Please explain the infamous Austin Vibe (Nash: apartment, theater, tornado)

[atxcio]

To me, the "Austin Vibe" is a combination of things.

1) The hills, trees, lakes and water... places like Hamilton Pool, etc. The greenbelts like Barton Creek and Bull Creek. Something special in Texas and right at our doorstep, and it feels that way. Can't quite put my finger on it exactly, but there is the tiniest bit of feel that it is somehow... sacred? I don't know.

2) Being surrounded by intellectual, eclectic, thoughtful open-minded people who treasure the area (for the most part). People who appreciate the quirky, cheap things as much as fancy things. Make no mistake, the folks who live in 1300 sq ft are probably very well-to-do and are paying a premium to live where they do -- but overall there isn't the blatant keep-up-with-the-Joneses feel that you might feel in much of DFW or Houston. People aren't dressed to the Ts everywhere; you are more likely to see an old Honda in front of a $600K house than a Ferrari.

As many have pointed out, though -- most this vibe is pretty much limited to the central core. But not all of it; the trees/hills/water thing is part of the western suburbs too. But for the most part, suburbs are suburbs and "vibe less" as they are anywhere. Of course, that doesn't mean you can't enjoy the Austin vibe if you live in a suburb. You just won't be living "in it".

These are just my opinions, and I'm sure others will disagree. It's really about personal preference, you might not feel any vibe. But I think everyone would agree that visiting and renting first is the best way to decide if the "vibe" exists to you or not.

[scm53]

We moved back to Austin in '10. I lived here '84-'95, when I left for NE Tarrant county - just west of DFW. Faced many of the same dilemmas, minus the kids and the religious wants. What we decided was that the house we wanted wasn't obtainable in town, due to numerous conscious decisions by the city. But we DID want what you are hinting at, w/o living around it. Looked at the lake, Steiner, you name it. Chose SW for several reasons. Full line grocery w/in ten minutes, big box fifteen. Airport (wife and I both fly almost every week) twenty five, even at the worst times, freeway all the way. But most important was that we could be twenty five minutes from "the vibe" whenever we wanted it (which for us is the weekends).

Schools here are great, with the best in the city up through MS. HS is good, little crowded. Not IB, if that is critical. Big South Asian contingent in our 'hood.

Our lot is beautiful - thirty five foot oak trees that you won't find everywhere. Green belt behind us, so we don't see another house. We think we got the best of both worlds. New home, spacious, with all the modern conveniences and energy efficiency you could want. But easy drive to "the vibe". Not trying to sell you on anything, but you might think about SW.

[Idlewile]

Originally Posted by kiacook

Austin airport is great but has very few direct flights. Dallas is a hub and if your husband travels a lot you may want to take that into consideration. It will cut about 2 hours off every flight.

THIS. While the airport is easy to get in and out of, it's rough if you travel and are used to direct flights. Even more painful if you have to pay for your airfare as tickets from Austin to anywhere are more expensive (than Houston or Dallas) since it's not a major city or hub.

As far as the Austin vibe is concerned, I have a different take on it. It is not so much that Austin is so wacky, so unique, so inspired, so laissez-faire, so unimaginably cool -- while it's great, it's none of these things despite what the media and Austin bandwagoneers suggest... it's just the rest of Texas is the opposite and the contrast is pronounced.

[dbsteel]

Every city has a "Vibe", you just gotta find it, and chances are where you live, you will be driving to it. If you ask me its rediculous to tout a vibe in Austin like its any more special than 100 other cities. In the case of Austin and the surrounding arrea, I think there is much more of a cool feeling there when you are in your 20s and looking to party, than it is in your 40s looking to settle down.

[hillcountryheart]

Originally Posted by Idlewile

As far as the Austin vibe is concerned, I have a different take on it. It is not so much that Austin is so wacky, so unique, so inspired, so laissez-faire, so unimaginably cool -- while it's great, it's none of these things despite what the media and Austin bandwagoneers suggest... it's just the rest of Texas is the opposite and the contrast is pronounced.

Could you name similar cities? This one is getting tooooo crowded.

I would describe the Austin vibe as intelligent, open-minded, unpretentious, creative and outgoing.
You can have an intelligent chat with another customer or a worker at many businesses and people are interested in interaction. If something could be crowdsourced to a city, I'd give it to Austin - though we would likely come up with several different, but great, solutions.

[Idlewile]

Originally Posted by hillcountryheart

Could you name similar cities? This one is getting tooooo crowded.

Sure I can, similar how though? Outdoor activities, population, progressiveness, focus on intellect, entrepreneurial spirit, COL? 'Similar' is subjective as far as individual's definitions of the above attributes; as evidence, people here can argue all day long about these lists:

Best Places to Live 2012 - Money Magazine
America's 50 Best Cities - The Best Places to Live - Businessweek
Best United States cities to live in: Top 50 for 2012 - National Conservative | Examiner.com
Houston Tops Our List Of America's Coolest Cities - Forbes
College Towns: Consider These 16 Communities For Retirement

[atxcio]

Originally Posted by kiacook

Austin airport is great but has very few direct flights. Dallas is a hub and if your husband travels a lot you may want to take that into consideration. It will cut about 2 hours off every flight.

Austin has direct flights to most major cities in the US. I think maybe 40 or so? Here is the map: http://austintexas.gov/department/no...ights-out-abia. They are with different airlines, though -- so not as much use to a frequent flyer. Obviously DFW or IAH are the much larger airports in the state, and if you are traveling internationally you'll be going through one of those airports and it will add 2 hrs to your flight itinerary.

In my experience, though -- a lot of that 2 hours is mitigated by the ease of accessing the Austin airport. The airport is only a 20 minute drive for a large part of Austin -- central, west, southwest. For example, from my home in the westlake area it's pretty much 20 mins exactly (in normal traffic). Then the real convenient part is that you exit right off the highway, and within seconds you are in a parking area. And you can just park and walk to the gate in about 10 mins (or take the shuttle, but it's a perfectly acceptable walk even from long-term parking). And that includes security, which if you know where to go usually never takes more than a couple of minutes.

On the other hand... if you live in Plano, you'll have to budget 40-45 mins for your drive to DFW in normal traffic. Then, you enter and pay the toll for the airport, and drive what seems like at least a mile or two to get to the right parking garage. Then you'll spend 15 minutes parking, and another 15+ minutes getting to your gate which may incorporate a shuttle and train ride, lots of walking, and a longer security line.

[hillcountryheart]

Originally Posted by Idlewile

Sure I can, similar how though? Outdoor activities, population, progressiveness, focus on intellect, entrepreneurial spirit, COL? 'Similar' is subjective as far as individual's definitions of the above attributes; as evidence, people here can argue all day long about these lists:

Best Places to Live 2012 - Money Magazine
America's 50 Best Cities - The Best Places to Live - Businessweek
Best United States cities to live in: Top 50 for 2012 - National Conservative | Examiner.com
Houston Tops Our List Of America's Coolest Cities - Forbes
College Towns: Consider These 16 Communities For Retirement

I was curious as to people's personal observations, because I find these lists highly suspect. People who've lived here and elsewhere might be better suited to recommend "similar" places that have the Austin vibe as I've defined it. On the college towns link - very interesting. I might add Urbana-Champaign, Illinois to that list.

[hillcountryheart]

A bit off topic, but if I fly internationally, I will usually drive to Houston and then fly from there. Even factoring in my time to drive and fuel costs, I find it is nearly always more cost effective and if I have fellow travelers it's especially cost effective.

Southwest does a great job in getting people to US destinations, but since it doesn't aggressively partner with any of the international airlines and often flies into the smaller airports in any given area, it is not a great choice for international travel connections. Minneapolis/St Paul has more international connections than Austin, and is a far smaller city.

[Shredding_Gnar78]

Originally Posted by hillcountryheart

Could you name similar cities? This one is getting tooooo crowded

Me: "How was ____Austin Event______"
Somebody: "It was really crowded. Shoulder to Shoulder"


Most recently, pecan street festival. Oh but don't worry they are building even more apartments downtown to alleviate the sprawl lol

#ATXhype