1 tech entrepreneur's thoughts on downtown Austin (Georgetown, Canyon Lake: hotel, house, camping)

[Kid Ashbury]

Background: Alex Becker is the CEO of Hyros, a SAAS company that does ad tracking, attribution, and data analysis.

He has been living in Downtown Austin at The Independent (that super-tall Jenga-looking building on West 3rd) for several years.

He posted this to Facebook this morning:





Thoughts?

[ashbeeigh]

Maybe people will stop moving here after reading that.

I run at town lake by myself as a single female regularly and with a group at least once a week and have never found or heard of someone finding a “dead body.”

[ScoPro]

Mr. Becker lives there, so he may be accurate.

[Need4Camaro]

Unfortunately I have also been approached aggressively by them while I’m downtown on foot. Some refuse to stop when you say no. I would never recommend a single female to walk through downtown at night. Another thing that peeves me is when I’m in my vehicle and they start washing my windows when I didn’t give them permission to do so. Irritates me to no end.

[atxcio]

The independent only opened in 2019 so he’s hardly lived there “several years.” Also I run regularly at Ladybird lake (the carpetbagger has no right to call it Town Lake) and it is nothing like he describes. It’s just fine. Plus the ridiculous dead body stuff... Sounds like tech bro douchbaggery to me. The guy knows nothing about Austin, he should move his company to Nashville or something.

[ashbeeigh]

Originally Posted by Need4Camaro

Unfortunately I have also been approached aggressively by them while I’m downtown on foot. Some refuse to stop when you say no. I would never recommend a single female to walk through downtown at night. Another thing that peeves me is when I’m in my vehicle and they start washing my windows when I didn’t give them permission to do so. Irritates me to no end.

No matter your gender, most people shouldn’t walk in a major metro’s downtown at night alone. I would never walk downtown alone at night. On a Saturday morning at 7am, sure. But walking alone at night downtown is a silly idea. As far as the window thing, make eye contact and shake your head no. I’ve never had them start washing my windows when I do that. Treat them like humans and acknowledge their presence, in sheltered people are human and recognize facial cues.

With that said, it’s 5:30am on Saturday morning and I’m going to go run at townlake with my running group. I’ll start out with some people but probably will fall behind. And I won’t die.

[VAF84]

Hmm sounds about right. At least on the elected officials side. If we start losing the balancing effect we’re getting from our state elected officials, I fully expect us to go the way of SF, Portland, and Seattle in the near future.

[austin-steve]

I lived on Town Lake for a year in 2017/18. Walked, ran, biked town lake daily, as I did for several years when I drove to it for that as well.

I last walked the 5 mile loop last fall, from under Mopac eastbound, then across on Congress bridge and back around on the north side. What I saw then, is the same as described in the OP minus dead bodies. It saddened me. It wasn't like that even a year or two earlier. The stupid city council caused it when it repealed the camping ban. They should all be held accountable for their gross negligence, but of course will not be.

I haven't been back since. Except to drop a paddle board and go out from the rowing dock, which isn't the same as circling the lake. Out on the water is still great.

I haven't totally given up on Austin though. I still own properties there and do business, but its homelessness issue has caused me to discover wonderful places outside and away from it that are just as enjoyable and fun to explore. Paddling the Guadalupe River, swimming in the Blanco down the street from my low-$300s house in Wimberley, which I do regularly. Hiking around Blue Hole and trails on Canyon Lake. Canyon Lake has 23 FREE boat ramps.

There are great places up in Georgetown and North Austin as well for outdoor adventure and activity, as well as nightlife. I personally see no reason to come into downtown Austin at all anymore, and I certainly discourage my visiting friends and clients from doing do unless they are stuck down there with no car in a convention hotel.

Adios Austin, your city government sucks.

[ashbeeigh]

Just finished a run on the trail. I did not die and did not see any dead bodies. Neither did I come a toss any angry yelling drug addicts/unmedicated mentally unstable unhoused humans.

[ScoPro]

So all the bum camps are cleaned out of downtown, around the ARC, and the panhandlers are gone?
If so, the city can start cleaning up 183 north & Ben White. The garbage & camps are still polluting those areas.