Austin and Dallas (Houston, Plano, Ranger: houses, find a job, schools)

[jvoben]

As a computer guy, which city has more job opportunities, Austin or Dallas?

[cBach]

Dallas is more telecom related, Austin is more programmer/software development related. Hope that helps.

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by jvoben

As a computer guy, which city has more job opportunities, Austin or Dallas?

computer guy? What does that even mean?

Dallas has significantly more tech jobs overall but most are IT related. My impression is that Austin has more jobs creating products for software companies

[eepstein]

Dallas has way more IT opportunities versus Austin. Dallas is also a REAL city and not a college town.

Originally Posted by jvoben

As a computer guy, which city has more job opportunities, Austin or Dallas?

[jvoben]

Originally Posted by Austin97

computer guy? What does that even mean?

I post the thread, but don't know how to edit it.


Yes, I forget to make it clear. I am a computer software guy.

I am wondering if there are still comparable software/programming jobs in Dallas?

[hoffdano]

If you want to write software for a living and you have non-commodity skills, Austin is easily a better city for you than Dallas.

Dallas is home to almost zero software companies. Lots of IT, but very little software written for profit.

Houston is better than Dallas because of the presence of HP, BMC Software, NetIQ, and a few others.

But Austin has higher quality opportunities. Austin has social networking (e.g. Bazaar Voice), enterprise (BMC, IBM, Solarwinds, Spiceworks, many others), gaming (EA/Origin), mobile (Evernote), and others. Dell writes a little software but you probably don't want to work for them.

[jvoben]

Originally Posted by hoffdano

If you want to write software for a living and you have non-commodity skills, Austin is easily a better city for you than Dallas.

Dallas is home to almost zero software companies. Lots of IT, but very little software written for profit.

Houston is better than Dallas because of the presence of HP, BMC Software, NetIQ, and a few others.

But Austin has higher quality opportunities. Austin has social networking (e.g. Bazaar Voice), enterprise (BMC, IBM, Solarwinds, Spiceworks, many others), gaming (EA/Origin), mobile (Evernote), and others. Dell writes a little software but you probably don't want to work for them.

Thanks. Looks like
1. For computer software, Austin > houston > Dallas?
2. What about houses? I heard Austin is more expensive than Dallas, what about houston?

[love roses]

Austin is more expensive than Houston as well.

[sxrckr]

Originally Posted by love roses

Austin is more expensive than Houston as well.

The better central areas of Houston are just as expensive as the better central areas of Austin. As far as suburbs, Houston's are probably less expensive, there is more available land area to expand.

[scm53]

Originally Posted by eepstein

Dallas has way more IT opportunities versus Austin. Dallas is also a REAL city and not a college town.

Having lived in both, I would take Austin any day of the week. First, physical beauty -- Dallas is flat as a pancake, and the river through it is a channelized flood plain. Austin has hills, and the river through the town is connected to the city. Second -- access. There may be more to do in Dallas, but you might have to drive an hour and a half to get there -- even in the best of traffic. The airport can easily be 90 minutes from your house, and not at rush hour. Third -- quality of life. Tough comparison, but for all practical matters, where you "live" in Dallas defines your quality of life. If you live and work north, say Plano, you might not ever get to a Rangers game, for example, because it is so far away. So what does having a MLB team mean? If you live in NE Tarrant County, you have great shopping, and wonderful schools, but the drive to downtown Dallas is unbearable. And on it goes. There is nothing you want to do in Austin that is more than 45 minutes from your house -- and I live far SW so even a trek to the Arboretum isn't that bad. And finally -- living in Dallas just takes more money. Sure, there are things to do, but they are ALL more expensive than in Austin. And why live there if you can't afford them?

So, I wouldn't put too much stock in what the guy who thinks there hasn't been a freeway built in Austin since the seventies has to say. Quality of life starts with a job -- find a job first. If you are lucky enough to have offers in both places, you can't go wrong in Austin. And this is from someone who has lived in both.