Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Dare I say South Beach has lost its coolness from the 90’s. Don’t get me wrong, it is still very popular but the 90’s saw the transformation from a stretch of Miami Beach filled with crime, drugs and home to the elderly to a party central place that attracted artists, musicians, celebrities and fashion designers that put Miami back on the map globally.
Today it has lost a lot of that spirit with institutions such as The Raleigh Hotel, Mickey’s (club owned by Mickey Rourke), etc no longer in existence—not to mention murdered Gianni Versace, only to see independent boutiques replaced by corporate chains at Lincoln Road Mall and potential disturbances during Spring Week and Urban Weekend.
I'm starting to sense a trend on this thread or the forum in general of disdain for modern amenities and a nostalgia for the past...
Are corporate chains really that bad? I would figure that "nice" is nice, no matter how it is operated/presented.
Like there's this complaint about how "Disneyfied" NYC is today. I mean is it really that bland/bad or is this thread inducing some type of nostalgic fever?
I'm starting to sense a trend on this thread or the forum in general of disdain for modern amenities and a nostalgia for the past...
Are corporate chains really that bad? I would figure that "nice" is nice, no matter how it is operated/presented.
Like there's this complaint about how "Disneyfied" NYC is today. I mean is it really that bland/bad or is this thread inducing some type of nostalgic fever?
I don't think anyone would deny that modernization and corporatization have brought more convenience and predictability, but it has come at a social cost. That's the point.
It's just a fact of the matter that in most cities, revitalization/gentrification has really taken an approach that has "commodified" a city living experience, mostly to make it more palatable and marketable to affluent (and let's be honest, whitebread) suburbanites.
This trend has indeed brought much more convenience, safety and livability to countless urban neighborhoods, but it's clear to me that creativity and individualism are the biggest victims when cities allow too much of their future to be dreamt up and its interests controlled by profit-motivated minds in a corporate boardroom.
That's not inevitable; that's a policy choice by cities and their leadership. Cities that leave revitalization much more in the hands of residents (i.e., "mom-and-pop" developers) who have a vested interest in the community are much more likely to avoid this fate.
Portland and Seattle without a doubt, these cities were the epitome of "cool" during the 90s but have since "sold out" and no longer resemble what they once were culturally.
Portland and Seattle without a doubt, these cities were the epitome of "cool" during the 90s but have since "sold out" and no longer resemble what they once were culturally.
Austin is going through that to a degree too, the tech takeover has made it feel very corporate/sterile.
I don't think anyone would deny that modernization and corporatization have brought more convenience and predictability, but it has come at a social cost. That's the point.
It's just a fact of the matter that in most cities, revitalization/gentrification has really taken an approach that has "commodified" a city living experience, mostly to make it more palatable and marketable to affluent (and let's be honest, whitebread) suburbanites.
This trend has indeed brought much more convenience, safety and livability to countless urban neighborhoods, but it's clear to me that creativity and individualism are the biggest victims when cities allow too much of their future to be dreamt up and its interests controlled by profit-motivated minds in a corporate boardroom.
That's not inevitable; that's a policy choice by cities and their leadership. Cities that leave revitalization much more in the hands of residents (i.e., "mom-and-pop" developers) who have a vested interest in the community are much more likely to avoid this fate.
It's the byproduct of the times we live in anyway now so if it's happening to say South Beach then it's everywhere just like in NYC, LA, etc.
In a sense we can say once again that it's not even a matter of which cities lost their "swag" since the 90's but rather the general direction within this country itself.
I get the dread though because that in-turn transforms even the most urban of places into something similar to the suburbs where there's just smaller Wal-Marts all over the place.
But now that we're here we just gotta make due with what we got and be happy with it, atleasts that's the "blue collar" mindset.
Not since the 90s, but I think people are over Portland, Seattle, Austin. Nashville
Lumping in Austin and Portland together in this context is interesting to me. I feel like those cities were almost identical in like 2010 but they have kind of moved in different directions over the last decade. Austin has definitely become more corporate and has a notably stronger yuppie and professional element to it. Portland seems to have doubled down on its alternative side and has had some problems associated with that (namely the homeless situation).
Nashville, I don't get that at all. Was Nashville cool in the 90s? I hear way more about Nashville these days then back then, when it was only thought of for country music.
I think even with Austin, it seems pretty crazy to say that it is "less cool" than in the 90s. Austin in the 90s *was* cool but it also pretty unheard of outside of the state of Texas. It's so much bigger and has so much more going on nowadays, and it's massively more known nationally and present in national media. I guess it depends how you define cool at the end of the day. Personally I could see an argument that it peaked in 2010 or so but the 90s? That seems like a stretch. Realistically I think it's probably cooler than ever now, I'm just old.
Lumping in Austin and Portland together in this context is interesting to me. I feel like those cities were almost identical in like 2010 but they have kind of moved in different directions over the last decade. Austin has definitely become more corporate and has a notably stronger yuppie and professional element to it. Portland seems to have doubled down on its alternative side and has had some problems associated with that (namely the homeless situation).
Nashville, I don't get that at all. Was Nashville cool in the 90s? I hear way more about Nashville these days then back then, when it was only thought of for country music.
I think even with Austin, it seems pretty crazy to say that it is "less cool" than in the 90s. Austin in the 90s *was* cool but it also pretty unheard of outside of the state of Texas. It's so much bigger and has so much more going on nowadays, and it's massively more known nationally and present in national media. I guess it depends how you define cool at the end of the day. Personally I could see an argument that it peaked in 2010 or so but the 90s? That seems like a stretch. Realistically I think it's probably cooler than ever now, I'm just old.
This is just my opinion as a younger guy who's lived in Austin several times and used to go up there 2-3x a week for years... I think it's "peak" was 2010-2019-ish. It wasn't a small unknown town then by any means, but it was right before tech corps really started invading.
These days, there's a whole YouTube channel documenting the fights/shootouts on 6th street (tbf it's called dirty 6th for a reason, but it was nowhere near as bad as it is now). Homeless problem has gotten way worse and was out of control at one point. Rainey street is damn near gone now and replaced with generic Miami/Vancouver style high rise condos/apartments.
SoHo House/Hermes/Equinox, etc on South Congress which used to be a boutique artsy area. Rent is higher than Chicago. Restaurants/lounges where you need an AmEx concierge to get a RSVP at... that kind of thing. I guess it just depends what people's definition of cool is.
IMO Austin at it's best was a very live and let live kind of city where you could go to Zilker and chill, go paddle boarding and then go eat at a cool restaurant in shorts. Nowadays (generalizing) it's an odd mix of Silicon Valley tech bro types, LA/Dallas pretentiousness and Portland/Seattle hardcore leftist culture. Not saying that stuff didn't exist to a degree before, but it definitely wasn't as in your face.
The inner core of San Antonio these days kind of reminds me of what Austin was 6-7 years ago. Seems to add up given the largest amount of migration to SA is from Austin.
Lumping in Austin and Portland together in this context is interesting to me. I feel like those cities were almost identical in like 2010 but they have kind of moved in different directions over the last decade. Austin has definitely become more corporate and has a notably stronger yuppie and professional element to it. Portland seems to have doubled down on its alternative side and has had some problems associated with that (namely the homeless situation).
Nashville, I don't get that at all. Was Nashville cool in the 90s? I hear way more about Nashville these days then back then, when it was only thought of for country music.
I think even with Austin, it seems pretty crazy to say that it is "less cool" than in the 90s. Austin in the 90s *was* cool but it also pretty unheard of outside of the state of Texas. It's so much bigger and has so much more going on nowadays, and it's massively more known nationally and present in national media. I guess it depends how you define cool at the end of the day. Personally I could see an argument that it peaked in 2010 or so but the 90s? That seems like a stretch. Realistically I think it's probably cooler than ever now, I'm just old.
Not sure if you read my full post. I don’t think they peaked in the 90s, just saying they are all past their peak. Nashville became too expensive for what it was, and downtown is now a mini Vegas of sorts. Obnoxious bachelorette parties and poor schools. It lost its luster fast
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
