If you can’t reach me..I’m probably in austin TX.

The Southern Stay • Traveler Letters

If I'm Not in New Orleans, I'm Probably in Austin

Maybe it’s the mutual weirdness. Maybe it’s the food. Or maybe Austin has been quietly influencing the way I travel, host and live for more than a decade.

By Sara Crossley Fields

There are certain cities you visit, and then there are cities you somehow keep finding your way back to.

For me, New Orleans has always been one of them.

And if I'm not in New Orleans?

There's a pretty good chance I'm in Austin.

Maybe it's the food. Maybe it's the music. Maybe it's the fact that both cities have collectively decided that normal is wildly overrated.

New Orleans embraces the strange. Austin literally tells you to keep it weird.

And I couldn't help but wonder... maybe weird recognizes weird?

Before Everyone Was an Airbnb Host

Austin also happens to be where I stayed in my very first Airbnb.

This was about thirteen years ago, before staying in a stranger's backyard guest house felt like a completely ordinary travel decision. A family member booked it, so I don't even have the listing tucked away in my own Airbnb history. And sadly, the host doesn't appear to operate it anymore.

But I remember that place.

It wasn't originally a guest house at all.

It had been the wife's hair salon.

Her husband had built it for her in their backyard when she was running a thriving salon business. Eventually that chapter ended, and somehow this beautifully finished little building became a place for travelers like us.

Separate drive. Private entrance. A garden-esque backyard with a creek running behind it. And the hosts were right next door without the stay ever feeling like they were right next door.

She understood the Airbnb concept before most of us even understood there was an Airbnb concept.

A memory I still have My mom took Charley outside one day and ran into our host. They started talking, and she eventually invited them into the main house and showed them old photographs of our little Airbnb back when it was her hair salon.

And looking back now, maybe that was the magic of early Airbnb.

You weren't just renting four walls.

You were staying inside someone's story.

Maybe That's Where It Started

I certainly wasn't sitting there thirteen years ago thinking, "One day I'm going to own vacation rentals and write about hospitality."

I was just traveling.

But that little former salon showed me something.

Something you already own can have an entirely different life. A backyard can become an experience. A former business can become someone's vacation memory.

Maybe my love for this whole business started beside a creek in Austin, Texas.

And I've Been Going Back Ever Since

It doesn't hurt that Keller Williams headquarters gives me a perfectly legitimate reason to find myself there. Or that my sister and her family live there.

But honestly?

It's just Austin.

The food is amazing. The music is cool. Even the fashion is a vibe. And the lifestyle somehow feels laid-back and ambitious at the same time.

Creative but smart. Outdoorsy but urban. A little polished and a little weird.

The Backyard Building

Years later, I stayed in another property that reminded me exactly why Austin hosts can be so clever with space.

This one was someone's multi-purpose building in their backyard.

The bedroom was a loft. The bathroom was basically an entire shower room. There was a small kitchen with exactly what you needed for a two- or three-night stay.

And from what I could tell, the front portion of the building was still being used as their office.

One building. Two purposes.

Clever. Just like an Austinite.

One of my favorite clever Austin stays.

See where I stayed →

And Then There Was Christmas in Austin

We've actually spent Christmas in Austin a few times, but there is one trip I'll probably always remember.

We rented the cutest house for the holidays and, because Texas weather apparently enjoys a plot twist, Austin froze.

Our flight home was canceled.

We were stuck.

At Christmas.

And honestly? There are worse places to be stranded.

The house itself was adorable, but somehow one of the things I remember most was the awesome bidet.

Yes. The bidet.

Of all the thoughtful details in that house, that is apparently the one that lodged itself permanently into my brain.

Because maybe guests don't always remember the expensive thing. Sometimes they remember the weird thing.

The Austin Christmas when the weather had other plans.

See the Christmas stay →

The Two-Story House Powered by a Generator

And then there was possibly the most Austin stay of all.

A two-story luxury guest space that ran off a generator.

Y'all.

How Austin is that?

This wasn't some tiny off-grid cabin where you expected to rough it. It was a beautiful two-story space that comfortably fit five adults and one kid.

There wasn't even a full kitchen to cook in—which, if you know me, you know I'm going to need somewhere to put my grocery delivery.

But somehow it worked.

And maybe that's because Austin makes you want to leave the house anyway.

We spent Christmas there during one of the warm Austin years, and on Christmas Day we ended up outside eating Turkish brunch.

Turkish brunch. Outside. On Christmas Day.

And THAT is what I love about Austin.

Two stories. Luxury. Generator-powered. Very Austin.

See where we stayed →

Austin Has More Than One Personality

I've experienced a few versions of Austin over the years.

The family version. The food version. The Keller Williams version. The relaxed neighborhood version.

And yes... I once hosted a bachelorette trip there.

But THAT Austin deserves an entirely different Traveler Letter.

We'll save that one.

Maybe that's what keeps drawing me back.

Austin doesn't seem particularly concerned with how things are supposed to be done.

Build the guest house. Power it with a generator. Turn the salon into an Airbnb. Skip the full kitchen. Eat Turkish brunch outside on Christmas.

Keep it weird.

I'll keep coming back.