I’m moving: Goodbye Austin, Texas!

After nearly 10 years, I’m leaving Austin.

I don’t know if this news will shock anyone. I’ve tried my best not to be cynical about the changes Austin has experienced over the years, but I’ve never been great at hiding how I feel.

Of course, this news is not shocking to me (ha). I started writing in my journal about wanting to move away in 2021, and I spent most of 2024 trying to figure out where I wanted to go and what it would take to actually make the (literal) move.

And finally, TODAY is moving day!

While I am excited about what’s ahead, my time in Texas deserves a look back and some reasoning as to why I’m moving out of Austin and out of Texas.

Why I Moved to Austin, Texas

In November 2014, I was fired from my full-time job of nearly eight years. I spent 10 months job searching and working loads of retail and freelance jobs to make ends meet.

After living in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for 12 years, I moved to Austin in September 2015 to work as an SEO Analyst at a Search Engine Marketing Agency, a little north of downtown.

I didn’t necessarily want to leave Baton Rouge, but I really needed a job and wanted to work in the tech industry. Working in tech wasn’t really an option in Louisiana.

I remember having several interviews, but the first job offer I got was a role based in Austin, and I was excited to accept it and move here. I don’t recall have many expectations about my life in Austin. I’d been to the city once for SXSW and had fun, of course.

But I really needed a full-time job, and it required me to move.

I wanted to learn more about SEO, and this was the perfect opportunity. The job offer came with the same salary I’d had since 2007 ($40,000, if we’re being transparent), so I picked a smaller, older apartment that I could afford. It was nothing luxurious, but I was still excited because it had a balcony and a pool—two things my Baton Rouge apartment didn’t have.

I started my role in Austin two weeks before my apartment was ready, so I lived out of an extended-stay hotel, which was interesting, to say the least. I remember eating lots of frozen meals, and my bathtub didn’t have a shower curtain for several days—ha!

My mom and friend helped me clean out and pack up my Louisiana apartment, and then we drove the seven hours to Austin once the new place was finally ready. I couldn’t take time off from my new job, so I recall there being lots and lots of boxes stacked in my place for a while.

Although I learned so much at the agency job, it was ROUGH. It was very much a start-up, and I don’t love start-up culture (one of those things you may not know until you try, I guess)! Every day was a slog; taking time off was frowned upon, and I remember crying a lot in the bathroom.

I found a new job after just 15 months.

My new job was for an abortion clinic that put me back at the writer’s desk, but also took me places. I went to various parts of Texas to visit other clinics and events, and spent a good amount of time at the Texas Capital during legislative sessions.

I learned SO much about the conservative agenda and anti-choice laws, and, although the work was emotionally draining at times, it was incredibly rewarding.

After two years there, I was fired. Are you noticing a pattern?

That’s the thing about my time in Austin. While it has been fun, I feel like my reason for moving here (a new job) put a bit of a damper on my life.

In the years following my work at the clinic, I worked for myself, got another job, was laid off, found another job, was laid off again, worked retail again, found another job… you get it.

I’ve written much about these patterns in my life, and I can’t tell you how much I wish to write and share about other things. About food. About meeting people. About having fun! About living life.

But I’ve spent so many of these years treading deep water.

I don’t want my hardships to overshadow the fact that I made the most of my time in Austin and had a lot of fun. I also learned so much about myself. Looking back now, I know I wouldn’t be able to take these next steps without surviving this chapter in Texas!

I spent years going to a dance studio after work, reigniting my love for expressive movement. I even performed on stage a few times! I also got into yoga and barre.

Of course, I ate loads of delicious food — breakfast tacos, yes, but also pizza, veggie burgers, Vietnamese, you name it.

I saw lots of concerts, volunteered and attended the local Film Fest each year, saw the famous bats at Congress Bridge, went paddleboarding and kayaking, hiked, went boating on Lake Travis, attended the Texas State Fair (x2), survived the pandemic lockdown, and met tons of incredible people from all over.

But in these last several years, I started noticing how much Austin had changed since 2015 (as I’m sure most cities have), and it was no longer working with my personal situation.

So, where was I going to go?

Why I’m Leaving Austin (and Texas, and the South)

I’ve lived in my exact same apartment the entire time I’ve lived in Austin. Moving is expensive (more on this in a later post), and money is not really something I’ve had much of given my struggles to find and keep a job.

So, not only did I stay in this apartment, but I’ve had the same furniture, appliances, and other household items for the entire time. I knew if I was going to make the effort to move, it had to be a big one — not just to another part of Austin or even to another part of Texas, and I didn’t want to take much with me.

I really need a fresh start.

I’m very lucky and grateful to have a job that allows me to work from anywhere, so when I told myself I wanted to get out of Texas, I realized I had the opportunity to really MOVE.

I started thinking about where my next chapter should be. I’ve lived in Indiana, Louisiana, and Texas.

My complaints about any of them are minimal, but they are also states I either didn’t choose to live in or moved to for a specific purpose. I went to Louisiana for college and stayed for work and moved to Texas for work.

Ideally, I wanted to live in a blue state—I’ve paid my dues in red states. It’s not just about the current politics (and where things are likely headed); living in a state that aligns with my values means some programs and services, such as public transportation and affordable housing, can benefit me.

Aside from politics, I really wanted to move away from the hot-as-hell summers. Sure, I get it, sunshine makes us happy!!! But until you live, work, and drive in 120-degree heat regularly, I don’t want to hear about your “hot” summers in the Midwest.

It’s important to keep in mind that Texas infamously has its own electric grid, which means it struggles to sustain energy in severe weather. I lost power for three days in a freeze (some of the worst few days of my life) and have lost power in the summer many times. I’m so done with this.

Finally, I wanted to move somewhere that actually allowed me to experience it. This is a big part about living in Austin that I feel is difficult for outsiders to understand. I lived north of the city because that’s all I could afford, but it meant getting to many places and events was expensive or impossible.

For context, my apartment is ~600 square feet and is $1550/month.

In 2021, I spent $900 on Lyft rides during the post-pandemic ACL festival, and I have always struggled to find parking downtown for shows and dinner outings, no matter the season. Want to get away from Austin? Better get to the airport three hours before takeoff! This is what happens when you live where Instagram influencers vacation.

When I moved to Austin in 2015, people who lived here for years told me “Austin is getting too big for its britches,” and I finally understood what they meant.

Although not downtown, my apartment was within walking distance to some shops and restaurants. But, I stopped walking anywhere when I was followed out of a drug store a few years ago and had to get assistance from an employee.

Note to self: I needed to feel safe to venture out in my new city.

When I moved to Austin in 2015, 1,692,000 people lived there. That was during a 12-year streak of Austin being the fastest-growing city in the United States. In 2023, people started moving out, but there are still more people here than ever: 2,313,000.

Over the last two years, I’ve seen big changes at my apartment complex, and there have been moving trucks parked outside every month. Many apartments remain vacant. The tech bubble drew folks here, and when it busted, they left — or ended up on the streets.

In 2023, Lawrence Wright wrote a piece for The New Yorker that holds many of my same feelings about how Austin has changed over the years, including:

Every day, the metro area adds three hundred and fifty-five new residents, while two hundred and thirty-eight Austinites depart, many of them squeezed out by high rents and property taxes, or by the disaffection so many of us feel because of the pace of change and the loss of qualities that once defined the city. Austin is now characterized by stifling traffic and unaffordable restaurants. It was never known as a home for billionaires and celebrities, but in the past few years notable refugees from Silicon Valley, Hollywood, and New York have stampeded into town, with different expectations about what Austin should become—and outsized power to shape the city around their desires.

Whether it was Elon Musk, the politics, or the pandemic, Austin no longer felt like home. It was time to search for a new one.

To figure out where, I created a little list for myself of things I wanted in my next city, and I started researching. There were nights I stayed up until 4 a.m. looking at Reddit threads, apartment listings, and random reviews.

Then, I just kept narrowing my list until I found the right place.

It is truly a gift to be able to look at a map and have the freedom to decide where you want to go — please know that this is not lost on me, and it is on my daily gratitude list.

So, What’s Next?

At the moment—depending on when you’re reading this—I’m likely driving a small moving truck (with Kitty Blanche in the passenger’s seat) across the country to our new home.

It’ll take us a few days to get there because I’m one person doing this on my own. This is my first time driving a moving truck, and I’m trying to be safe on the road!

I signed the lease for my new apartment (more on this in a later post) in April, and it will be ready for us upon arrival. I’ve hired movers to unload the few pieces of furniture I did bring. But, after that, we’re starting fresh in a brand-new-to-us city!

I have lots more to share, including exactly where we are moving to, more about my apartment, how I can afford to move, and how life will likely be a little different. I want to share it all soon, but on my own time; this is the most significant life change, and I’m doing my best to protect my excitement and joy for this new chapter.

I hope you’ll be along for the ride; I have a feeling it’s going to be a fun one (finally)!

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