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Old 06-02-2008, 01:03 PM
 
746 posts, read 3,727,448 times
Reputation: 257

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Quote:
Originally Posted by ILOVEAUSTIN View Post
The OP said,

"and realize that if any city truly lived up to this, it would be by default one of the greatest cities in the history of mankind"

Well, it just may be on of them!

Really though, Austin is great but everyone is different. I moved here sight unseen and haven't regretted it one minute!
My only point is, could Austin live without everyone raving how "great" it is? Does it really need that extra push, if it indeed IS that great? I think it stems ultimately from an inferiority complex of sorts. Deep down, Austin knows it is a provincial college town, and will never be on the same playing field as Houston, Dallas, and such, so they trump what they have to trump, and, ironically, take the chance of killing the golden goose by enticing TOO many people to come. Right now, the infrastructure is bursting at the seams. There is definitely a point in which is becomes so large that it destroys its ambience. Tht point is pretty much right now, as we speak........let them hype, and ruin it all if they want.......
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Old 06-02-2008, 01:08 PM
 
746 posts, read 3,727,448 times
Reputation: 257
Quote:
Originally Posted by ILOVEAUSTIN View Post
The OP said,

"and realize that if any city truly lived up to this, it would be by default one of the greatest cities in the history of mankind"

Well, it just may be on of them!

Really though, Austin is great but everyone is different. I moved here sight unseen and haven't regretted it one minute!

Trust me, it isn't one of them! LOL! Great cities have tremendous cultural districts, museums, great public squares and meeting places, and great design and public grids/transit. Austin has none of those, so it is not a great city, but it is one of the better college cities, a la Madison, Wisc., which is not an awful thing....
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Old 06-02-2008, 01:26 PM
 
Location: Austin
108 posts, read 271,530 times
Reputation: 47
scongress1234 says,
"Deep down, Austin knows it is a provincial college town, and will never be on the same playing field as Houston, Dallas, and such,"

I personally don't think Austin wants to be on the same playing field as Houston, Dallas and such!

And scongress1234 also says,

"Great cities have tremendous cultural districts, museums, great public squares and meeting places, and great design and public grids/transit."

It is your opinion that Austin doesn't have these and also that this is what makes a great city. I have been to many, many cities and I do believe Austin has most of these things and then some. Maybe I wouldn't use the word tremendous to describe them but it is also not a massive city... like say Dallas or Houston. Tokyo outdoes Dallas in all these areas because it is just huge. So, you also have to look at the city size!
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Old 06-02-2008, 02:06 PM
 
48,502 posts, read 96,856,573 times
Reputation: 18304
In the 70's austin was the listed #1 by many magzines as to places to live overall. It has become bogger and loss alot of it samll town with alot of big cites attraciotns since then but not all.
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Old 06-02-2008, 03:17 PM
 
746 posts, read 3,727,448 times
Reputation: 257
Quote:
Originally Posted by ILOVEAUSTIN View Post
scongress1234 says,
"Deep down, Austin knows it is a provincial college town, and will never be on the same playing field as Houston, Dallas, and such,"

I personally don't think Austin wants to be on the same playing field as Houston, Dallas and such!

And scongress1234 also says,

"Great cities have tremendous cultural districts, museums, great public squares and meeting places, and great design and public grids/transit."

It is your opinion that Austin doesn't have these and also that this is what makes a great city. I have been to many, many cities and I do believe Austin has most of these things and then some. Maybe I wouldn't use the word tremendous to describe them but it is also not a massive city... like say Dallas or Houston. Tokyo outdoes Dallas in all these areas because it is just huge. So, you also have to look at the city size!
As I said, it is just fine as a mid-sized city, with Indianapolis and Columbus offering at least as much, if not more so, per the same metro size. Madison has all the cultural amenities with 1/4 the size, so take it from there. Austin really has to work on public infrastructure like libraries, parks, public squares/meeting places and such, rather than just expecting people to hang out either at one tiny entertainment district, with masses of drunk college kids and tourists, or an overused park that charges three bucks to park on week-ends(Zilker)......a few more museums or pro teams wouldn't hurt either.

case in point....Indy...same size, has a 20 mile bike trail going through the entire city....Monon trail....

Monon Trail, Indy Greenways (http://www.indygreenways.org/monon/monon.htm - broken link)

I lived there and rode the trail.....so beautiful, and goes through all the neighborhoods.......hundreds of folks of all walks using it 24/7...special lights
at intersections just for the bikes....

20,000 capacity outdoor stadium for those summer nights
Verizon Wireless Music Center Indianapolis Official Site. Find Concert Tickets, Schedule, Seating Charts, Information for Verizon Wireless Music Center Indianapolis, A Live Nation Venue

living history museum for the kids
Conner Prairie Living History Museum

and on and on......and they don't toot their horn whatsoever, and could care less.....

Last edited by scongress1234; 06-02-2008 at 03:29 PM..
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Old 06-02-2008, 03:54 PM
 
Location: Cumberland Maine
861 posts, read 1,147,714 times
Reputation: 1823
Default Another View Not Often Heard

I've lived in Austin for over 15 years and visited my brother who taught at UT several times in the 1970s. Between then and now, Austin disappeared. It isn't the same Austin that most people knew and loved. It still has many remarkable things, but they are mostly geared to the under 30 and over paid crowd. For example, if you want to hear live music for which Austin is famous, most headliners come on stage around midnight. That's kept me from venturing to Sixth Street. Private industry is geared to the computer science grads and they are well compensated. But most other occupations are under paid. The traffic in the past 15 years has become horrible (and I moved here from Washington, D.C. so I know what horrible traffic is like). And despite what Dubya and his "scientists" will tell you, the weather has gotten worse. The summers are getting hotter, and with all the newcomers to town, the pollution is worse. If you like seasons, we have summer and a couple other days. And our current governor makes Dubya seem like a genius. Property taxes go up by leaps and bounds every year. There are greenbelt areas around Austin that have become the preferred sites for rapists. Outdoor activities consist of racing 400-horsepower boats around Lake Travis, riding bicycles on roads with no bike lanes, and walking your dog. Organized sports for adults are minimal. Gas is nearing $4 a gallon but no one will give up their "god-given right" to drive an Expedition or Suburban. If you watch the traffic (and you will have plenty of time for it), you will see almost all monster SUVs are occupied by a single person (usually on their cell phone and weaving between lanes). Austin has become Texas. It isn't the liberal oasis that people once knew.
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Old 06-02-2008, 04:02 PM
 
746 posts, read 3,727,448 times
Reputation: 257
Quote:
Originally Posted by Texanwannabe View Post


Borikwa69,
ENJOY your research trip to Austin! You and your family are going to LOVE it! Most people on this forum are very helpful so please ask if you have any questions after your trip! Try to ignore the ones that are negative and not helpful. They are just bitter with their own life! (And the sad part is yes, they are serious in their responses). So as for your deductions..."if it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck...it must be a duck!"

Listen to all views, good and bad....nothing is all good or bad. Not every place is great for everyone. Simply listen to the good and the bad, and weigh it for yourselves. Only a healthy person can handle self-criticism. Same for cities. If Austin plans on becoming a better city, surely they should be willing to accept criticism from all sides. If not, they are living in a hyped-up, best 10 list fantasia, which will not get them where they want to be in the long run.....
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Old 06-02-2008, 04:13 PM
 
746 posts, read 3,727,448 times
Reputation: 257
Quote:
Originally Posted by TerryDactyls View Post
I've lived in Austin for over 15 years and visited my brother who taught at UT several times in the 1970s. Between then and now, Austin disappeared. It isn't the same Austin that most people knew and loved. It still has many remarkable things, but they are mostly geared to the under 30 and over paid crowd. For example, if you want to hear live music for which Austin is famous, most headliners come on stage around midnight. That's kept me from venturing to Sixth Street. Private industry is geared to the computer science grads and they are well compensated. But most other occupations are under paid. The traffic in the past 15 years has become horrible (and I moved here from Washington, D.C. so I know what horrible traffic is like). And despite what Dubya and his "scientists" will tell you, the weather has gotten worse. The summers are getting hotter, and with all the newcomers to town, the pollution is worse. If you like seasons, we have summer and a couple other days. And our current governor makes Dubya seem like a genius. Property taxes go up by leaps and bounds every year. There are greenbelt areas around Austin that have become the preferred sites for rapists. Outdoor activities consist of racing 400-horsepower boats around Lake Travis, riding bicycles on roads with no bike lanes, and walking your dog. Organized sports for adults are minimal. Gas is nearing $4 a gallon but no one will give up their "god-given right" to drive an Expedition or Suburban. If you watch the traffic (and you will have plenty of time for it), you will see almost all monster SUVs are occupied by a single person (usually on their cell phone and weaving between lanes). Austin has become Texas. It isn't the liberal oasis that people once knew.

Before you bash this person as well, realize he is a long term local, and seconds all that I mentioned. Again, you cannot double a cities population
in 10 years, and expect things to be the same. Austin's character was always geared more to a 300 -400K tops population. At 700K plus currently, it is just bursting and ruining all local color and ambience, and is now proceeding to destroy the last area with character - the central city.
The paving and high-rising of DT and south congress is the last step......

And people will still keep coming and coming and coming........none having any conception of what went before, and how truly wonderful and
singular the city once was, so long ago......



Austin in the 80's
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Old 06-02-2008, 04:26 PM
 
Location: Central Texas
20,958 posts, read 45,404,950 times
Reputation: 24745
Is that Hamilton's Pool?
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Old 06-02-2008, 04:48 PM
 
Location: The land of sugar... previously Houston and Austin
5,429 posts, read 14,842,829 times
Reputation: 3672
Quote:
Originally Posted by scongress1234 View Post
Austin seems to be the poster child of all time on these lists. What affect has Austins eternal presence on these lists had in generating relocatees? I would say that at least half of all Californians came to Austin SOLELY on the basis of "top 10" lists, trendy as they try to be. This reassures them that they are making the rightmove, and are indeed reaffirming their "coolness" and "wisdom" in making that move to Austin. Just to prove how ridiculous these lists are, check out Kiplingers latest, which ranks Houston as the number one city for relocatees..


No. 1: Houston, Texas - Kiplinger.com

Now, 98% of the ex-Houstonites I've met in Austin loathed Houston, from the stench that emanated 24/7 from the ship canal, to the refineries that dumped toxic plumes like a pox over the metro, the humid stench from may to oct, and the off-the-charts crime, particularly post-Katrina. And this top 10 list placed Houston 1st, which makes you realize how meaingless they truly are....

So, what do you folks out there think of top 10 lists, and Austin's claim to fame on making so many of them?? Pure marketing tools? Just PR for cities? Or is there a certain objective reality about it that I'm missing, that really does guide a large mass of relocatees to herd about enmasse to "hot" destinations they are told are the next big thing?
Yes, I do think many of these top 10 lists are fleeting and based on a trend factor.

People from CA are moving to TX because of cost, not as much because they heard some place was "cool".

Not surprising 98% of the people in Austin you meet who moved from Houston don't like Houston... you are getting opinions from a very limited group of people. For every person in this category, there are probably 5 people still in Houston because they like Houston. I've lived in both cities and I actually prefer Houston for many reasons, but most of all because I'm more of a big-city person and want world-class amenities... being the nation's 4th largest city, Houston offers that.
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