Where to move in Texas? 2 choices…

Hey everyone! I am a (almost) 24 F who has lived in Ohio her entire life. I’ve been wanting the push to jump out of my comfort zone and live in a new city, there’s nothing else left for me in Ohio. I am in the interview process, one job in Dallas which pays somewhere between 55-88k (large range I know), and then a job in Austin which pays between 70-80k. i’m not sure which city I would like more as I haven’t visited either of them, but I was kind of hoping for some opinions of people from the area. Some pros for Dallas for me would be a lower cost of living (compared to Austin) and a very huge population full of diverse people. I am South Asian, and I would love to meet people from every background, but would love to be surrounded by fellow South Asians to feel at home. Some pros for Austin would be I would be surrounded by a lot of people in my age group, and there is a lot of beautiful nature in the city that you can’t get in dallas. however the price of living in Austin is extremely high. i’m also not sure if it is as diverse as i would hope. Below are some of my interests and more about me to kind of get a sense of what may be a better fit:

  • I love exploring new areas and going thrifting, trying out new restaurants and going out to bars
  • Would love to live in a friendly city where it can be (hopefully not too hard) to make friends
  • I don’t really want to spend more than $1500 on rent….
  • I’m pretty introverted, so although I will like to meet new people and go out, i love my alone time
  • I like being outdoors when it’s nice out! given I am from Ohio, my friends and I like to go to Lake erie and the Ohio river (from cleveland, went to school in cincinnati) and kind of try to be in that area and go hiking on trails nearby.
  • as mentioned earlier, I am South Asian but I’m a big foodie. I would like to be in an area where I can pick up good Mediterranean, Hispanic, Thai, Indian, Chinese, Italian, etc etc when I’m craving it.

I can provide more information if anyone needs a it, I kind of was looking for some opinions from Native Texans themselves or transplants who have moved. Please give your honest candid opinions as I will love to hear your input! :)