Vast sections of Austin are "fugly" let's not kid ourselves (neighborhoods, gated)

[BijouBaby]

Originally Posted by cBach

I was driving down Lamar today (south of 183) and around Airport Blvd. While there is little vacancy (i.e. most buildings are being used in some way, shape, or fashion, which is different than a decade ago), I couldn't but think to myself how ugly everything was. Sure, the metro stations look sleek, sure there's a bike path but it's so overgrown that in portions half is covered in weeds. Sure, there are some modern looking apartments. Sure, there is a new P Terry's. But most of the area is hideously ugly. Even along Koenig it is fugly. Lots of old very small houses converted into shops.

Are we like the emperor with no clothes on? Can we not see Austin for what it is? How can 150 people a day be moving in for this?

Sure our downtown looks great, but right outside it looks like crap. I was so glad to come back to Steiner Ranch and the Hill Country.

I completely agree with you about that area and have thought so myself every time I make that drive. I thought so 10 years ago. I thought so 20 years ago. And 10 years before that. It's always been hideous and just gets worse over time. Even so, I have a bit of nostalgia about that area having spent some time there in my college years and after, when aesthetics wasn't as important to me. Now my sensibilities are far easier to assault. Also the lanes are narrow and it always feels dangerous driving in that area. I also can't wait to get outta there and back to the hill country. But any city this size is going to have fugly somewhere. Unavoidable. So just don't go there. Plenty of beauty elsewhere in this town. In fact, more than most big cities.

[Novacek]

Originally Posted by Denver303TJC

I think for me, I wish I would have visited Austin ten years ago, so I could've seen the North Loop, gone up and down Burnet, and spent time chillin' on S Lamar before the recent changes happened. I think I would have liked seeing those parts of town before the lofts starting going up and the hipsters started coming in. While I like Austin now, I dislike it when cities knock down the buildings with character and throw up lofts instead. However, on that note, I like seeing the old and the new next to each other, since it gives a reminder of how times are always changing.

I can only speak to Burnet, since that's my hood.

Over at least the past 15 years, the change have (almost) only been for the better*


Every addition has been an improvement. They're not knocking down buildings with character, they're knocking down tired strip malls and worn out 60s office buildings. The classic businesses (Billy's, top notch, Lala's, etc.) have been kept.


*I do miss the pour house, but residential density here is better than the emptiness that was the rest of the property.

[orngkat]

For those of us who have been here "forever" and who are leaving, it will be interesting to come back in ten years or even five and see how it all shakes out. For me, the Bee Caves area will always be that peaceful, sparsely populated hill country place and not what it has become. I am glad I have that memory. If you never knew what came before, you'll never miss it though.

[Aquitaine]

I don't think I've ever heard North Lamar or Burnet called 'pretty' but every city has areas like that. Why would you characterize a whole city based on two streets that are only lately seeing any change from strip malls and auto shops?

Even then, to what end would you post about it except to stir the pot?

I remember Manor road when I first moved here in 2012. There are still parts of it that are eyesores. Much of it is now really nice, along with the cries of gentrification and (my personal favorite) 'segregation' that go with it as houses go for $500+. When we were last in the market, we looked at several teardown/rebuilds right around Lamar and North Loop. Really nice side streets (with the obligatory 2-3 houses with cars up on blocks in the front yard) and some unattractive main ones. So what?

[CarnivalGal]

The "ugly" thing that I (and visitors I have hosted) notice a lot is the wires. Wires everywhere. Wires here are rarely buried. Add to that the fact that we don't have tall, towering trees here to hide them, and they seem to be everywhere. Some of that (like the trees), is out of our control. But then why just string more wires across intersections and hang traffic lights from them? It looks horrible. The city seems to be better about putting lights on poles, but there are still a ton that just swing on those ugly wires.

[GravityMan]

If the lack of nature and/or "pretty" architecture bothers you that much OP, then go live out in the country. Or go live in Europe or Australia. 99% of cities in the United States, including Austin, Dallas, Houston, Denver, Minneapolis, Portland etc. have lots of areas that look the same these days. Cookie-cutter suburbs and shopping centers. Decrepit-looking areas near downtown. Get used to it. A lot of people are just fine with their area externally looking "boring" and "samey"...it helps cut down on drawing the wrong and undesirable kind of attention to them.

[riaelise]

Why do people say that there are no poor or ghetto areas of Austin when there are? Just because there isn't a Fifth Ward, Compton, or the South Bronx doesn't mean that there aren't any obviously lower socioeconomic areas in Austin. Just go to the far east, in the Decker Lane area. Or Montopolis. Parts of Northeast. Parts of 183 by Loyola. 71 out by the airport. There are single wides, apartments that desperately need renovation, homes with overgrown lots.

The prettiest areas by far are in the Westlake area, Cat Mountain/West Austin, Northwest Hills, Great Hills, Tarrytown/Pemberton.

[Westerner92]

Originally Posted by riaelise

Why do people say that there are no poor or ghetto areas of Austin when there are? Just because there isn't a Fifth Ward, Compton, or the South Bronx doesn't mean that there aren't any obviously lower socioeconomic areas in Austin. Just go to the far east, in the Decker Lane area. Or Montopolis. Parts of Northeast. Parts of 183 by Loyola. 71 out by the airport. There are single wides, apartments that desperately need renovation, homes with overgrown lots.

The prettiest areas by far are in the Westlake area, Cat Mountain/West Austin, Northwest Hills, Great Hills, Tarrytown/Pemberton.

The reason they say that is because from a statistical standpoint, Austin is the most socioeconomically segregated city in the nation. i.e. They don't see the poor parts and assume they don't exist.

As for the city itself, Austin does have a certain disheveled look about it that I find charming in many ways. It harkens back in the 60's-90's when Austin was slackerville, when you could find artistry and genius beyond the tall grass, bland strip malls, and cracked concrete, where people were too busy enjoying life and nature and 20th Century prosperity to worry too much about immediate aesthetic. Austin's appeal has never been the built environment, but the people in it. Even then, once you get off the major streets, Austin's neighborhoods are beautiful in my opinion.

[ashbeeigh]

Some peoploe also choose to live in these areas to save on rent, be close to things in the downtown area and shopping/parks etc and do not need to live in the most pretty areas that have been mentioned. The Lamar/ North Loop area that has been mentioned is right by the Triangle, a few minutes from Central Market and close to downtown. No, it's not pretty, but it's got a lot of things going for it....so do the other areas mentioned.

[Denver303TJC]

[quote=Novacek;44740946]I can only speak to Burnet, since that's my hood.

Over at least the past 15 years, the change have (almost) only been for the better*

Every addition has been an improvement. They're not knocking down buildings with character, they're knocking down tired strip malls and worn out 60s office buildings. The classic businesses (Billy's, top notch, Lala's, etc.) have been kept. /QUOTE]

Thanks for the reply! In that case, that's good news about Burnet. I'm glad that Little Longhorn Saloon is still there, along with various other places. I figure N Lamar in many sections has improved compared to what it was ten years ago.

I think too there are parts of Austin which have the right mix of old and new. I looked at an apartment in the Crestview area and liked thinking about how different the area must've been when a freight train ran through it and not a MetroRail. I like seeing the old buildings mixed in with the new lofts, in this case around Black Star and Fuzzy's Tacos and the MetroRail station. I also like driving from Lamar to Burnet via Justin Ln and seeing the homes along the street.