Austin is one of the most social cities in the country. From social media to Thursday night social bike rides, Austinites are social people. We spend more money dining out, have more festivals, and more bars per capita than most other cities. Combine that with the number of days of sun and you’ll understand why Austin is considered one of the happiest places in the United States. Tapping into these experiences and forging new friendships will be the key to your happiness in Austin.
#SocialinAustin
There’s no doubt that moving to a new city ranks as one of the most stressful events in a person’s life. Quickly meeting new people is one of the best ways to adjust to your new city. There’s plenty of posts that discuss the best ways to be social around town, but we’d like to start with two rules for socializing in Austin.
First, don’t hide behind your computer or phone. Get out of your house, go to events, and be social. The law of attraction definitely applies to this rule. If you only spend time online, all you’ll attract are the people that sit online. If you only go to the bars, you’ll only attract bar rats. Austin can be as small or large of a city as you want it to be. If you take advantage of all the events, festivals, meetups, bars around town, and sports and social groups, you’ll discover the many levels of Austin and meet all sorts of people.
Second, we’ll go ahead and coin Austin as the “City of Friendships.” Because Austin is more complex than it appears, you’ll need to make friends to introduce you to other people and help you discover the many sides of Austin. Hands down, the #1 way to meet people is through friends that share similar interests. Even though there are 1.2 million people (2010) in the Austin MSA, if you stay in one area and go to the same two places you’ll feel like there are only 25 people. The reality is there are a lot of gay guys in Austin that don’t go out to the bars or downtown. Be true to yourself, identify groups that share similar interests, get out and be social, and follow up with people you’ve met on Facebook or Twitter. Your ability to be social will determine your success in a social city.
The Austin State of Mind
The one thing you’ll want to do when moving to Austin is check your mindset at the door. There’s definitely an Austin state of mind. It may take you a year or two to tap into, but you’ll get there. Let’s look at what it takes to make it in Austin. Austinites are laid back, low-drama, easy-going, and fun. If you’re moving with the mindset you can barge in, honk your horn, climb up the social ladder, or sleep your way through the city without causing drama, you may want to re-consider the move. Although you have the absolute right to do whatever you’d like, if you’re of the dramatic kind you’ll probably go from group to group and end up not liking the gay scene. Hopefully we can save you a little time here. Austin is a city that values friendships over acquaintances, fun over drama, and community respect over individual greed. If you run into someone still adjusting to the Austin State of Mind, ask them where they’re originally from and how long they’ve been in Austin. Our bet will be less than a year!
To keep up with GayinAustinTexas.com, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, or receive direct email updates. If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to contact us. If you’ve recently moved to Austin and are looking to meet others that have moved here as well, connect on Twitter at #SocialinAustin or @GayinAustin.
Photo Credit: 6th Street, aGLIFF,