What makes a city like Austin/Portland so hipster cool and not a city like Tampa Bay? (Houston: apartments, job market)

[Asheville1]

Originally Posted by Tiger Beer

Just thinking how Austin has all the right ingredients, but equally pushed over into undesirable lack of infrastructure, overcrowding, becoming more of a huge highway shiny city, etc.

Whereas you get another urban city with beaches and low costs... But somehow lacks the necessary 'it' to become hipster cool, etc.

What separates the two?

I moved from Encinitas, CA, a nice beach town in North San Diego County to Asheville, NC. By far, Ashville is more hip, especially West Asheville. Asheville has a lot in common with Portland. Austin, I've never been to so I cannot comment. But what makes a place cool and hip, in my opinion are that give a area "punch". There are a lot of ingredients. One is geography. Add a college or university (and all that they bring- and draw), good restaurants, a good music scene, a progressive attitude and tolerance. Hmmm. I'm sure there are many more to ponder. But that's my start. Oh, lots of bars!

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by Tiger Beer

Just thinking how Austin has all the right ingredients, but equally pushed over into undesirable lack of infrastructure, overcrowding, becoming more of a huge highway shiny city, etc.

Whereas you get another urban city with beaches and low costs... But somehow lacks the necessary 'it' to become hipster cool, etc.

What separates the two?

Demographics:

Austin:


Tampa:

[verybadgnome]

Sorry but Florida is a joke. When the best thing people can say about a place is: "If we were back in Minnesota we'd be shoveling snow right now" and "I have a golf course in my back yard" the only term that comes into my head is "delusions of paradise." Floridians should probably never visit Southern California or Hawaii lest they burst their bubble.

As far as what makes a place 'hipster' Forbes has one answer of many:

America's Hippest Hipster Neighborhoods - Forbes

[BevoLJ]

Originally Posted by riaelise

The headscratcher for me is the perception that Austin is "wealthier". Per the census, the median household income is below $50,000.

To be fair it is only $13 under $50,000, so that is a bit misleading, while accurate. But I am assuming that it was said in reference to Tampa. And it is true that those in Tampa make a good bit less than Austin.



Since I went to pull up the incomes I pulled up a few more numbers that are probably relevant to the discussion.



Source for all are the Census' 2011 ACS.

[ognend]

Originally Posted by verybadgnome

Sorry but Florida is a joke. When the best thing people can say about a place is: "If we were back in Minnesota we'd be shoveling snow right now" and "I have a golf course in my back yard" the only term that comes into my head is "delusions of paradise." Floridians should probably never visit Southern California or Hawaii lest they burst their bubble.

As far as what makes a place 'hipster' Forbes has one answer of many:

America's Hippest Hipster Neighborhoods - Forbes

Have you actually spent any time living in Florida? How about anywhere else aside from Austin? I have lived in Europe, Canada, Missouri, New York City, Florida, Texas.... Most people treat Florida like it is discardable but that's because it is a tourist destination (what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas kind of a mentality). Key West is a nice place, so are many little towns along the coast. You could have a boat and sail to the islands, chill out and just enjoy life. Inland Florida has a much older tradition of tending cattle and cowboying than Texas. Just because it has not been popularized in Hollywood movies.... I take the time to study the history of every place I have lived in (except Missouri, living there was not by choice ) - you would be amazed how colorful the history of Florida is. As colorful, if not more, than that of TX.

What do you have around here that's so great? Lots of fenced off private land, exotic game ranches that are a huge business where legalized slaughter happens daily. A police state crawling with patrol cars at every step handing out tickets..... The lake downtown where people jog on top of each other? Let's see, the ugliest part of the Gulf Coast where sand is like mud, what else? Hill country that is pretty (!) but unless you are filthy rich to own acreage you will only see the hills and trees from the highway? The glorified "cowboy capital of the world" Bandera with one street and a few crappy restaurants? Anything else? The barren wasteland around Dallas-Ft Worth megalopolis? The humid, sweltering Houston concrete/metal jungle? Get real

The thing Austin has going for it is the fact that the Silicon Valley got too expensive for ordinary engineer types to make a living in. At some point Austin appealed to them so they congregated here and hence the entrepreneurial thing started. I will grant you that if you are into software development or tech jobs, Austin is one of the places to be - not the only one, but one of the top ones. Just like NYC for financial jobs or LA for movies and acting etc. You will never find that in Florida, just not that many professional jobs there. It is a retirement and tourist destination so if you are a doctor or a lawyer or something related to tourism, you will have a good life.

UT is nothing special for a University, just another average place. Better than any University in Florida except maybe UF.

Florida like many other states has its problems, it ain't paradise. There are a lot of poor people and trailers but hey, I think the most trailers I have ever seen in my life (after New Mexico) is actually in Texas!

Take the time to KNOW a place and then talk about it
OD

[Austinite101]

Originally Posted by mark311

Yeah, I don't know. I don't have anything against the hipsters. All the ones that I know are genuinely good people. I don't automatically assume that they are all d-bags because they wear mirrored sunglasses and listen to Passion Pit.

Wtf? I like Passion Pit...

[BevoLJ]

@ognend Like you have taken any time to KNOW Austin and talk about it? Because if you had you seem to have only looked for the particulars that interest only you, and not try to experience the the city for its own culture.

You were the first and only person in this thread to completely trash a place before VBG, and it was Austin, in an Austin forum. Then you get upset that VBG trashes FL? lol

Apparently you like cowboys and country. That is great! I am glad you have something you like. But from everything in your post I don't think you are a hipster or very knowledgeable on hipster culture, nor do you wish to be. To be honest you seem to only want to avoid it completely. Because of that, I don't think it is your opinions the OP was looking for. He was asking about Hipsters not Cowboys. Seriously they are COMPLETELY different cultures. To suggest Austin has absolutely nothing to offer as far as hipster culture because it isn't cowboy enough for you, or there isn't enough publicly available land out in the rural Texas countryside is a bit absurd to me.

Maybe you should Google 'Hipster' and find out what it was he was asking about, because cowboy culture ain't it.

Oh, and UT is a fantastic school. Much better than 'average.' UT is also better than UF. If Florida has a school better than UT, it would be Miami not UF. Either way neither UF or Miami are anywhere near Tampa, while UT is right smack dab in the middle of downtown Austin so I don't see why we are talking about them. If we are talking states then Rice blows all three schools completely out of the water to such a degree the discussion is pointless.

Hook'em!

@ Austinite101 - Hipster!

[Austinite101]

Originally Posted by ognend

UT is nothing special for a University, just another average place. Better than any University in Florida except maybe UF.

Actually, UT beats UF by a large margin in every ranking done. So yes, Florida has no universities that are better than UT.
The University of Texas at Austin

Nationally-

ARWU: 27
U.S. News & World Report: 45
Washington Monthly: 19

Globally-

ARWU: 35
QS: 76
Times: 29


The University of Florida

Nationally-

ARWU: 38
U.S. News & World Report: 54
Washington Monthly: 26

Globally-

ARWU: 72

[ognend]

Originally Posted by Austinite101

Actually, UT beats UF by a large margin in every ranking done. So yes, Florida has no universities that are better than UT.
The University of Texas at Austin

Nationally-

ARWU: 27
U.S. News & World Report: 45
Washington Monthly: 19

Globally-

ARWU: 35
QS: 76
Times: 29


The University of Florida

Nationally-

ARWU: 38
U.S. News & World Report: 54
Washington Monthly: 26

Globally-

ARWU: 72

Yeah, that's what I thought

[ognend]

Originally Posted by BevoLJ

@ognend Like you have taken any time to KNOW Austin and talk about it? Because if you had you seem to have only looked for the particulars that interest only you, and not try to experience the the city for its own culture.

You were the first and only person in this thread to completely trash a place before VBG, and it was Austin, in an Austin forum. Then you get upset that VBG trashes FL? lol

Apparently you like cowboys and country. That is great! I am glad you have something you like. But from everything in your post I don't think you are a hipster or very knowledgeable on hipster culture, nor do you wish to be. To be honest you seem to only want to avoid it completely. Because of that, I don't think it is your opinions the OP was looking for. He was asking about Hipsters not Cowboys. Seriously they are COMPLETELY different cultures. To suggest Austin has absolutely nothing to offer as far as hipster culture because it isn't cowboy enough for you, or there isn't enough publicly available land out in the rural Texas countryside is a bit absurd to me.

Maybe you should Google 'Hipster' and find out what it was he was asking about, because cowboy culture ain't it.

Oh, and UT is a fantastic school. Much better than 'average.' UT is also better than UF. If Florida has a school better than UT, it would be Miami not UF. Either way neither UF or Miami are anywhere near Tampa, while UT is right smack dab in the middle of downtown Austin so I don't see why we are talking about them. If we are talking states then Rice blows all three schools completely out of the water to such a degree the discussion is pointless.

Hook'em!

@ Austinite101 - Hipster!

Austin forum or not, you have to be realistic about where you live . Sometimes you can't be until you have a) lived elsewhere or b) someone who has points out certain things to you.

I was not reacting to the hipster part, mostly to the "FL is a joke" statement (OP question was Tampa or Austin). If you are going to say something like that, at least back it up with something. You are right though about hipster vs cowboy thing at least for me, I did however preface my original post with where I am coming from.

I am still unclear as to how a hipster can be anti-trend or fashion but yet all uniformed in tight jeans and disheveled looks and androgynous haircuts .Seems like a trend or fashion to me

OD