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Does anyone here have any thoughts on Austin vs. Dallas for corporate work? I currently have SA offers in both cities and I'm somewhat torn. Austin seems like a great place to live, but Dallas seems like a bigger/better market for transactional work and might be a better career decision in the long-run.

Has anyone else compared these two markets?

(Mods, please don't unanon - the number of biglaw SA offers in Austin is pretty small, at least from what I can tell).

Austin's an okay place to live, but Dallas seems just as good. Is there something you specifically dislike about Dallas, and what level of experience do you have with it?

Hikikomorist wrote:Austin's an okay place to live, but Dallas seems just as good. Is there something you specifically dislike about Dallas, and what level of experience do you have with it?

I'd rather not get too specific if that's okay, but my ties are stronger to Austin than Dallas. I don't have anything specifically against Dallas; I've visited a few times. Would hours/quality-of-life be about the same in Dallas as Austin, or is that super firm-specific?

Anonymous User wrote:

Hikikomorist wrote:Austin's an okay place to live, but Dallas seems just as good. Is there something you specifically dislike about Dallas, and what level of experience do you have with it?

I'd rather not get too specific if that's okay, but my ties are stronger to Austin than Dallas. I don't have anything specifically against Dallas; I've visited a few times. Would hours/quality-of-life be about the same in Dallas as Austin, or is that super firm-specific?

Sorry, but I'm not qualified to speak on that.

Austin seems like a great place to live, but I did have a Corporate partner at one of the biggest firms there tell me specifically not to start my corporate career there because the work is so limited compared to a market like Houston or Dallas.

The cities are polar opposites culturally, but Dallas probably has more/better work. The idea of living in Dallas is a pretty massive deterrent IMHO tho

Dallas is actually a really fun city with a lot to offer that I frequently see people shitting on who've never actually been or spent much time in it. That being said, Austin is much more of a hipster/college town whereas as Dallas is much more fratty/yuppy. But Dallas is also big enough that you can find a lot of variety. Deep Ellum, for example, has a much more Austin-y feel than you would expect in Dallas. Lower Greenville, Bishop Arts, Design District, etc. all offer variety as well. There's a lot more than just the Dallas stereotype. It's still not Austin though.

IMO considering the more sophisticated work in Dallas it seems like that would be a better career move whether you just started there or stayed there, and that it also wouldn't be horribly difficult to lateral Dallas to Austin if you really wanted to. Might even end up liking it, who knows.