What was special about "old" Austin?

[Hopeful for Life]

Originally Posted by ashbeeigh

The commute to 290/Cameron is about the same in okay traffic. Bad traffic about 30. (I have nothing else to add as even in the 80s I was new to Texas).

Wow!! So, it's gone up 200% more in rush hour since the late 80s? I would have thought that it would take longer.

[G Grasshopper]

I was in Austin in 1971 - 73. I was a student, so I didn't see that much of Austin, but my remembrance is that it was more affordable, that the general mood was more relaxed than now, it was smaller and easier to get around, and that there were more local establishments and fewer chains or national companies. That gave a flavor to the place that was unique and was not like everywhere else. Now days, there are lots of stores, restaurants, activities that are national chains and are ubiquitous all over the country. I think that as Austin has grown, both in physical size and population, there are people and businesses from all over, and that dilutes the unique flavor of the place. I would assume, however, that this is true of everyplace, as the internet and the accessibility of travel has homogenized the country and the world.

There were also a lot of cool places to go just outside of town. That is still true, but they are more established now. To go to Hamilton Pool, you used to have to know just where to go, then climb through a barbed wire fence. And don't forget Armadillo World Headquarters, which was in the funky old armory, and was sort of a counter-culture mecca. Lots of great memories. (Plus, Austin will always be special to me because my husband and I met there, at 2202 Nueces, which was once part of College House, but is now the Methodist Student Center.) I think the places we spent our youth will always have a pull to us.

[Trainwreck20]

I will take a stab at this .

As mentioned, there are two general aspects to consider - one is a personal perception related to aging/maturing and the other is an 'actual' change in the dynamic of Austin. I totally agree that a lot of the change can be related to my experience when I was going to college in the 80s as a young man and my current life as a gainfully employed father/husband; however, my opinions on what has possibly changed outside of that.

1 - Diminished impact of UT.

1985 - UT had an enrollment of right at 48,000 students. The population of the city of Austin was 417,000, so UT was somewhat more than 10% of the city. The Hays/Travis/Williamson county area was around 700k.

2015 - UT had an enrollment of 51,000. Austin was 930,000, so the percent of students had fallen to about 5% of the population. The Hays/Travis/Williamson county area was around 1.9 Million, so the area in general had grown more than the city of Austin proper, especially when you consider the expanding city limits that account for some of the city population growth.

So, more than 1 in 10 people were a student at UT 'back in the day', and more of the people were in Austin rather than surrounding counties, creating sort of a 'UT island'. Many, many businesses catered to students and their relatively low spending power and their young adult needs - entertainment, alcohol, music, etc - as opposed to grown-up needs and their higher spending power. Also, the state employees probably parallel this very closely - relatively static numbers while the city grew, and a relatively low spending power segment of the population.

UT has essentially (and with good reason) gotten rid of most 'professional' students - many, many people stayed in college to take courses well beyond the four years (it was so cheap!), which created a class of residents that doesn't really exist anymore.

So, I think this really does tie into a pretty significant change in the city - whether you were a student or not, this was a college town and was focused on UT (and other universities/colleges) and their needs, and that is not nearly as much the case today.



2 - cost of living vs. income. I don't know if that stats bear it out, but it was definitely 'easy' to get a cheap(ish) place to live in Austin, go to college, and pay for it with a part-time job. Not all of that is related to living cost, but also college cost - it was $4/hr tuition with minimal fees and my fee bill was generally under $100 to go to UT. Books were up-and-down based on the particular semester, but somewhere around $150 or so on average, probably. Looking at a random inflation calculator, I get:

The U.S. dollar experienced an average inflation rate of 2.67% per year between 1985 and 2015. $100 in the year 1985 is worth $220.28 in 2015.

So, if college cost had stayed the 'same' as inflation, tuition and fees would be about $220 and books would be $340 or so. $600 + room and board to go to UT just isn't happening now. Minimum wage has gone from $3.35 to $7.25, which parallels inflation, whereas tuition has way outstripped inflation.

In 1986, I split a $250 apartment unit (2/1) off of Ave. A. That place is now a group of condos appraised at $200k+ each. That boggles my mind! By 1988, I was splitting a $325 2/2 place off of Far West (Savannah Ridge at the time, now 'Acacia Cliffs'). A similar unit appears to be around $1,200 now. Neither of those places, when corrected for inflation, would be anywhere near as cheap as they used to be.

It seems that many, many students used to work to pay for some or all of school, but currently that is akin to pissing on a wild fire and hardly worth the effort. Instead, students are looking for internships or work that may not pay well (if at all) but adds to the resume. That makes sense, but it seems that a much smaller portion of the low-wage earners are students now. I rarely run into a student-waiter now, when it used to be almost every waiter was a student in the past. Again, partially just dilution, but if you are taking out 10s of thousands in loans to pay for college, don't waste your study time slinging plates for a few bucks.

3 - Effects of size. The population growth has diminished some of the original 'natural' attractions. Campbell's Hole, Twin Falls, Barton Creek Pool, Hamilton Pool, the hike-n-bike trail, etc., etc. have not gotten any bigger, but a lot more people are using them. I don't even bother with them for the most part now, it isn't worth the headache to fight your way to the trail of lights or deal with the masses at the green belt swim spots.

[austenite]

Austin is still a very cool place to live, as it was back in the day. Our rush hour may be brutal, but it doesn't last terribly long. Downtown has a great vibe, and there are more trails and paths to use today than a few decades ago. It's true the more popular places can get really busy, but there are plenty of smaller venues to visit after work, restaurants and pubs to frequent, and a much broader selection of interesting things to do, groups of people to connect with, and activities to join up.

Maybe it's that when we remember, the frustrating things diminish and the better things come to mind more strongly. If you only recently arrived in Austin, you may have missed some good days, but we've plenty more ahead of us.