AI generatedn° 263, north america
Austin, united states.
For US-based remote workers optimizing for zero state tax and a tech network without LA / SF prices.
- cost / mo
- $2,286
- internet
- 250 Mbps
- visa-free · eu
- 90 days
straight answers about Austin
the scores
Four perspectives on city fit.
Open any score for a plain-language view of the city's strengths and tradeoffs.
your monthly budget
default $700–$4,500 range · drag to personalize
score priority
balanced across the factors that matter
Scores adapt to your selected budget and priority. Each ring is clickable for a plain-language breakdown of the city's strengths and tradeoffs.
monthly cost · solo nomad
Tier 1 · all components verifiedRent · central 1 BR | $1,457 |
Food · groceries + modest dining | $410 |
Mobile · 20 GB plan | $50 |
Utilities · electricity + heat + water | $0 |
Transit · monthly pass | $41 |
Coworking · 4 days/month baseline | $120 |
Buffer · 10% for variance + occasional weekend trips | $208 |
Total solo burn | $2,286 |
Tier 1 = all components verified for this city/country; Tier 2 = rent verified + country-baseline components; Tier 3 = approximate. Solo nomad baseline assumes one person, central 1-bedroom, modest groceries, 20 GB mobile, 4 paid coworking days/month. Where the rent basis above notes a private-market premium, expat condo budgets run higher than this baseline.
in one sentence · curated
ExpatWhy editorial.
Austin marketed itself into the most-imitated nomad city in the US over a decade and now wears the consequences, a tech-saturated metropolis trying to remember it was a college town with live music.
editorial
The case & the friction.
The case: Texas has no state income tax, the airport is a 6-hour radius to most US tech cities, the food scene is dense (BBQ, tacos, Tex-Mex), the music remains (Continental Club, ACL), and the housing supply has caught up dramatically, central 1-bedroom rents have softened to roughly $1,100-1,750 by mid-2026, well below the 2022 peak. Austin is now a relative bargain against its own 2022 narrative.
The friction is the summer. June through September runs 35-40°C+ for weeks; outdoor life is dawn or after sunset only. The city has grown faster than its transit; Austin is car-required except in a handful of central blocks, and the I-35 corridor is the longest urban traffic jam in Texas. Allergens (cedar fever) cripple some new arrivals.
Air is moderate (PM2.5 around 10 µg/m³ annual). No earthquake exposure. Hurricane remnants reach Austin occasionally but the city sits inland. Tornado risk is low-moderate March-May.
verdict
For US-based remote workers optimizing for zero state tax and a tech network without LA / SF prices.
work & connectivity
Getting work done.
work-friendly density · OSM
Strong for laptop work.
coworking spaces
4
wifi cafés
29
In practice: Workable but thin, 4 coworking spaces and 29 wifi cafés. A hotel-with-desk or one good coworking membership covers most days.
© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL 1.0
tax & stay reality · United States
Tax resident from 365 weighted days under the Substantial Presence Test.
residency trigger
365
weighted days, SPT
top marginal rate
37%
on highest bracket
scope
Worldwide
Worldwide income taxed
expat / nomad regime
FEIE excludes foreign earned income up to the annual IRS limit (~$130-134k for 2026 per Rev. Proc. inflation adjustment) under either Bona Fide Residence or Physical Presence test.
tax treaty with
US passport holders are taxed on worldwide income forever, regardless of physical location, unique among major economies. FEIE + housing exclusion or full tax treaty credit are the workarounds.
Sources: country tax authority + Wikipedia "Taxation in United States" (CC-BY-SA) · last reviewed 2026-05-22.
Verifywhen to visit
Twelve months of weather.
best month
Oct
Visit in October, 25°C, only 4mm of rain.
Off-season January–February, weather turns to 8°C and 112mm of rain, and hotel rates typically drop 20–40% from peak.
temperaturerainfallcurrent monthbest month
air quality · 12 months verified
When the air turns.
Hourly PM2.5 averaged by calendar month from modelled atmospheric data, window 2025-07-08 → 2026-07-07. WHO annual guideline is 5 µg/m³.
annual mean
7.8µg/m³
Good
worst month
Feb · 10 µg/m³
Good
cleanest month
Nov · 6 µg/m³
Good
annual swing
4 µg/m³
Stable year-round
Cleanest air in November (6 µg/m³); worst in February (10 µg/m³).
Annual mean is well within WHO targets, no special precautions needed.
Modelled, not measured at a station: near coasts atmospheric models can count sea salt as PM2.5 and read high against ground networks. Read the curve, not the absolute.
natural risk
The numbers other sites don't show.
seismic risk · 50 yr · 200 km
No M5+ ever recorded nearby.
M5+ events
0
M6+ events
0
largest
–
In practice: No M5+ quakes recorded within 200 km in 50 years, earthquake-bag and insurance aren't decisions you need to make for this city.
tropical storms · 46 yr · 200 km
Low cyclone exposure.
named storms
18
cat 1+ hurricanes
2
In practice: 18 named storms tracked in 46 years, but only 2 reached hurricane strength, light exposure, mostly a planning footnote for beach trips.
–Austin marketed itself into the most-imitated nomad city in the US over a decade and now wears the consequences, a tech-saturated metropolis trying to remember it was a college town with live music.
quality of life
Sun for more than three thousand hours a year, almost no grey winter.
3,416
hours
Modelled 12-month sum
country-level rights indicator
country-level safety indicator
12-month modelled average
derived from monthly rainfall
vs Berlin 09–17 · America/Chicago
moving with family
Bringing kids? The school-fee reality.
showhide
moving with family
Bringing kids? The school-fee reality.
family education · annual tuition
International primary school in Austin costs about
$1,917 / month for 1 child, international primary.
Range for 1 child: $15,000 to $35,000 / year (mid-market to premium).
adjust
children
stage
Tuition only. Excludes one-off enrolment/capital levies, school bus, lunch, uniforms and exam fees, which add materially at most schools.
–For US-based remote workers optimizing for zero state tax and a tech network without LA / SF prices.
ExpatWhy editorial
what to know
Pros & cons.
pros
- Fast residential internet
- Low air pollution (annual PM2.5)
- Strong international school options
- Lively nightlife and dining
cons
- Safety concerns, research neighborhoods
visa & stay
How long can you stay?
- digital nomad visa
- No, not yet
- visa-free for EU passport
- 90 days
- visa-free for US passport
- ∞
visa figures as of August 2026 · verify with official immigration sources before traveling
before you go
What to plan around.
Drawn only from the verified figures on this page, the things worth knowing before you book.
Pronounced wet season
Rain peaks around Apr, May & Jun, up to 267 mm in the wettest month. Time a visit for the drier half of the year.
Tropical storm exposure
2 hurricanes and 18 tropical storms passed within 200 km over 46 years. Avoid peak storm season and check that travel insurance covers weather disruption.
compare side-by-side
Austin versus three popular alternatives.
you might also like
Where to go next.
Closer on the map, closer on the wallet, or closer on the way it feels.
closest on the map
Other cities in the United States.
Same sub-region, short flights, similar climate, comparable visa landscape.
north america
7.0Houston, united states.
A mid-tier north america option with workable visa-free EU access.
north america
6.9Dallas, united states.
A mid-tier north america option with workable visa-free EU access.
north america
6.7Oklahoma City, united states.
A mid-tier north america option with workable visa-free EU access.
closest on the wallet
Other mid-tier cities, different continent.
Same band as Austin, mid-tier ($1,500–3,000), outside north america.
oceania
7.0Hamilton, new zealand.
A mid-tier oceania option with workable visa-free EU access.
europe
8.0Helsinki, finland.
A mid-tier europe option with workable visa-free EU access.
europe
7.7Aarhus, denmark.
A mid-tier europe option with workable visa-free EU access.
closest on the way it feels
Same wellbeing, different climate.
Cities that score like Austin on quality-of-life but trade humid subtropical for something else.
north america
7.1Las Vegas, united states.
A mid-tier north america option with workable visa-free EU access.
asia
8.4Nara, japan.
A budget asia option with workable visa-free EU access.
asia
8.0Kuching, malaysia.
A budget asia option with a nomad-visa pathway.
where Austin ranks
Austin also makes these lists.
Cities with the fastest internet for remote work
250 Mbps country median internet
Cities with the cleanest air, ranked by verified PM2.5
8 µg/m³ annual PM2.5 verified by CAMS
Seismically safest cities for long-term moves
no M5+ earthquakes within 200 km in 50 years
The sunniest cities for digital nomads
3,416 sun hours / year
Cities with dedicated nomad / expat tax regimes
FEIE excludes foreign earned income up to the annual IRS limit (~$130-134k for 2026 per Rev. Proc. inflation a…
head to head
frequently asked
Austin, honest answers.
- How much does it cost to live in Austin per month?
- A solo nomad in Austin runs roughly $2,286/month, broken down as rent $1457 (verified), food $410, mobile $50, utilities $0, transit $41, plus coworking and a 10% buffer. That puts it in the mid-tier tier globally.
- How much does international school cost in Austin?
- International primary school in Austin costs about $23,000/year per child (range $15,000 to $35,000, mid-market to premium), a national-average baseline for United States applied to Austin, not a quote from a specific school here. Full-day international preschool runs about $14,000/year per child. International secondary is higher: we model it around $30,000/year per child as a grade uplift over primary, a modelled estimate, not a separately sourced figure. Tuition only; it excludes one-off enrolment/capital levies, bus, lunch, uniforms and exam fees, which add materially at most schools.
- What is the tax situation for nomads in United States?
- Tax residency triggers at 365 weighted days under the Substantial Presence Test. Residents are taxed on worldwide income. Top marginal personal income tax is 37%. FEIE excludes foreign earned income up to the annual IRS limit (~$130-134k for 2026 per Rev. Proc. inflation adjustment) under either Bona Fide Residence or Physical Presence test. Verify current details at the country's tax authority, link on the city's Tax & Stay card.
- What visa do I need to live in Austin?
- EU passports get 90 days visa-free; US passports get 9999 days. Longer stays require a residence permit or remote-worker visa, verify at the country's official immigration site.
- How is the air quality in Austin?
- Annual PM2.5 averages 8 µg/m³, which above WHO target but moderate. The 12-month curve on this page shows the seasonal swing, many cities have a sharp burning season or winter inversion that doesn't show in the annual number.
- Is Austin safe for solo female travelers?
- United States scores 6.5/10 on the women's-safety indicator, generally safe with normal urban precautions. Country-level scores; major cities often differ from country averages, especially by neighborhood.
- When is the best time to visit Austin?
- Oct typically scores best on our combined comfort index, average temperature 25°C, low rainfall, high sunshine. Each city's Climate Chart on this page shows the full 12-month picture.
- Are there earthquakes in Austin?
- No M5+ earthquakes have been recorded within 200 km of Austin in the last 50 years. Seismically clean, one of the safest cities on this metric.
where it is
Austin on the map.
Austin, United States, North America.
30.2672, -97.7431
Map tiles & data © OpenStreetMap contributors.