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given that im from Texas, I can so without a DOUBT that Austin is VERY overreated. Downtown itself is filled great nightlife, beautiful buildings, big crowds, etc. But OUTSIDE of Downtown, Austin is not very exciting nor is it asthetically pleasing. It does remind you of a large country town. As you are driving through, it APPEARS to be extremely dead.
Sorta like New Orleans> you see the commercials, the parties, the umbrellas, the slots machines, the flashing (****), the "everything else" , and it makes NOLA appear to be CONSUMED by all of this. And people dont really that ALL of this "Excitement" is confined to about an area as big as Church and College St (uptown). toped off by N. Caldwell. THATS IT. NOLA is just exciting on just a few streets. And the rest of the downtown and city is dead and crime ridden. But as a VISITOR, you probably wouldnt know that.
Same with Austin..if you stay in the downtown area, then it looks great. If you venture out into everyday life, Austin is not this amazingly beautiful city . its a very rural, country looking city (ofcourse with nice, new parts), but it is VERY EXTEMELY COUNTRY. Its not nearly as urbanized/citi-fied as Houston, Dallas, or even SA.
I went to SXSW this year.. it was fun, the people were nice and the place was jam packed but I wonder if it gives the impression that its always this way. They definitely have a better art scene.
Sorta like New Orleans> you see the commercials, the parties, the umbrellas, the slots machines, the flashing (****), the "everything else" , and it makes NOLA appear to be CONSUMED by all of this. And people dont really that ALL of this "Excitement" is confined to about an area as big as Church and College St (uptown). toped off by N. Caldwell. THATS IT. NOLA is just exciting on just a few streets. And the rest of the downtown and city is dead and crime ridden. But as a VISITOR, you probably wouldnt know that.
This is very, very inaccurate. Of course the French Quarter and other parts of downtown are more geared towards tourists and such--and to say it's only about the size of the area of "Church and College topped off by N. Caldwell" is just plain wrong--but to say that the rest of the city is dead and crime ridden is just plain wrong on so many levels. Faubourg Marigny, Mid-City, Algiers, the Garden District, the Lower Garden District, Uptown, Riverbend, etc. are all vibrant neighborhoods in their own right; they simply don't cater to tourists. I'm glad I got a chance to experience a bit of the local flair of the city the last time I visited a few years ago and hope to experience more of it the next time.
This is very, very inaccurate. Of course the French Quarter and other parts of downtown are more geared towards tourists and such--and to say it's only about the size of the area of "Church and College topped off by N. Caldwell" is just plain wrong--but to say that the rest of the city is dead and crime ridden is just plain wrong on so many levels. Faubourg Marigny, Mid-City, Algiers, the Garden District, the Lower Garden District, Uptown, Riverbend, etc. are all vibrant neighborhoods in their own right; they simply don't cater to tourists. I'm glad I got a chance to experience a bit of the local flair of the city the last time I visited a few years ago and hope to experience more of it the next time.
I went to LSU, and was almost in NOLA every weekend (especially when I was dating someone there), and there is just not much to NOLA past Canal and Bourbon streets,(French Quarter), the casino's, the Superdome and Arena (if theres a game being held). But other than that, thats it to the real FLAVOR of NOLA. Ofcourse there is some vibrancy in other parts of town, but were talking about more than just a few daquiri shops and clubs here and there. And the truth of the matter is, outside of downtown, NOLA isnt that exciting. And your right, is not geared toward tourists. Same thing for Austin.
Charlotte:
Airport and surrounding area= tourists
Uptown=tourists
South Park=tourists
Carowinds=tourists (no matter how LOCAL you think it is. When I came up here to visit from Texas, I went to Carowinds as a TOURIST)
Whitewater Rafting=Tourists
Special Events (Bowl Games, ACC Championship, DNC, etc. ) add tourists, which Austin doesnt have. NOLA does, tho, to their credit.
I went to LSU, and was almost in NOLA every weekend (especially when I was dating someone there), and there is just not much to NOLA past Canal and Bourbon streets,(French Quarter), the casino's, the Superdome and Arena (if theres a game being held). But other than that, thats it to the real FLAVOR of NOLA. Ofcourse there is some vibrancy in other parts of town, but were talking about more than just a few daquiri shops and clubs here and there. And the truth of the matter is, outside of downtown, NOLA isnt that exciting. And your right, is not geared toward tourists. Same thing for Austin.
Charlotte:
Airport and surrounding area= tourists
Uptown=tourists
South Park=tourists
Carowinds=tourists (no matter how LOCAL you think it is. When I came up here to visit from Texas, I went to Carowinds as a TOURIST)
Whitewater Rafting=Tourists
Special Events (Bowl Games, ACC Championship, DNC, etc. ) add tourists, which Austin doesnt have. NOLA does, tho, to their credit.
The area around Charlotte airport isnt a tourist attraction..
Not sure about Austins bowl scene but isnt U of Texas in Austin? They get just as many or more tourist than our bowl games.
I'm not sure if Charlotte is on Austins level on a few of these items. I'm not from there so its only plan opinion but I think Austin beats Charlotte in the arts, music and young hipster transplant vibe.
Charlotte cant be all things... I like Charlotte but that doesnt mean it wins every comparison with every city its size.
The area around Charlotte airport isnt a tourist attraction..
Not sure about Austins bowl scene but isnt U of Texas in Austin? They get just as many or more tourist than our bowl games.
I'm not sure if Charlotte is on Austins level on a few of these items. I'm not from there so its only plan opinion but I think Austin beats Charlotte in the arts, music and young hipster transplant vibe.
Charlotte cant be all things... I like Charlotte but that doesnt mean it wins every comparison with every city its size.
I agree. Austin fairs a lot better when it comes to the "young hipster vibe". I always thought it was kinda ironic to have such a liberal city in what is probably one most conservative states in the country. As far as the airport area being a tourist area, maybe he meant the White Water Center? As it is fairly close to the airport.
I agree. Austin fairs a lot better when it comes to the "young hipster vibe". I always thought it was kinda ironic to have such a liberal city in what is probably one most conservative states in the country. As far as the airport area being a tourist area, maybe he meant the White Water Center? As it is fairly close to the airport.
No I meant just the shear fact that the lots and lots of tourists are coming in and out of the airport. Many tourists are in the airport, in the hotels around the airport, in the RESTAURANTS around the airports, etc. Thats usually what happens around the area of a MAJOR and BUSY international airport.
Not "tourists" as far is partying and nightlife, but touristic as far as when brand new people are coming into the city, may stay for a bit, and then leave back out.
UT games are NOT a touristic attraction, because not many people are traveling THAT far away for a regular UT home game. Between 50 k students, friends, and family members, thats MORE than enough Austin-area residents to fill that stadium.
With that said, Austin might possibly have a better scene for youth because it is home to one of the largest universities in the nation.
The "art" scene can definitely be debated, because I really dont see much difference between it and Charlotte art scene. After the Mint Museum, Harvey B. Gannt center, and all of the pieces of art in the on AND above ground near downtown....the many museums around midtown, or down South Blvd, what have you, Charlotte art scene is nothing to sneeze at.
and Charlotte, BY FAR, is the more asthetically pleasing looking city of the two. BY FAR!!
Maybe I'm missing something but I dont see how our airport is a major attraction for tourist vs any other airport. It has great foot traffic but the majority never leave the airport.
Its true that Charlotte host the Belk bowl but ehh... Austin still gets a ton of visitors because college ball in the Big 12 has loyal fans who travel.
Art scene isnt even close. Charlotte has nice museums but it doesnt have the reputation Austin has when it comes to art. Upcomijg artist point to Austin.. not Charlotte. This isnt even debatable IMO.
Music... no contest.
Charlotte definitely has a better greenery, scenery but I stayed in a house overlooking a green valley that was amazing when I was in Austin.
I wouldnt move to Austin but its definitely a hot city. Nothing wrong with being a compared or even slightly behind Austin. I didnt see the light rail but umm.... light isnt that much of a game changer when comparing these 2 cities. If Charlotte had light rail north/south and east/west than I would see the argument for why its a game changer.
I'm still a fan of Charlotte but I'm not sure if it beats Austin.
I went to LSU, and was almost in NOLA every weekend (especially when I was dating someone there), and there is just not much to NOLA past Canal and Bourbon streets,(French Quarter), the casino's, the Superdome and Arena (if theres a game being held). But other than that, thats it to the real FLAVOR of NOLA. Ofcourse there is some vibrancy in other parts of town, but were talking about more than just a few daquiri shops and clubs here and there. And the truth of the matter is, outside of downtown, NOLA isnt that exciting. And your right, is not geared toward tourists. Same thing for Austin.
Charlotte:
Airport and surrounding area= tourists
Uptown=tourists
South Park=tourists
Carowinds=tourists (no matter how LOCAL you think it is. When I came up here to visit from Texas, I went to Carowinds as a TOURIST)
Whitewater Rafting=Tourists
Special Events (Bowl Games, ACC Championship, DNC, etc. ) add tourists, which Austin doesnt have. NOLA does, tho, to their credit.
I'm sorry man, but this is quite laughable. I can't really speak for Austin, but no one who's been to both Charlotte and NOLA would even fix their mouth to say that Charlotte caters more to tourists, or has more areas of interest to tourists, than NOLA. This can't even be a real discussion.
And although I'm not very familiar with Austin, are you serious in saying it doesn't have special events? Ever heard of SXSW, Austin City Limits, Austin Film Festival, heck even UT football games (which average over 90K in attendance)??????
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