One of the benefits of working online, at least for most of us, is freedom in choosing where in the country we want to live. Not happy with where you are living? Crime, foreclosures, cost of living and/or narrow mindedness from the locals bringing you down? Consider Austin, Texas!Tell anyone that you live in Austin and you’ll get one of two responses nearly every time. From those not in the know, you’ll get “Isn’t that in TEXAS?” And from those in the know you’ll get either “I’ve heard great things about Austin,” or else “I love it there.” If the person is specifically from the Northeast or West Coast, it’s almost a guarantee you’ll get some form of ridicule… but you get used to it. After moving here in 2004 – I’m one of the few who successfully escaped Los Angeles – it took time to get used to the way of life here. But now I couldn’t imagine anything else.

There are of course a few downsides to living in Austin. A few that I can think of right away are: 1) Extreme heat (it’ll hit 95 degrees plus with high humidity for nearly 5 months straight; 2) Poorly planned streets and rapidly growing infrastructure (I.E. easy to get lost, lots of construction, quickly growing city, etc.); 3) Aggressive drivers (there is that NASCAR mentality with some of the locals); 4) You’re surrounded by Texas. But If you can get over these “issues” then you’ve got it made here.

What makes Austin so great? It’s got something for everyone. Education, family friendly offerings, the arts, very affordable living, high tech, sports… you name it, and it’s here. And if for some crazy reason it isn’t, a few hours drive in 3 directions to either Dallas, Houston or San Antonio will do the trick.

If you like music, you’ll love it here. Given that Austin is the self-proclaimed “live music capital of the world” it does a phenomenal job of trying to live up to that reputation. Frankly I have yet to go to a bar or club where the house band is anything worse than OK. Nine times out of ten you’ll see some random band that is really good. And everyone big comes here to play for local festivals South by Southwest (SXSW) every March and Austin City Limits every September. Bottom line is… it’s impossible to be bored here and you won’t go broke doing it.

Now the biggie. You’d think because you are in the heart of Texas that you are also in the heart of conservatism, meaning general hatred of our industry. Wrong. To be honest I’ve seen a higher percentage of anti-Bush bumper stickers here than I did in LA. There’s a reason why the rural outlying areas refer to Austin as “that damn hippie liberal capital city”… it’s because, well… it is. There are liberal demonstrations here, Travis county (the main county of Austin) always goes “blue,” and frankly putting aside all legalities in the pious state of Texas, you mention porn to people here and they don’t freak out. Granted that isn’t to say that everyone is like that… sure, this city has its share of bible-bangers and judgmental people, cowboys and neo-cons (and NO, they are not all one in the same!), but visit here and stay awhile and you’ll see why this is place is the oasis I tout it to be.

I’ve met plenty of people in the adult biz here, as well as others who are just interested in it, and I’ve made some friends along the way. Let me tell you there is no shortage of beautiful women to shoot in this city. A quick trip to the University of Texas campus or a walk down the famed 6th Street scene at night is all the proof you’ll need.

Oh and let’s not forget… should you ever find yourself down here, you’ve got yourself your own personal tour guide. So, the next time you feel the need to uproot… head on over to the 512 and see what all the hype is about, and how those of us in Austin live up to it every day.