Austin, TX
Inside the challenge of Austin’s dating scene: It’s not you, it’s everyone
Austin’s disappointing dating scene seems to be an ongoing joke on social media.
Countless videos of users sharing their disastrous dating experiences have been posted on TikTok in the past three months alone.
The city is partly known for its indie, eccentric, and fragmentedly spread wealthy population. It attracts a mix of people with its scenic trails, music festivals, and tech startups, so what’s going on? Is Austin cursed? Is it the same in other Texas cities?
A video circulated on social media of someone claiming Austin as one of the “Top five worst cities for dating entering 2024.” Newly moved-in Austin resident Julia Mazur vowed to make it her life’s mission to change that narrative around the city’s dating scene. She recently moved to Austin after 10 years of living in Los Angeles.
“I am about to plan an event that is going to take Austin off of this list,” she said in a stitch response to the original video. “And I believe in myself to do it because I worked at Tinder for six years, I have a dating and relationships podcast called ‘Pretty Much Done’; I know a thing or two about dating.”
However, the task hasn’t been without its challenges, as Mazur shared in a video last month that the city didn’t meet her expectations.
“I was incredibly hopeful,” Mazur said in the video. “I was like, ‘I’m moving to the South, the guys are going to be so great.’ But what happened is that I was humbled extremely quickly.”
It led Mazur to understand that it wasn’t Austin–specifically that was the issue.
“I realized that dating is just bad in every city,” Mazur said in the video.
Whether that’s because of increased social media use, a yearslong pandemic, or the price of dating thanks to inflation, no one knows for sure. But she’s not alone in her thinking.
Data from Pew Research Center cites that even before the pandemic, “nearly half of U.S. adults — and a majority of women — say that dating has become harder in the last 10 years.” Then, in another study conducted by them two years later, 32% of U.S. adults said they found dating got even harder during the pandemic.
To ease the challenge of modern dating in her corner of the country, Mazur has begun hosting an event called Hot Takes Hot Dates in Austin with Joel Monteleone, a tech life coach.
The event launched in mid-August and is meant to “prove that our differences can actually bring us together.”
“It’s not like a cheesy speed dating event. We talk about our dating icks, we debate hot takes; it’s a group event. It’s super fun, it’s super low pressure,” Mazur said in a video.
This week, residents have a chance to come to their own conclusions on whether there’s hope for Austin’s dating scene.
The next event is on Sept. 27 at the Wiggle Room, located at 612 Nueces St. Tickets are available at https://tickets.vulcanpresents.com/e/hot-takes-hot-dates-2.
AUSTIN, Texas — After Senator Charles Perry vowed to introduce another bill to ban THC in Texas next legislative session, an Austin cannabis shop owner is urging lawmakers to find a middle ground.
Estella Castro owns Austinite Cannabis Co., a family-owned shop that makes and sells cannabis and hemp products.
Austinite Cannabis Co. (Photo: CBS Austin/Audrey Wong)
Her business has faced a potential THC ban before. During the 2025 legislative session, Senate Bill 3 attempted to enact a broad ban on all cannabinoids except CBD and CBG.
Castro says she was most worried for her customers. “It was a big initial hit of like, what are we gonna do? How are we gonna pivot? How are we gonna keep the doors open for everybody to keep their jobs?” she said.
RELATED | Texas state senator plans to introduce new THC ban bill in upcoming session
That bill passed, but was later vetoed by Governor Greg Abbott. Similar legislation failed to pass during the subsequent special session.
However, the possibility of a total ban bill being introduced and passed next session could spell trouble for Austinite Cannabis.
During a hearing Tuesday, July 7, Senator Charles Perry vowed to present such a bill next session as public officials, medical experts, and others discussed THC’s medical uses, effects on minors, and regulation.
Castro says over half of the store’s revenue comes from products that contain THC.
“I would say it’s about a 60/40 split: 60% THC and 40 CBD… So feel like it is a huge number that affects my store in so many ways,” she said.
ALSO | Texas French Bread reopens dining room four years after fire
She feels that a total ban on THC would negatively affect multiple parties.
“Banning it is just hurting the consumer,” she said. “Making the consumer go and find a street dealer… killing any dispensaries… it’s gonna hurt your small business owner.”
If another THC ban bill is written, it will be introduced during the next legislative session, which begins in January 2027.
In the meantime, Castro’s two stores will continue to operate as normal. She hopes lawmakers will think twice about instituting a complete ban on THC.
“I feel like we’re better than that, you know, we’re Texas,” she said. “We need to find some middle ground where it’s not a complete ban, and we can still be able to come together.”
AUSTIN (KXAN) – Trevor Goosby is a projected first-round pick in the upcoming 2027 NFL Draft. The Texas offensive lineman anchors the group up front for one of the best teams in the country and was named a preseason All-American by Walter Camp.
But his football career felt in jeopardy when he was in high school.
“That was kind of my biggest question,” said Goosby. “I was really nervous because would I be the same football player coming back?”
Goosby was born with a congenital heart defect and had open-heart surgery when he was just 16 years old. He wasn’t sure how this would change his everyday life, including his football career.
“Definitely a lot of nerves just because you’re getting your ribs cracked open essentially and getting your heart worked on…It was a scary moment. I remember driving up to the hospital super nervous.”
Goosby was able to recover and become a great football player. He said not only has he become a person in learning to fight through adversity, but it helped him as a player as well with improved endurance.
Now, the star Longhorn is giving back as much as possible.
Goosby hosted a camp in Austin to benefit the Children’s Heart Foundation. The organization works to fund research on congenital heart defects.
The offensive tackle is matching all donations up to $20,000 made to the Children’s Heart Foundation through the event and campaign.
“It means a lot to me just because of the heart condition I did have back when I was 16. That just kind of changed my life. I just want to bring awareness to that.”
The camp was at Hyde Park High School in Northwest Austin. Goosby spoke about what he hopes the young campers took away from the event.
“I think it’s just more than football. Football is a big part of what I do but it’s not who I am…I just want to show all these kids that I’m just another great guy and just someone they can look up to.”
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