What makes Austin better then Houston or Dallas? (El Paso, Fort Worth: mortgage, credit card)

[verybadgnome]

I have no idea what Houston and Dallas have in the way of parks but all I know is that I can take my Trek on the Hike and Bike trail to work in the morning and after getting home can take my dog 4 blocks to Town Lake. On the weekends I can take my kayak down to the launch and paddle without having to worry about speed boats and the noise and waves they make. Aside from the Englischer Garten in Munich I haven't found anything that can beat it, and no fat old nudist either.

[wpmeads]

Originally Posted by eepstein

There is no lying whatsoever here. It's all opinions. It is a FACT that Dallas and Houston have FAR greater overall populations of college students than Austin. However, you may not be able to tell as much because the cities are so much larger overall, but you don't think all of these people congregate somewhere?? Saying that Austin has the best nightlife is rediculous. Austin has a large university that happens to be fairly close to the 6th street district. Therefore it APPEARS to have better nightlife because of all of the people who go there. I am not a fan of San Antonio, however it has TONS of bars and resturants along the riverwalk. Tons of nightlife as well. AND many of these people are actually tourists! So, by definition a city can ONLY have good nightlife if it's university is directly feeding the area of where the bars and clubs are?? Makes no sense.

If you don't agree with my FACTS, then check them out for yourself. Add up all of the college students in the metroplex, and Houston areas and tell me how those numbers compare to Austin's college population.

What facts? Where are you getting your numbers from or are you just making assumptions? I live Houston and go school at U of H and have been to UT campus several times, and I love the Houston and my school, but it is very unrealistic to say the college scene here is on the same level as Austin. If you include all the schools in Austin (there are more universities then just UT in Austin BTW), I believe it totals to somewhere between 80,000 and 100,000 students. That is a very large number of students for a town the size of Austin. I'm not ever sure if Houston has that many college students and it's more than twice the size of Austin. I'm sure the entire DFW does, but the universities are VERY spread out across the Metroplex. In addition, you also have Texas State in San Marcus and Southwestern in Georgetown which are both in the Austin metro. That's not to mention the tens of thousands of people in their early 20's who move to Austin from around the state and the country for film, music, IT, graphic design, web design, etc. or just to be around the "Austin scene." It's a magnate for people of this age group because there is such a high percentage of people in their early 20's in Austin.

And who said SA, Houston or Dallas don't have a good nightlife? I'm not sure where your getting this from.

Also, I'm not sure where Colorado Springs came from. This thread is comparing TEXAS cities.

[stoneclaw]

I've always felt that Austin is over-hyped. The nightlife there is nothing special. I mean, it gets crunk sometimes but honestly i don't see a vast difference between the nightlife that happens in Houston, Dallas, or Ft. Worth, and that's including their downtown areas.

Someone was also mentioning that Austin has more green areas such as parks to congregate in. It's an easy feat to accomplish when a town is over 5 times smaller than the two largest metropolitan areas in the state. All that means is that Austin is not as developed and has various parks and such to fill in the gaps.

I don't hate Austin, but its not one of my Texas favorite cities either. DFW, S/A, and Houston top my list (forgive me i don't know about lonely El Paso).
Austin to me felt too much like my hometown of Colorado Springs, CO except maybe a tad more progressive with a "big city" skyline, 6th Street, and the upcoming mass transit system. Either way, not hating but i don't understand the reason for all the attention it gets.

[brubaker]

Originally Posted by Radical_Car

What makes Austin better then Houston or Dallas?

Well, our Keep Austin Weird® marketing brand is soooo much better than Houston's.... or That Other Big Hair/Big Ego Place.

[eepstein]

That slogan "keep Austin wierd" is not only completely outdated, but doesn't apply anymore in any way, shape or form. It is yet another way the City of Austin is trying to be two faced. The COA doesn't give a damn local businesses (that aren't owned by rich people) which is quite appearant. They have leveled numerous local businesses to put up these mega high rise condos. I suspect they would plow over any other business that could possibly be of interest to anyone with money.

Originally Posted by brubaker

Well, our Keep Austin Weird® marketing brand is soooo much better than Houston's.... or That Other Big Hair/Big Ego Place.

[Mdlx]

Originally Posted by eepstein

The COA doesn't give a damn local businesses (that aren't owned by rich people) which is quite appearant. They have leveled numerous local businesses to put up these mega high rise condos. I suspect they would plow over any other business that could possibly be of interest to anyone with money.

Moderator cut: language/personalThe VAST majority of the condo projects downtown have taken place on land that was previously occupied by parking lots. Dont believe me? Go check out the historical maps on google earth. Also, all most all the new condo projects have some portion of retail. Its not like the condos are taking away places for local businesses to set up shop. Its quite the opposite actually. They are creating places for new business to happen.

[jobert]

The condos aren't being filled fast enough even. There are quite a few businesses on 2nd st. that have gone belly-up in the last year due to the lack of critical mass in terms of downtown residents and anemic foot traffic: Loft, Paciugo, Soco Designs, and a couple of others are hanging on (such as Austin Java) by city provided subsidies for local businesses in the form of reduced rent. I have spoken to a few of the shop owners along 2nd, and they are counting the days until the W Hotel is completed. On a positive note: Champps (sp?) Sports Bar will take the old Loft space, and a new theatre company will be moving into the unfinished shell space above Malaga. When the eventually named project comes online at the old Green treatment plant at San Antonio/2nd st. (which will be both the densest and most expensive development that Austin has yet seen), the 2nd St. District will be the nexus of the universe. This will be followed by a new library and renovation of the Power plant projects flanking shoal creek - both of which are capitalizing on non-utilized prime real estate. The next 5 years will be an exciting time for urban Austin.

[brubaker]

Originally Posted by jobert

When the eventually named project comes online at the old Green treatment plant at San Antonio/2nd st. (which will be both the densest and most expensive development that Austin has yet seen), the 2nd St. District will be the nexus of the universe. This will be followed by a new library and renovation of the Power plant projects flanking shoal creek - both of which are capitalizing on non-utilized prime real estate. The next 5 years will be an exciting time for urban Austin.

Okay, I've looked a bit and couldn't find anything.

What are ya talking about?
Do you have some links please?

Densest? Most expensive?
Nexus of the universe?

Do you mean this Affordable Housing?
Old Water Treatment Plant to be Site of Affordable Downtown Housing



And.... how does this make Austin better than Dallas or Houston?

[Mdlx]

Originally Posted by brubaker

Okay, I've looked a bit and couldn't find anything.

What are ya talking about?
Do you have some links please?

Densest? Most expensive?
Nexus of the universe?

Do you mean this Affordable Housing?
Old Water Treatment Plant to be Site of Affordable Downtown Housing



And.... how does this make Austin better than Dallas or Houston?

He's referring to City of Austin - Seaholm District: Green Water Treatment Plant presentation 2

http://www.trammellcrow.com/tcwebwww...rtreatment.pdf

SeattleScape » Blog Archive » You’re not from Texas, but Texas wants you anyway

[eepstein]

The 2nd street district is a joke. Business will continue to close right and left there. However, there will be some that can survive from the few amounts of business people that actually do work downtown. The W hotel opening might also help since it will bring in some more business travellers that might actually help business a bit. Once again, people are not coming downtown for any reason other than to get drunk. And drunk people won't be shopping at 2nd street. (nor will anyone else)

Originally Posted by jobert

The condos aren't being filled fast enough even. There are quite a few businesses on 2nd st. that have gone belly-up in the last year due to the lack of critical mass in terms of downtown residents and anemic foot traffic: Loft, Paciugo, Soco Designs, and a couple of others are hanging on (such as Austin Java) by city provided subsidies for local businesses in the form of reduced rent. I have spoken to a few of the shop owners along 2nd, and they are counting the days until the W Hotel is completed. On a positive note: Champps (sp?) Sports Bar will take the old Loft space, and a new theatre company will be moving into the unfinished shell space above Malaga. When the eventually named project comes online at the old Green treatment plant at San Antonio/2nd st. (which will be both the densest and most expensive development that Austin has yet seen), the 2nd St. District will be the nexus of the universe. This will be followed by a new library and renovation of the Power plant projects flanking shoal creek - both of which are capitalizing on non-utilized prime real estate. The next 5 years will be an exciting time for urban Austin.