Today’s more of a personal post. It’s been awhile since I’ve done one of these. But I felt compelled to share, so here we are. In catching up with people more and more recently, I’ve had numerous discussions about my experience in Austin, TX. I’ve received some push-back from those close to me here in Austin when I share that I am just not vibing with this city.

I don’t think people actually understand the sheer scale, the magnitude of adventure and opportunity that exists for a creative person in Los Angeles vs. Austin. Austin is a city and the city of Austin has less than a million residents. Los Angeles is both a city AND a county. The city of Los Angeles has a population of 4 million people and the county has a population of less than 10 million people. Imagine living in a city where most of the people are working in or are aiming towards working in the same industry as you, an industry that you love. All of those people who eat, breathe, sleep, and live the arts just like you. The city of Austin is in Travis County which has less than 2 million people. Austin has an arts community though it’s more known for being a tech town and the locals still outnumber the creative transplants by a landslide. Just looking at the math of this alone, Los Angeles does not compare to Austin. Or it does and it’s literally 9x better.

As you can tell from above, for the purpose of this post, I will make Austin comparisons in bold and Los Angeles in plain text.

Los Angeles vs. Austin

The main selling points to Austin are The Domain (700,00 sq ft shopping center) and Downtown Austin (a grid consisting of 14 blocks of residents and small businesses). Outside of that, there really isn’t a huge appeal to Austin for me since everything else outside of that are the average things that you could get / experience in literally any other town in America.

In Los Angeles, there’s more – a lot more and a lot better of what’s provided here. For someone else, smaller scale might work for them. It doesn’t for me and that’s okay. I think being honest with yourself about what fulfills you and confronting how where you may currently be does not fulfill you is frightening for some people to hear because maybe they aren’t being honest with themselves. Or are just uncomfortable with people who are honest with themselves? But that’s a whole other topic so let me stay on topic here.

First thing’s first. A girl’s got to eat. Los Angeles County is lightyears ahead of the city of Austin when it comes to being vegan friendly. There are multiple 100% vegan eateries in nearly every city in LA County and vegan-friendly eateries as far as you can throw a stick. Texas? It’s a meat state. In fact, it’s the top beef-producing state in the nation. There are very few options here and sadly, even fewer than there were just a few short years ago as a number of vegan friendly eateries closed down during the pandemic. 

Other LA selling points for me? There are more farmers markets, fairs, festivals, and events weekly, monthly, and annualy simply due to the scale of Los Angeles County. Each of these outings have their own unique vibes in very distinct neighborhoods and give you more opportunities to engage with people who choose to move here from all over the world. I also much rather prefer the local produce in Los Angeles year round.

There are more and better amusement park options. Universal Studios Hollywood is a fun option to bring tourists to, yes but it’s an especially fun option for locals who almost always have friends who work there and you can go more often and even rub shoulders with Hollywood talent. Disneyland is 2 hours away and you can get there by bus under $5 if you don’t mind a longer commute. You could also go to Six Flags, sure, but Knott’s Berry Farm is right there. You may have experienced a haunted house or Halloween themed night at an amusement park closest to you but in Hollywood? The production scale is massive. You’ve got award winning, I’m talking Oscar nominated makeup artists, hair stylists, costume designers, and production designers bringing this stuff to life. It’s the difference between going to a local school play and a Broadway stage production. Yeah. Also, LEGOLAND is only 2 hours away. Can’t forget that!

Public transportation in Austin is essentially nonexistent outside of downtown. Ubers and Lyfts do exist though so it’s not impossible to get around without a car. Austin is also not very walkabout outside of the Downtown area. The main opposing thought that I received is that since I am a non-driver, I can’t experience all that Austin has to offer me. But Uber and Lyft exist and I use them so you can’t Pass Go on that argument. Especially since I made slightly more money living out here in Austin, where the dollar stretches a little more.

In LA, public transportation exists outside of just downtown. It runs throughout the entire county. I’ve lived in LA on and off since 2009 and have never had a car. Buses, trains, and the subway (which they call the Metro Rail) have gotten me everywhere I needed to go and in the very rare instance that it couldn’t, a ride share could. Los Angeles is extremly walkable compared to Austin. Yes, public transportation and walkability in LA could use some improvements but it’s absolutely nothing compared to Austin which doesn’t have the infrastructure to even begin the task of expanding its public transportation if it even wanted to. Though I’m not one to let not having a car stop me from living my life. Some people who are used to driving everywhere become paralyzed when they have car issues. On my side of things, it’s easy to see that it’s not the end of the world without a car, especially if you are in a city that cares about public transpo.

Basically, no matter where you live if you are near or in a major city, if you’re in an area where public transportation and/or rideshares exist, getting around isn’t an issue unless you or the people around you make it one. That in itself can become a classist arguement that I’m not even going to get into.

There are plenty of creative people out here in Austin though it’s not nearly as robust as that of LA, the heart of Hollywood. Plus, some communities are not as active here depending on which creative community you’re talking about. (For example, YA authors are few and far between in Austin and most of my writing friends out here are Adult authors). As for movie enthusiasts, thank God for Alamo Drafthouse but I shouldn’t have to depend on one very small chain to provide the goods. Thank God for SXSW and ATX TV Festival. But when it comes down to it, Austin is not a creative mecca, it just isn’t. It is still very much more of a tech town and family oriented city. And that’s okay! 

Because LA is a filmmaking town, the people here take movie going very seriously. Going to see movies during release weekend, during awards season is a Thing. Supporting local plays, Downtown Art Walk, book launch events, etc… are all things that the community comes out to consistently support and they come out in droves.

There are more job and networking opportunities for creators in LA. There are so many communities and communities within communities that are always active: screenwriters, directors, producers, actors, comedians, playwrights, authors, artists, singers, songwriters, musicians, etc… Since you’re in the heart of Hollywood, there is always something going on everyday of the week, including workshops, table readings, screenings with Q&As, panels, podcast recordings with live audiences, mixers, festivals, etc…

There are fan experiences and events for movie & tv fans including interactive exhibits as Hollywood promotes their new TV shows, upcoming movies, and whatever is FYC. There are opportunities to go to TV tapings, being a seatfiller, being a fan in the stands at award shows and ceremonies. You can even sign up for Central Casting and be an extra in any number of TV shows or movies where the opportunities to get gigs is high year round.

Diverse communities are smaller (reread the population stats at the top of this post) and harder to find and immerse yourself in here in Austin. This is also a red state and you’ll hear a lot of “Austin is great as long as you stay in Austin or the other major cities.” Anybody who tells you that it’s rude to state the obvious fact of TX being an oppresive state and to be grateful to live here… they might not be an ally. Especially considering there are so many people who were born and raised here who do not feel safe in this state and have very little or zero options to move. What about them? It’s so harmful to tell marginalized people to be grateful for what they have when what they have is so little and will become even less over time in this state in particular. More and more oppresive laws are being put into place here and that is not a place I want to reside in long term or will ever sing the praises of. This factor alone is enough to not move here if you don’t have to. No place is perfect. You and you alone have to make the choice if you want to reside in a red state sprinkled with liberals and people who think they are liberals or reside in a blue state that is majority liberals and people who think they are liberals. It’s very different. 

In LA, diverse communities are easy to find and immerse yourself in and there are way more cultural events all year long. You know where the communities are: Inglewood is getting gentrified but is still a Black neighborhood through and through, many call Pico-Robertson the heart of the Jewish community neighborhood wise, and there’s Little Ethiopia, Koreatown, Chinatown, Filipinotown, Thai Town, Little Bangladesh, Little Armenia, Olvera Street, Little Tokyo, etc… Don’t get me wrong, there are Republicans in Southern California. But they are not the majority. And that goes a long way.

San Antonio and Waco are 2 hours away, Houston is 3 hours away, and Dallas is 3.5 hours away.

Because LA County is so huge and encompasses everything you could ever want it’s all just a short commute away compared to the above. Even with traffic, which is awful, it’s all right at your fingertops and most of it isn’t a day trip away like what the above is for those in Austin. There are whole neighborhoods that are their own little worlds in LA. There’s Pasadena. Burbank. Westwood (college town). Beverly Hills. DTLA. The list goes on. There is always something to do and somewhere to explore. And if you do want to take a day trip or weekend trip, for Angelenos, that means you’re going to San Diego or Anaheim or taking a quick flight and going to the Bay, Napa Valley, Las Vegas, etc..

The closest beach from Austin is 4.5 hours away.

From Downtown Los Angeles, the closest beach is 1 hour away. You have your pick of beaches once you’re on the coast, too. Santa Monica Beach. Venice Beach. Marina Del-Rey. Manhattan Beach. Long Beach. You can also drive to Malibu or other places up and down PCH. If you’re a millennial and want to reminisce, you can take a drive down to Laguna Beach. I miss reading on the beach.

The weather in Austin is atrocious. When it’s hot, it’s HOT. The door to hell is wide open. And it starts early. Why is it 80 degrees in February? Lord, help me. When it snows, well, as someone who was born and raised in NJ, it’s just difficult to wrap my head around not having the infrastructure to handle harsh weather. You’d think Austin would have learned their lesson a few years ago but this state just doesn’t really have its priorities in place when it comes to protecting its residents during those harsh weather moments.

In Los Angeles, it’s beautiful all of the time even when it’s hot. But hot here is not hot there, let me tell you. Hot in LA is manageable, even during heat waves (which are laughable now that I’ve experienced Texas heat). Though when it rains in LA, people suddenly don’t know how to drive or choose to stay in altogether (which is nice as it cuts down on traffic and is a great opportunity for people who are’t afraid of rain to get things done).

In Conclusion

That’s just the list off the top of my head of my comparisons. I could go on but I think you get the picture. If Austin is vanilla ice cream with sprinkles then Los Angeles is the entire ice creamery. Austin is great, it’s just not great for me. And that’s okay. Los Angeles is great, it might not be great for you. And that’s okay. Wherever you choose to claim your permanent home should never be a decision that anyone makes you feel guilty about, especially if you have peace about the decisions that you make that they clearly would never be able to make peace with. They won’t understand because they aren’t meant to if the city is not destined for them. We all have our priorities, boundaries, compromises, exceptions and specific things that make our quality of life better. These all look different for everyone. So if you are a creative person thinking about making the move from LA or somewhere else to Austin, just think about the scale of these things and what will make you happy. I hope this post has been eye opening and helpful!