Traffic in Austin is insane. Legit insane. Definitely comparable to the Bay Area if not worse.

And there is absolutely no transit alternative comparable to BART. There is a morning and evening train, but it's really only effective if you live and work exactly on the stops.

If you ever do come visit Austin, learn to love I-35.

It's a weird mix of nascar and bumper cars, but also rolling parking lot.

Edit: It's the main way you'll go North/South here. Often times I'll double the commute taking side streets just to avoid 35 - depends on the day/time/personal interest in sport driving.

People have been pouring in to Austin for years and Austin has done nothing in terms of infrastructure. Traffic is a nightmare.

Central Austin corridor (35) is radically worse than anything in the bay.

> 17 miles, 24 minutes

This is genuinely hilarious. Perhaps this is true at midnight, or during the early days of the pandemic. 17 miles in Austin is well over an hour at peak commuting times.

I mean, I haven't lived in Austin in a decade, and I know the east side neighborhoods are becoming more desireable, but my point is that it's an isolated area. You've got 71 and MLK as your only access to central Austin, so you're extremely limited in commuting. Any further development will quickly make the current Austin traffic paradigm problematic for anyone who isn't living on the east side. 130 does make pfugerville and south austin accessible though, but it's a toll road.