Where in Austin? (apartments, rent, camps)

[122woodlawn]

Howdy! I'm planning to relocate from Baltimore, MD to Austin. No vehicle, some cash. I'm a hard-working professional. Where to? Thanks.

[centralaustinite]

And you plan to remain car free? Can you drive, are you licensed? All of Texas is very hard to live car-free, Austin is no exception. Do you have a job lined up? Job location will determine all, finding a job and place to live all served by public transport . . . regardless of budget will be hard lift.



https://www.capmetro.org/

[SuzyGE_O]

I live in Texas, have been to Austin dozens of times and can't imagine living there without a car. Austin is not some small town, lazy and quiet. It's crowded, hot, a bazillion younger people per square mile eating, laughing and blasting music everywhere. Parking lots are jammed with cars. If you want to walk try a mall. At least you wont get run over.

[122woodlawn]

Thanks folks.

[ScoPro]

I don't know why every person who posts these "Coming to Austin" threads don't seem to see the "Welcome to Austin" sticky thread at the top. It's packed with good information for newbs.

Plus they never post much of anything about their own details to clarify their possibilities.





But good luck to you Woodlawn.

[Antny12]

Some cash.. no car.. okay that seems like an incredibly bad idea. Austin has almost no viable public transportation. Do you have a job? You haven’t researched enough to have a general idea of where you would want to be? Working professional .. okay so what field?

Austin isn’t very cheap. If your looking for an apartment/rental it’s very competitive just like the housing market and it’s not cheap.. not probably compared to Baltimore.

Why austin? I mean When we made the move we had jobs, a place to live lined up, cars, and such. I just couldn’t imagine moving here with nothing but some cash. Seems dangerous and how people end up living under bridges after a few months.

Anyways good luck- do more research I’d say.

[Denver303TJC]

Originally Posted by 122woodlawn

Howdy! I'm planning to relocate from Baltimore, MD to Austin. No vehicle, some cash. I'm a hard-working professional. Where to? Thanks.

I'd recommend getting a job first, then working from there to find an apartment. As others have mentioned, ATX ain't fun to get around without a car (believe me, that was literally me when I first moved to Austin). If you stay in central Austin, you can zip around via the bus lines, but its not preferable.

You say that you are a hard-working professional, that is good, but what field are you in?

Personally, I'd say get a job lined up so that when you move to Austin you can show apartments that you are making 3-4x the amount of rent (or look for places that need a roommate).

Also, what are you looking to get out of Austin? Are you just moving since the city is "fun"? There's plenty to do, but depending on your line of work, there are going to be a lot of people who are also moving to ATX that will be looking to do what you do. Anyhow, not to be a shatterer of dreams, if you do move to Austin, hope you like it!

[wildflower_FL]

Another vote for you need to know where you are going to be working first if you want to be car free. Having a real high tolerance for heat and being willing to walk or bike ride a couple of miles will open up options a little more, but I don't think this is a really safe town to bike ride in.

[RunninJT]

Without a car you will be looked over for most office jobs, they want someone who they know can show up reliably when the weather reminds us that this is Texas, not the north. Without knowing what line of work your resume outlines though this is a moot point. The good news is we have several large homeless camps that always seem to have more room, so you will have that going for you.


Get a bike, that would help a bit. A scooter or small motorcycle would help a lot more. You can get all over town on 250cc. Our rainstorms however will humble you.

[gabetx]

The only places in Austin you can live without a car are places like downtown or the Domain. And that is only if you live in those areas that you work.