Neighbors like you
People from East Austin to Circle C who share what they see, pay, and experience where they live.
A city that keeps becoming itself
Our Austin covers the everyday of living here — rent, traffic, schools, tacos, and the neighborhoods that changed more in ten years than in the forty before — and elevates what the people here actually know.
Our values
We believe a city knows itself best. Our Austin gathers what residents know about their own city and hands it back to everyone, so the people who sit in I-35 traffic, run the food trailers, and raise kids here are the ones describing the place they live.
Who we are
The people who keep it Austin
Our Austin is powered by the neighbors it serves.
Writers & researchers
Contributors who track what's opening, closing, changing, and costing more from the Domain to Riverside.
Editors & staff
Professionals who coordinate coverage and keep every story fair, current, and grounded in Austin.
Participation
A platform you help build
Our Austin thrives on neighbors who share what they know and help each other read a city that doubled in a generation.
01
ENGAGE
Make your voice heard
Start by reading and weighing in. Share how it looks from your side of the river and flag what we missed.
02
CONNECT
Join the WE community
Become a full member and help decide what Austin weighs in on next.
03
CREATE
Contribute to coverage
Suggest a topic, tell us what a brisket plate or an AC repair really costs now, or propose new questions to ask.
04
INFLUENCE
Become a community leader
Help guide what we cover next and bring new arrivals and lifelong locals into the community.
Stronger together
WE ARE COMMUNITY
When you weigh in on Our Austin, you add your voice to WE — the movement of people in cities across the country who compare notes on real life and want to be heard. It's free to join, always opt-in, and your privacy is protected.
WE
move·ment
noun — a group of people working together to advance their shared mission
The WE community unites people who care about our collective future and want to take action to improve it.
Closer to home
ONE CITY, ONE VOICE
Every answer you give here stays about Austin — your neighborhood, your commute, your tax bill. The more of us who weigh in, the sharper the picture gets, down to the block.
What we cover
Life on both sides of I-35
01
City Hall
The decisions made downtown that land on your block, including the tax bill — explained plainly.
02
Public Safety
How safe people feel on their own streets, and what's changing as the city keeps growing.
03
Home & Family
Rent, buying, schools, pets, and the household math of a city that priced itself up in a decade.
04
Things to Do
Barbecue, tacos, venues, and the greenbelt — the reasons people put up with the traffic.
05
Money
What things cost in a city where the property tax bill rivals the rent — housing, childcare, groceries — and how households make the math work.
06
Local Business
The food trailers, the venues, and the shops on South Congress and beyond — and what it takes to keep the lights on as rents climb.
07
Jobs & Economy
The employers that reshaped this city, what they pay, and what happens when hiring slows.
08
Health
Ascension Seton, St. David's, Dell Med, and the clinics in between — the everyday health decisions Austin families make for themselves.
09
Sports
The Longhorns, Austin FC, and a town that will line up for a Saturday in either stadium.
10
Weather
Hundred-degree Septembers, flash floods, and the ice storm nobody is ever ready for.
Why now
It matters more than ever
Everyone has an opinion about Austin, and a decade of headlines about who moved here has crowded out the simpler question of what it's actually like now. The people living it have the answer and rarely get asked for it.
We're here so the people who live in Austin are the ones describing it.