What would you prefer, as a SWE with a family, who wants to buy a house? How jobs compare in these 2 cities? I've been to Austin, but not to Dallas. What surprised me in Austin is how mexican it is - even compared to SFBA. I know it's probably depends on neighborhood, but still...
Austin 100% (well unless you are a conservative republican, then you might like Dallas).
Austin. Dallas has only enterprise jobs. So if you want to work on J2EE, Oracle, DB2 or main frame then dallas is the place. Austin is better for modern tech and better startup type culture. Dallas is also very hostile to H1B.
How's Dallas hostile to H1B ?
Plenty of large companies here Capital One, Toyota Connected, Verizon have recently stopped hiring H1B. (Earlier they used to).
Is Dallas also as boring as Austin? I mean nature / scenery.
Austin has better trails for biking etc. but both cities are in texas so yes same. Austin is also closer to San Antonio, Houston and Corpus Christie so you can do weekend outings with less driving. I have to drive for 7 hours each time my children want to go to NASA in Houston.
@k8SM9n - not doing this very willingly, but beggars can't be choosers, I guess. My wife's income is insignificant, I keep failing at both GOOG and FB interviews every 1.5 years or so, and I am sick of renting...
Austin is actually really fun!
Dallas has great schools, airport, jobs and cheap housing. Both places are in Texas overall, but DFW allows cheaper escapes for family..
Agreed about schools and airport. But Austin provides cheaper escapes because of proximity to Houston, Corpus Christie and SN Antonio. I don’t like Dallas job scene. See my post above.
I meant escapes through Dallas airport.. cheaper flights in USA and abroad as compared to Austin airport
Austin, because less conservative and better tech scene in general
You should probably stay in SFBA. If what’s surprising you in an area is the ethnic demographics, you’ll wet your pants daily when you have to interact with “them”
"Them" who?
Whoever you’re being surprised by, Bubba. Weird you think they’re “Mexican” unless you checked their passport. But hey, you do you...
Lived in Austin for a while now and use to live in the bay. I would choose Denver if you have that on your list somewhere.
If you like corporate and suburbs definitely Dallas. If you like hipsters and tech industry definitely Austin.
If these two were the only options, I would choose Austin.