Austin - Slacker Capital of the world? (salary, place)

[OpenD]

Truth be told, image is not everything. Is there a specific slacker culture that is present in Austin? Yep. Is it dominant in Austin? Nope. So what, is it just an empty stereotype... like the hippie stereotype before it? Yep, pretty much.

Just look at the demographics for Austin... income, average educational level, etc.... and you will soon disabuse yourself of the notion that the image is the reality.

[sxrckr]

Originally Posted by OpenD

Truth be told, image is not everything. Is there a specific slacker culture that is present in Austin? Yep. Is it dominant in Austin? Nope. So what, is it just an empty stereotype... like the hippie stereotype before it? Yep, pretty much.

Just look at the demographics for Austin... income, average educational level, etc.... and you will soon disabuse yourself of the notion that the image is the reality.

Yep, like just about every other major city in the state.

Outsiders just have weird, dumb ideas about Texas in general, I've noticed.

[Topaz]

Duly noted that you can't tell just by appearances but based on my experience, I'd say Portland, Oregon, is the slacker capital of the U.S., using the Dictionary.com definition of "an especially educated young person who is antimaterialistic, purposeless, apathetic, and usually works in a dead-end job."

[migol84]

Originally Posted by Topaz

"an especially educated young person who is antimaterialistic, purposeless, apathetic, and usually works in a dead-end job."

I was that person living in Austin, and so were many of my friends. Matter of fact, I think all my friends were that way too. Many of them even had degrees but never did anything with it. It's the main reason I left Austin. I was scared that lifestyle was just going to swallow me up and I would stay there forever.

[sxrckr]

Originally Posted by migol84

I was that person living in Austin, and so were many of my friends. Matter of fact, I think all my friends were that way too. Many of them even had degrees but never did anything with it. It's the main reason I left Austin. I was scared that lifestyle was just going to swallow me up and I would stay there forever.

Wow, how sad. I only have a few friends like that here, certainly no majority. There are no slackers in SF, even around Berkeley?

[migol84]

Originally Posted by sxrckr

Wow, how sad. I only have a few friends like that here, certainly no majority. There are no slackers in SF, even around Berkeley?

It's not really a sad thing... people just like living that lifestyle. I can only think of a handful of friends who had a real job and worked real hard. But even the dentists and computer programmers I knew lived pretty much very easy and were always partying. I wonder what places do you hang out the most?

And sure there are people like that here in the Bay Area, but being so expensive its just not the same. I'd wager maybe Oakland has the better end of it, but it's still more expensive than Austin and there aren't as many cool places to work as here or in Austin. You still have to work hard to make ends meet, even more so in San Francisco.

I think the major difference is that the venues in Austin, like bars, coffee shops or restaurants and even movie theaters can be a bit more lucrative to work in because people are just nicer in Austin, and they tip more and you also get more for your money being so much cheaper there. This is a pretty big reason why there probably are more slackers in Austin than here. It's just not as fun working as a dishwasher here as it is in Austin (although not that it's any real fun working as a dishwasher but you get what I'm saying). I had a few friends in Austin who were dishwashers and made it through... not so much here. You're pretty much screwed if that were the case and probably need another job. And to be completely honest with you, I am making the same amount working as a barista here in downtown SF as I was when I worked as a barista in downtown Austin. People just tipped more and my job in Austin was way less stressful. Yesterday, I got in a fight with a homeless man... and it was just crazy. This has happened here several times already but in Austin, I never had to go through that. Obviously there are much cooler jobs to work in here in SF, similar to what you'd find in Austin... but boy try getting a job there. And that's another reason why Austin's slacker lifestyle is more predominant there than here. It's easier to get a job there.

[CptnRn]

I found both the hippy as well as the slacker culture in Austin to have mostly faded away when I moved here in 1977. There were a few remnants remaining, like Armadillo World Headquarters, but it vanished a few years later. I saw very little of the slacker culture around UT during my 3+ years there. Perhaps I didn't mix in the right circles, but most of the people I knew back then were working hard at getting a graduate degree and working part time to help afford it. The closest I saw to any hippy culture back then were the unofficial nude beaches on Lake Travis such as Teck Cemetary and a few campout party weekends we shared with co-workers out on the point SE of Arkansas Bend. We had some great times there.

[migol84]

Originally Posted by CptnRn

I found both the hippy as well as the slacker culture in Austin to have mostly faded away when I moved here in 1977. There were a few remnants remaining, like Armadillo World Headquarters, but it vanished a few years later. I saw very little of the slacker culture around UT during my 3+ years there. Perhaps I didn't mix in the right circles, but most of the people I knew back then were working hard at getting a graduate degree and working part time to help afford it. The closest I saw to any hippy culture back then were the unofficial nude beaches on Lake Travis such as Teck Cemetary and a few campout party weekends we shared with co-workers out on the point SE of Arkansas Bend. We had some great times there.

I take it the movie Slacker did not accurately capture Austin in early 90s?

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by CptnRn

I found both the hippy as well as the slacker culture in Austin to have mostly faded away when I moved here in 1977.

While the term "slacker" has been in use since at least the 1800s, and has gone through several transformations since then, I think the way it's being used in this thread differs a bit from the way you and I understood it in the past.

As it is currently used, since the late 80s anyway, the term describes cynical, disaffected Gen Xers who appear to have little motivation to do any more in life than just get by.

Jeepers, just typing that description makes me want to go lie down!

[BevoLJ]

Originally Posted by sxrckr

Wow, how sad. I only have a few friends like that here, certainly no majority. There are no slackers in SF, even around Berkeley?

I never really got much of the slacker vibe in Berkeley. The area in Cal I felt most comfortable and had the closest to Austin sort of slacker vibe was the beaches in Southern Cal. Like my sophomore year at UCLA I moved to Santa Monica. It and the many other beach areas along the Southern Cal/Baja coast I felt more at home with that kinda laid back relaxed vibe I was used to growing up in Austin.