Austin and LA are pretty comparable in terms of cost, at this point. LA is quickly becoming the affordable West coast city...

I'm using data from the link, which disagrees.

Average data for Austin, though, misses some important points. Anything near central is quickly becoming unaffordable to anyone without a high paying professional job. Outer lying areas are still affordable, but the transportation situation is so horrendous that living in those outlying areas comes with a high personal cost if you have to commute.

Even living in the city core has serious transportation costs in a few areas.

I used to live in South Central Austin and commute north of 183 to work. When my car broke down I took the bus-no big deal, coming from Chicago I don't have many aspersions to public transit-so long as it works and is relatively safe (or as safe as a city can reasonably make it).

When I say "pick your poison" re: cost, I mean getting from my apartment to my job on time meant waking up 3 hours before shift begins and riding for two hours. Getting off work at 5:30 and not getting home until almost 9 depending on traffic conditions (school year meant having to ride through the UT area, that added another hour).

The "personal cost" adevine mentions here is real and it is painful. You're either going to spend more on gas and vehicular maintenance, or you're going to spend every waking moment not at work sitting on the bus (depending on where you live), or waiting for a bus.

The link is about change in values; the absolute value is also important.