Austin vs. San Antonio (Portland, Charlotte: amusement park, home, neighborhoods)

[btownboss4]

Originally Posted by HouTXmetro

Yeah, I think Austin is starting to eclipse San Antonio as a destination/growing metro area.

I wouldn't be too sure about that
Photo Shows North Korea's 'U.S. Mainland Strike Plan': L.A., D.C. and Austin, Texas

[MtnLion512]

Originally Posted by bchris02

Even though these are both Texas cities I am posting this in the national forum due to Austin's place as a national media darling.

It seems like more and more San Antonio is getting overshadowed by Austin. Historically, before Forbes and BizJournals became enamored by Austin and before it was cool to be a hipster, San Antonio was always Texas' third city. Now you never hear anything about it and you see and hear about Austin everywhere. How do the two cities compare and is Austin that much culturally superior to San Antonio? With the Riverwalk, the Alamo, south meets old Southwest culture, it would appear San Antonio has the better history and richer culture. Am I wrong?

Not at all...when it comes to rich history and cultural offerings, San Antonio is a big winner over Austin. That's probably Austin's biggest glaring flaw in my opinion/experience.

[JoninATX]

Originally Posted by btownboss4

I wouldn't be too sure about that
Photo Shows North Korea's 'U.S. Mainland Strike Plan': L.A., D.C. and Austin, Texas

Yeah, I highly doubt North Korea can launch a missile that far. Kim Jong Un is just a cry baby who can't get his way.

[TexHwyMan]

Originally Posted by btownboss4

I wouldn't be too sure about that
Photo Shows North Korea's 'U.S. Mainland Strike Plan': L.A., D.C. and Austin, Texas

I actually think Ft. Hood is the target, not Austin.

[thenewtexan]

Originally Posted by JakeDog

Austin is more transplant friendly, has a California vibe to it almost. As an outsider moving to the area, Austin hands down.

Not necessarily. It just depends on who you are and why you are moving there. As an outsider, the north side of San Antonio had more of a laid back vibe for me. Obviously, it was better planned than Austin, slightly cheaper, and had just the right amount of diversity I was craving. Employment was not an issue for me (commercial insurance sales/underwriting), and I drive an hour down the road to Austin to catch a concert any time I want. It was easy making friends down here, but I have to say Austin is very friendly, too. Looking back, would Austin have worked for me? Probably. SA, though, was a fairly easy transition coming from an ultra blue state. Whenever I come back from the best vacation or a weekend trip from wherever, I still always feel that sense of comfort when I get back to SA.

[TexHwyMan]

Originally Posted by bchris02

It seems like more and more San Antonio is getting overshadowed by Austin. Historically, before Forbes and BizJournals became enamored by Austin and before it was cool to be a hipster, San Antonio was always Texas' third city. Now you never hear anything about it and you see and hear about Austin everywhere. How do the two cities compare and is Austin that much culturally superior to San Antonio? With the Riverwalk, the Alamo, south meets old Southwest culture, it would appear San Antonio has the better history and richer culture. Am I wrong?

I wouldn't say you never hear anything about San Antonio any more. The city has gotten a lot of national coverage as of late from our mayor's increasing national prominence. Atlantic Cities did a series of articles on San Antonio recently in its "Next Economy" reports. The Spurs are always in the sports world news. And in the world of reality TV, the city hosted auditions for American Idol and America's Got Talent this year. Those are just a few things off the top of my head. With regards to Forbes, they have highlighted the city numerous times in the past couple of years because our economy stayed pretty healthy while the rest of the country tanked.

I like to use this metaphor when comparing the two: Austin is like an iPhone. It's hip and cool and everyone wants one because it's hip and cool. But a lot of that is from marketing and from hipsters pronouncing it so. Then when you get an iPhone, you realize that while it does have a lot of good qualities, it's not perfect. Meanwhile, San Antonio is like a Droid. It's not as hip and cool, but it's solid and does a good job, it's not pretentious, and many folks like it just fine or even better than an iPhone.

Perhaps another metaphor is the hare and the tortoise. Austin is the hare, sprinting along at an impressive clip, while San Antonio is the tortoise chugging along doing its thing and doing just fine. In fact, compared to most cities, San Antonio is doing quite well. But San Antonio often "suffers" in a way due to its proximity to Austin because folks inherently want to make comparisons between the two. If San Antonio were 75 miles from Kansas City, we wouldn't be having this discussion.

Both cities have their own strengths and weaknesses. Most folks would say San Antonio has a much richer and authenticate cultural history and flavor, something akin to New Orleans. And San Antonio is generally considered more of a family town. Austin, on the other hand, certainly appeals more to the younger set with the music scene and other amenities that young singles look for. That's not to say that any of those traits are exclusive to those respective cities, it's just that each city tends to generally skew more in those directions.

I'll close by reminding folks that once a place becomes "too cool", the hipsters tend to move on. Remember that Seattle was The Place in the '80s and early '90s, but not so much any more. Once Austin gets to be too cool, the progressive hipsters will anoint a new place, perhaps Portland or Charlotte (or even San Antonio.)

[majormadmax]

Apples and oranges.

Austin - More progressive, high tech, and liberal. Geared towards the younger, single crowd. More trees and water, but worse traffic.

San Antonio - Conservative, traditional and more solid economy based in tourism, military and medical. Better for families, a lower cost of living. I also think folks are more friendly here, but driving still sucks although it's not as bad as Austin. Definitely a stronger Hispanic presence here, and more history.

Both have a lot to see and do in, but they are different in what they offer. But Austin has a Waffle House, a definite plus.

[TXEX06]

I've lived in both cities and love both cities. But, Austin needs to improve its infrastructure before I would move back. Austin roads are a parking lot.

[majormadmax]

Originally Posted by JakeDog

Austin is more transplant friendly, has a California vibe to it almost. As an outsider moving to the area, Austin hands down.

I think you mean Austin is more California-transplant friendly, which I agree with; but I don't consider that to be a positive aspect.

Austin is expected to lead the pack in growth of cities over 300,000 (Population in 2012: 1,844,000. Estimated population in 2042: 3,521,200. Percentage change: 91 percent), but I feel that distinction is tempered by the fact that the city lagged in growth for the past couple of decades whereas SA experienced an expansion boom. Given that SA actually has double the population its growth rate will obviously been slower given the larger numbers of people that actually live here.

Personally, I am happy to see the shift of influx move away from San Antonio; this city's population already exceeds its infrastructure and our growth rate need to ease up.

[samvp]

Originally Posted by majormadmax

Apples and oranges.

Austin - More progressive, high tech, and liberal. Geared towards the younger, single crowd. More trees and water, but worse traffic.

San Antonio - Conservative, traditional and more solid economy based in tourism, military and medical. Better for families, a lower cost of living. I also think folks are more friendly here, but driving still sucks although it's not as bad as Austin. Definitely a stronger Hispanic presence here, and more history.

Both have a lot to see and do in, but they are different in what they offer. But Austin has a Waffle House, a definite plus.

I never understand this claim. SA isn't conservative in the least. And that statement isn't based just on my opinion, it is based on an ever growing list of evidence. From simple things like passing half billion dollar bonds to electing democrat mayor after democratic mayor, to Bexar being a blue county in 2008 and 2012, electing an openingly gay council woman, leading the nation in gay/same-sex households, etc.

Also, the industries people tout as being the leaders in SA need to be updated. Tourism and the military are important, but their impact has decreased as other industries have grown over the last decade or two. Health/Bioscience and finance are the two leading industries. In third placr is the militay but following the military in fourth is, you didn't guess it, Information Technology aka IT. That's right, the IT sector now has the fourth largest economic impact in SA, a bigger economic impact than tourism. Bottom line, le's try and get the word out and stop using old and outdated information.