I've grown up in Austin and lived here all my life and I completely agree with this. I've worked in a variety of service jobs over the course of my life, and they've been increasingly negative over the years. Currently I work at a place that I enjoy the work, but it pays a dismal wage and I can't afford to live even a decent life.

I have psychiatric problems that are a severe impediment to getting a job with real responsibility and better pay. This was not a problem before I turned 26, when I was cut off from my mom's health insurance and thus lost my access to a psychiatrist, therapy, and meds. I've gotten on a decent Obamacare plan, but there is only one psychiatrist in town that will take my insurance and the waiting list is half a year long. The rest of the psychiatrists are $300+ a session, which is way too much for me to afford.

I suffer from a skin disease for which I cannot receive treatment because I can't afford a dermatologist and regular treatment. It worsens by the day and can be quite painful, making work even shittier

I live in a dilapidated house (albeit central) that lacks heat, a broken bathroom sink, a severe rodent problem, holes in the ceiling and bad leaks, and a gas leak that happened today that could have burned the house down and killed my cats. It's nearly impossible to get my slumlord to fix anything because we're not on a lease and it's nearly impossible to get anything fixed because of the draconian Texas tenant laws.

I don't get to go to sixth street anymore, go to music festivals, vintage shops, record stores, or eat at interesting restaurants because I can't afford them. At least the good weather affords me with the chance to ride my bike a lot.

There are countless other shitty things about my situation that I could drivel on about, but I try to stray away from dwelling on it as I try to stay as positive as I can.

I guess the point of writing all of this is that I use to live a relatively happy, healthy life where I could afford to do things that I like, but the rocketing cost of living and stagnant wages have made me pretty miserable. I can't blame it entirely on external circumstances because many of my problems are of my own making, but after hearing the experiences of my friends and reading this article, it really drives home the fact that Austin (and Texas in general) can be a pretty shitty place to work if you're low income.