Austin 19th of America's snobbiest cities (Houston, Dallas: 2013, hotel, neighborhood)

[kermit_xc]

Austin named one of America's snobbiest cities - Austin Business Journal

[EzPeterson]

I don't know if the metrics they've used there really quantify "snobby". That said, there are definitely some parts of Austin that have a place on this!

[hillcountryheart]

I'll roll with whatever keeps more people from moving here. I'm not snobby, just tired, crowded, hot, stuck in traffic and crabby, all of which has to do with the huge influx of people. You want some real snobbery, try Sedona, Aspen and the like; much of coastal California; the Woodlands in Houston and the twin Parks in Dallas.

[phone man]

Oh great, another Lakeway- Circle C- Steiner post...

[EzPeterson]

Originally Posted by phone man

Oh great, another Lakeway- Circle C- Steiner post...

That's funny right there

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by EzPeterson

I don't know if the metrics they've used there really quantify "snobby". That said, there are definitely some parts of Austin that have a place on this!

I have the same doubts, its hard for me to see how the criteria they used translates into snobbery. It is also difficult for me to see how the mix of the crowds I see at places like the Driskill Hotel, wearing everything from cowboy boots, to shorts to dress up gowns fits the snobbish idea.

Seemed more like Austin Envy turning into Austin Bashing.

[love roses]

The snobbery I see in Austin would be the sort where we get "West of 35 is better that East of 35", McMansions popping up on the lake travis shoreline and boats that are nearly too big to be on a lake and should actually be in the ocean, People who live downtown and think they are better than people who don't, People who think NOTHING exists outside of Austin....I'm sure I could think of a few more.

[ScoPro]

Then the newly arrived hipster faction to be sure.

[car957]

I'm pretty sure we are festival-ed out. We have ACL, SXSW, Formula 1, ROT Ride, and lots of street closures. For me it does get a tad boring and frustrating. However, given that the casa is about to be paid off and I love my neighborhood, I tolerate it.

[austin-steve]

I was going to post an "Oh brother" response but I did in fact encounter what I perceived to be a form of "snobbery" Wed night.

My 19 yo niece and her boyfriend are visiting Austin for 4th of July weekend, staying with my mom, from up in the smalltown hinterlands close to Oklahoma, so my wife and I along with my 20 and 17 yo daughters decided to take them out for a slice of the Austin vibe.

My wife drug us to some new eatery in the '04. First of all, it's not clear whether it's a sit-down restaurant, coffee shop or what. It has full size menus but you order at the register then go sit down. There were six of us and the only 6 seater table was occupied by an oblivious hipster on a Macbook, sitting alone, drinking something from a coffee cup, so we move some tables together ourselves. We were the only people in the place. The menu was sufficiently confusing, being some sort of Thai/Vegan place that also serves meat. But they don't call it meat.

When I bravely ordered first, the cashier asked "and which type of protein would you like on that?". I said, "like powder or something?" I was confused and her face betrayed annoyance. "No", she said, "chicken, beef, pork ,,, or tofu". "Oh", I said, "you mean meat", to which she responded "or tofu". I took the chicken.

For drinks, I asked for an Iced Tea, but they only serve the bottled beverages located in a display fridge, all of which were non-standard weird drinks, except for the bottled Cokes, and not even any bottled water. We all ended up drinking water from a little water station set up near the register, which was self-serve.

The food was so hot my nieces' bf had to go into the bathroom and rinse and spit several time. He came back sweating and his face was a little red. Welcome to Austin, dude. My stir fried rice with chicken (which they term 'protein') was hot, but I actually liked it, though it was over-flavored. I think it was hotter than most people would want, but ok with it. When mentioning how how it all was, the "waiter" said, "yes, that's how it's supposed to be". My wife and I looked at each other with "oh brother" faces. It's not supposed to be that hot. Even the "peanut" dressing was super spicy. I'm the only one who ate my entire meal.

Anyway, after we left I felt like I just departed a Portlandia skit. I would have to rate the snob factor very high in this case. Just one example, I know, but it didn't used to be this way.

FYI - we then all headed to Amy's on 5th where we experienced the opposite of snobbery. My niece agreed to try the icecream toss whereby she stands all the way on the other side of 5th street and the employee tosses a scoop which, if she catches in a plastic bowl, earns her a free ice cream. She did it and was ebullient about it. They don't do that up in her parts either.

Steve