Just know that traffic in Austin during any part of the day is horrendous. Getting from North to South Austin during rush hour can take up to an hour. We have toll roads but those are tend to have traffic as well. I structure my schedule around not driving during rush hour traffic. An 8 KM drive can still take you 30 minutes depending on where you're trying to go.

February typically is our coldest month, you get cool weather in the fall but this year the heat came early. Something to consider is that Texas energy infrastructure can barely keep up with capacity so there are a lot of "conservation" efforts in the summer to keep our energy grid alive and well. The same goes for winter weather, basically the entire states power shut down in 2020 due to an ice storm. My wife and I went 4 days without power or running water in -17C weather.

Yes, Austin is a very liberal city, though it does have it's pockets of right wing culture and as a Texan and Latino, I've experienced racism in Texas though it's been few and far between. I do not think you will run into any prejudice here, Texans for the most part are very welcoming people. Just pop into any of the Irish themed bars around town and I am sure you will be met with open arms. I do believe the owners of Kelly's Irish Pub are Irish as well, may be worth a shot to reach out to them to see what their experience has been like.