Anyone move to Austin....and hate it? (Dallas, Spring: fit in, car insurance)

[MovingForward]

Well, I guess we just experienced a different Austin. Must be that we hung out with different kinds of people. I don't know that that guy had to drive to Houston to eat out--unless he preferred four-star restaurants--because Austin has always had great restaurants. I still disagree that Austin was "hyping itself." I guess I don't know what you mean by that. The IT crowd might have been "hyping" Austin, and that's why so many moved there, but in general--as I said--Austinites just did their thing and had no sense of themselves as being in competition with other U.S. cities for the "cool" factor. They loved Austin, but that's just loving your town, and has nothing to do with "hyping" it.

About diversity: what I mean is that all human populations are "diverse." Diversity doesn't just mean a conglomeration of people from different cultural, racial, and/or linguistic backgrounds living together in one place. Anywhere I've traveled in the world has been interesting to me, in terms of "diversity," because the population of those places--however homogeneous or heterogeneous in terms of the above factors--were interesting as individuals, and the native culture was interesting, too.

[austinese]

Must be that we hung out with different kinds of people.

I bet we did. I hung out mostly with recent hi-tech transplants from other parts of the country.

The hype did not come from individuals but, rather, from institutional sources like the local media. Remember all the hype about MCC coming to Austin? This was going to cause a hi-tech explosion never before seen in modern times. In addition, the media would regularly talk about Austin's high-quality of life, etc. -- how Austin was number one in this survey and in that survey. And I guess that I was never fond of the "Live Music Capital of the World" slogan. I don't know when this first came out -- early nineties? Regardless, it seemed like the city was just trying a bit too hard to enhance its image.

I think where we differ mainly is that I really like urban settings. I seem to need a fix of an urban type vibe every now and then. I think that this aspect of Austin has been enhanced in recent years. I heard Richard Linklater, of Slacker fame, talk about how he didn't need a permit to film Slacker downtown in '89 because a good deal of it was abandoned and boarded up. If urbanism isn't your thing, I understand perfectly.

I think we have one point of agreement -- the UT drag has declined over the years. It used to be a more interesting place with many more Ma-Pa establishments there instead of national chains.

[MovingForward]

Makes sense, then--Chamber of Commerce stuff.

When I lived in Austin, the music scene was amazing. Because it was a much smaller place, everybody knew everybody. Friend goes to visit a friend: Lyle Lovett is sleeping on the couch. Another friend's girlfriend was Nanci Griffith. Lots of Jamaican music and--of course--South American music (of differing sorts). One dollar cover at Antone's on Friday nights to hear Paul Ray and the Cobras (Stevie Ray Vaughan), where everybody sat around smoking doobies (not ME, of course ). Barton Springs half-empty most of the time. Same for Deep Eddy. Virtually no traffic jams. Eeyore's Birthday light and easy. Great independent theater. Laguna Gloria had great traveling art exhibits. The UT drag was, yes, mostly ma-pa establishments. Used to be the same in Harvard Square: now it's basically just an outdoor mall.

I'm not an urban type, but that's why I really like Boston: you can walk from Cambridge to Boston in 30 minutes or less, lots to do and easy to get around on the subway, yet still don't feel like you are crushed by big city life.

What would make Austin cool again, in my humble opinion, would be the installation of a subway system and commuter rail. Likely not ever gonna happen, though. Too bad.

[austinese]

What would make Austin cool again, in my humble opinion, would be the installation of a subway system and commuter rail. Likely not ever gonna happen, though. Too bad.

No argument here. BTW, I love Newbury St. in Boston. I think that Austin's 2nd St. aspires to be like Newbury, and this should happen in only 250 years or so.

[MovingForward]

Seriously? Newbury Street is a little too upscale for my budget, but I do like sitting outside at the cafes and watching the humanity march by. Most of all, I like sitting in the Public Garden or the Common: more interesting, I think.

Just saw an Edward Hopper exhibit at the MFA. It was PACKED. But very cool exhibit.

[readymade]

Depends on which end of Newbury Street we're talkin'. I like all the little outdoor cafes down by the "Urban Outfitters" end. The Ritz section is a bit upscale for my tastes as well. I mean, it's mostly shops of clothes that I can't/won't afford.

What I loved about Boston was how you could live outside of it and have it be fairly rural/suburban but you were still 10/20 minutes to "the big city".

I live in Ventura CA now and there IS no "big city" other than LA, which is more like a sprawling suburb (and is 1 to 2 hours away). I REALLY miss being near a "real" city, like Boston. Which is why I'm planning on moving to Austin.

[austinese]

I like the cafes and the people watching opportunities on Newbury St. The vibrant street scene seemed to go on and on for almost a mile. Yes, I wouldn't shop there unless I was a good deal wealthier. Really, it's the same deal with the fledgling 2nd St. area. I like people watching at Jo's but I'd never shop at any of those high-priced boutiques down there.

[twange]

Originally Posted by MovingForward

What would make Austin cool again, in my humble opinion, would be the installation of a subway system and commuter rail. Likely not ever gonna happen, though. Too bad.

Probably not a subway, but:

All Systems Go Long-Range Transit Plan - CapMetro
All Systems Go Long-Range Transit Plan - CapMetro

[texastea]

Thanks for the links, twange. I haven't seen when the rail would start running.

[imaterry78259]

Funny, cool cities never have to hyped thenselves-via San Francisco