AUSTIN | Misc. Discussions - No Politics

[gillynova]

Originally Posted by urbancore

welcome to Austin.

I would move the Domain first with an eye on downtown/central as you become established and hopefully make more money. In the meantime, you will meet a TON of friends and business connections.....if that is your thing.

I've given this advice to several clients who lived there for a few years, they met a ton of people, then bought/rented in the areas of town they really liked. In the meantime, you'll live in a vibrant "Austin-lite" area. It's not that bad, don't listen to the snobby haters, of which I consider myself one......I would never live up there. '04 fo life! But I would if I was new to town, in a New York second.

Traffic is not really that bad compared to real cities (LA, Houston, Dallas, etc) Just stay away from i-35 at ALL costs (not kidding), and avoid Mopac during rush hour....and you're good.

Yeah, I'm planning to start a new life basically and make new connections. That's why I prefer to live in The Domain or near it.

How do I get home if I'm trying to stay away from i-35 and Mopac? Lmfao. Honestly, I'm a pretty patient guy and as long as my driving commute if under 50 minutes, I would be okay. I could also just walk around the surrounding areas if I'm working in downtown Austin.

[urbancore]

Originally Posted by gillynova

Yeah, I'm planning to start a new life basically and make new connections. That's why I prefer to live in The Domain or near it.

How do I get home if I'm trying to stay away from i-35 and Mopac? Lmfao. Honestly, I'm a pretty patient guy and as long as my driving commute if under 50 minutes, I would be okay. I could also just walk around the surrounding areas if I'm working in downtown Austin.

My bad, I missed that you would be working downtown.

DON'T live near the Domain, live IN the Domain.....if you still have to get into your car, then the whole point is missed. Other than driving to work, you won't need to use your car at all.

Cheers.

[chinchaaa]

Originally Posted by gillynova

Yeah, it's looking like Round Rock or far south Austin are my potential places. They're about ~$1100 for a 700sqft spot. I really prefer to live in a newer area and I'm sure I can just drive like 25 minutes to a place that has nice entertainment amenities.

As someone who works in tech and is a touch older than you, I wouldn't recommend either of those. They're so far from anything you'll be doing, assuming you go out or go to tech events, which are almost all downtown. I think you can definitely find something in 78704 or off of Riverside for your price requirements. You should be thinking about quality of life as well as price. IMO, it's worth it to pay a little more and live closer to the action.

Also, not sure what tech company you're at, but your recruiter may be able to set you up with some people at your company looking for roommates.

Just my 2 cents. Good luck wherever you land!

[urbancore]

Originally Posted by chinchaaa

As someone who works in tech and is a touch older than you, I wouldn't recommend either of those. They're so far from anything you'll be doing, assuming you go out or go to tech events, which are almost all downtown. I think you can definitely find something in 78704 or off of Riverside for your price requirements. You should be thinking about quality of life as well as price. IMO, it's worth it to pay a little more and live closer to the action.

Also, not sure what tech company you're at, but your recruiter may be able to set you up with some people at your company looking for roommates.

Just my 2 cents. Good luck wherever you land!

yup

[gillynova]

Originally Posted by urbancore

My bad, I missed that you would be working downtown.

DON'T live near the Domain, live IN the Domain.....if you still have to get into your car, then the whole point is missed. Other than driving to work, you won't need to use your car at all.

Cheers.

Oh no, I don't know where I would work yet since I'm still aiming to move in January 2020 haha

As someone who works in tech and is a touch older than you, I wouldn't recommend either of those. They're so far from anything you'll be doing, assuming you go out or go to tech events, which are almost all downtown. I think you can definitely find something in 78704 or off of Riverside for your price requirements. You should be thinking about quality of life as well as price. IMO, it's worth it to pay a little more and live closer to the action.

Amen to the quote I highlighted in bold. I'll take a closer look into the areas you recommended after work.

Cheers!

Honestly, thank you to everyone that has replied so far. I'm actually really happy that you guys respond so fast and at how helpful you all are.

[the Genral]

Originally Posted by gillynova

Honestly, thank you to everyone that has replied so far. I'm actually really happy that you guys respond so fast and at how helpful you all are.

Yup...you will meet some great people here on this forum and in Austin...and Texas. I'm from NY and I'm here till I die. Its hard not to sound like your bragging when you tell people you're from Austin. No matter what you end of paying to live here, it most likely will be worth it. In my current job, I meet people almost every day moving to Austin from all over and the common reaction is they are all very happy and excited to be here. I would recommend you see for yourself before you move here, plan at least a week adventure. And you would be arriving during an unprecedented vertical building boom by that I mean there are more taller than usual towers going up. If you like that sort of thing....

[zrx299]

Don't live in Round Rock as a new-to-the-city 20-something resident. Save that for later in life if/when you start a family. You will be bored out of your mind and blowing all the money you save in rent on Uber/Lyfts to downtown and other places you will want to be.

[gillynova]

I'll keep note of that. Everything seems pretty expensive down in Riverside and west of it.

I see some apartments east of Walnut Creek Park/Park Central/Tech Ridge Center to be pretty affordable and new. It's just 10 minutes (5 miles) away from The Domain and 19 minutes from downtown (12 miles). I think that's doable.

Do you guys think I'm planning all of this pretty early? It's my first time planning to move out haha.

[chinchaaa]

Originally Posted by gillynova

I'll keep note of that. Everything seems pretty expensive down in Riverside and west of it.

I see some apartments east of Walnut Creek Park/Park Central/Tech Ridge Center to be pretty affordable and new. It's just 10 minutes (5 miles) away from The Domain and 19 minutes from downtown (12 miles). I think that's doable.

Do you guys think I'm planning all of this pretty early? It's my first time planning to move out haha.

Better to plan early. Have you been here before? Those areas are very suburban/not exciting, yes, including the Domain. It's basically a mall with some offices. I would recommend coming and experiencing the real Austin for yourself. I think you'll find there's a reason most people our age and in our industry live close to downtown.

[zrx299]

Originally Posted by gillynova

I'll keep note of that. Everything seems pretty expensive down in Riverside and west of it.

I see some apartments east of Walnut Creek Park/Park Central/Tech Ridge Center to be pretty affordable and new. It's just 10 minutes (5 miles) away from The Domain and 19 minutes from downtown (12 miles). I think that's doable.

Do you guys think I'm planning all of this pretty early? It's my first time planning to move out haha.

Those areas make more sense if you end up working in that area. But like others have said, you really need to get out and walk & experience an area to decide if its for you. At least for the Domain you can walk to get a beer and a burger. There's also the red line train that gets you downtown. A HUGE plus during SXSW time. It's cheap, a bit of a walk but totally do-able.

The big wildcard in your situation it seems, is office location, and how much of a priority commute time is for you.

The main reason I picked the Domain area is because I work in Tech Ridge and didn't want to waste time sitting in traffic every weekday. Some coworkers live downtown and end up wasting an extra 10 hours a week or more sitting on 35 for that privilege. I would much rather have a downtown office and live walking distance like I have in the past in other cities, but that unfortunately isn't an option for me here in Austin. A lot of the bigger companies in Austin are still in love with the 1980s-style suburban office park/campus ( )...

[gillynova]

Originally Posted by chinchaaa

Better to plan early. Have you been here before? Those areas are very suburban/not exciting, yes, including the Domain. It's basically a mall with some offices. I would recommend coming and experiencing the real Austin for yourself. I think you'll find there's a reason most people our age and in our industry live close to downtown.

No, but I've been planning to move to either Austin, San Diego or Portland for the longest time. Hell, even Sacramento since I'm in the Bay Area but I would prefer to go away from home for a bit. I've talked to some other coworkers who have lived or visited Austin and they all tell me it is a great area for me to move to. I was in Dallas last month for work and they even told me how Austin is a good spot for me too since I'm in the tech field, plus I love live music.

I check the Austin subreddit often, your threads here on skyscraperpage and watch some vloggers on YouTube who live in Austin and in The Domain and it all made me decide on picking this city over SD or Portland. COL, tech companies and the opportunity all help on my decision too.

I think I'll come during ACL time and go to the concert for a day and the rest of the days go around the city and explore.

Originally Posted by zrx299

Those areas make more sense if you end up working in that area. But like others have said, you really need to get out and walk & experience an area to decide if its for you. At least for the Domain you can walk to get a beer and a burger. There's also the red line train that gets you downtown. A HUGE plus during SXSW time. It's cheap, a bit of a walk but totally do-able.

The big wildcard in your situation it seems, is office location, and how much of a priority commute time is for you.

The main reason I picked the Domain area is because I work in Tech Ridge and didn't want to waste time sitting in traffic every weekday. Some coworkers live downtown and end up wasting an extra 10 hours a week or more sitting on 35 for that privilege. I would much rather have a downtown office and live walking distance like I have in the past in other cities, but that unfortunately isn't an option for me here in Austin. A lot of the bigger companies in Austin are still in love with the 1980s-style suburban office park/campus ( )...

Yeah, it all depends on where I work but also how affordable an apartment is and it's proximity with everything. Tech Ridge is pretty close to the Domain and I wouldn't mind just driving over to check out the spot every so often.

If I did somehow worked in downtown and lived in North Austin, I wouldn't mind walking around downtown everyday to kill time and for traffic to die down. I used to do that in San Francisco but I took the train back home (Less crowded in the train though)

[wwmiv]

I think it is great you want to move to Austin, but perhaps it would be more wise to have a job in hand first.

[gillynova]

Originally Posted by wwmiv

I think it is great you want to move to Austin, but perhaps it would be more wise to have a job in hand first.

Of course. My current (contract) job has offices right next to the Domain and Round Rock actually and I am planning to ask if I could transfer out there. I have some people in my team who work in Denver and Portland right now so there's a possibility that they would let me, but of course, that's a half measure.

I appreciate all of your advice. Truly it means a lot

[We vs us]

If you’re on Facebook look up the group Austin Digital Jobs. It’s an amazing resource, and people in your situation is one of the prime demographics. You’ll get a lot of great info from I promise.

[gillynova]

I absolutely love the Austin community right now. Thank you so much for the heads up!

Btw, anyone going to check out that food truck event at the Domain this month? I wonder how it will be

[KevinFromTexas]

I.M. Pei passed away today. He designed some of the most iconic skyscrapers in Texas, including Fountain Place in Dallas and the Chase Tower in Houston. His firm also worked on the SXSW Center in Austin.

https://www.cbs8.com/article/news/na...Ht5q7IB9cGihBc

[resansom]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

I.M. Pei passed away today. He designed some of the most iconic skyscrapers in Texas, including Fountain Place in Dallas and the Chase Tower in Houston. His firm also worked on the SXSW Center in Austin.

https://www.cbs8.com/article/news/na...Ht5q7IB9cGihBc

Quite a legacy - and a great loss.

[urbancore]

Originally Posted by resansom

Quite a legacy - and a great loss.

indeed. I stayed at his Four Seasons NYC once in the 90's. WOW.

[urbancore]

https://www.architecturaldigest.com/...Y0MTE1NzM4MQS2

[KevinFromTexas]

Dick Ellis passed away this morning. He was a longtime KVUE and KTBC news anchor and reporter. He was old school Austin journalism.

Dick Ellis, former KVUE News anchor, dies
https://www.kvue.com/article/news/lo...3yH3dhcv1-4Bg4