10 Years of Austin

Not to be dramatic, but today is a day I never thought would happen. Today marks 10 years since I moved to Austin, Texas. Like so many millenials, I made the journey to Austin after graduating college for an entry level job. Except unlike many millenials who lived here, I was at least somewhat familar with Austin when I moved here. I also never thought I’d live here, let alone live here for a decade.

I should set the scene. My maternal grandparents moved here in the 1970s and my mom grew up in Austin. My grandparents still live in the same house they bought when they moved here for my grandfather’s job at IBM (often jokingly referred to as the shorthand for “I’ve Been Moved”). So as a kid, I made multiple trips a year to Austin to visit both my maternal grandparents, and for a time, my paternal grandparents who lived in Georgtown, about 30 miles north of Austin.

When I say I-35 is probably one of my most traveled roads, I mean it.

But as a kid, it was a lot of time at my grandparents’ house, and not a lot of exploring the town. I thought Austin was boring, because I was a kid and never got to really experience the town when I came to visit. I swore I’d never move here.

Then right around the time I graduated college, I was in town for Christmas and I just felt it. There was something in my soul, in my body, whatever you want to call it, I just knew deep down that I was going to end up in Austin.

And then I ended up landing a job working for a political firm in the midst of the 2016 election. And I’ve been here ever since. At thirty-two, a decade is almost a third of my life and so much has happened since then.

I’ve worked in politics, in legal tech, in customer support and sales. I’ve worked at Apple for a contract, I’ve worked from home, I’ve done two stints being unemployed. And through all of that, Austin has been my home. With it’s weird weather and ungodly amount of cockroaches.

The first few years of being Austin, I did Austin things. Went to coffee shops, breweries, sports events, I tried to get out and about in town and go to events. I love how many independent places there are here - from bookstores to breweries to coffee shops. I love the history of this place, especially considering I didn’t at one point. I’ve been here through some of the scariest times in Austin - like the 2018 serial bombing scenario, Covid, and the 2021 ice storm - and yet, this place has become home.

While I’ve become much more of a homebody since covid, there’s this desire to still explore the city I live in and I hope I get to do more of that for a long time.

Never thought I’d be here, but here we are 10 years into Austin and I don’t see myself leaving for at least a few more years. Whether it’s two or ten years or twenty more, here’s to the next adventure, Austin.