Austin is a great city to write software in, and the salaries are fine. I lived in the best possible location in the city and still saved money. If you're looking for startups, there are plenty. If you have broad interests, you'll be able to find a startup you can passionately work for. That's basically what I did until I caught the blockchain bug. If you're interested in a particular niche (marketplaces, virtual reality, blockchains, etc), the most promising startups in that niche are probably elsewhere, which is why I now work remotely.