Top 10 Reasons to Move to Austin, TX (and work for Zello)
We understand that the wild, wild west of Texas in the movies may be all cowboys and renegades, but we’re absolutely more than that. For one thing, we have a special little place called Austin, which also happens to be the state capital, deep in the heart of Texas. And there are many reasons why the entire country* seems to be moving to Austin.

*only slightly exaggerated. Austin was the US Census Bureau’s #1 growing metro area between 2010-2020

Here are Top 10 reasons why you should move here too:

1. Live Music Capital of the World
This piece may exaggerate a little (a lot), but this moniker did not come from us. You don’t have to wait for a music festival or the weekend to see live bands. There’s always something playing somewhere around the city. Whether it’s rock or country, EDM or folk, blues or jazz – you’ll find it here, right in the live music capital of the world. But if festivals are totally your scene, boy do we have a treat for you. Austin is also home to some of the largest music events in the world, including South by Southwest (SXSW), Austin City Limits Music Festival (ACL), Levitation, and more. (We even named a road after Willie Nelson – that’s how much we adore our music and musicians.)

2. Opportunities Galore
It’s probably not a best practice to tout other companies when we’re trying to attract talent ourselves, but it’s no secret that the job opportunities here are boundless because of the companies that have flocked to Texas (specifically Austin) in recent years. From corporate giants like Google, Tesla, IBM, Dell, Meta, AWS, and Oracle (the list goes on) to the vibrant startup scene here, you can experience many flavors of technology and innovation (too many to list!) in Austin. If you have the hunger and drive, there are endless possibilities for you to grow your career here. (And by here, we also mean Zello, where it can be your first vital step to that great future.)

3. Taco Tuesdays
We’re “Loco for Taco” around these parts. In fact, we’re so crazy about it that we have Taco Tuesdays on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, you get the picture. At any meal, any time, any street corner, there are tacos to be had. The only problem is figuring out which camp you belong to in the city’s ongoing taco war for who has the best breakfast tacos. First world problems, we know. Come try them all, and let us know which camp you belong to!

4. The Texas Hill Country
While we may not be able to compete with the beautiful mountains of the East and West Coasts, you can still enjoy gorgeous panoramic views and meandering roads that take you through rolling hills and into spring-fed waters and vineyards – all of which are just a short drive away from the heart of downtown Austin. If weekend getaways and road trips fill you with joy, then there is no short of adventures in the Texas Hill Country.

5. Get Out and Play!
Are you a runner or hiker? Or maybe you love the water and prefer paddle boarding, canoeing or wake-surfing. There’s also many places for rock climbing, if that’s your thing. Or if you like to spend your time scootering from bar to bar (hey, we don’t judge), you can do that too. All this to say, if you like being active in the great outdoors, we have options. Many, many options. PSA: Just load up on sunscreen, and you’re good to go.

6. Foodies Unite
In case #3 had you worried, we don’t just eat tacos in Texas. We also have Tex-Mex (ha!) and we are oh-so-serious about our BBQ. However, thanks to the many transplants and immigrants, who brought us delectable cuisines from around the world, we are proud of our lively food scene here. Whether it’s Nashville hot chicken, Maine lobster rolls, Chicago-style hotdogs, California Pizza Kitchen (just kidding – though we have that too), Vietnamese, Thai, Ethiopian, German, French, Indonesian, we have almost everything you need for homesickness and/or happiness.

7. It’s Mostly Warm Year Round
If you like sunshine, we have sunshine. Lots of it. According to the National Weather Service we typically get sunshine 50% of the time in winter and almost 75% of the time in the summer. Austin has a humid subtropical climate, which means it has long, hot summers and typically mild winters. Also, forget what you read on the news about the disastrous freeze and power failure in the winter of 2021 (yes, the Texas electric grid needs work, but none of us are perfect – even Austin). What you do need to remember about that unfortunate event is how the people in the city came together to help each other during a rare weather event (snow in central Texas??! Gasp!). Which brings us to the next reason why it’s so great to be in Austin…

8. Small-town Feel with Big-city Access
We’re not claiming that we’re just like the giant metro areas of the world. We definitely could use a larger airport and better mass transit, but the good news is, they’re in the works! Austin has its very own vibe (Keep Austin Weird, y’all!), and we’re freakin’ proud of it. Being the live music capital, college town (Go Longhorns!) and startup mecca that we are, we naturally have smart, talented, creative, passionate, intellectual people… but most importantly, we have the kind of people who support one another, no matter their interests, beliefs, and pursuits. We’re the heart of Texas because of our people, which can make a big city like Austin feel like a small town – in the best way possible.

9. Meet a Mate
If you’re single and would like to meet someone, you’ll be happy to learn that Austin is named the best city in the US for dating. And since this is an article written for work, we’ll just leave the details to your imagination…but rest assured, there’s plenty of single people to see. And do.

10. You get to work at Zello!
Of course, we’re saving the best for last. If you move to Austin, you get to work at the Zello office, where the people are fun, the snacks are great, and the vibe is chill. You’ll get to collaborate with folks from many different places (since many of us are also transplants) and backgrounds, with varying degrees of weird and awesome. No matter who you are and what you bring to the table (hopefully, more snacks), we’re happy to have you, and you’ll fit right in – and that’s the kind of place we’ll always strive to be.

We hope you’ll join us!