Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Many of the reasons Austin is growing so fast has to do with the tremendous emphasis on media campaigning the city of Austin has been doing over the past 10-15 years. People are led to believe that somehow Austin is an "oasis" in Texas when in reality it's nothing like the descriptions. Here is a list of what the media campaigns tell you, and what is actually the case.
Austin is the live music capital of the world-Based solely on two elements (the 6th street district and two large events that come to the city regularly (SXSW and Austin City Limits)
Austin is a liberal mecca-Misleading. Austin has some slightly liberal areas in the central part (by Texas standards) but the vast majority of Metro Austin is extremely conservative and religious.
Austin is very affordable-Again, the city fails to mention that it's the most expensive big city in the state and actually LESS affordable than comparably sized cities like Denver and Sacramento when you figure everything in.
Austin is a green, healthy city-Where is this information coming from??? Austin is the capitol of the most polluting, anti-environment state in the nation. All of the state's rules and regulations go THROUGH the capitol!! There are more gas guzzlings vehicles in Metro austin than any other metro area in the nation (with the possible exception of Houston).
Healthy?? Austin couldn't produce a decent bike trail in the city if it wanted to. There is basically ONE decent trail downtown (zilker park hike and bike trail) A bike friendly town?? Oh please. Try Boulder and you'll quickly see what a REAL bike friendly town is.
Austin is the gateway to hillbilly country-Um, ok, I guess. But I guess since Texas is 90% flat and treeless, you would want to give an actual name to an area that actually has some different topographic features! In case no one else realizes this, MANY other cities have hills, they just don't consider their HILLS anything more than they are.
Other points that the city conviently leaves out of it's multi million dollar media campaigns.
* Worst traffic congestion of any medium sized city
* Largest city with no professional sports teams
* Largest city with no major zoo,aquarium, science center, etc.
* Some of the worst public transit in the nation
* Horribly hot, relentless summers, but still gets cold in the winter
* Some of the highest property taxes in the nation
* A sky high arrogance factor, etc
If the thread was about what makes Austin not "that great" then some of the points you've listed would be useful. Keyword: some.
This is not about what makes Austin that... it's about the opposite and why many people move here. Your types of posts get very annoying, biased and misleading as well.
Every city has bad things.... as well as good things. Even Detroit has good things being spoken of and why people love the city. I can see good things for every city. This thread is about that. Please stop being annoying and just be a regular person.
Austin is a liberal mecca? Where did you ever hear that? Sure, Austin is more liberal than conservative but not a mecca. Austin is the gateway to hillbilly country? What does that even mean? I doubt anybody moves here for that reason. Austin has more gas guzzling vehicles than any other metro in the nation? Where did you even get that information? For a city its size, yes, it does have a lot of congestion but the most in any metro of the nation? More than New York? More than LA? Possibly less than Houston? More than Dallas? More than any of those metros that have 3+ million in population?
Many of the reasons Austin is growing so fast has to do with the tremendous emphasis on media campaigning the city of Austin has been doing over the past 10-15 years. People are led to believe that somehow Austin is an "oasis" in Texas when in reality it's nothing like the descriptions. Here is a list of what the media campaigns tell you, and what is actually the case.
Austin is the live music capital of the world-Based solely on two elements (the 6th street district and two large events that come to the city regularly (SXSW and Austin City Limits)
Austin is a liberal mecca-Misleading. Austin has some slightly liberal areas in the central part (by Texas standards) but the vast majority of Metro Austin is extremely conservative and religious.
Austin is very affordable-Again, the city fails to mention that it's the most expensive big city in the state and actually LESS affordable than comparably sized cities like Denver and Sacramento when you figure everything in.
Austin is a green, healthy city-Where is this information coming from??? Austin is the capitol of the most polluting, anti-environment state in the nation. All of the state's rules and regulations go THROUGH the capitol!! There are more gas guzzlings vehicles in Metro austin than any other metro area in the nation (with the possible exception of Houston).
Healthy?? Austin couldn't produce a decent bike trail in the city if it wanted to. There is basically ONE decent trail downtown (zilker park hike and bike trail) A bike friendly town?? Oh please. Try Boulder and you'll quickly see what a REAL bike friendly town is.
Austin is the gateway to hillbilly country-Um, ok, I guess. But I guess since Texas is 90% flat and treeless, you would want to give an actual name to an area that actually has some different topographic features! In case no one else realizes this, MANY other cities have hills, they just don't consider their HILLS anything more than they are.
Other points that the city conviently leaves out of it's multi million dollar media campaigns.
* Worst traffic congestion of any medium sized city
* Largest city with no professional sports teams
* Largest city with no major zoo,aquarium, science center, etc.
* Some of the worst public transit in the nation
* Horribly hot, relentless summers, but still gets cold in the winter
* Some of the highest property taxes in the nation
* A sky high arrogance factor, etc
When you use terms like "worst," highest," "sky high," "more," and "most" in your statements you also might want to provide some citations if you want people to take you seriously. Otherwise you will just get a lot of scroll-downs Herr Epstein.
TexasHorselady...you did a pretty good job of defining the attraction in Austin. For me, I moved from the Dallas Ft Worth area to Austin about 10 yr ago. I clearly recall my wife making a comment on the first day we arrived in Austin. She said, " I love the way strangers look you in the eye, with a smile and say Hello". Unfortunately, I think the Austin area has lost some of that warmth, but is still a breath of fresh air compared to the other larger cities our size. I also love knowing that no matter how fast things get going or how hectic the big city can get......we always have lakes, lakes, lakes and more lakes.
On the liberal front, as an outsider, Austin is a small blue dot in a vast sea of red on the electoral maps. Doesn't necessarily mean liberal mecca, but it leans more D than R, which is alright with me.
No Detroit has nothing good about it. Does anyone still live there?? I figure at the rate people are leaving it should be just about empty by now. Anyways, the hillbilly country is what people in central texas call the hilly areas west of Austin and San Antonio. They give it a name because it isn't flat and treeless (like most of the rest of the state)
Gas guzzling SUV's and trucks. Have you looked at a full parking lot in Austin recently?? Have you studied auto buying trends in the Austin area?? As a transportation engineer, I do heavy studies on demographic information within cities. Austin has one of the lowest per capita usages of public transit in the country. Austinites are happiest sitting in traffic while guzzling gas and talking on their cell phones. It's the AUSTIN WAY!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by migol84
If the thread was about what makes Austin not "that great" then some of the points you've listed would be useful. Keyword: some.
This is not about what makes Austin that... it's about the opposite and why many people move here. Your types of posts get very annoying, biased and misleading as well.
Every city has bad things.... as well as good things. Even Detroit has good things being spoken of and why people love the city. I can see good things for every city. This thread is about that. Please stop being annoying and just be a regular person.
Austin is a liberal mecca? Where did you ever hear that? Sure, Austin is more liberal than conservative but not a mecca. Austin is the gateway to hillbilly country? What does that even mean? I doubt anybody moves here for that reason. Austin has more gas guzzling vehicles than any other metro in the nation? Where did you even get that information? For a city its size, yes, it does have a lot of congestion but the most in any metro of the nation? More than New York? More than LA? Possibly less than Houston? More than Dallas? More than any of those metros that have 3+ million in population?
Here's the thing I think about when people talk about oh how wonderful such and such cities are: Most places can be fun and cool if you know where to look.
For example my Aunt lives in Memphis- which is definitely not on many people's lists as far as places they want to move to. But you know what? Its actually a really fun city with a lot of music, art, and cool old neighborhoods. Her house is a HUGE old arts and crafts home in a charming old neighborhood that's perfectly safe and within easy walking distance of tons of restaurants, bars, clubs, etc etc. The difference is that her house is currently valued at $135,000. It would probably be $600,000 in Austin.
A city or a place is what you make it out to be. Any place can be a good place.
No Detroit has nothing good about it. Does anyone still live there??
About 900k people still live there as a matter of fact. And around 4 million people in its metro as well.
Quote:
Gas guzzling SUV's and trucks. Have you looked at a full parking lot in Austin recently?? Have you studied auto buying trends in the Austin area?? As a transportation engineer, I do heavy studies on demographic information within cities. Austin has one of the lowest per capita usages of public transit in the country. Austinites are happiest sitting in traffic while guzzling gas and talking on their cell phones. It's the AUSTIN WAY!!
but who said this was something good? Who said locals are proud of this? Hasn't Austin been pressing to answer for its transportation issues (albeit with still a very long way to go)? And if you were a "transportation engineer" I'm figuring you'd be smart enough to mention that Austin has quite the congestion for a city its size. But when you said it had "more gas guzzlings vehicles... than any other metro area in the nation" that makes me question your intent. That is not at all an accurate way of putting it.
No Detroit has nothing good about it. Does anyone still live there??
I grew up in the burbs of Detroit.
God's Country, literally.
Lots of Lakes, green grass, green trees. Beautiful place to live.
Detroit is a Pit.
But I can see why a lot of people stick to that area.
That's one of the reasons I like Austin burbs, hill part.
Reminds me of Michigan without the snow
And Austin has a lot to offer over Detroit.
Man, what's happened to that area ... sad to those of
us that knew it, and once loved it.
Location: The land of sugar... previously Houston and Austin
5,429 posts, read 14,841,754 times
Reputation: 3672
Quote:
Originally Posted by eepstein
Anyways, the hillbilly country is what people in central texas call the hilly areas west of Austin and San Antonio. They give it a name because it isn't flat and treeless (like most of the rest of the state)
Have you been anywhere in east Texas? Hardly treeless, and not completely flat either.
I'll give you that on west Texas, but that part of the state is sparsely populated in comparison to the major metros.
I'll give you that on west Texas, but that part of the state is sparsely populated in comparison to the major metros.
West Texas has some hills and real mountains... so not all flat. I usually think of the "treeless, flat" area to the pahandle plains, and parts of North Texas (like Dallas). I like the scenery in West Texas a lot, and if it wasn't for the lack of water and remoteness it would be nice place to live.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Austinites are happiest sitting in traffic while guzzling gas and talking on their cell phones. It's the AUSTIN WAY!!
