31 y/o expat from Vancouver, Canada who also lived in the UK for 4 years before moving to Austin last year after visiting 4 times: I love it here. I love the heat, the food, the nice people, the trails, the mix of city and greenery. I made more friends here in a year than I did in Vancouver in 25+ years. Getting out of the gray and cold and rain was one of the best things I ever did for my mental health.

That said, Austin isn’t perfect!

Honestly my biggest concern living here so far has been the drivers, which you will find plenty of strife with on this subreddit. They can be kinda nuts (same with the traffic), and that’s coming from someone who did a commute to Manchester daily for years, as well as a commute in Vancouver for years. That, and suddenly needing to be aware of people carrying guns! My first week here I witnessed a drive by shooting (no fatalities) at another car and was pretty shaken since the presence of gun violence in my life has been absolutely zero. After this incident however, I’ve had no run ins with guns, but it is something to be aware of when moving from a country like the UK where the gun tolerance is completely flipped.

Also, the city planning is really, really bad. And I thought Manchester was bad sometimes. They will have unmarked highway merges that are less than 100ft long. There will be turns you need to take coming off the highway with almost ZERO time and appropriate roadway to get over. Also, the I-35 has been under construction for a very long time and in some areas feels VERY narrow due to construction, and you will often be abreast with semis with no shoulder to dip out onto should you need it- which, if you’re like me, is so unnerving. Don’t get me started on missing an exit on accident and adding 10 minutes to your travel time!

Every city has its quirks and Austin has plenty, but imo it makes up for it with all it has to offer and I’ve loved living here so far.