. The big college out there is UNT it is well populated but it's still not a college city.

Austin is a alternative thinking community vs Houston. The college is UT and it does take prodominance in the community. As much as it is a thriving city of downtown buisness it is just equally thriving in college kids. You will know when it is exam time, all the school holidays, or even when school starts by how busy the city feels. But with such a young influence affecting the culture of rhe city. You can find some great food for low cost.
The highway system is better than dallas and traffic is lighter in general but it still has one. The city has a better understanding for pedestrian as much as that is a good bad thing.
The bus system i say are equal.
Though Austin is close to many other major cities. San Antone with its six flags and river walk, Houston with the Rodeo, Luling Texas for the River, Buc-EEs. College Station as well.
Dallas isnt near much but Oklahoma were you can Gamble legally.

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Wish i had better financial information. Maybe later

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LOL you ever driven down 35 in Austin during rush hour on a weeknight? Not fun at all. Not to mention Austin roads overall are terrible for sports cars.

I'd say overall they both would be equally as enjoyable to live but I give Dallas the edge simply because their roads are far better maintained. Both major cities have wonderful surrounding suburban areas as well.

If you decide DFW look at North Ft Worth area. It's growing like crazy up here and still reasonably priced. Only downfall for DFW is that it seems that every freeway is under construction right now

I been on 35 a few times. It has definitely has frustrated me more than it should. Though anything is better than 290. That highway is horrid and deserves to be medaled the leading cause of Hypertension and all illness associated with it.
I think Dallas is the better city to pick from as long as you live in the greater area. As Dallas has the more 'Richest people in America' than anywhere else. (May be the wealthiest neighborhoods in america either way they have some rich people out there).
But the downside you are far from other very enjoyable cities. College station, San Antone, Houston.

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Is Austin really as liberal as its reputation? For example is there a chance it could get to the point where they are the only place to levy an income tax in Texas?

I read somewhere Austin is in the top 15 most liberal cities in the US with populations over 250k. Think 14th to be exact. They definitely dont fit the bill as a conservative, but remeber it social profile is defined by its college.

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If you decide dfw then look into Mansfield or Keller
2great school districts good neighborhoods and reasonably priced homes
Of course if your rich Southlake is the place to be!

Any difference in work cultures? One major reason to move is to get away from zero work life balance of east coast and heavy work weeks (50-80 hours/week)

Dallas: Decent work life balance, guess it depends on your job. Established engineering companies here, more fortune 500 like. Surrounded by artificial lakes, but not very good state parks nearby. Plenty of "fun" things to do as Dallas is very metropolitan/developed. There's a lot of different sections of Dallas depending on which kind of scene you like.

Austin: Also depends on your work life balance. More outdoorsy, indie/hipster feel. People are very lifestyle oriented here, and you 'll see more bicycle commuters than you think. I guess engineering is more laid back here, more like start ups. Think Silicon Valley of Texas. (I reference engineering only because I'm a EE) I used to work at National Instruments and the culture was very chill (we drank beer at work), but it paid shit compared to jobs in Dallas. There are great camping spots all around, and then you have lake travis, colorado river, and the greenbelt. I prefer Austin over Dallas when it comes to lifestyle. But companies know this, so there's potential to be paid less.


That's my 0.02