Please, punch me in the face if you've heard this one before: Austin has been placed on a list of the best cities to live.
Based on the city's job market, relative affordability and quality of life, U.S. News and World Report put Austin on the top of its 100 places to live today, unseating Denver from the top spot. There are plenty of reasons to move to Austin – though, most people would strongly urge you to do the opposite – so we thought we'd collate some weird and not-so-weird reasons the city is a desirable home for newcomers and longtime Austinites alike.
Urban farming-friendliness
Inhabitat ranked Austin best overall city for urban farming in the U.S. in June of last year. The list cites the Sustainable Food Center’s involvement in the urban farm community as a booster for farming within the city limits, as well as a “forward-thinking” city policy, which means “residents can slaughter and sell chickens right in the city center.”
Facial hair-friendliness
Makers of beard-trimming accessories Wahl ranked Austin as the fifth for best destination for “guys with facial hair.” Austin apparently boasts the "most dynamic facial hair specimens and clubs around" and is "a mecca for facial fuzz," according to Wahl.
PETA placed Austin in the eighth slot for its list of most vegan-friendly cities. Crazy, right? You would’ve thought someone would’ve told you all about that by now.
Worker-friendliness
A LinkedIn report released last week suggests workers are flocking to Austin, but it also highlights Austin’s lopsided supply of workers, suggesting that Austin has a higher demand for service industry jobs.
Real estate and development-friendliness
In the least shocking news ever, Austin’s a pretty good town for real estate and development. The capital city surpassed Dallas in a 2017 prediction for top real estate city to take the top spot in a survey by the Urban Land Institute and PricewaterhouseCoopers. WalletHub also ranked Austin the fourth best town for real estate agents.
SpareFoot’s survey of dog-friendly cities cites Austin’s no-kill shelter policy and resplendent dog-friendly bars, restaurants and parks as proof that it’s the fifth most dog-friendly city in the U.S.
Austin’s apparently the sixth best place for singles, according to WalletHub. The survey cited an abundance of nightlife opportunities and a large share of single folks in the city’s population, as well as the relatively cheap cost of living among the 150 most populous cities nationwide.
Wildlife-friendliness
The World Wildlife Federation cites Austin’s cultivation of its urban bat population, the largest in the world, and its affinity for monarch and bird migration route preservation as reasons for top city for urban wildlife.
NIMBY-friendliness
Forbes contributor Scott Beyer placed Austin in the second-place slot of the best cities in Texas. Beyer argued the city’s baked-in aversion to growth, lack of walkability and low population density are why Austin feels “less like a big city than a glorified college town.”
UT Austin students apparently have a propensity to rack up sugar daddies, according to Seeking Arrangement. It’s not the first time this has been pointed out by the site, which traffics in matching sugar daddies with “sugar babies.” The site put UT Austin in the third spot on its last list.
