It’s officially cuffing season in Austin — the air’s cooler, the sunsets hit different and everyone’s suddenly pretending to like pumpkin spice lattes again. But as the temperature drops, date ideas narrow. The good news? Romance doesn’t need a Michelin-starred price tag. Whether you’re deep in a situationship, freshly swiping or just trying to get your longterm love to look up from their phone, Austin still has plenty of date ideas that give major relationship potential.

$15: Texas Book Festival — Nov. 8–9 

There’s something flirty about watching someone analyze a book cover like it holds the secrets of the universe. The 30th Annual Texas Book Festival turns Congress Avenue into a literary carnival — 300 authors, cooking demos and enough tote bags to start your own indie-bookstore aesthetic.

Picture it: You and your date are sitting on the Capitol lawn, sharing kettle corn, pretending you totally read that one Sally Rooney novel. Admission is free, but a $15 budget covers warm drinks for a cozy fall afternoon.

The LBJ Library’s “Hip-Hop America: The Mixtape” exhibit is a love letter to rhythm, resistance and rhinestone-studded bucket hats. You’ll walk through 50 years of hip-hop history with artifacts from LL Cool J, Run-D.M.C. and The Notorious B.I.G. Imagine locking eyes while “Juicy” plays softly in the background — the soundtrack to a slow-burn situationship if there ever was one. 

Admission is $16 per person. Bonus tip: Ask your date to pick their favorite era of hip-hop — if they say “SoundCloud rap,” maybe just stay friends. The exhibit is up through Jan. 4.

Some people fall in love over candlelight. Others do it while clinging to the side of a roller rink, hoping to not faceplant. Adult skate night at Pins & Wheels is chaotic, nostalgic and playful — fluorescent lights, throwback hits and fast food that just tastes better at 10 p.m.

Maybe your date glides effortlessly backward while you wobble like Bambi on ice. Maybe they catch you mid-fall and suddenly it’s an early-2000s rom-com moment.  Skating fees are $16 per person, plus late night snacks bring you to around $50 total.

So go ahead: grab your bookworm crush, your music-nerd situationship or your favorite ex you “just hang out with sometimes.” November’s waiting — and your next great date might only cost you 15 bucks and a little confidence