Digital Nomad’s Guide to Austin
Believe the hype: Austin is an extremely cool city with vibrant energy and tons of great music, food, and innovation. Though it is a little small…and in Texas…
(Want to know what Austin sounds like? Here’s a playlist of local tunes.)
Austin, TX Coffee Shops
Houndstooth Coffee
401 Congress Ave. #100c, Austin, TX 78701
I began most days here when I came for SXSW 2023, as it was located close to the convention centre and most events. Congenial staff, good coffee, reliable wifi.
(Photo: Houndstooth Coffee)
Hideout Coffee House
617 Congress Ave., Austin, TX 78701
Super friendly indie cafe. And bizarrely, one of the baristas was from Toronto.
(Photo: Hideout Coffee House)
Radio Coffee & Beer
4204 Menchaca Rd, Austin, TX 78704
A common thing in Austin is for a coffee shop to have a lot of outdoor seating surrounded by a bunch of food trucks. This place was maybe the best example of that I came across while in town.
(Photo: Radio Coffee & Beer)
Austin, TX Restaurants
Casa de Luz
1701 Toomey Rd, Austin, TX 78704
Not so much a restaurant as a vegan, holistic, new age centre with a dining hall, cacao bar, yoga and meditation rooms, and a whole lot of character. Just know there’s no menu; you get ‘the meal’, but it’s pretty good stuff.
(Photo: Casa de Luz)
Bouldin Creek Cafe
1900 S 1st St, Austin, TX 78704
Probably the best straight-up vegan restaurant in Austin. Keepin’ it weird, serving great food.
(Photo: Marc Z. Goldgrub)
The Vegan Nom
2324 E Cesar Chavez St #A, Austin
Austin taught me to love tacos and food trucks. And thankfully, with vegan taco food trucks like The Vegan Nom, plant-based folks aren’t getting left out.
(Photo: The Vegan Nom)
Austin, TX Parks and Recreation
Alamo Drafthouse
Multiple Locations
Ok, there are Alamo Drafthouse cinemas in other cities now, but it all started in Austin. If you’ve never been, this is the best movie-going experience you’re going to find, with great food and beer.
(Photo: Alamo Drafthouse)
The 13th Floor
711 Red River St, Austin, TX 78701
Austin is known as a live music city, and this psychedelic-themed bar was one of my favourite venues in the city, featuring an awesome collection of psychedelic rock posters. The name is a nod to legendary local band The 13th Floor Elevators.
(Photo: The 13th Floor)
Drugs and Alcohol Laws
Alcohol: Legal drinking age in Texas is 21.
Cannabis: Totally illegal at both the state and federal level, but there are Delta-8 and 9 shops all over the city. Not sure how the long that will last though, as the DEA has now said they consider these substances illegal.
Psychedelics: For such a psychedelic city, there’s not much going on in terms of psychedelics other than some places selling kava and kratom, neither of which are particularly psychedelic.