21 Hours in Austin, TX

Being an expat can lead you down some wacky paths, like flying to Texas for less than 24 hours just to do some admin. Once you get over the annoyance, the fun part is you get an excuse to visit one of your favorite places.

We’ve just spent the last 2 weeks visiting family on the East Coast, and in between stays with my parents and my in-laws, I popped down to Austin for a day to get some paperwork done. Austin was the last place we lived before moving abroad, and we spent a solid 6 years there. It’s always interesting visiting places you once called home, never knowing if you’re just feeling nostalgic or if it really is the greatest city you never should have left.

Driving into the city, my stomach almost hurt from the nostalgia. Spotting UT campus and the capitol building from I-35 felt like coming home, but then I looked towards downtown and realized just how different things are now. You can barely glimpse the old iconic buildings like the Frost Tower because of all of the new builds. Rainey Street is transformed—instead of a quiet street of bungalows, it’s now Manhattanesque with skyscrapers.

Austin gets a lot of attention these days for how much it’s changed, with complaints about the influx of big tech second HQs, the “Californication” of Texas, the loss of weirdness, the surging homeless population, the changing skyline, the astronomical real estate prices, and worsening traffic. Just to name a few.

On this quick visit, the city felt simultaneously so different and exactly the same. Yes, the skyline has changed enormously, but walking around downtown felt very much like the downtown I knew years ago. I went to Juiceland, Jo’s Coffee, and Lamberts. I bumped into an old friend just walking down the street after lunch. From ground level, it still felt like a small-town city.

That said, the changes are unmissable.

Blocks that were empty lots or one-story warehouses when I lived there are now skyscrapers and hotels. I turned the corner while walking with friends, and we were greeted by a robot wishing us Happy Fourth of July. South Congress only has a passing resemblance to what it was a decade ago. I’m not sure Austin needs an Hermès store, but maybe that’s just me.

On the plus side, there’s Equipment Room, which brings Japanese Jazz Kissa to Austin’s music-soaked culture, a mix I never could have predicted would actually be relevant to me. And the one new place I tried for dinner nailed what I think of as Austin charm: Nômadé on South 1st is housed in an old bungalow and beautifully designed, with a fresh take on Yucatan Mexican cuisine.

Oh, and Austin Airport has the best food of any airport I’ve been to. There are dozens of places to choose from (unlike CDG, which has maybe 2 options on a good day) and they’re all outposts of local staples: Salt Lick, Peached Tortilla, Taco Deli. You could do a full Austin food tour without ever leaving the airport.

Austin may not be my city anymore, but it’s still one of the best.

It was more the same than I expected, and I felt truly recharged with joy from seeing old friends, bumping into others on the street, and, yes, eating some of my favorite things. I experienced the best of everything in my 21 hours in Austin. And I got my admin done.