Official "Seattle Freeze" Discussion Thread (Tacoma, Bellevue: statistics, design)

[Jennibc]

Originally Posted by toughguy

Austin is in no way a bigger city than Seattle.

The city proper is bigger and it continues to grow and with a comparatively stronger economy here it is growing at a faster rate than Seattle. I just moved here four months ago so I know how big Seattle is and I know how big Austin is, and it's a big city. No delusion. If you bring out metropolitan areas that's a different matter, but we are talking city to city here.

[toughguy]

Originally Posted by Jennibc

The city proper is bigger and it continues to grow and with a comparatively stronger economy here it is growing at a faster rate than Seattle. I just moved here four months ago so I know how big Seattle is and I know how big Austin is, and it's a big city. No delusion. If you bring out metropolitan areas that's a different matter, but we are talking city to city here.

Austin is way more sprawly and low density. Going on arbitrary political boundaries alone, yes Austin is a larger city. But for a true apples to apples comparison, lets add Renton, Shoreline, and the entire eastside to Seattle's numbers to get up to the couple hundred square miles that Austin city limits encompasses. Suddenly you have a city of over 2 million. Next you are going to tell me that San Antonio is a larger city than San Francisco and Jacksonville is a larger city than Boston. I'm not trying to demean Austin, but it's absurd to claim that Austin is somehow a larger city than a city like Seattle.

[Jennibc]

Originally Posted by toughguy

Austin is way more sprawly and low density. Going on arbitrary political boundaries alone, yes Austin is a larger city. But for a true apples to apples comparison, lets add Renton, Shoreline, and the entire eastside to Seattle's numbers to get up to the couple hundred square miles that Austin city limits encompasses. Suddenly you have a city of over 2 million. Next you are going to tell me that San Antonio is a larger city than San Francisco and Jacksonville is a larger city than Boston. I'm not trying to demean Austin, but it's absurd to claim that Austin is somehow a larger city than a city like Seattle.

When was the last time you were here?

[toughguy]

Today via the magic of google maps. If look at the satellite images and still conclude that Austin is a larger city than Seattle, I don't know what to tell you.

[Exclamation-One]

Originally Posted by Ambassador

Sounds like you need therapy

What about my statement suggests I need therapy?

Originally Posted by toughguy

LOL eats me up....Nice to see you back RobertPolyglot.

I'm not RobertPolyglot, sorry.

[rmkiefer07]

Austin is bigger than Seattle if you count the incorporated limits...however, Austin's land area is 251.5 square miles where as Seattle is 83.9 square miles - that's almost three times the land area. Considering that Austin's 2007 est pop is 743k compared to Seattle's 594k, I'm not so sure that Austin is really a "bigger" city. Also, rapid growth is not always a good thing. Austin has doubled in size in the last 40 years, but at what cost?

I was born and raised in Austin...and with exception of a five year stint in the midwest as a teenager, lived there for the first half of my life. Trust me...it is not the quaint friendly college town it used to be. While Austin may be "bigger" in population and land area, Seattle, IMO, has way more big city amenities and culture than Austin.

Both cities have their offerings and their detractions, but I choose Seattle hands down!

With that said, the Seattle "freeze" exists in eye of the beholder. I've made friends here over the years and did not find it any more difficult than Austin (or any where else). Ultimately, it's the individuals and what they bring to the table. Please! I've had people here in Seattle that would not leave me alone!

[W & C]

To compare the size of two cities based on populations of city proper is completely ridiculous.

That is, unless you happen to believe that Indianapolis is roughly the same size as San Francisco..

[rmkiefer07]

Originally Posted by W & C

To compare the size of two cities based on populations of city proper is completely ridiculous.

That is, unless you happen to believe that Indianapolis is roughly the same size as San Francisco..

LOL! Agreed!

[Tiger Beer]

Austin vs Seattle.

I've been to both...Seattle is just built up significantly more and a much stronger international feel and larger city feel...everything is better.

I know Texans like to say everything is better in Texas...but Austin is actually a pretty small capital college town. People on the Houston and Dallas boards get regular laughs hearing Austin people continually talk way too much of their city when it isn't that great.

Actually I'm personally a bit down on Austin as I kept HEARING how great and amazing it was...how major musicians would pop into little nighborhood bars and play all night for free and every other kind of whopper you can imagine.

I went to Austin...it is like the feel of Portland Oregon with a much smaller walkable downtown. There was really one main street with the music bars (and the bars are quite limited to just a few blocks maximum that I noticed), and their number was quite small as well. Nothing was going on any of the nights I was there...I guess I was expecting something akin to Greenwich Village NYC, Las Vegas, French Quarter New Orleans, or something...but Austin was quite DEAD and BORING.

I found a few large chain restaurants to eat at...I don't know, just found Austin to be incredibly overrated and boring.

I'm thinking Austin might be great if a person is from a small town or city, then went to college in a small college town, and then wanted a larger extension of that small college town feel, and head to Austin.

But anyone who has lived in larger cities or been around to a lot of different cities and have a great comparitive value to places, then Austin just won't add up whatsoever on most levels. Seattle vs Austin for example, just no comparison whatsoever.

[Jennibc]

Originally Posted by Tiger Beer

Austin vs Seattle.

I've been to both...Seattle is just built up significantly more and a much stronger international feel and larger city feel...everything is better.

I know Texans like to say everything is better in Texas...but Austin is actually a pretty small capital college town. People on the Houston and Dallas boards get regular laughs hearing Austin people continually talk way too much of their city when it isn't that great.

Actually I'm personally a bit down on Austin as I kept HEARING how great and amazing it was...how major musicians would pop into little nighborhood bars and play all night for free and every other kind of whopper you can imagine.

I went to Austin...it is like the feel of Portland Oregon with a much smaller walkable downtown. There was really one main street with the music bars (and the bars are quite limited to just a few blocks maximum that I noticed), and their number was quite small as well. Nothing was going on any of the nights I was there...I guess I was expecting something akin to Greenwich Village NYC, Las Vegas, French Quarter New Orleans, or something...but Austin was quite DEAD and BORING.

I found a few large chain restaurants to eat at...I don't know, just found Austin to be incredibly overrated and boring.

I'm thinking Austin might be great if a person is from a small town or city, then went to college in a small college town, and then wanted a larger extension of that small college town feel, and head to Austin.

But anyone who has lived in larger cities or been around to a lot of different cities and have a great comparitive value to places, then Austin just won't add up whatsoever on most levels. Seattle vs Austin for example, just no comparison whatsoever.

This is the Seattle Freeze thread not the Austin v. Seattle, it came up because someone wrote that people from smaller towns will notice a freeze and people from big cities will not. As I posted earlier, I grew up in LA - and spent 18 years in Seattle and culturally, Seattle is different than just about any other big city I've been in. I've spent considerable time in both Boston and NYC because I lived 5 years in the NE. Having lived in big cities (and whether you like Austin or not or think it has nothing on Seattle in terms of culture, it's still a big city), I recognize that there is a cultural phenomenon that some journalists have labeled a freeze. That's my point, you can still be from a big city, have visited several big cities and still thing Seattle has the freeze.

BTW, different people have different priorities at different times in their lives. I will tell you, we are happier here than in Seattle because this family of three is very comfortable living here on 100K a year. We felt like we struggled in Seattle on that because of housing, groceries, and fuel. Plus we really like the sunshine here and the local culture. Less financial stress = happier existence.