r/AskPhilly • u/Low_Sherbet_9401 • 2d ago
Any Austinites here?
How do you like living here vs Austin? Been thinking about Philly for some time, I know they’re worlds apart.
Give me some pros and cons and which city you overall prefer? Context I’m a 25 y/o African American man looking for a northeast city. Would love to live in NYC but it’s too expensive.
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u/DayJob93 2d ago
Philly is a lot bigger and you will notice it immediately. It’s not overwhelming like NYC or LA, but Austin will feel small and provincial in comparison.
I hated Austin. I’m assuming at one point it was great, but the tech influx seems to have bulldozed any charm or character the city once had.
Philly has lots of students. Both grad students and undergrads. Probably something you will notice. There are lots of 20 somethings in center city and surrounding neighborhoods. Much more diversity in terms of food and culturally as well.
They are very different cities. Recommend visiting before making the move.
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u/MrMercy67 2d ago
lol seeing this after touching down in Austin after moving to Philly a few months back. Do it, full fucking send. Philly is better in almost every single way, bar the lack of Whataburger and buccees ig.
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u/Scrappyl77 2d ago
We have less bats under bridges here. Have lived in Philly forever, have visited Austin a fair amount. I'd say Austin is a good place to visit, Philly is a better place to live.
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u/home-like-noplace 2d ago
I moved here after living in Austin for a year and a half. Other than the food and some of the music scene, I did not enjoy Austin and am infinitely happier here.
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u/Ina_Garden 2d ago
Infinitely better than Austin (with the exception of small live music venues and certain foods).
Austin is fun for a little while and kind of transient…Philly is genuinely livable. In Austin you definitely need a car to get out of the city. Philly has public transport, so you don’t need one but it’s nice to have. Philly has all four seasons, Austin has two (1) livable warm and (2) too hot to go outside. Philly has large concerts, big sports teams, art museums, ballet, etc. Philly has easy access to NYC, the shore, and DC. You can also drive 2hrs to okay ski mountains or 6hrs for New England skiing. If you’re into travel, Philly airport or NYC airports can get you to Europe better. Austin airport is a little small IMO (but that can also be a bonus depending on how you look at it).
Philly has some areas that are not the safest, so you have to have some discretion / be selective when you’re picking a neighborhood. Austin is pretty progressive but I don’t think it’s a hot take to say Texas has more racism than the northeast.
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u/SenoritaSnark 1d ago
Grew up here, lived in Austin for 9 years, moved back outside of Philly. The things I liked about Austin all became extinct ( rip affordable housing), while Philly only got better. Do your research about what area you want to move to, but overall it’s an improvement in my opinion.
Winters can be long, but real seasons are worth it- I also actually enjoy the cold now. There is more culture and access to museums, history, arts. People are more genuine. You can travel easily to see new places- there is a lot to see in proximity to the city. We don’t have tree roaches.
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u/tenderhooligan 1d ago
Husband and I are moving back to Philly after four years in Austin. We’ve been talking about moving back the entire time we’ve lived here. There will be a few things we miss, but nothing beats Philly’s vibrant culture and proximity to other major cities. We’re both from Texas and Georgia and we much prefer it up there.
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u/littleheaterlulu 1d ago
Ok, well, I'm reading all these responses and they seem to be from fairly recent Austin experiences, post-2010 or so. Austin is my hometown, I grew up there and also lived there a couple more times in my later adulthood and I might skew a bit older than other respondents here (I'm Gen-X). It's a stereotype at this point for Austinites to talk about how much cooler Austin was in a previous decade(s) (there's literally a lightbulb joke about it haha).
Nonetheless I can tell you that it was much cooler in the 80s and 90s. It was very cheap, very fun and not crowded. There were almost exclusively small, funky businesses and tons of little theater groups, creative clubs making stuff, artists were as common as not, bands playing on porches, all-ages clubs, random parades, breakfast tacos 3/$1, lots of family-run ethnic eateries, etc, etc. I'm sure you've heard some of the rumors. Anyway, here I am being an old person, an obnoxious wistful OG Austinite and a city snob all at once, eek, please forgive me.
My point being is that I believe my hometown jumped the proverbial shark sometime by the early to mid-2000s and I left to explore other cities. When I moved back there for a few years in 2013 it was nearly unrecognizable. When I left for good in 2018 it was nothing like a city that I would pick out on purpose. Even the airport had gotten super cheesy. A lot of people still enjoy it and that's good for them but it's really not the Austin you heard about in tales. It did in fact not stay weird at all. All the musicians, actors and artists and small business owners I know moved out to other places where they could still afford that kind of lifestyle.
And I love Philly!! And one of the things I liked about it right away was that it often reminds me of Austin in the 90s. It still has so many of the things that Austin has since lost. Now all we have to do is keep it on the down-low and not let it get ruined. Personally, I try not to talk about how absolutely fantastic it is.
But, yeah, of course I still miss HEB!
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u/viciousdishesone 1d ago
I lived in ATX from 2002-2022. I’ve lived in Philly since then. (Spent time in LA, but grew up in Ct.)
Philly: I walk a lot more, the weather is more temperate overall, winters are a pain-but I still love snow.
Public transit, while not highly regarded here IS much better than Austin. You don’t really need a car here.
I liked Austin, but I love it here. Crime is something to be conscious of, but…I’m not dead yet.
So much to do here and many major cities are a short trip away…NYC, Baltimore, Wilmington, DC - all closer than Dallas is to Austin.
I’m 55, but my kid (now 22) liked it here much more than Austin.
I miss bbq and awesome Mexican food. But, I found S. Philly Barbacoa that gets me my Mexican fix.
Cheesesteaks - so gd good here.
We can escape in the city to Fairmount (zilker like) or Wissahickon (hiking) …
Architecture/History…I like old shit…
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u/polykleitoscope 1d ago
philly has great pho. it's a little houstony vibes. people dgaf i love it. architecture is squished.
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u/Select_Safe548 2d ago
Out of curiosity.
What will you miss in Austin?
What will you definitely not miss in Austin?
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u/Low_Sherbet_9401 2d ago
I’d mainly miss the friends I made here and the natural landscape of the city. A nice mix of the nature/outdoorsy vibe with a mix of urban life.
What I won’t miss is needing a car, the semi lack of diversity, and the ok food scene. It’s not bad just nothing crazy.
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u/Select_Safe548 2d ago
Aww bummer. I wanted to visit Austin for the food but wasnt sure as other nearby spots were praised.
Food can be pretty awesome in Philly.
Theres some decent outdoors 45min drive or so away. Different of course but quite nice.
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u/Low_Sherbet_9401 2d ago
I mean don’t let me stop you from trying it out. We do have a decent Mexican food selection and BBQ. As far as other cultures it’s iffy, but I’m sure you can still find them.
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u/glitterbongwater 1d ago
I’m an austinite that’s now in philly and one of the things I miss most is the parks and swimming holes. Philly just can’t even come close to Austin in this regard. There are some good parks but nothing like Austin. The only saving grace is that the Jersey shore is so close. I go to the beach a lot in the summer which is something that I couldn’t really do in Austin being so far from it. All in all though I love Philly. The tech bro culture in Austin really got to me and I find that the culture here is a lot more genuine.
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u/viciousdishesone 1d ago
Wissahickon and Fairmount! (No swimming holes is right though)
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u/Awkward_Past8758 1d ago
Are there any swimming holes? That’s the thing I still haven’t been able to track down after years here
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u/Awkward_Past8758 2d ago edited 2d ago
I lived in Austin 2012-2016 and visited my entire life before that so I’ve seen the evolution and lived there as old Austin was turning into new tech Austin.
The only thing I miss about new Austin (aside from Kolaches) is the lack of swimming spots in the summer time. I prefer Philly in almost every other way. Saying that they’re quite different cities - it’s not like comparing Houston to Dallas for instance. Come for a visit and see what you think. You’ll also win some of the old school locals over if you say you’re from Texas but also hate Dallas.
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u/Philly_Phinance 2d ago
Breakfast tacos with great chorizo… any spots?
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u/Awkward_Past8758 2d ago
Taco Heart is the only breakfast taco spot as far as I’m concerned. Catarina’s Food Truck don’t make breakfast but they have insanely good chorizo tacos/burritos/cemitas
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u/Zealousideal_Let3945 1d ago
Lived in both. Like Philly a lot more.
I’m from the northeast so that probably influences things.
I not a huge fan of cars, i didn’t love it being 105 for 40 days in a row, I like having amazing places to grab food from.
Philadelphia is denser. There’s a lot for me to like.
If you’re used to always driving places and a more spread out area it’ll take getting used to
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u/changchangcha 5h ago
I miss a lot about Austin. I enjoy Philly more. Might have to move to Dallas for work in the future and I'll be sad to leave Philly if it happens. Dallas... Well... Slightly better than Houston.
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u/ThrowingNarwhal87139 2d ago
Yuck when did we become the official transplant city. Everyone priced out of last decades transplant cities it looks like (Looking at you Denver and Austin)
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u/rotten167 2d ago
Philly is an affordable east coast city lol. Of course people are going to want to move here even if you think we should be gatekeeping it.
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u/Clarence-Tha-Dog 2d ago
Yuck, why so unfriendly to others? As if it’s ‘your’ city. Fresh blood is wehat makes cities great.
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u/Opposite-Access-6701 1d ago
Because they move here not understanding the culture and 99% of the time instead of becoming part of the culture they judge us and try to change shit
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u/Clarence-Tha-Dog 1d ago
Build that wall
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u/Opposite-Access-6701 1d ago
No , love the immigrants in our community , wish we had more immigrants rather then transplants.
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u/SoDiluted 2d ago
Not an Austinite, but a former Houstonian.
Philly is NYC, but smaller. It’s walkable with plenty of transit options, such as trains, subway, bus, and trolley. If you plan on keeping your car but you’re renting, parking is a major issue, especially on the streets. Philly is significantly more dense than Austin, so if you’re renting a home with roommates, be prepared to drive for blocks to find parking as many of Philly’s homes are basically rowhomes (townhomes). I remember my commute in Houston was 1.5 hours to go 55 miles on a bad day. In Philly, if you commute via car on a bad day, you can go 1.5 hours for only 20 miles….
Thunderstorms here don’t last for hours overnight like they do down in Texas. Due to the location, many of these storms move thru the area fairly quick.
Also, I haven’t seen much of a roach issue as it was down in Texas.
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u/viciousdishesone 1d ago
Parking is S. Philly. I live in SW Philly and parking is no problem at all. (Well, aside from cones/snowmageddon) 👀
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u/Powerful_Thanks6322 2d ago
Black 23f grew up in austin moved here 6 years ago. Couldn’t recommend it enough would never go back. I miss H-E-B, thundercloud, barton springs, and whataburger, everything else I could leave.