Why is Waco hated so much? (Austin, Fort Worth: assess, stations, radio)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I swear everytime people say something about Waco they always seem to bring up the Branch Davidian thing (Which didn't even happen in Waco!) I wish people would give Waco a chance and quit bashing it just because the lack of people downtown and something that happened more than 10 years ago.
Why do people hate it so much?
Waco is great. It is the rest of the nation that sucks.
It amazes me how no one in here has the courage to challenge the Federal government. The Branch Davidians weren't holding up against the government in a military "compound." It was a church for cripes sake. The people in that church were never crazy. In fact, most of them went to Ivy League schools and were far more intelligent than all those meat heads in either the FBI or the ATF. They never sold drugs. All those charges ended up being trumped up lies. However, they did enjoy their guns just like many other Texans did at the time.
The crazy folks were the ATF who shot the female dog and her five pups immediately upon attacking the church as a standard rule of engagement. They also shot that boy posted up in the watch tower and the member who was trying to make his way back to the church to help defend it.
I'm thinking David Karesh must have bumped into some high level official forcing him to spill his coffee. That is how the world truly works. We are dealing with Federal people who make policy on five minute breaks that they are taking between orgies. Understand, rational thought in the real world isn't something that will ever makes any sense because the rational people aren't in charge. Instead, rational thought ushers down from the bullies who will beat you for questioning their reasoning.
Just like that little prostitute on the street knows all too well. You better keep your mouth shut saying nothing or you will get beaten on every level.
Haven't read through the entire thread, but here's my thoughts.
I am a 23 year old male. I moved to Waco about 5 years ago to go to TSTC at age 19. I just graduated today with two associates and a certificate. I grew up in the hill country 20 minutes North of San Antonio's North 1604 loop. I rarely went into the city for much and generally hated the city for the traffic congestion thing, but I equally didn't enjoy driving 20-30 minutes to get to work, school, or anything from my house in the country either... However, I liked the openness and quietness of the country. What I found in Waco was the happy medium. Traffic is not bad for the most part and people aren't out for blood like in DFW. From where I live it's a 5 minute drive to the grocery store if I need to grab something quick. I've found my way around the city to minimize the amount of lights I have to stop for and therefore up my car's city MPG as well.
There is a diverse culture of people. You have the Baylor students and they are usually easy to spot although I usually don't run into them too often. Then there's the larger percent of black people than you might see in some cities. I've met both kinds of blacks. The ones that give the black race as a whole a bad rep and the blacks that are actually trying to do something for their life. Then there's the white people that very obviously grew up around a black dominant culture so they act as such. There's the white country folk that have a southern accent, mostly in the China Spring area. The rest are more general white Americans. Hispanics make up a generally small percent for the most part. Any Asians are usually going to be college students. It was a bit of a different culture from the San Antonio area that was many Hispanics, and in my 5A school with a graduating class of 630, there was literally 3 black students in the entire school. I adapted quickly and had no issues. If you are very racist, Waco is not for you...and yes racists still very much do exist.
I moved reluctantly to Waco in the Fall of 2009 not really knowing much of anything of the small city. I lived on campus at TSTC, and it was less than a 10 minute drive to Bellmead for grocery stores or restaurants which was an improvement. In the first month of living on campus my apartment was broken into as part of a rash of about 20 something break-ins at the complex in a short amount of time. Luckily the most valuable thing that was stolen was my $100 camera which likely didn't have any pictures on the card. It did wake me up the the reality that I wasn't living in the country anymore.
In the first year I did a lot of driving around and exploring at all hours of the day. It really does jump from slum looking areas to nicer areas pretty quick. Honestly the only time I ever have felt unsafe was driving through Cameron Park around midnight. That's probably the darkest place in Waco in the night time with no artificial lights on the roads. I have had a run-in with a pedophile gay guy in Cameron Park that followed me as I hiked into a bushier area of the park and tried talking to me alone. Once I figured out what he was trying to to I walked away and did a fast walk right back to the area where people were, got in my car and drove off. I've since been to the park alone many times hiking and biking and haven't run into anyone like that since. I've also biked alone out at Midway Park out by Woodway next to the lake. It's another nice bike trail area. Never felt unsafe in that area.
A couple more random run-ins with people is that some guys play the con game by giving you a sob story that you feel compassionate about and ask for some money for said story. I gave one guy $5 after he asked for a very specific amount of $11-something and he drove off quick without even a word of thanks. The second run-in was when I sold my laptop through craigslist and met 2 black people at Walmart for the exchange. I didn't even think to check the money but it was counterfeit and I came to find out they've been doing it all over Waco and hadn't been caught yet several months later.
I moved off campus for the second year of school to a quiet and reasonably priced apartment on Lake Shore Dr. I eliminated most apartments around the TSTC area because I want someplace I felt safe and was quiet with less college student presence. Because of that I was paying a bit more of a premium than the cheaper places closer to TSTC, but it was worth it (in hindsight, I can't find any apartment this good for this price anywhere else in Texas to be honest). I drove into Sherwood Forest Apartments across the highway from TSTC and immediately turned around and left without even asking for information because it just looked like the wrong people lived there just from the outside. It was a bit of a commute at about 15 minutes to school, but traffic at it's worst is really not even bad at all. The only stopping I do is for stop lights, otherwise the traffic flows fine unlike big cities where you hit gridlock during rush hour. Even my commute to work in the opposite direction is easy. I've lived in the same apartment complex every year since.
I rarely hit IH-35 and almost never find myself in the Baylor or downtown areas. Valley Mills Dr is probably the biggest avenue in Waco. I tend to avoid it mainly because of the amount of traffic lights. Lake Shore Dr is usually a pretty easy drive anytime of the day. Hewitt is probably the biggest growing area. There's a little more industry in the general area so people get jobs there and move in along Hewitt Dr so at only 4 lanes across it does get a bit crowded. Woodway is pretty much all suburb and pretty nice. If I was to get a job in Waco and buy a house, China Spring would likely be my choice for location. It is a bit more of a drive, but it's not so far out that it's unbearable. Apparently East Waco is considered the slum, however I haven't quite caught on to where East Waco is considered to be because looking on a map the Eastern most part of Waco is loop 340 and there really isn't much of anything there.
I'm a quiet person that doesn't have a social life and doesn't go out to do much, so I'm content here in Waco and there's enough for me here. For the most part I feel safe. Stuff is easy to get to from anywhere. There's a little of almost everything (pretty much smaller versions of stuff such as the smaller zoo, smaller mall, smaller Cabela's, smaller movie theaters). Now that I've lived here for 5 years and just graduated, I've been trying my darnedest to find a job in Waco so I can stick around. As I read somewhere on another post, I'd rather chew glass than to have to live in a big crowded gridlocked city and drive in that garbage daily. But it's all in the eye of the beholder. If you need the big name shops and lots of things to do, Waco isn't for you. If you are looking to get away from the traffic, as long as you can find a job in Waco and don't care that there isn't as much to do, Waco is a good contender. The big thing for me is finding a job in Waco. The cost of living is about as low as it gets for a city in Texas. I can afford to get paid a little less than I'd be able to to live in Austin, DFW, or Houston (at least to live in a place that's quiet and safe).
I find that the people that grew up in Waco want out in a bad way. College students for the most part don't seem to care for it. They're here for the school and gone in a coupe years. The people that are moving in are families that are looking to get away from the big city life.
There are a lot of churches, if you go to church you will find a church home somewhere. I found a great church home here. There are also a lot of restaurants. Big name sit down and fast food as well as plenty of mom and pop privately owned restaurants. As far as things to do, Cameron Park for hiking and biking and the park and suspension bridge along the Brazos is nice. There's several museums including the Dr. Pepper Museum, Texas Ranger Hall of Fame, and the Mayborn Museum. There's the zoo near Cameron Park. There's parks along Lake Waco including Midway park which has disc golf and bike trails (there's another disc golf course in Cameron Park). The Lake Waco Dam is a walk/bike trail that's 2.5 miles long one way. Then there's the Mammoth Site. Mini golf and go karts at Lion's Park. There's two movie theaters and a dollar theater. At least one, and I think one more bowling alley. The mall and Central Texas Marketplace are the shopping centers. If you like Football, go watch a Baylor Bears game. If you like actual golf there's at least two courses. If you like working out there's plenty of gyms to choose from. There are things to do, it's just a small city so less things to do that a larger city.
As for the connection with the Branch Davidian Massacre, I had honestly never heard of it until the Ft. Hood shootings in 2009 after I had already lived in Waco for several months. My cousin had brought it up so I looked it up. Apparently it was a big deal through the whole world, but I was only 2 at the time so I don't remember a thing about it and I didn't grow up in Waco so it never came up until I moved here. I think anyone my age and younger that has never lived in or heard of Waco never remembers it and it's very much going in the way of being forgotten. The choice to not move to Waco over that incident which is now 21 years ago is pretty silly. With the explosion in West, TX last year which is only 15 minutes outside of Waco, it kinda put Waco back on the map again even though, once again it didn't actually happen in Waco. I'm not sure if people identify Waco with the West explosion, but I rarely find myself in West except to drive through on the way to DFW. I did kinda make a little day trip out of it and visited both West and the Brand Davidian compound in the same day back in March since I hadn't been to see the West rebuild and never had been to the compound. Both were pretty eerie scenes. Without knowing the history of the Davidian compound it might not hit you with the same feeling, but I did some research prior to going.
One comment on Sil3's post above. Waco is quite a bit more Hispanic than he suggests. It isn't San Antonio with a large historic Hispanic population going back two centuries or more. The Hispanic population is largely more recent immigrants, but it is large. According to the most recent census, Waco is about 30% Hispanic, 20% black, and 50% non-Hispanic white. McLennan County as a whole is about 25% Hispanic, 15% black and 60% non-Hispanic white. So the Hispanic population in both the city and county is very much larger than the black population.
As for all the endless comments about what Waco does or doesn't offer. It frankly isn't reasonable to compare Waco to places like Austin which is 10x larger. Of course the bigger cities in Texas are going to be much exciting and vibrant places. That's what big cities are and why people move to them. To have any realistic conversation about what Waco has to offer compared to other cities in Texas one really has to compare cities of like-size and compare actual stand alone cities to Waco and not affluent suburban appendages like Katy or Frisco.
Here is a list of 12 medium size stand-alone Texas cities rank ordered from largest to smallest with Waco right in the middle
These are the cities against which Waco should be compared. I defy anyone to come here and tell us how much better any of these cities are than Waco. In fact Waco is going to rank at or near the top of this list as a place to live by virtually any measure. The West Texas cities of Lubbock, Odessa, and Midland are booming a bit more due to the oil boom but that makes them worse places to live by some measures.
As far as middle size cities in Texas go, Waco compares quite well. Of course Waco is never going to be Austin or Seattle or any other big exciting city. And it isn't going to be ever be a quaint wealthy scenic enclave such as Santa Fe, Boulder, or Santa Barbara where people flock to because of the scenery and lifestyle. And it is frankly ridiculous to think it ever will be. However, no city is static. They are either on an upward or downward trajectory. By all indications, Waco is on an upward trajectory with lots of new businesses and development in the general area and some very interesting redevelopment happening downtown. It is a nicer town than it was 10 years ago and will mostly likely be nicer still in 10 more years if even half of the proposed projects reach fruition. If Waco isn't your cup of tea there is always Laredo or Beaumont.
Last edited by texasdiver; 05-05-2014 at 05:42 PM..
Being relatively new to Waco, what I think it lacks are diversity in the population at large and in businesses, and more business competition that not only would bring down prices, it would, more importantly, increase the QUALITY of those businesses. Resturants are one prime example. Another thing that would improve Waco would be more diversity in the types of recreational activitiies that are available. The museums here are pitiful.
This is one of the oldest cities in Texas and it is in the center of the State where every type of commerce daily passes through its highways. For some reason it seems that it just has not advanced like other cities do.
Last edited by thinksmuch; 05-08-2014 at 02:45 AM..
As opposed to a group of white men gang raping a minor????
Not really sure of the relevance of this comment. An overwhelming majority of gang rapes are committed by black dudes. That's the facts. It's a shame this continues to happen, but this being in Waco is not surprising. Gang-riddled Waco is a crap hole.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
