Is Austin still a true "College Town"? (Dayton: university, live)

[JJG]

Self-explanatory.

Simple yes or no question, only because I saw this somewhere else.

[Trainwreck20]

Define college town? It has a major college, but its identity is really completely independent of UT now. Status as a 'college town' probably ended in the 90s, more or less, but it isn't like it is a specific thing.

[Cd225]

I think of college towns as being dominated by the college (like Lawrence KS and Manhattan KS) so I voted no.

[JJG]

Originally Posted by Cd225

I think of college towns as being dominated by the college (like Lawrence KS and Manhattan KS) so I voted no.

^^^ This, pretty much. In economy, sports, influence, etc... a "College Town" is one that is dominated by one or many colleges within the city.

I say it isn't due to Austin's growth and diversity in its economy. I know UT is still very big part of the state capital, but the past few times I've been down there, I got a more youthful vibe, but not really a "college" vibe.

Ya know?

[ashbeeigh]

I think the vibe may depend on what part of town you are in as well as where you live. If you live central, say Hyde Park down to some of Riverside, you can throw a rock and hit a college student or hear a conversation about UT. The further out you get the less of a UT vibe you get.

[Ivory Lee Spurlock]

With the exception of the UT area, Austin doesn't feel like a college town. At least it doesn't to me. If I'm heading South on Guadalupe, the moment I cross MLK, Austin stops feeling like a college town.

I've always thought Austin has the vibe of beach town, such as Daytona Beach or Key West, but even more so around the UT area, where if a person didn't know any better, he or she might thnk there's a beach just a few blocks away. I've lived in Austin over 40 years and it still feels like I'm on vaction.

[ScoPro]

In some respects it is similar to Boston - being a destination/education/tech hub in addition to the government (with its history).

[m1a1mg]

Originally Posted by Cd225

I think of college towns as being dominated by the college (like Lawrence KS and Manhattan KS) so I voted no.

Totally. I lived in Manhappiness. KSU dominates everything there.

[H'ton]

H No!


Austin, with a city population of now more than 800,000 (11th in the USA) and a metro population of over 2 MILLION people is NOT a college town anymore.



UT's student population of about 50,000 is about 2.5% of the metro population. Let's make an overestimate and say there are 50,000 students + 50,000 UT employees that are not students...that's still only 5% of the metro population directly tied into the University.


Compare that with "real" small college towns...the Big 12 is full of them. Austin is a medium size city that has worked hard to establish itself independent of UT-Austin.

[WhatTheFox]

Ha! College Town? That ship has long sailed.