The most useful Austin communities are r/Austin and r/AskAustin on Reddit, Facebook groups like Good Eats Austin for food and New to Austin for newcomers, and Nextdoor for your own block. They are also the honest answer to how you meet people here: join a few, then show up.
If you just moved here, or you are five years in and still hunting for a better taco, the fastest way to plug into Austin is the same way locals do it: the right Facebook groups, subreddits, and a couple of hyperlocal apps. Below is the working list I keep, grouped by platform and then by what you actually want help with, with real sizes and what each one is good for. It is also the honest answer to the question every newcomer asks: how do you actually meet people in Austin. The Facebook member counts were checked in June 2026; the Reddit numbers are live.
Start here
- NewsletterThe one we run
The Austin Newsletter
Weekly email · citywideFull disclosure: this is the one I write, so grade it on a curve. It is the simplest way to keep up with where to eat, what just opened, and what is worth your weekend, without scrolling ten feeds. One short email a week, free, plus an open directory of more than two thousand Austin restaurants you can sort by neighborhood.
The Austin subreddits
- Subreddit409,000 members
r/Austin
The whole cityThe giant, and the pulse of the city. You will not self-promote here and you should not try; you earn a place one genuinely helpful comment at a time. Worth following for news, the occasional great recommendation thread, and the general mood. Search before you post, because almost everything has been asked.
- Subreddit106,000 members
r/austinfood
Food and restaurantsThe deepest food archive in town: years of honest, opinionated threads with receipts. Search first, because the answer to your taco question is almost certainly already there.
- Subreddit50,000 members
r/AskAustin
Questions and recsThe friendliest, most useful sub for newcomers. Asking and answering where-do-I questions is the entire point, so a real question gets real answers without the snark the bigger sub can have. If you only join one, make it this one.
- Subreddit24,000 members
r/AustinTX
General, calmerA smaller, calmer general sub. Good for a more relaxed version of the r/Austin conversation when the big one feels like too much noise.
- Subreddit9,000 members
r/AustinParents
Parents and kidsSmall but real. Honest threads on kid-friendly restaurants, schools, activities, and the day-to-day of raising kids here. Less performative than the big parenting groups.
The Austin Facebook groups
- Facebook group39,900 members
EDTG + RunnerCity (Eat Drink Together)
Citywide · publicA textbook ask-and-answer food group, very active. Real questions land daily: best burger in North Austin, favorite happy hours, where to take out-of-towners. High signal if you want a fast, specific answer.
- Facebook group38,400 members
Good Eats Austin
Citywide · publicThe flagship public food group, active every day, with constant rec-request threads: must-try restaurants, spots for a group of six, where to find a great breakfast. Friendly, specific, and the best single place to crowd-source a dinner plan.
- Facebook group~38,000 members
ATX Asian Food
Citywide · Asian foodFounded by a local Asian-food creator, this is the place for Chinese, Korean, Indian, dim sum, and Asian grocery finds across the metro. The niche you cannot easily search your way to anywhere else.
- Facebook group6,400 members
Austin Food Trucks
Citywide · trailersFor the trailer side of Austin eating: new truck openings, where a favorite parked this week, and which lots are worth the drive. Austin runs on food trucks, and this is the group that tracks them.
- Facebook group4,700 members
Gluten Free Austin
Citywide · gluten freeAlmost entirely gluten-free restaurant-rec requests with real reviews attached. If you or someone you cook for is GF, this is the most useful page in the city.
- Facebook group4,400 members
Austin Foodies
Citywide · publicGeneral foodie discussion and where-to-eat threads. Broad and active, good for a quick second opinion when you want more than one voice.
- Facebook group67,900 members
New to Austin, 20/30s
Twenties and thirtiesThe biggest newcomers group in town, tied to a long-running meetup community. Where-to-live, where-to-eat, and how-to-make-friends threads all day, plus actual in-person events. If you just landed and you are in your twenties or thirties, start here.
- Facebook group48,300 members
Moving to Austin Texas
Citywide · request to joinThe relocation Q&A hub. Newcomers ask about neighborhoods, schools, rent, and getting settled around the clock, so a new-here, here-is-what-I-figured-out answer is squarely on topic. It is private, so request to join and answer the entry questions.
- Facebook group28,200 members
I Love Austin, But I Need Some Friends
Citywide · making friendsThe real name is a little saltier, but it does exactly what it says: a large, active community built for making friends as an adult. The whole point is doing things together, so where-to-go and who-wants-to-meet-up posts are the norm. It is one of the first places the make-friends question gets answered.
- Facebook group13,900 members
Girls New to Austin (#GN2A)
Women only · request to joinA women-only newcomers group and a genuine recommendation engine for brunch, date spots, and getting oriented. Private and admin-gated, so join, introduce yourself, and participate; it rewards real members.
- Facebook group9,700 members
New to Austin 30/40s
Thirties and fortiesThe thirties-and-forties counterpart to the big newcomers group, with a slightly calmer, more settled crowd. Constant which-neighborhood and where-to-eat threads, and an easy place to ask something specific and get a straight answer.
- Facebook group~11,000 members
Austin Social Scene (Extra Peachy)
21+ · outingsA 21-and-up social-outings group that hosts its own events and trades happy-hour and brunch picks. They run their own outings, so you can meet people by just turning up to one.
- Facebook group95,200 members
Things to Do in Austin This Weekend (UrbanMatter Austin)
Citywide · event roundupsThe largest things-to-do group on this list, run by a local media outlet. It leans toward curated event roundups and weekend listicles, so it is built for planning a Saturday rather than trading opinions.
- Facebook group88,700 members
Exploring Austin
Citywide · events and foodA huge, mixed events-and-food group with direct asks like best food-truck parks with drinks, or where to take visitors. One of the most useful things-to-do groups in town for an actual answer.
- Facebook group67,800 members
Austin Events and Happenings
Citywide · public boardA straightforward, very large public events board. Low on opinion, high on what-is-on-this-week. Good for catching shows, markets, and one-offs you would otherwise miss.
- Facebook group9,000 members
Austin Community Event Board
Citywide · public boardA no-frills public board for local events, fundraisers, and markets. It surfaces the community-level stuff the big media groups tend to skip.
- Facebook group20,500 members
Austin Moms’ Network
Citywide · request to joinThe largest parents group here, a broad network for Austin moms covering kid-friendly restaurants, sitters, schools, and the logistics of raising kids in the city. Active and genuinely helpful.
- Facebook group4,300 members
Central Austin Moms
Central AustinA smaller, more local parents group focused on the central neighborhoods. Ask it something hyper-specific, like which Mueller pediatrician people actually like, and you get a few names by lunch.
- Facebook group~4,400 members
Queer Exchange: Austin
Citywide · private · LGBTQ+A private, members-only group for the queer Austin community to swap housing leads, free and for-sale items, pet rehoming, and resources. Active daily, and a practical first landing spot for queer newcomers getting set up in town.
- Facebook group96,700 members
Georgetown, TX
Georgetown · Williamson CountyOne of the largest groups on this list at nearly 100,000 members, and the default for anyone north in Williamson County. Recurring restaurant, new-business, and recommendation threads for Georgetown and the surrounding area.
- Facebook group65,700 members
Manor Community Circle
Manor, Elgin, east countyThe hub for Manor, Elgin, and east Travis County. Real food-rec threads, like best Mexican in Manor or the hidden gems, plus events and neighborly Q&A. If you are out east, start here.
- Facebook group59,300 members
Hutto, TX Neighbors
Hutto · northeastThe main Hutto group, very active, with where-to-eat and things-to-do threads and a steady stream of community events. The default for the fast-growing northeast suburbs.
- Facebook group~25,000 members
Dripping Springs Neighbors
Dripping Springs · Hill CountryThe community hub for Dripping Springs and the Hill Country west of town. Local business recs, road and weather updates, and events, for a stretch the big Austin groups tend to ignore.
- Facebook group~16,100 members
People of Cedar Park
Cedar Park · northwestAll things Cedar Park: neighborly Q&A, local events, and business recommendations. The best of the Cedar Park options if you live or are moving northwest.
- Facebook group2,800 members
Round Rock Foodies
Round Rock · foodA focused food group for Round Rock, where the chains thin out and the good local spots take some finding. Smaller, but the signal is high if you eat on the north side.
Nextdoor and the hyperlocal layer
- Nextdoor
Nextdoor
By address · your blockNot a group you join so much as a place you already live. Verified by address, so it is the most local layer there is, for lost dogs, contractor recommendations, and block-level news. Worth setting up the day you move in.
- Online
Buy Nothing (your neighborhood)
Hyperlocal · giftingThe fastest way to meet your neighbors and furnish a place for free. Buy Nothing groups are hyperlocal gifting communities, so you join the one for your specific neighborhood and give or take what you need. A genuinely lovely way to land somewhere new.
The groups above are where the conversation happens. These are the local newsletters, sites, and feeds I read to keep up.
- do512events
The definitive what-is-happening-tonight calendar for Austin. If something is going on, it is on do512, usually before anywhere else.
- Eater Austinfood media
The food-news source: openings, closings, and the maps that tell you where to eat right now. Good for keeping up without a group thread.
- The Infatuation Austinfood media
Opinionated, well-organized restaurant guides. The curated shortlist for when a crowded group thread is too much noise.
- Austin Monitornews
Nonprofit local-government and development reporting. The serious source for what the city is actually doing, beyond the day’s outrage.
- Community Impactnews
Hyperlocal news by suburb, strong on new business openings and road projects out in the growing edges of the metro.
The deepest community events listing in town, from the alt-weekly that has tracked Austin culture for decades. Where the small stuff the big calendars miss still shows up.
- CultureMap Austinmedia
Food, society, and culture coverage with a strong feed of restaurant openings and weekend roundups. A good middle ground between the news sites and the food blogs.
- ATXtodaynewsletter
A free daily Austin email digest for a quick morning scan of headlines and happenings. Not us, and worth a subscribe; good local newsletters are not a zero-sum thing.
Every other vetted Austin-area group we keep an eye on, grouped by where it is for. Not ranked, just sorted so you can find your corner.
More food and drink groups
- Vegans & Vegetarians Austin TX
- ATX Vegans (and friends!)
- Veg Network Austin
- Halal Food - Austin
- Eating Out Austin Foodies
- Austin TX - Follow the Food Trucks
- Austin Bars & Nightlife (EDTG Dine In)
- Cedar Park Foodies
- Leander Foodies
- Leander Eats
- Kyle, Buda & Surrounding Foodies
- Georgetown Eats
- Hays County Foodies
- GREAT FOOD - Lakeway / Bee Cave
More newcomer and friend groups
More events and nightlife
More parents and families
Neighborhoods and suburbs
Jobs and school
Hobbies and interests
The things we passed on are part of the value. Documented for editorial discipline.
- Buy, sell, and trade groupsMarketplace groups (yard sales, free stuff, housing swaps) are useful, but they are transactional, not community. I left them off the main list to keep this about places you actually talk to people. Buy Nothing is the one exception, because the whole point of it is meeting your neighbors.
- Ghost-town groupsPlenty of Austin groups have thousands of members and almost no posts. I only listed places where the conversation is genuinely live right now.
- Pay-to-post and business-promo boardsSome local groups are really ad boards where every post is a business pitch. Skipped, because the whole point is honest local opinion.
- Discord serversAustin has active Discords for tech, gaming, and niche scenes, but they are invite-driven and hard to verify from the outside. This list sticks to open groups anyone can find and join.
- How do I meet people and make friends in Austin?
- The fastest way is to pair one online group with one in-person habit you will actually keep. Join a newcomer group like New to Austin (20/30s) or the meet-up-driven I Love Austin, But I Need Some Friends, then commit to showing up to a recurring thing: a run club, a trivia night, a class. The groups get you the invitation; showing up on a schedule is what turns it into a friendship. For the specific run clubs, leagues, classes, faith groups, and volunteer shifts worth committing to, see our companion guide to meeting people in Austin, linked under Related below.
- What are the best Facebook groups for people moving to Austin?
- For newcomers, the most active are New to Austin (20/30s), Moving to Austin Texas, and New to Austin 30/40s, plus Girls New to Austin for women. They run nonstop where-to-live, where-to-eat, and how-to-make-friends threads, and a real question gets real answers fast.
- What is the best Austin subreddit, r/Austin or r/AustinTX?
- r/Austin is the giant at about 409,000 members and the best for the city’s pulse and a wide net, though it can be blunt. r/AustinTX is smaller and calmer. But for actually asking a question and getting a helpful answer, r/AskAustin beats both, and r/austinfood is the one to follow for restaurants.
- Which Austin Facebook group is best for restaurant recommendations?
- Good Eats Austin is the flagship public food group and the best single place to crowd-source a meal. For Asian food specifically, ATX Asian Food is unmatched, and r/austinfood on Reddit has years of searchable, honest recommendations.
- Are there Austin Facebook groups for parents?
- Yes. Austin Moms’ Network is the largest, with Central Austin Moms and South Austin Moms for more local questions. On Reddit, r/AustinParents is small but honest about kid-friendly restaurants, schools, and activities.
- How do I find my neighborhood’s Buy Nothing group?
- Search “Buy Nothing” plus your neighborhood name on Facebook, or use the Buy Nothing Project’s find-a-group page. The groups are deliberately small and hyperlocal, so there is usually a specific one for your area rather than a single citywide group. It is the fastest way to meet neighbors and furnish a new place for free.
- How do I join a private Austin Facebook group?
- Click join or request to join, then answer the membership questions honestly. Most private groups ask why you want in and whether you agree to the rules. A real, specific answer gets approved quickly, while a blank or spammy one gets ignored.
- Are Austin Facebook groups and subreddits worth joining?
- For newcomers and anyone who likes to eat out, yes. They are the fastest way to get a real local answer on a neighborhood, a restaurant, or a weekend plan. Join a few that match what you need, mute the rest, and you have a live feed of the city. I lean on a curated source like The Austin Newsletter, the weekly I write, for the signal without the daily scroll.