Why I Moved to Austin, Texas, More Than 10 Years Ago

You already know that many people are moving to Austin, and if you found this blog post, you’re researching moving to Austin. So today, I will share the top five reasons why I moved to Austin.

Winter Haven, Florida

Before we jump into it, I want to share with you how I came to move to Austin. So, I grew up in a small town in central Florida called Winter Haven, and I never really felt like myself there. I never felt like I fit in or belonged. So I got out as soon as possible. I went to college, and then I ended up moving back. I moved back to Winter Haven for work.

My boyfriend at the time, who’s now my husband, and I were both working there. My family was still there, so I got to hang out with them for a while, but then a couple of years passed, and I was like, okay, I have to get out again.

Our Time in El Paso

So, my husband and I were working on climbing the corporate ladder. He ended up getting promoted to El Paso, which was so exciting. I’d never been to Texas. I’d never been to El Paso. We would live across the border from Mexico, and it would just be this big adventure.

So we went out to El Paso. We were there for about three and a half years, which was awesome. We loved it there. But while we were there, we met many people who were familiar with Texas and had lived in many different areas, and everyone was like, you guys belong in Austin. Austin seems like the best place for you. So, we decided to check out Austin.

So I went to Austin for a work trip a couple of months after we moved to El Paso, and I was like, yep, this is the spot for us. We need to figure out how to move to Austin. So a couple of years later, my husband got promoted again, and we moved to Austin and decided, you know what? If we ever get to Austin, we’re not leaving. This is just where we’re going to live. And that’s what happened. It was 11 years ago that we moved to Austin. We bought a house here, we settled in, and I love it. It’s everything I thought it would be and so much more.

Austin Vibe

I will discuss the five things that made me want to move to Austin and see if they resonate with you. First is the vibe, and I know this is the highly objective scientific information you’re looking for, but honestly, the vibe in Austin can’t be described or quantified. It is. It’s a feeling that everyone is welcome and free to do their own thing here. And whatever you want to do will be fine as long as you’re not hurting others. No one cares what you do in Austin.

This level of acceptance was huge for me and unknown. So, I mentioned that I never really felt like I fit in Winter Haven. It’s the same thing in El Paso. I felt like an outsider in both cities, but when we moved to Austin, I felt like I could be 100% who I am, and there’s a place for me here. And that was something I had been missing my whole life. It was huge for us to decide to move to Austin.

There’s very little judgment here. Whoever you are and whatever you’re interested in doing, there’s a community here for you. Whether your hobby is underwater basket weaving, cigar rolling martial arts, or playing guitar, whatever it is, there are people here who also like to do those things. There’s already a community here, or if there’s not, you can start one, and people will say, “Oh, cool, I’ve been wanting to do that for a while, but there wasn’t anything set up for that.” So Austin is just someplace where you can come and be yourself, and people celebrate it.

The Live Music Capital of the World

The second biggest reason is the music here. If you didn’t know, Austin is the live music capital of the world, and there’s music everywhere. I would compare this to Nashville. I went to Nashville for a bachelorette party last year, which was awesome. Also, Nashville, to me, is the bachelorette party capital of the world. It was so cool.

But in Austin, we have music everywhere, and in Nashville, they have music everywhere, too, but most of it is on Broadway. And seriously, there was amazing music every time we went to a bar or a restaurant on Broadway. Every bar we went into, I was like, what are these people doing singing at a bar? They should be on tour. They should be getting record deals and everything.

But in my experience in Nashville, I was only there for one weekend, so don’t @ me in the comments if this isn’t true. It was mostly centralized on that Broadway strip. Austin, the music is everywhere, and we have our downtown area. Still, we have so many different venues and pockets and so many kinds of music here that literally whoever your favorite band is, I promise they just came to Austin, or they’re about to come to Austin. Are you going to see them sometime this year?

So many people come through this town because it’s so significant for live music, and there are so many different places for them to play that it’s not just limited to the huge basketball stadium or huge 50,000-people venues. There are so many little pockets and venues where people play music that you would never know if you’re not looking for it.

So, while I’m filming this, South by Southwest is going on. It is a massive festival for so many different things. Most people know it as a music festival, but it’s also for education, technology, film, and innovative ideas. It’s hard to say that, but it’s an incredible festival for people to come together and share thoughts and ideas. It’s a lot of people who are moving things forward, a lot of folks in tech and in startups and things like that who just want to come together and meet each other and talk about their ideas and partner together and make the future better.

Most people know it as a music fest. People all over the world are flying into Austin. Some drive and hitchhike to play music, watch music, support the music industry, or be around this awesome energy that Austin supports and produces for South by Southwest.

Before Dave and I moved to Austin, we visited several times. We lived in El Paso for about three and a half years, and we would come to Austin often for long weekends, or if we had a meeting here, we would just extend it and have a fun weekend. And we used to always come out and see shows, get tattoos, and eat delicious food. And we always said, man, we can’t move to Austin. We can never move there because if we do, we’re going to go broke with all the shows we want to see.

When we finally moved here, we were going to see all the shows for all of our favorite bands that were coming, and it’s like, oh yeah, I love this person. I love that person. It was seriously a month where we saw seven shows, four of them in one week. So, we had to put boundaries in place.

Now we know that we can never ever buy tickets for shows that are on Sunday nights because Sundays are our sacred rest days and we’ve just abandoned so many shows that we’ve had tickets for. It’s like, oh my God, I’m just so exhausted. I cannot go to a show tonight. So you are going to have to put rules in place. If you are a music lover and you’re planning to come to Austin to see all the shows that you want to see, you can’t see them all. I have tried from experience, and it’s not possible.

If you love live music and being in a venue and a crowd and seeing your favorite artist sing your favorite song if that just lights you up inside and that is something that you want to experience frequently, Austin is the place to go to do that. And if you haven’t seen a lot of shows and you haven’t gone to see live music a lot, just come here on a vacation and see a show or two. It’s magical. It’s so awesome to have this shared experience with everyone in the audience who’s singing your favorite song, and they know that song and have been listening to this band for 15 years. It’s an extraordinary communal experience, and it’ll get in your body. It’ll get in your soul. So, if you love that, if you’re interested in that, Austin is the place to be. It’s a huge driving factor for why my husband and I decided to move here.

Diverse and Delectable Food Scene

The third reason is the food. Oh my God, the food we cook a lot. My husband is the best cook. We used to cook all the time, but we do not have that much time for it anymore. So we can cook well at home. So, going out to eat was always an experience for us. It was never really out of necessity. It was more like, okay, let’s experience some amazing craft. Someone who has taken much time, energy, and care to make this amazing dish for us. Let’s also go have a really nice experience. So when we go out to eat, I want really good service. I want to have this really nice ambiance. I want to see good design, and I want to experience amazing food.

It is really hard to keep up with all the good food in Austin, whether it is a restaurant, a food truck, a pop-up, or a private party. Wherever you go, you’re going to be able to find good food. So, I want to share some of my favorite restaurants in Austin and why I moved here. Some of the Austin places that I discovered since we’ve been here.

Uchi and Uchiko are hands down my absolute favorite restaurants in Austin. Dave and I had been coming here before we moved to Austin. So, about 15 years ago, we started coming to these restaurants. And then whenever we would come to Austin for a special occasion, we’d come for birthdays or anniversaries, which was always a stop on our trip and for a few reasons.

One, the food is incredible. And I want to say it’s Japanese small plates. There is some sushi, but I can tell you I’ve never had a roll at Uchi or Uchiko because there are just so many other amazing dishes to have. And so now when we go, we have our favorite three or four dishes that we always get, and then we just kind of tell the server, listen, this is our budget. We have zero dietary restrictions. Our life is in your hands. Take us on a journey. Send us your favorite dishes or things that you think we would love, and let’s just have an experience tonight. And we have never been disappointed.

The other thing that I love about Uchi is the service. When we’re there, we’re usually spending two to three hours for dinner. It’s somewhere that we can relax and just have a good time and talk and enjoy this amazing food and cocktails. The ambiance is beautiful. It’s just overall an amazing experience. And that is what I’m looking for when I’m going out to a nice restaurant now. Like I said, we can cook all the food, but I really want someone to take care of me now when I go out to eat. Uchi is always a go-to because I know I’m going to get the best service, the best experience, and the most amazing food. Every time I go to Uchi, I feel like I had the best meal of my life. It’s just incredible.

So, a restaurant that I want to say is kind of similar at that level is Emmer and Rye. It’s like an American version of Uchi. I don’t want to take anything away from Emmer and Rye, but it’s at that same level of craft, ambiance, and service.

But they’re a, it’s more of American/Italian fare, I guess you would say. Their major craft is pasta to the point where they grind their own flour for their housemade pasta. So they’re taking this craft very seriously. They’re very serious about the ingredients, about what goes into ’em about the process, and they’re controlling every aspect of this dish and its delivery to give you the best experience with it.

I know I keep saying experience, but it’s not just about the food. These restaurants are my favorite because you’re in there the whole time. It’s just awesome. So another thing that I love about Emma and Rye is they come around every 15 or 20 minutes with these dim sum carts, and it’s like, cool, here are the things on the menu. And then you’re going to have these surprise offerings on these dim sum carts, which I have never had other than eating at actual dim sum. I’m here to eat dim sum at this Asian restaurant. So to see it in a different setting and to experience that excitement and wonder and all the things, the surprises when these carts come around, it’s like, oh my, it’s, it’s so much fun. It’s being in a food playground. So that’s an amazing experience.

The service is incredible. The setting is gorgeous. It’s in the middle of downtown, so that is also one of my favorite restaurants. For all of those reasons, it’s just a fun night, and I know I’m going to get taken care of. I know everything I eat will be amazing, and it’s a great place to celebrate, relax, and enjoy life.

We also love casual food. So I mentioned that we don’t really go out a lot, and when we do, it’s to have a great experience. But we do go out sometimes and just eat food. So there’s this restaurant downtown that I have been wanting to check out for years. It’s on Elizabeth Street. It’s called Elizabeth Street Cafe. I knew they had really good pho, and I love noodles. I love soup. So it’s like, oh, how could this be bad?

And so I was talking to Dave, I’m like, we have to go to this restaurant. I’ve heard really good things about it. It looks amazing. And he refused to go for years because it was called Elizabeth Street Cafe. And he’s like, that’s so dumb. It’s on Elizabeth Street; how unoriginal. It’s called Elizabeth Street Cafe. I bet the food is bland. I bet they have no creativity. No, I’m refusing to go on principle, which we do a lot, but we just found out one of our friends works there.

And so we had to go to support her, obviously. So we finally went to Elizabeth Street Cafe, and it was divine. And I am so mad that for years we haven’t gone because he thought the name was stupid when this whole time they have just had amazing food.

So I want to say it’s like Vietnamese meets French, almost like a French colonialism Vietnamese mashup. So they’ve got pho, and they have banh mi. They also have beignets and macarons. The food is incredible. It’s done at a very high level, but the setting is also very chill French Cafe. There’s a lot of tables out front. You can linger there for as long as you want, or you can grab a bite to eat and go on about your day.

They also have amazing cocktails. So everything that they do, Eli Elizabeth Street, is refined. It’s nuanced. It’s very detailed. Everything is thought of, but not in a stuffy way, in a very casual way. And that’s one thing that I love about it. So it’s, you’re also going to have amazing service, and it’s a beautiful setting, but you’re not going to pay as much as you would at Uchiko or Emma and Rye. So it’s a good in-between.

The last place I want to talk about today is called La Holly Cantina. The food is very casual: basic tacos like barbacoa, birria, el pastor, chips, guac, and the like. And then they have very high-end mezcal and tequila cocktails.

So it’s a bar, it’s a full bar. They’ll make whatever you want, but their specialty is high-end mezcal and tequila cocktails, which are to die for. So, if you haven’t picked up on it, one of the things that I look for in a restaurant in Austin is very high-end craft.

I want people who are doing a terrific job at some things. I’m not trying to go somewhere where the menu is 40 pages long, and they’re like, oh, we do everything Okay. No, I want you to do a few things very well. I like the service to be excellent because I’m not going out to eat for utility. I cook most of my food at home. I eat to support my life, but I love excellent food.

And so when I’m having one of those occasions where it’s like, yeah, I’m going to go out, and I’m going to spend some money, and I’m going to have good food or good cocktails or amazing service, that is one of the reasons that we moved to Austin is because there are so many places like that here. These are just our top four favorites, but there is a list of at least a hundred places that I would also go to where I can have similar experiences.

So, this was a huge driving factor for us to come to Austin because we love food. We weren’t that into cocktails when we moved here. We were more into craft beer. Our taste evolved into an appreciation for cocktails with the food. The whole ambiance and experience are exceptional. There are so many incredible places here. You would get lost trying to go to the mall.

Austin is Green

So the fourth thing that drew me here was its green. And I know that sounds basic, and if you are used to it, if you’re coming here from Portland or Seattle or even Minnesota where it’s like, yeah, there’s a lot of trails and trees and things like that, then it may not seem like it’s that big of a deal. But when I moved here, I was moving from El Paso, and El Paso is the desert. And so yes, there are mountains there, but they’re all brown rocks, and there is no grass in the yard because it’s the desert, and it doesn’t make sense to have grass. So all the yards are like zero-scape, and it’s like dust everywhere, and there’s this brown dust flying throughout the air. El Paso was pretty brown.

And then you would fly into Austin, and you’d just immediately, you’re just like, oh my gosh. There are these green trees everywhere. And as you’re driving around, especially now in the spring, wildflowers, and bluebonnets pop up on the side of the road and in the meadows and parks.

There’s so much life and abundance here that it’s that feeling that kind of permeates everything, especially in the spring, which is the most magical time in Austin right now. We have four to six weeks of spring before it starts getting hot and before it starts getting into summer.

This is the most precious time because we just had an ice apocalypse where almost everyone lost power for a while. And now we have this transition period where it’s like, oh my gosh, you can hear the birds chirping and little buds are coming off the trees, and these bright green leaves are coming out, and all the flowers are budding, and the wildflowers are popping up, and the bees are out, and it’s just this period of regrowth and rejuvenation. And there is something in the air here other than the plants.

The abundance of greenery permeates everything. You really get this vibe of possibilities and innovation and growth and things like that. That’s how I interpret it. Why I love being in Austin is because I see this growth, and I’m just like, okay, yes, everything is growing. Everything is turning a new leaf. We’re all primed for something new right now. And I feel that I get that in Austin. That’s why I’m so connected with it.

Growth and Opportunity

So, the fifth thing that drew me to Austin was the growth and the opportunity here. We moved here 11 years ago. When my husband and I moved, we were both still working our corporate jobs, but even from that lens, Austin had this sense that something was coming, something was on the verge, and Austin was where the future would be, even in our corporate careers.

Since then, we’ve both left and started our own businesses. That vibe has just exploded since then. There is so much growth and opportunity here, but we had no idea what was coming. We could just see it from this tiny lens that we were experiencing Austin from, which was cool. We worked at our corporate gigs, and that was fine. And then we would go and do the music and the food and the tattoos and everything. And then, on Monday, we’d come back and do our corporate thing.

We were living two different lives, but we both quit our corporate jobs. Now, we’re not living two different lives. I embody my whole self 100% in my business. My husband Dave runs our Muay Thai gym. It’s such an expression of who he is, what Muay Thai means to him, and what he wants to help other people experience. It’s been so amazing to be able to be our full selves our whole life, in our personal life, our professional life with our friends, with our business partners, and things like that. I don’t have to live two different lives anymore because there’s so much opportunity here for growth.

If we weren’t in Austin, I don’t know that I would’ve quit my corporate job and gone into real estate. I wonder if he would’ve ever gone into martial arts and opened his gym. But being here and being around these people encourages you to listen to your own beat and march to the beat of your own drum. Being innovative in starting your own business and doing your own thing is highly encouraged in Austin. And there’s such an environment in a community to support that. And we could feel it 11 years ago, and now everyone knows Austin is exploding.

So many businesses are moving here and growing here, not just the big guys like Google, Amazon, and others. There are so many small businesses you’ve never heard of, startups and solopreneurs, and tiny companies just here doing their own thing and living a fantastic life. I know that’s happening in other cities, but there’s such a buzz around it in Austin right now. That is why we wanted to move here. That’s also why we’re never going to leave. There’s just such fun energy here and this sense of growth and opportunity that it’s intoxicating.

So if you’re thinking about moving to Austin and any of those things that I just mentioned, the vibe here, the music, the food, that it’s green, that there’s life here, there’s abundance, and there’s so much growth and opportunity – if any of those things resonate with you, this may be the place for you. These are some of the things that I help people talk about on our calls: Why Austin? Why are you moving to Austin? There are so many cities you can move from if you want to change, but why here? And we’re going to drill down and ensure this is the right place for you. So, if you have any questions at all, please feel free to contact me.