Austin, Texas is one of America’s up-and-coming cities. Over the last 30 years, the Austin metropolitan area went from being a glorified college town/government city that had a population of barely over 500,000 in 1990 to a population well over 2 million in 2024.
Austin is home to the University of Texas at Austin, one of the leading party schools in the country. It’s also become a major tech hub that has drawn young tech professionals nationwide and worldwide, for that matter, to form part of its ever-growing social ecosystem.
Although, COVID-19 threw a temporary wrench in night life activity, Austin’s night life has returned to form and remains one of the more vibrant night-life scenes in the U.S for people in the 18-40 demographic.
Austin is unique due to how it’s one of the last cities where one can still run conventional cold approach/night game without issues. The combination of UT girls and the ever growing talent pool of fitness conscious transplants has made the city one of the best spots for young professionals to mingle IRL.
That said, the quality and quantity of female talent is considerably better during the school year. During the summer, those prospects tend to drop off considerably.
In my opinion, the best area to game and network in Austin remains West 6th. It can get wild, but it still has a relatively classy demographic that’s ready to mingle. It generally attracts the hottest girls in the 22-35 age range.
West 6th Spots
Buford’s
Green Light Social
Mayfair
The Beez Kneez
The Betty
The Cat’s Pajamas
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot Icehouse
Wiggle room
I’m honestly not a fan of Dirty Sixth these days. I used to go frequently when I attended UT Austin, which feels like eons ago. Dirty Sixth has generally gone downhill in recent years. It’s largely filled with Austin’s dregs of society, and fights will break out on any given weekend. In some cases, shoot outs will occur. Not the safest, most attractive place to go out.
Though there are some spots that are decent. Definitely a younger, more ghetto crowd compared to other parts of the city.
Dirty Sixth Spots
Firehouse Hostel and Lounge
Maggie Mae’s
Midnight Cowboy
Shakespeare's
The Driskill Bar
The Betty
Mayfair
The Ranch
The Jackalope
East Austin is quite intriguing. I used to frequent it a lot during my university days. I occasionally go out there, but it's not really my cup of tea. The crowd here tends to be more artsy, indie, and alternative. This is the “keeping it weird” part of Austin that still largely maintains its original character despite the major changes the city has gone through in recent times.
The area has gentrified a bit and has become more walkable. Overall it’s a solid spot to hang out at throughout the day.
East Austin
IYKYK Rooftop Bar
Latchkey
Shangri-La
The Lucky Duck
Located in northwest Austin, the Domain is an outdoor mall area that’s high density and teeming with activity. It’s one of the new spots in Austin, and It’s arguably the best location to do daygame in Austin.
The Domain tends to have some of the loosest women in all of Austin, albeit not as good looking and definitely older compared to West 6th. Nevertheless, I’ve seen a good deal of game newbies get laid with relative ease here. Girls that go out at night here are looking for action.
The Domain
77° Rooftop Patio Bar
Kung Fu Saloon
Rose Room
The Dogwood Domain
Wonder Bar
I would add that Austin has a very vibrant fitness and co-working community. Groups such as Sweatpals and co-working spaces such as Vuka and the Sapien Center allow for independent-minded people to mingle and build solid networks. This non-game aspect of Austin social life is very underrated.
With Joe Rogan and countless other fitness influencers moving to Austin, the city is becoming one of the fittest in the country. This lies in contrast to other major Texas metro areas that are notorious for having some of the highest obesity rates in the country.
Overall, Austin is a solid city for fit, young professionals who want to expand their professional network and their dating options to settle down at.
I want to thank José for writing this. You can find him here on Twitter.
Until next time,
-BTSC
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