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This is a common refrain, but one I consider misguided, having lived in Austin since the first .com collapse. While Yes, housing costs have moved up, others ha

This is a common refrain, but one I consider misguided, having lived in Austin since the first .com collapse. While Yes, housing costs have moved up, others have remained flat (so relatively compared to other cities, have moved down). As silly as it sounds, my favorite metric is "Cost of Drinking". Find the fancy cocktail bars in any city's downtown. In Austin, nothing on the menu is above $12 at Midnight Cowboy or The Garage. Now compare that to the other cities on this list.

ChainsawSurgery 12y ago
> In Austin, nothing on the menu is above $12 at Midnight Cowboy or The Garage. Now compare that to the other cities on this list. I dunno if that's a great metric - or maybe it is and Austin's more expensive than you and I think. Cocktails at Gramercy Tavern are $14.
adrianparsons 12y ago
It's true that cocktails are extremely high quality in NY and generally the same price as they are elsewhere. That said, you can't get a $2 Shiner Bock here.
- clavalle 12y ago
  Please tell me where to get a $2 Shiner.
  - jkestner 12y ago
    HEB. More seriously, it takes a happy hour. Doc's takes half off all Texas beers.
wahsd 12y ago
I am not sure you are fully connected into the situation anymore. Rents have increased around 40% over 5 years on average and that includes the outlying areas that aren't really even Austin anymore. Home prices are skyrocketing and out of control, e.g., Mueller development is in the $800,000 range for 3/3 on what looks to be about a 1/8 acre lot where you have a car sized back yard and you're paying around 2% property taxes per year. Then there's also the Fitch assessment that Austin home prices are the most overvalued IN THE COUNTRY http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/blog/real-estate/2014/12/austin-home-prices-most-overvalued-in-the-country.html?page=all http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/blog/real-estate/2014/12/a... There is absolutely not way that the data is accurate, just alone the velocity of the Austin market guarantees that the data is inaccurate.
SwellJoe 12y ago
Eastside Showroom will be happy to serve you a $16 cocktail, and drink prices have climbed everywhere I frequent. It used to be easy to find $2-$3 decent beers in Austin... $4.50 is what Shiner costs these days. By any metric I can think of, Austin costs more than it did even three years ago. All of my favorite restaurants are $2-$3 more for an entree than they were when I lived here in the past. And some have been priced out of downtown. Thai Passion (my favorite Thai restaurant anywhere which used the have a $5.75 lunch special) closed recently, and they aren't alone. Again, it isn't California expensive but it's no longer Texas cheap either.

ChainsawSurgery 12y ago

> In Austin, nothing on the menu is above $12 at Midnight Cowboy or The Garage. Now compare that to the other cities on this list. I dunno if that's a great metric - or maybe it is and Austin's more expensive than you and I think. Cocktails at Gramercy Tavern are $14.

adrianparsons 12y ago

It's true that cocktails are extremely high quality in NY and generally the same price as they are elsewhere. That said, you can't get a $2 Shiner Bock here.

clavalle 12y ago
Please tell me where to get a $2 Shiner.
- jkestner 12y ago
  HEB. More seriously, it takes a happy hour. Doc's takes half off all Texas beers.

wahsd 12y ago

I am not sure you are fully connected into the situation anymore. Rents have increased around 40% over 5 years on average and that includes the outlying areas that aren't really even Austin anymore. Home prices are skyrocketing and out of control, e.g., Mueller development is in the $800,000 range for 3/3 on what looks to be about a 1/8 acre lot where you have a car sized back yard and you're paying around 2% property taxes per year. Then there's also the Fitch assessment that Austin home prices are the most overvalued IN THE COUNTRY http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/blog/real-estate/2014/12/austin-home-prices-most-overvalued-in-the-country.html?page=all http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/blog/real-estate/2014/12/a... There is absolutely not way that the data is accurate, just alone the velocity of the Austin market guarantees that the data is inaccurate.

SwellJoe 12y ago

Eastside Showroom will be happy to serve you a $16 cocktail, and drink prices have climbed everywhere I frequent. It used to be easy to find $2-$3 decent beers in Austin... $4.50 is what Shiner costs these days. By any metric I can think of, Austin costs more than it did even three years ago. All of my favorite restaurants are $2-$3 more for an entree than they were when I lived here in the past. And some have been priced out of downtown. Thai Passion (my favorite Thai restaurant anywhere which used the have a $5.75 lunch special) closed recently, and they aren't alone. Again, it isn't California expensive but it's no longer Texas cheap either.