I fear I’ll never make it to Austin

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I used to dream about moving to Austin and what I would do there. I hoped to attend UT and find my niche, see all the bands I’ve wanted to see since they’ve toured there many times before COVID halted music touring, make new friends, and meet a loving partner who accepts me for who I am instead of expecting me to be a hyper aggressive jerk like most men in the Central Texas region are pressured to be like.

My dream to do so has pretty much fallen and smashed on the ground. I don’t have enough money to even move out, I don’t have a college degree for a job that would pay me to keep a place to stay, and my attempts to make social connections when I’ve visited the city fail to be successful.

Considering what happened to me earlier today, I will most likely not make it now.

One can earn and save more money towards a goal. Not all jobs that pay enough to accumulate savings or live in the city require a college degree - in fact, I’d say most don’t. Just hard work. And yes some degree of social success in terms of getting hired or getting a contract or making a sale etc but often one can earn a reasonable sum of money by simply working for it. Like a Force (N) X distance (m) type work.

Don’t stress yourself over making social connections when you do visit the city. Just enjoy the place and your time there, the event you go to attend or band you see etc - make the most of your primary purpose there and truly enjoy it. IF some social connection ever happens to naturally & organically occur, ok, cool, accept it into your life. If not, whatever, enjoy the anime convention or live band.

I forget that even though the cost of living there is high, there are those in Austin who often get laughed off by outsiders in Texas itself as “starving artists” but they still get by since Austin is very different than most of the Central Texas region and they manage to carve their niche there. I don’t see it as something to be mocked but something that should be admired. There is a reason why the city’s slogan is “Keep Austin Weird”.

I really do miss anime conventions, the arcades, and music clubs in Austin. I was stoked to see Bad Religion back in April but then big bad COVID came along.

Same thing here where it’s extremely expensive to live. People figure out a way.. roommates, living in rvs/cars etc. People find a way to get by.

Strange, I’ve only ever heard of that as Portland’s slogan. (Oregon)

You should never give up on your dreams.

My state is strange. Groceries are generally affordable (unless you want organic in which you’ll have to pay a little more for) but stuff that is considered non-essential can cost you an arm and a leg, especially if it isn’t heavily marketed. I don’t mind, though. I want to support my friends’ comic book shops

Portland and Austin are similar cities so that doesn’t surprise me. Louisville, Kentucky has the same kind of slogan.

Interesting. Where I live, strange is an understatement.. it’s a bizzaro world economic blackhole of inexplainability - well, especially according to politicians.. apparently it’s us local wage earners that have driven home prices up to $1.4M and made us the Super Car Capital of North America.

Anyways, I digress. Back on topic & the purpose of my post:

I am curious as to what the numbers are. Like, how big is the divide between your income & being able to afford to move to and live in Austin? What would your job pay in Austin vs where you are? What additional source of income could you add now or work towards to build savings? What additional income opportunities exist in Austin that could close the gap and make living there possible?

I’m curious if you’ve even crunched the numbers. Often times people convince themselves that something is out of their price range and they can’t afford it - then when they find out how much it costs they wonder why they didn’t just go ahead and buy it or do the thing years earlier. Or they ASSUME there’s a huge gap in affordability, say $2000/mo, but then when they find out what wages are in the place they want to live, and explore rental listings and find a small basement suite or old apartment for a lot less than they thought, maybe the gap is only $200/mo and it’s entirely realistic for them to take on a once a week part time job that more than makes up the difference. Or some online opportunity etc.

Have you crunched the numbers to see how far apart your funds & cash flow are from being able to live in Austin? Or have you merely assumed it’s too difficult to achieve?

I am unsure about answering all your questions because I haven’t really given much thought to that stuff but I’ll try to answer some of them.

I make about $650 (lowballing my paychecks) a month and apparently that would barely allow me to live in a dumpy level apartment. That’s what my mother and some others have told me. I can’t really contest that with them because I am poor at math. I assume I would have to work full time instead of part time and cut out spending on eating out, buying stuff I am passionate in (I haven’t bought any new music CDs since September, a new video game since March, no new anime DVDs for myself since last year, I only buy a select few manga titles, and I am only sticking to a handful of comic titles now so there is that), and probably sell some stuff if I can.

My aunt, uncle, and two older cousins have lived in Austin for decades but people I know who’ve lived there for less than that amount of time have told me the cost of living got very high as more and more people moved to the city and they couldn’t cut it so they had to leave. My therapist told me she owns a condo there while still living in the countryside of the city I live in but my friend who owns a comic book shop said he tried living in a condo there and barely lasted. I wonder if his divorce played a role in it.

like most things in life
work out where you wanna go / what you want to achieve

and then work backwards
work out a plan

as long as what you want is realistic
(i mean, move to mars may be a bit more of a long ball,.. but Austin... maybe not)

Rome wasn't built in a day though
so don't expect it to happen over night

On the bright side, $650/mo income would allow you to live in a dumpy apartment.

$650/mo here would rent you a bedroom in a place with a few roommates an hour’s drive away from the city.

You work part time now. How much do you work? Can you work more? Is work available?

If increasing your income = working full time, then do that if you can. Prove to yourself that you Can handle working full time and sustain it. Then you’ll know if you can do it where you are now, you can do it in Austin and know you can pay your bills.

Have you considered contacting Vocational Rehab offices in your area if there are any?

VR helps people with certain conditions (including people on the spectrum) find work.

Have you thought about a co-op? There are a few in Austin. A few of my friends lived in some when I was at UT. Many of the people who lived in them weren't college students. It was really affordable and some come with meals. There's a communal dining area, and communal TV areas etc. Its a good way to meet people too. You may be able to afford it with what you're making especially if at least 2 meals come with the rent of your room. And if you want spending money for concerts etc maybe work just one more day a week?

I'll see if I can find out the name of the 2 I've spent time at. Its been awhile since I graduated and my memory isn't what it used to be one of them was really nice and calm atmosphere, lots of outdoor sitting areas etc and they even allowed pets. Ugh. Its killing me I can't remember what its called.

Locked on request.