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Yeah! As they say in our ads, "What happens here changes the world..." we just don't want it to change our beloved Austin.
Why, if it were up to me, Texas would be an independent country again and I would put up a border fence to keep all of you rude, arrogant, OC loving, subdivision happy out! Maybe we can have Austin secede from the new Texas. Travis county is already a blue county in a red state.
Never mind we native Texan/Austinites didn't elect the right people (or didn't recall the bad ones). Never mind that we used to vote down anything related to infrastructure believing that if we don't build it, they won't come.
Maybe we should call it a day and move our University and good vibes down from the former Waterloo to the other city that almost became our state capital... Bastrop! We can start over! This time we will get it right.
Austin would still be surrounded by Texas, it seems like there is no way it would have a chance.
I have not heard that people from the Midwest are rude ever before.
Likewise. Nor does AustinTexan speak for all Texans, or even most that I know, come to that.
And which ads are those, datacity? Somehow missed them.
I HAVE heard, and have experienced firsthand, that New Yorkers are rude (the only person I ever, good Texas Lady that I am, threw out of my house was from New York City, but I suspect he just thought he was being neighborly, coming into my house, being introduced to me, and immediately telling me that I was frying chicken - and everything else - all wrong). It may be just a difference in culture, but, hey, when in Rome and all that.
I have not heard that people from the Midwest are rude ever before.
Likewise. Nor does AustinTexan speak for all Texans, or even most that I know, come to that.
And which ads are those, datacity? Somehow missed them.
I HAVE heard, and have experienced firsthand, that New Yorkers are rude (the only person I ever, good Texas Lady that I am, threw out of my house was from New York City, but I suspect he just thought he was being neighborly, coming into my house, being introduced to me, and immediately telling me that I was frying chicken - and everything else - all wrong). It may be just a difference in culture, but, hey, when in Rome and all that.
Sorry, I was referring to the UT ads with voiceover from Walter Kronkite that play during all televised sports events. I hope all understood that my post was a big "just kidding," a tongue in cheek response to AustinTexan who I think might just have been a bit satirical as well. C'mon ,stay weird!
I asked my sister who moved here in '92, from Dallas, if Austin has changed a lot since she's been here - and she said it has. She also said she was glad it did because it was too country and small town previously, for her liking.
So there you have it from a long-timer. Not every long term Austinite/Texan thinks like the few on this forum.
twange..That was a funny post I don't find yankees and midwesterners to be all that rude. In all my experience as a color tech at a busy salon, our least favorite transplants were from Florida (I know, lots of Northerners move there). I don't know what it was about them, but they drove us nuts. I liked all my clients from the Midwest, NY, and gasp, even California. Of the European variety the worst were Iranian and Arabian. Our faves were English, Irish,Cuban and Indian.
But as far as in the U.S...My current neighbor (next door) is from Michigan. He's the best neighbor we've ever had. He's a Texan and southerner in Spirit. He actually came to our defense against some yahoo who doesn't even live on our street (I'm not sure where he's from, but he sounds a lot like my B.I.L, who is from Arkansas). My husband was mowing the yard and was sweeping up the clippings, many of which ended up in the street since it was windy. Well, this clown drove past, honked at my husband, went to his house, grabbed a broom, came back to our house and proceeded to cuss at us as he swept up the stray grass, put it in the back of his truck and drive off...all with my 4 year old in the yard.
I was still in the yard trying to calm down when my neighbor came out and listened to my story. He said a lot of choice things about the guy (who he knows, but doesn't like) and had me laughing in no time. So during the course of that week, my neighbor goes on a walk with his grandson and passes this guys house and the man starts bragging about what he did. My neighbor said he told him off. He also tried to brag to my neighbor across the street while she and her husband were out walking and they blew him off as well. Guess that Southern boy didn't think about the fact that those neighbors were also very good friends of mine and his tales of glory pretty much went nowhere. My neighbor across the street is married to a man from Wisconsin. So, as a lifelong Texan, I have only great things to say about midwesterners
twange..That was a funny post I don't find yankees and midwesterners to be all that rude. In all my experience as a color tech at a busy salon, our least favorite transplants were from Florida (I know, lots of Northerners move there). I don't know what it was about them, but they drove us nuts. I liked all my clients from the Midwest, NY, and gasp, even California. Of the European variety the worst were Iranian and Arabian. Our faves were English, Irish,Cuban and Indian.
But as far as in the U.S...My current neighbor (next door) is from Michigan. He's the best neighbor we've ever had. He's a Texan and southerner in Spirit. He actually came to our defense against some yahoo who doesn't even live on our street (I'm not sure where he's from, but he sounds a lot like my B.I.L, who is from Arkansas). My husband was mowing the yard and was sweeping up the clippings, many of which ended up in the street since it was windy. Well, this clown drove past, honked at my husband, went to his house, grabbed a broom, came back to our house and proceeded to cuss at us as he swept up the stray grass, put it in the back of his truck and drive off...all with my 4 year old in the yard.
I was still in the yard trying to calm down when my neighbor came out and listened to my story. He said a lot of choice things about the guy (who he knows, but doesn't like) and had me laughing in no time. So during the course of that week, my neighbor goes on a walk with his grandson and passes this guys house and the man starts bragging about what he did. My neighbor said he told him off. He also tried to brag to my neighbor across the street while she and her husband were out walking and they blew him off as well. Guess that Southern boy didn't think about the fact that those neighbors were also very good friends of mine and his tales of glory pretty much went nowhere. My neighbor across the street is married to a man from Wisconsin. So, as a lifelong Texan, I have only great things to say about midwesterners
I think its hard to generalize per a large socal grouping, from cities to states to regions. For example, saying a city is "nice" or "mean". Heck, people from the same FAMILY differ in attitudes and decency. When you get to the level of cities and such, there are just so many varying qualities that that all-encompassing term becomes meaningless. I think that city growth in general is out of control in the USA. Sprawl itself is a phenomenon that is endemic to metro urban growth practically everywhere, with the exceptions glaring in their singularity. And even those few usually are due to geography that precludes sprawl, along with a corrollary economic base higher than average, which removes the desperation to grow at all costs. Much of this is due to cheap land on the peripherary, along with a taste for large lots and houses. The federal interstates are the last piece of that enabling puzzle, as a de facto subsidy to that same growth. Put it all together, and you have universal sprawl. Now, I think the vast majority of out-of-staters, AND big city native Texans attracted to Austin are looking for one of the few exceptions to that rule, to get out of that trap, and create a quality-of-life for themselves, that can't be had in your average metro. In Austin, they are evidentally willing to even take a paycut, or, even worse, less chance for advancement in a career path, outside of tech, to make this happen. That just goes to show you how awful most metros are(I can't even count how many Austinites I met who were from Houston, and loathed it and its crazy sprawl and soulessness, so its a Texas thing too, along with Dallas. Native Texans are running away from that trend, call it the big boxing, or malling of america, if you would, in the same numbers), and that people are so tired of them that they are willing to sacrifice something so vital as career advancement/pay for a chance to live life on a higher, more vital level. Now, back to my main point. At what point in this universal quest, which so may people have/are taking in moving away from urban sprawl and soulessness, do we create an area that reflects the area from whence we came, rather than the area we "thought" we were moving TO? At what point do we create that same soulessness just by the sheer number of newcomers, sheer speed of growth, same blight of sprawl? And, finally, how delicate and transitory is that special quality of soul and life that is Austin, and at what point do you compromise that quality by paving and building over at breakneck speed, pricing old-timers and businesses out, and bringing corporate interests in? I strongly believe that the "Keep Austin Weird" thing was a bigger deal than was made out to be at the time. Many locals/businesses knew that that uniqueness was Austin's "Golden Egg", and that when that was lost, not only would the areas' biggest draw be compromised/gone, but, even worse, long-timers would see the "death" of that spirit, and mourn same as one would for a beloved person. Who is to blame for all this? No one and everyone. It's simply too large and complex a city to point fingers at Californians, midwesterners, even Houston and Metroplex folks, who indeed are just as numerous as the Yanks and Californians. Let's face it, everyone is running from the same thing, but at a certain point, we create the same place we are running from. Can this be done right? Probably not, not with the numbers and speed of growth. As I mentioned, growth itself is hard to manage, like any moving target, as the city is always playing catch-up with infrastructure and assessments, and locals are constantly having to absorb/deal with new people. Let's face it, the nicest people in the world only have so much of it to give. It just plain isn't fair to force them to deal with SO many people coming in for SO many years, and I think the locals are saints of a sort for being as kind as they have been up to now in being welcoming, and sharing their rare, one-of-a-kind city.
Can it be turned around with a huge, concerted effort by ALL concerned? Surely! But that includes developers, zoning boards, and citizens alike, with city hall and county government the top variable in that mix. No one is putting a gun to Austin's collective face and forcing the issue. It can be turned around and dealt with, but only as a collective effort. Without that, there indeed is a strong possibility that the singularity that is Austin could be lost forever.
Lastly, think of the analogy of a HOUSE becoming a HOME. The house is just the building itself, while the home is the soul that comes with the residents, who improve the house, stamp their uniqueness on the same, and give it soul and life. It is the same with Austin. Austin is far more than stores, skyscrapers, and cookie-cutter subdivisions. It is a spirit that permeates the whole..... creative, funky, singular, iconoclastic, a bit rebel, and more than anything, joyous and life-affirming, that is so special that it attracts people from all over the country. Many are willing to make sacrifices to do the same. But spirits are easily broken, intangible as they are. One must constantly feed them to ensure that they stay intact.
Lets hope that they stay intact in Austin, and for a LONG time to come!
She also said she was glad it did because it was too country and small town previously, for her liking.
In other words, she's one of the people I've been referring to who move to a place and want it to be exactly like where they moved from (in which case, what's the point of moving?). And by 1992 a LOT of change had already happened to Austin, some for the good, a lot for the bad, mainly for that reason.
Again, if people come here because they love Austin and want what it offers, they are more than welcome because they will add to what it has to offer in the correct spirit and with love. If they move here and want to change Austin to be just like where they came from, they really should go back to where they came from because that's what they like and Austin isn't, it's what the people already here like.
It would be like me moving to California and trying to get laws passed requiring people to carry guns and eat beef. Or complaining that California is what it is and how it should be more like Texas. (I might do that, but I don't move there and do that. )
As a real estate agent, you should be aware that many people move for various reasons... family, a significant other, higher education, jobs.... It's kind of a no-brainer. People don't just move for the sole reason of wanting to experience a different locale. Often moves to new places aren't always within an individuals control, assuming they want to stay employed, pursue a degree, stay or get married... etc.
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In other words, she's one of the people I've been referring to who move to a place and want it to be exactly like where they moved from
I don't think I said that. That's YOUR spin on it. I never said she wanted it to be just like Dallas - but I did say that she felt it was "too small town" - that doesn't mean she didn't appreciate Austin for Austin, or that she didn't like other attributes of it. She just approves of the change. Obviously she liked it enough to keep her here since '92... and to encourage both my mom and myself (along with my family) to move here.
I don't know what reality some of you live in where you think that ANY town is going to stay the same as it was in the '80's, or even earlier. I mean, are you all serious??
Progression is about change. Growth is about change. Life is about change.
Nothing stays the same forever, and if it did, people who "liked it" as it was, would get bored and move on.
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It would be like me moving to California and trying to get laws passed requiring people to carry guns and eat beef.
Your example is over the top, but if you make that a more generalized statement... If someone moves somewhere and tried to get a law changed because it would greatly benefit and positively impact the members of the community, or the state as a whole - that is a POSITIVE, not a negative.
I think if you'll read my posts you'll see that I'm not against change - but that change should be in the original spirit of the community. Is that more clear? SoCo, for example, is growth and progress in the spirit of Austin. The Domain, not so much.
Feeling that Austin is too "small town", means that she didn't like one of the pillars of its charm, that even if it's not a tiny town, it has the FEEL of a small town community, rather than the anonymity of a big city like Dallas (I've lived in both, when they were both smaller than they are now, and have family in Dallas). More big box or high dollar shopping in trade for that is no bargain.
I don't know Jenbar, I've gone back to some places I've lived that haven't changed much and it's pretty eerie. It's like the town is stuck in a time warp. It does make you appreciate some of the change!
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I don't find yankees and midwesterners to be all that rude. In all my experience as a color tech at a busy salon, our least favorite transplants were from Florida (I know, lots of Northerners move there). I don't know what it was about them, but they drove us nuts. I liked all my clients from the Midwest, NY, and gasp, even California. Of the European variety the worst were Iranian and Arabian. Our faves were English, Irish,Cuban and Indian.
Or complaining that California is what it is and how it should be more like Texas. (I might do that, but I don't move there and do that. 
)
