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.

:]

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

I live in Austin.

Where are you driving? Every road I've been in in Dallas proper has been shit. Austin has not been so bad.

My wife and I plan to move to Dallas (well, Plano to be exact) so this thread has been interesting

Plano/Frisco area is really nice! It's a little pricey though but if money's not a factor then that's the area to be!

My wife wants to live in uptown since that's very close to LA culture....Plano would be nice too..but it seems like the demographic is a little older for us..I like Frisco!

My wife's family is from Plano haha though if we move there I doubt we will aim for that area. Hoping to explore Uptown next time we are visiting though I am ready for a house after being in a apartment for a while. Private garage for my BRZ :)

Are there any apartments in DFW area that includes private garage? I visited a couple of times and never saw anything like that.


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Yes
Stonelake in grand prairie
Towns of riverside in grand prairie
But there must be lots more

I meant currently in DC we live in a apartment with a underground garage but should we move to Texas I would like to rent a house with my own private garage haha

Texas isnt short on space
Most houses have 2 car garages

I'm in West Houston and every apartment in my complex has a garage. 5-8 apartments conplexes that were built had garage options.
The Greater Dallas area I am certain is the same.

DC things are about to get alot less expensive

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Dallas is great! Austin is a great city to visit and drive, but Dallas is where you want to be. If your 86 is not a DD, Dallas is the place!

When I had an apartment I had a single car garage that I could see from my bedroom window. It was only like $100 more a month for garage but definitely worth it. Many apartments have garage parking available. May not be attached but a garage is a garage

Guess I'm gonna be the outlier and say that Dallas (city especially but same with county) is crap. As a general rule Fort Worth (Tarrant county) and Denton are a bit nicer, but still very...boring.


Then again, it depends entirely on the stuff you like to do. I happen to like more outdoors stuff and seeing natural scenery, which this area is sorely lacking (the Great Plains and desert areas are about the only worse areas). Down south is nice, but stay away from Houston. Austin is very nice (though I tend to like Hill Country a bit better) and San Antonio is fantastic, but it's also the #1 tourist destination in Texas.


Keep in mind I grew up in south Florida on the east coast less than 15 minutes form the beach. Summers were spend in New England in cabins on lakes. It's hard to be happy without either oceans/lakes or mountains...or both. This area is quite lacking in that regard.

Lol Houston isnt bad just live on the West or northish west side

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lived at SA for a while (absolutely hated that place) but left to go back to FL.

I'm gonna be in Dallas in July and seems like the place is decent. Lots of things to do, food, etc.

I'm gonna be in DFW/Irving which I hear is a bit more upscale so here's to hoping the place is great :P

Ha!
I grew up in Dallas (and lived there for about 30 years ~2006), parents still live in Richardson; moved to San Antonio & lived there for ~7 years & now I'm in Kyle (arguably far, faaar South Austin).


My quick take - Dallas (including suburbs) is definitely more mainstream, Austin is definitely more independent. The quality of life in Austin (meaning healthy lifestyle) is far better than Dallas. However, if you appreciate shopping at expensive boutiques, you will like Dallas more. You are more likely to eat at a chain restaurant in Dallas; in Austin you are more likely to eat at a vegan soy fusion food truck (and like it). Driving in either city (traffic-wise) sucks, but there's probably a little less traffic frustration in Dallas. The "smoothness" of the roads are probably better in Dallas, but the "driving roads" are so much better in Austin - so much better in Austin, it's not even close. There's stuff to do in either city - the museums/zoo in Dallas are far better than Austin, but the live music scene/festivals are seriously top notch in Austin. Dallas (Ft. Worth really) has a NASCAR track, Austin has a F1 track. Real estate in either city is getting out of hand right now, but it's getting (been for a few years now) especially crazy in Austin.


I don't think you could really go wrong in either city, go where you have the best opportunity for career growth.


As far as San Antonio... It's cheap, and there's some decent pockets in that city, and there's some really nice people there... but overall.... My wife & I could not be more happy to be out of that place!

Where are you driving? 75, 635, and 35?

yeah, mostly the highways and any time I've been downtown Dallas for convention centers/shows.

Austin is great, music festivals, lots of out door stuff, lots of good food. Rent is reasonable if your are a little bit north or south of the city. If your renting and dont like long commutes then look near where your working no joke i live less than 10 miles from my job and it takes about 30min to get there. Housing can still be found at an ok price within 10 miles of downtown, but things move fast in popular areas. Lots of new construction.

Vibe in austin, South Austin is more traditional austin, fun, quirky, lots of stuff to do. North of the city is more new development were lots of large companies have moved there offices. Still stuff to do but imo doesnt have the austin vibe.

My experiences with Dallas is that it is more true Texas, Dallas you see more conservative people and experiences, high end shopping and dinning etc.

What do you mean?

Have a good friend that moved to D.C. and he constantly complains about the increased cost of living up there

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Ohh as in get less expensive when we move. Yes definitely. And no income tax 😍


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That's probably why.

It's safe to assume almost any "downtown" region basically sucks ass to drive in. The same could be said of Austin, but that doesn't take away from the amazing roads Austin and even Round Rock still offers. Same with DFW.

the highways have sucked for me in DFW too - construction or just giant potholes/bumps.

The traffic on I-35 sucks in Austin, but the road itself isn't too bad for static cars.

i guess it all depends on your lifestyle and what you're looking for. Both cities are great in my opinion. Both has it's pros and cons. Dallas definitely has more uppity people and is known to be the LA of the midwest. Austin is very relaxed and has more of a "hippie" vibe.

As far as work life balance, that's really dependent on the company. I work and live in Dallas and I've been at companies where I've had horrible work/life balance. I used to work the same amount of hours you do in the east. But now I work a straight 40 hours at my day job.

If you end up in Uptown Dallas, be prepared for traffic at night on weekends. The bars get pretty crowded and crazy down there.

As far as the roads, overall I think both cities has it's good and bad.. I've seen the roads in Austin and some can be really bad. I've seen roads in Dallas and they're just as bad as Austin. It really all depends on where you go in each city.