Before you move out of this urban delight in the heart of Texas, take a walk down memory lane. Scan the lists below to remind yourself what you’ll miss about this great city-and what you won’t be sorry to say goodbye to.
Things You’ll Miss
Austin’s residents love its cultural scene and the on-trend lifestyles the area encourages. The four things below are some of the best Austin has to offer.
1. Delicious Cuisine Galore
In Austin, you can obviously eat at chain restaurants and fast food places, but you also have a huge array of local-only restaurants that serve mouthwatering dishes. Tex-Mex restaurants and barbecue joints dominate the food scene here, and you might not find equally delicious places in your new home city.
Austin’s food trailer scene is also hard to equal elsewhere in the country, so be sure to visit all your favorites before leaving town. And make sure you enjoy a breakfast taco, one of Austin’s signature dishes.
2. Longhorn Football Wins
Much of Austin revolves around the University of Texas, and that fact is never truer than during college football season. Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium seats more than 100,000 Longhorns fans who all roar at once when the home team scores. Even those who don’t have tickets spend their Saturday watching the game on TV.
Once you leave Austin, you won’t have to be careful about wearing burnt orange on game day-but you can still sport the colors if you want to, of course.
3. Live Music Everywhere
Austin has truly earned its title as the “Live Music Capital of the World.” Live music venues are everywhere in Austin, from small bars to favorite coffee shops to huge stages. Every night of the week, you can pick from dozens of performances in music genres that include rock, jazz, blues, and country.
In March, Austin hosts the gigantic South by Southwest (SXSW) festival. It began as a music festival in 1987, but now it also features both film and innovative technologies. Both well-known and up-and-coming musicians have the opportunity to perform at this annual, can’t-miss event.
4. Healthy Outdoor Living
You can eat well in Austin, but the city also offers its residents plenty of ways to stay fit. Within city limits, there are tons of parks, trails, and lakes where people can run, bike, swim, or kayak. The three-acres of Barton Springs Pool are a local hotspot.
Things You Won’t Miss
Of course, Austin has its downsides, like any city. When you put Austin in your rear view mirror and head for a new home, you probably won’t be sorry to leave these four things behind.
1. Long, Hot, Humid Summers
Even if you’re a Texas native, you might not have an adequate vocabulary to describe the sticky heat in Austin. Summers there typically last from March to November, with a huge concentration of 100-degree-plus days at the height of the season.
Once you leave Austin, you likely won’t have to worry about dehydration, sunburns, and sweating for over half the year.
2. Traffic and Public Transportation
Austin continues to be one of the fastest-growing cities in America, and the infrastructure has had a hard time keeping up. Public transportation exists but isn’t perfected yet, so most Austinites own cars and use them daily.
The result? You probably spent more than a few hours in traffic while living in Austin. Perhaps you even picked up a few of the slightly aggressive driving tendencies common in the area. Depending on where you’re moving, traffic may become a thing of the past after Austin, either because your new home is less populated or has better public transit options.
3. Allergies
Do you suffer from seasonal allergies? Then you probably fought them all the time in Austin’s climate. Mold and dust are present year-round, and various trees and plants give off pollen during each part of the calendar year as well.
Allergies don’t only give you the sniffles and send you running for the medicine cabinet. They can also disrupt your sleep patterns. In your new home, you’ll likely not have to contend with the same seasonal allergens, and you may not develop new allergies for a few years in your new locale.
4. Crowds for Music Festivals
Although SXSW and Austin City Limits are staples of the city’s music scene, you might not love the huge crowds that come to town to enjoy the fun. To escape the crowds, perhaps you rented your house out to event attendees and skipped town. Once you move out of Austin, you won’t have to contend with those hordes of people anymore.
With the best (and worst) of Austin freshly in mind, you’re ready to prepare for your upcoming move out of this unique city. Don’t forget to call a Bekins agent near you to pack your belongings and transport them to your new home. And wherever you go, remember to keep weird Austin in your heart.
