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Thankfully that's all reasonably close to my hotel. I would probably avoid the generic sports bar area and stick to the more Eastern part of . And Rainey Street sounds cool, however on Google Maps it looks pretty small and kind of upscale. However it all seems pretty close so I can check it all out.
And I do want to leave city limits once to somewhere like Pflugerville or Wells Branch, I want to go to a smoking bar + I would also like to see what that side of the Austin metro is like (where there are presumably less tourists and transplants).
Yeah it's all pretty close together. You can walk between them if you are physically capable and not lazy. Or it's a 5 minute ride in an Uber or on an electric scooter. Austin's nightlife is extremely geographically concentrated relative to other cities.
North Austin has a nice brewery district that has developed in the Burnet Road area. The Domain is a fake urban area but is actually pretty well executed with decent restaurants, great shopping, and the best bar district outside of the downtown area. Phlugerville is a suburb but it has a bit more character than the other Austin bedroom communities I think.
I would definitely look around South Austin as well. Particularly the Barton Springs / Zilker area is probably the place that is most quintessential Austin, though insanely gentrified at this point.
6th Street east of the I-35 is packed with nightlife. Look at Google maps. There are great breweries, cocktail bars, dive bars, and a few dance places. There is also some stuff on east Caesar Chavez St.
The main nightlife district at this point is probably Rainey Street. Dirty 6th is more seasonable these days and not quite as crazy as it used to be.
The "walkability" complaint was odd. Austin might have the most walkable nightlife in the entire country. Rainey St, Red River, East 6th, Dirty 6th, West 6th, 4th St... All packed with bars and within walking distance of each other.
That's the part I don't get. I don't know if that person has been to Austin but I think the problem is Austin's bars are too concentrated. 200 bars in it's core and then the rest of Austin is very sporadic.
That's the part I don't get. I don't know if that person has been to Austin but I think the problem is Austin's bars are too concentrated. 200 bars in it's core and then the rest of Austin is very sporadic.
True, Austin really sucks in terms of neighborhood bars. Even in the core, most people would need to travel a mile or two to get to the nearest bar from their house. I suppose it's caused by the onerous TABC and zoning.
I'm guessing that this person has never been to Texas and is operating off of preconceived "TEXAS ISN'T WALKABLE" stereotypes (which are generally true, but not in this case.) Even Houston and Dallas have some very walkable nightlife areas, if smaller and further apart from each other than in Austin.
Austin > Houston >>>> San Antonio > Fort Worth >>>> Dallas
Houston btw is underrated IMO. (not per this poll). I'm visiting it as we speak and it has quite alot of vibrancy Downtown and around its metro.
Dallas last? After Fort Worth and San Antonio?!? You've got to be kidding me. Seems to me you went to Downtown once and judged the entire city based off that. Dallas's Deep Ellum is by far the second most vibrant and walkable nightlife area in the state of Texas behind 6th Street in Austin. That also includes the diversity of live music options. There is no equivalent to Deep Ellum's concentration of nightlife, live music, and vibrancy in a compact walkable area anywhere in Houston, San Antonio, or Fort Worth.
Even when it comes to LGBT nightlife, Dallas's Cedar Springs strip in Oak Lawn is more vibrant than Houston's spread out equivalent in Montrose and Austin's small 4th St. There is NO equivalent to it in San Antonio or Fort Worth. And while Uptown Dallas is waning as a nightlife destination, it still has more vibrant nightlife than West 7th in Fort Worth or Midtown in Houston. That's just the walkability part... There's many clubs and entertainment venues in and around the Downtown Dallas area that aren't in a concentrated nightlife strip/area.
Of course all of this is pre-COVID 19 but the point remains.
Thankfully that's all reasonably close to my hotel. I would probably avoid the generic sports bar area and stick to the more Eastern part of . And Rainey Street sounds cool, however on Google Maps it looks pretty small and kind of upscale. However it all seems pretty close so I can check it all out.
And I do want to leave city limits once to somewhere like Pflugerville or Wells Branch, I want to go to a smoking bar + I would also like to see what that side of the Austin metro is like (where there are presumably less tourists and transplants).
Those are any city USA burbs honestly. No value there.
Thankfully that's all reasonably close to my hotel. I would probably avoid the generic sports bar area and stick to the more Eastern part of . And Rainey Street sounds cool, however on Google Maps it looks pretty small and kind of upscale. However it all seems pretty close so I can check it all out.
And I do want to leave city limits once to somewhere like Pflugerville or Wells Branch, I want to go to a smoking bar + I would also like to see what that side of the Austin metro is like (where there are presumably less tourists and transplants).
Many Austin bars have patios and you can smoke on most of those. I would recommend hanging out on the East side:
East Austin is a complete dump, and to deny that fact would be disingenuous at best. The level of homelessness and public drug use that I frequently observed near Rosewood Avenue Baptist Church is worse than what you typically observe in South Los Angeles.
East Austin is a complete dump, and to deny that fact would be disingenuous at best. The level of homelessness and public drug use that I frequently observed near Rosewood Avenue Baptist Church is worse than what you typically observe in South Los Angeles.
When were you last there? For better or for worse, the neighborhood is rapidly gentrifying:
Those are any city USA burbs honestly. No value there.
I actually really enjoyed my night in Pflugerville!
I went to Marshall's Tavern which had exactly what I was looking for. The people there were really nice.
Last edited by Foamposite; 04-12-2020 at 01:50 PM..
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