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Old 03-21-2012, 09:13 PM
 
Location: Greater Seattle, WA Metro Area
1,930 posts, read 6,514,276 times
Reputation: 907

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Austin97 View Post
Agree with this, but it is a forum after all. Most of the regulars can get down right nasty in a way they would never do in person.

Not me of course
Let this be a lesson CD'ers. Someone on this forum is my new next door neighbor in Seattle. We discovered that after a few random posts in which I had participated in answering questions for her. Thankfully I have always conducted myself with diginity. Ya never know...

 
Old 03-21-2012, 11:29 PM
 
2,633 posts, read 6,378,094 times
Reputation: 2887
Quote:
Originally Posted by JayBrown80 View Post
Yeah, this post was real "down home friendly"! At no point did the OP act upset, or compare California to Texas, but out of the woodwork comes the "this t'aint cali-forn-i-a and we be glad about that! yessirree! it's a relief we aint like them californians!" And you bashed California twice for absolutely no reason! That's a hat trick!
Allow me to provide a rebuttal, although I really don't consider it effective in light of your ongoing diatribe....

I said "If this upsets you..." and directly responded to her point of view as a Bay Area resident. Having graduated high school in the Bay in the early 90's, and spending an additional 5 years up there from 2001 - 2005, I know the culture that I spoke to. As a CA transplant myself, I intended to provide my perspective on the OP's open question - if that perspective differed from what you considered acceptable, that's not my problem. No hard feelings about any of it (the CA rant of mine or your misguided attack on me), that would be the "balanced with a bit of down-home friendly" part of the direct reaction.

Instead of being baited into some multi-quote flame war with you, I'll just let this be my last input on the subject:

To the OP,

Austin is VERY progressive, but in vastly different ways than someone from the Bay would expect. Please realize the C-D provides a very limited an often misinterpreted glimpse into the thoughts of a minute percentage of the population. The best way to see for yourself would be to visit our fair city - as a former Bay Area resident, I find Austin to be fantastic and honestly more diverse in opinion, ethos and "vibe" than the Bay. You will find a broader spectrum of values, weather and fanaticism in Austin - and for side fun, you can go to West TX or Dallas, which is like stepping onto the moon relative to SF Bay.

That said, if you come in trying to compare, or you're looking for the same environment, it just won't work - it's like grapes and quenepas. Nobody around here will judge you for what you want in life, and you'll likely find many people who share many of the same ideals.
 
Old 03-22-2012, 12:05 AM
 
Location: SW Austin
206 posts, read 368,654 times
Reputation: 69
Very progressive. Downtown has made the most progress especially with those condos.
 
Old 03-22-2012, 01:10 AM
 
100 posts, read 257,177 times
Reputation: 50
Before reading the thread and getting baited into saying something anti-conservative, here's my take on Austin, as a recent transplant. I've lived all over the country -- Santa Barbara, Calif. most recently -- and I don't think Austin is super conservative. Honestly, I don't leave Austin too often (except to visit family in Houston every few months), and I live in 78703, so my experience I'm sure is different than many people's. I work in a liberal environment, and all of my friends I've met here are liberal. Maybe I don't go to the right places to extreme right wingers?

(Personally, I consider myself to be on the super-liberal end of the spectrum, but I get along well with people of many political persuasions, so long as they don't shove their political/religious views down my throat.)
 
Old 03-22-2012, 04:43 AM
 
Location: Austin, TX/London, UK
709 posts, read 1,394,953 times
Reputation: 488
Quote:
Originally Posted by EzPeterson View Post
If this upset you, then you will not find Austin to be "progressive" at all. If you walk in here, intending to compare everything to the Bay, you'll miss everything that makes Austin ten times more truly accepting and "progressive" than every major metro in CA.

From Mark with the big Chevy truck with the McCain sticker still on the back, gun rack in the window, complaining about gas prices being too high at $3.55 per gallon while he makes his "hellish" 45 minute-on-a-bad-day commute down MoPac, to Preetham and Joslyn with their Porsche and Lexus (D.I.N.K.) to Joe and Steve with their 3 English Bulldogs, Hajit and his odd predilection for masonry around every tree, Ada and Mike and their two kids under 5, I know one thing about my neighborhood in Austin for sure:

Redneck, Indian, Hispanic, Gay, Persian, Turkish, whatever... what you "identify" them as is not nearly as important as who the person is, and I'm sure each one of those people would rather you call them by their name than by whatever ethnocentric tag has been established as "correct".

Oh, and if you ever tell my wife that she's "Latina", she'll gladly remind you in two languages that she's a goddamn American.

And that, my friend, is what you will find in Austin. There's a certain level of we've-had-enough-pc-garbage, balanced by quite a bit of down-home friendly that just gets straight to the cut.

California loves to hype how "unbiased" it is by going out of its way to make sure that everyone understands the correct bias they are to identify with, then calling that dichotomy "acceptance". You won't find as much of that here, but I consider that a relief.
Fantastic!

/thread
 
Old 03-22-2012, 01:46 PM
 
Location: Broomfield, CO
1,445 posts, read 3,253,648 times
Reputation: 913
I agree...Austin is a very progressive city.

* Worst traffic congestion in the country (medium sized cities)
* Very high central city housing costs
* Entire metro area entertainment based solely on UT sports
* A totally inefficient public transportation system
* Some of the highest property taxes in the nation
* Totally corrupt city government
* Complete disregard for the arcaic highway/road system in the area
* NO HOV lanes, no metering ramps, no message boards
* No growth control--sprawls in nearly every direction, yet at the same time claims they don't want to be like Dallas or Houston
* Segregated city--black/hispanics on one side, whites on the other
* Inferiority complex with regards to Dallas and Houston

Ah, yes. Many cities could learn for Austin's progressiveness.


Quote:
Originally Posted by EzPeterson View Post
Allow me to provide a rebuttal, although I really don't consider it effective in light of your ongoing diatribe....

I said "If this upsets you..." and directly responded to her point of view as a Bay Area resident. Having graduated high school in the Bay in the early 90's, and spending an additional 5 years up there from 2001 - 2005, I know the culture that I spoke to. As a CA transplant myself, I intended to provide my perspective on the OP's open question - if that perspective differed from what you considered acceptable, that's not my problem. No hard feelings about any of it (the CA rant of mine or your misguided attack on me), that would be the "balanced with a bit of down-home friendly" part of the direct reaction.

Instead of being baited into some multi-quote flame war with you, I'll just let this be my last input on the subject:

To the OP,

Austin is VERY progressive, but in vastly different ways than someone from the Bay would expect. Please realize the C-D provides a very limited an often misinterpreted glimpse into the thoughts of a minute percentage of the population. The best way to see for yourself would be to visit our fair city - as a former Bay Area resident, I find Austin to be fantastic and honestly more diverse in opinion, ethos and "vibe" than the Bay. You will find a broader spectrum of values, weather and fanaticism in Austin - and for side fun, you can go to West TX or Dallas, which is like stepping onto the moon relative to SF Bay.

That said, if you come in trying to compare, or you're looking for the same environment, it just won't work - it's like grapes and quenepas. Nobody around here will judge you for what you want in life, and you'll likely find many people who share many of the same ideals.
 
Old 03-22-2012, 02:00 PM
 
Location: Austin
773 posts, read 1,254,369 times
Reputation: 947
Quote:
Originally Posted by eepstein View Post
I agree...Austin is a very progressive city.

* Worst traffic congestion in the country (medium sized cities)
* Very high central city housing costs
* Entire metro area entertainment based solely on UT sports
* A totally inefficient public transportation system
* Some of the highest property taxes in the nation
* Totally corrupt city government
* Complete disregard for the arcaic highway/road system in the area
* NO HOV lanes, no metering ramps, no message boards
* No growth control--sprawls in nearly every direction, yet at the same time claims they don't want to be like Dallas or Houston
* Segregated city--black/hispanics on one side, whites on the other
* Inferiority complex with regards to Dallas and Houston

Ah, yes. Many cities could learn for Austin's progressiveness.
I don't agree with all of Eepstein's points (above), but he is spot on with respect to certain issues. Austin does have hideously bad traffic, limited public transportation, high property taxes, a lot of colorless sprawl, and there's a high cost of living associated with living in the city's most desirable, vibrant areas.

I don't see Austin as being as segregated as other cities I've visited or lived in, however — this is relative to what someone is accustomed to. Compared to the Bay Area, Austin is more segregated. Are there ares of the metroplex where I rarely see skin of color? Absolutely. I don't know if this amounts to segregation as the term is strictly applied, though.
 
Old 03-22-2012, 02:26 PM
 
2,633 posts, read 6,378,094 times
Reputation: 2887
Talk about going off topic... the OP asked about community environment, not infrastructure.

I'd be interested as to where some of your data comes from. According to the Texas Transportation Institute at Texas A&M, Austin didn't even register in the Top 10 worst traffic metros, while the San Jose MSA (almost the same population as Austin MSA) registers as the 8th worst in the nation, regardless of size. They have HOV, metering and crappy public transportation too, and may have invented suburban sprawl. You seem to have issues with the roads and traffic, but they don't even compare.

Speaking of sprawl, and keeping with the CA comparison, the only place in CA you can get from city to farm in 20 minutes or less like you can in Austin would be Fresno, and that comparison isn't even close.

Taxes: Yup, property taxes are high, but no state income tax. Would you rather pay 1% more on 35% of your income, or 6% more on ALL of your income?

One nice side effect of the high property tax? Keeps housing prices for running up to ridiculous levels. 78704 runs about $250-$300 PSF and is about as "central" as you can get. Bay Area? Try $400-$450 psf, and that's for a suburb. You want a condo in city center SF? Try $750 PSF, if you get lucky.

Segregation? Not in my neighborhood, or my house for that matter. On the whole I get your idea, but what do you think East San Jose, East Palo Alto, East Redwood City, East Mountain View all have in common, besides being east of THE (since it's CA) 101? Higher minority populations.

Entertainment? You ever hear of the Live Music Capital? Just checking... that doesn't work for you, try professional baseball, hockey, basketball and arena football - more fun than the majors at a fraction of the price. You want the big leagues? You don't have to brave some of the most violent crowds in the NFL to watch the Cowboys or Texans, or you can go to two of the nicest ballparks in the nation. Make a weekend of it, only 2.5-3 hours away.

Inferiority complex? You lost me there - I have yet to meet one person in Austin who wishes they were in Dallas or Houston, or wishes that Austin were like either of those cities - maybe I missed something, but I cannot reconcile your point here with reality.
 
Old 03-22-2012, 04:26 PM
 
Location: Central Texas
13,715 posts, read 31,011,624 times
Reputation: 9270
Quote:
Originally Posted by eepstein View Post
I agree...Austin is a very progressive city.

* Worst traffic congestion in the country (medium sized cities)
* Very high central city housing costs
* Entire metro area entertainment based solely on UT sports
* A totally inefficient public transportation system
* Some of the highest property taxes in the nation
* Totally corrupt city government
* Complete disregard for the arcaic highway/road system in the area
* NO HOV lanes, no metering ramps, no message boards
* No growth control--sprawls in nearly every direction, yet at the same time claims they don't want to be like Dallas or Houston
* Segregated city--black/hispanics on one side, whites on the other
* Inferiority complex with regards to Dallas and Houston

Ah, yes. Many cities could learn for Austin's progressiveness.
Ahh...another piece of eepstein fiction.

Very high central city housing costs? Compared to what/where? Wanna live near "downtown" in any popular city and you will need money. Got $500K? You can live very nicely in Austin. That won't buy you much in the Bay Area.

UT sports is big. But somehow you repeatedly ignore the monumental music business in this city. You really need to get out of Avery Ranch more. Your favorite city Sacramento is losing its NBA team isn't it? How is that Austin will have one of only a dozen or so Formula 1 circuits in the world?

All of Texas has high property tax rates. But Texas residents still rank lower in actual property tax payments than California residents and our schools are better. Try living in New Jersey.

Please call out specifically the corruption in the Austin city government. I don't like a lot of what they do, but that doesn't mean they are corrupt. The city has outstanding financial ratings (which you have ignored repeatedly).

Yup no HOV lanes. And some of the main roads are a mess. But there are message boards. I see one every day on my drive home - at 183 and Braker.

Growth control....what exactly do you want? Austin has plenty of zoning, construction, and other restrictions. Developers complain constantly about the resistance they face on growth. Access to water is another issue.

Segregation....once again you ignore recent data (2010 census) that show increasing movement of blacks into suburban areas. The gentrification of East Austin is real. Asians are all over town.

Want to be like Dallas/Houston? That's funny.
 
Old 03-22-2012, 07:15 PM
 
Location: Great State of Texas
86,052 posts, read 84,141,708 times
Reputation: 27718
Austin is liberal but not by California standards. San Francisco and Austin are like night and day.
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