Austin vs New Orleans

Sprawling and built around the car, with low density and walkability that frustrate anyone hoping to live without driving. The trade-off is space: homes and yards are generous, and the residential neighbourhoods and outer suburbs are pleasant and well regarded.

Daily life leans heavily on the car, walkability is patchy outside a few dense historic districts, and density overall is low. Homes tend to come with a bit more room than in the priciest coastal cities.

Broadly safe by the standards of a mid-size American city, with serious violent crime relatively contained. Petty crime, the car break-ins and opportunistic theft common to fast-growing US cities, is the more realistic everyday concern.

Violent crime is high, the homicide problem is persistent, and how safe the streets feel, especially after dark, ranks poorly against most US peers. Where someone lives within the city matters a great deal here, and the gap between neighbourhoods is wide.

Austin has a strong local market, with deep professional networks, a strong technology ecosystem, and plenty of English-language roles. The clinical care is solid, with reliable emergency services, good hospitals and, being the US, no language hurdle at the front desk.

As an English-speaking city, New Orleans has low unemployment, but the local market is narrow. Care is delivered entirely in English and the major hospitals are competent, but depth and access are middling rather than strong.

The live music scene is among the best in America, the food runs from world-class barbecue to serious Tex-Mex and an inventive restaurant culture, and nightlife and cafes are everywhere. Austin is affluent and fairly clean, though the sprawl grows faster than the upkeep.

The reason many people come, and it lives up to it. What redeems it is the French Quarter's walkable streets, the riverfront and squares like Jackson, and a life lived outdoors.