Where would you move if you were to leave Austin? (San Angelo: tornado, earthquakes)
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The way you speak of Austin, you'd think city leaders - using techniques unbeknown to even the CIA - have obtained absolute control over public perception through a totalitarian propaganda campaign. In reality, it sounds like you are a total sucker that bought into hype and came to Austin without doing your own research - and now you are bitter and unwilling to take responsibility for your own choice.
In any case, given that Austin has a GMP comparable to or greater than a "real city" like San Antonio, and a population fast-approaching 2 million people - I don't care how much you hate it, or how much it doesn't look or "feel" like one to you - it's a real city. Doesn't mean it's a big one like Dallas or Houston, of course, but one can simply no longer call Austin a "college town," even if many people there cling to that bygone notion.
Uninformed arguments on the basis of "infrastructure" or "drunk college kids" are meaningless compared to the bigger picture which I alluded to above, i.e., population and economy.
Good points. What we make of our experience in a new city is largely up to us; and wherever we go, we take us (and our baggage) along with us.
Makes me smile to hear newer Austinites lamenting the "passing" of the "old" Austin of the '70s, '80s, '90s, '00s.
1950s Austinites, the few who are around, might tell y'all that they preferred the pre-weird Austin (pre-1970).
I got here in 1959 when it was a totally different place...and have marvelled ever since at each stage of it's growth, good and bad. Yes, there are still lots of annoying & sometimes disheartening problems that come with such rapid growth, but I find it otherwise to be exciting & interesting.
Almost nothing can be frozen in time, so the latecomers just need to deal with the changes...as THEY are the major part of the problem.
When I first moved to Austin, you could wear non name brand shorts, t-shirts, and sandals anywhere around town and nobody cared. Now, people size you up as to whether you're a hipster, cowboy, hippie, etc... There are even signs of yuppie sneaking in. It's that vainness that I hate, it's still better than cities like Dallas (which is horrible for that), but it's not what I like. I want to be judged by my personality, not my "style". At least the options here are more varied than in Dallas, for instance they don't have the hippie culture or as many hipsters there, but I feel like Austin is going more of the "let's try to categorize you in a box" type of atmosphere than when I moved here. The problem with me is I can't be categorized, I do what's right for me, regardless of labels. I don't need tight jeans and an antique bike to prove anything, neither do I need designer shirts and $300 sunglasses. I don't want to have to wear a cowboy hat and boots either. Nor do I want to walk around with a foot long beard and not take baths. Why are these the only options that I have to choose from? Why can't I just be myself? Then the question is, is there any place where that is the case? I'm thinking the answer to that is "no" and while Austin may stereotype people, they don't seem as judgmental as other cities. They may not associate with you if you aren't their "type", but they won't judge you. At least there's still that.
I think the problem is that people think that people will be different in Austin than other places, but the problem is that people are well, people. Especially when most of the people are from other parts of the country and they are bringing in their customs and values. At some time what Austin was or what it represented gets diminished to the point that Austin isn't special. I don't think that's happened yet, but it will at some point. By that time, I will be on my beach sipping some rum and I won't care
You know that saying "youth is wasted on youth"... well when it comes to Austin, that applies to what I would call collective lack of "self-awareness", "emotional intelligence" and the "youthful wisdom to stay humble" - just like in other major youthful cities (Miami comes to mind), although there are many cities in the Midwest where a large portion of the youth have managed to stay humble (Cleveland, STL & Milwaukee come to mind). The key (I believe) is to develop some kind of perspective that allows you to control the negative aspects of your personality while you mature individually and collectively. Of course that would be too difficult, so it's better to just copy what everyone else is doing or let media and technology teach us societal rules-based behavior (with most venture capital still controlled by the boomers).
Luckily there is an activist system in Austin based on values that you do not really need to be mature to support. That makes the place tolerable. However, let's face it, life is hard enough to figure out when you are 40 - are you trying to tell me that the twentysomethings really have it all figured out? Jobs, money, and the consumer culture maybe... but true self-knowledge and self-awareness? They are still working on that
In the end these youthful Austinites will see their lives flash by and one day sooner rather than later many of them will double their age, and realize how ignorant about life they were back in 2011. Many of life's unhappy feelings are self-imposed. Conclusion = Live & Let Live. If people want to hold onto what you call superficial pursuits, let them evolve on their own.
It's funny, I re-read my passage and it seems like I am an old man - instead of the Genxer I am - not much older than the "youthful" population I am "pseudo-analyzing", LOL
You know that saying "youth is wasted on youth"... well when it comes to Austin, that applies to what I would call collective lack of "self-awareness", "emotional intelligence" and the "youthful wisdom to stay humble" - just like in other major youthful cities (Miami comes to mind), although there are many cities in the Midwest where a large portion of the youth have managed to stay humble (Cleveland, STL & Milwaukee come to mind). The key (I believe) is to develop some kind of perspective that allows you to control the negative aspects of your personality while you mature individually and collectively. Of course that would be too difficult, so it's better to just copy what everyone else is doing or let media and technology teach us societal rules-based behavior (with most venture capital still controlled by the boomers).
Luckily there is an activist system in Austin based on values that you do not really need to be mature to support. That makes the place tolerable. However, let's face it, life is hard enough to figure out when you are 40 - are you trying to tell me that the twentysomethings really have it all figured out? Jobs, money, and the consumer culture maybe... but true self-knowledge and self-awareness? They are still working on that
In the end these youthful Austinites will see their lives flash by and one day sooner rather than later many of them will double their age, and realize how ignorant about life they were back in 2011. Many of life's unhappy feelings are self-imposed. Conclusion = Live & Let Live. If people want to hold onto what you call superficial pursuits, let them evolve on their own.
It's funny, I re-read my passage and it seems like I am an old man - instead of the Genxer I am - not much older than the "youthful" population I am "pseudo-analyzing", LOL
Very interesting insight. I too am a Gen X-er but I feel like an old fart compared to all the 20 something hipsters here.
One point about cities with "humble" youth as you mentioned Cleveland, St. Louis, or Milwaukee: I think the youth there are probably more realistic because they see how hard life is, they see it everyday when their parents or friends lose jobs, they see it in the rampant crime, etc... I think the hubris you see is probably more lack of hope or depression - they see how bad life can be.
In Austin, it's somewhat of lala land, they can move from Cleveland to Austin and not face the problems they have back home. We have low crime, a great economy, and really very few urban problems compared to most cities, except traffic and growing problems, which are mainly self inflicted (face it we're doing absolutely nothing about traffic except saying that we don't want to build more roads like Houston did).
A young entrepeneur can come down to Austin and open a restaurant he/she has been dreaming of his/her whole life, albeit in a trailer, but on the cheap. If they succeed they can become a successful businessman/woman, upgrade from a trailer to a building and they'll be instantly accepted/cherished in the city for making the city weirder/more unique. You can't find that in other cities. For instance, I use New Orleans because I know it, but it's virtually impossible to start up a new restaurant in New Orleans unless you're a celebrity chef. If you're last name isn't Lagasse, Brennan, etc.. nobody would go to your restaurant, plain and simple. There are simply too many good restaurants there already. Here, because there is such a lack of good restaurants, there is plenty of food niches that people can fill.
The problem is while those young businessmen/women can start up a successful business quickly and become rich, they don't have experience with life and so they think they know it when they don't. I think that's some of what is wrong with Austin. We are controlled by a large youth population who thinks they know what they stand for, but really they are lost. The people in their 50's+ were part of the hippie movement and frankly are a bit lackadaisical about the city, they want to score some dope and hang out sans bathing suit at hippie hollow, so we can't rely on them. So we're left with those in their mid 30's to late 40's to solve the city's problems (Gen X'ers like you and me). But it's hard when those in their 20's/early 30's (Gen Y) won't listen. I do like hanging out with Gen Y though, they are fun, especially the women. The females in that age range finally don't seem to have the hangups that older women do, which is refreshing.
Very interesting insight. I too am a Gen X-er but I feel like an old fart compared to all the 20 something hipsters here.
One point about cities with "humble" youth as you mentioned Cleveland, St. Louis, or Milwaukee: I think the youth there are probably more realistic because they see how hard life is, they see it everyday when their parents or friends lose jobs, they see it in the rampant crime, etc... I think the hubris you see is probably more lack of hope or depression - they see how bad life can be.
In Austin, it's somewhat of lala land, they can move from Cleveland to Austin and not face the problems they have back home. We have low crime, a great economy, and really very few urban problems compared to most cities, except traffic and growing problems, which are mainly self inflicted (face it we're doing absolutely nothing about traffic except saying that we don't want to build more roads like Houston did).
A young entrepeneur can come down to Austin and open a restaurant he/she has been dreaming of his/her whole life, albeit in a trailer, but on the cheap. If they succeed they can become a successful businessman/woman, upgrade from a trailer to a building and they'll be instantly accepted/cherished in the city for making the city weirder/more unique. You can't find that in other cities. For instance, I use New Orleans because I know it, but it's virtually impossible to start up a new restaurant in New Orleans unless you're a celebrity chef. If you're last name isn't Lagasse, Brennan, etc.. nobody would go to your restaurant, plain and simple. There are simply too many good restaurants there already. Here, because there is such a lack of good restaurants, there is plenty of food niches that people can fill.
The problem is while those young businessmen/women can start up a successful business quickly and become rich, they don't have experience with life and so they think they know it when they don't. I think that's some of what is wrong with Austin. We are controlled by a large youth population who thinks they know what they stand for, but really they are lost. The people in their 50's+ were part of the hippie movement and frankly are a bit lackadaisical about the city, they want to score some dope and hang out sans bathing suit at hippie hollow, so we can't rely on them. So we're left with those in their mid 30's to late 40's to solve the city's problems (Gen X'ers like you and me). But it's hard when those in their 20's/early 30's (Gen Y) won't listen. I do like hanging out with Gen Y though, they are fun.
Nice post ... and I agree GenYers are a lot of fun
The last time I visited New York City was right after Robert F Wagner Jr. had first been elected Mayor. We stayed with friends who lived on Governors Island.
We weren't attracted by the 'marketing conspiracy' that so many talk about; but, the published weather data did make me more comfortable about out decision to relocate here for 'family reasons'. Unfortunately, we arrived just in time for the four hottest, driest, dustiest, longest summers on record. I don't need any winter to speak of, but these past four summers have been nuts! IF, and it's a big IF, we were to move, I'd be looking for a tad less heat. We're not quite old enough to do the 'summer in the mountains' thing, even though we have a place in Highlands, NC(where the temps are 20-30 degrees lower than Austin during high summer).
It would be interesting to 'figure' how our decision might have been different IF the four summers PRIOR to our move had been so blazing hot as the last four. We're both from the 'deep South', so we understand heat, but CHOOSING to move to a convection oven is looking like an odd selection, indeed.
Nah, we're not goin' anywhere...just might have to rethink that 'summer in the mountains' idea.
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I don't need any winter to speak of, but these past four summers have been nuts! IF, and it's a big IF, we were to move, I'd be looking for a tad less heat. We're not quite old enough to do the 'summer in the mountains' thing, even though we have a place in Highlands, NC(where the temps are 20-30 degrees lower than Austin during high summer
