Yeah, spent a summer bumming around the east coast taking pictures of rocks. My favorite city turned out to be Philly. Brooklyn is cool and all, but if I’d move to build a life anywhere in the east it would be Philly no contest. Was also pleasantly surprised by St-Louis. But your judgement of a city will always be tainted by who you hung out with when you were there first, and it’s a hard to undo first impression. I have totally biased views of cities all over the world - go make your own misjudgments based on 72h in a city and get into arguments with other travelers about it. Reach out to anyone you might tangentially know, Couchsurf, swing by my place if you’re near Montreal.

I’ve never explored middle America or the north east. There seems to be some really dope spots out there!

I have many friends that have been nomads for years, and I think there are definitely vibes to a city, and places that will fit your own vibe better than others. Everywhere has flaws, you just need to find a place with flaws you can live with.

You have the friend and the opportunity, why not also just move to Austin for a 6 month stint. Moving is daunting - if you can do it once with the company of a friend, doing it again will be easier. Look at it as an exchange semester abroad. Get a job at a game shop to see how it runs from the inside.