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The Astonishing Transformation of Austin

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Re: The Astonishing Transformation of Austin

#51

Post by outside1234 »

halfmatthalfcat wrote: post #6

I spent 8 months on a death march of a project that colored Austin for me but that aside, infrastructurally, Austin sucked getting around and didn't have a ton to offer that didn't revolve around UT (6th primarily) or Rainey. The public transit (what is that streetcar thing even?) is horribly underdeveloped and heavily car dependent. Downtown is "bridge and tunnel"-y. Maybe if I had ventured out to the burbs more, I…

This was my take (multiple trips there for business). Fake music quarter. Too many cars. Felt like a giant cowtown. Flat. Expensive! The fact that they are considering a 20 lane highway through town definitely doesn't give you hope that they get it.

https://slate.com/business/2021/10/austin-texas-interstate-3...

Re: The Astonishing Transformation of Austin

#52

Post by jasondigitized »

dylan604 wrote: post #16
orange_joe wrote: post #12

I understand the nostalgia for a youth and place that is gone, but it’s interesting to point out in one sentence — “Austin was beset by racial divisions” and in the next paragraph discuss the hope that the city would institute strict zoning to keep out newcomers or as the writing says “if we won’t build it, they won’t come”. So much of this piece is dedicated to the problem of housing, but ignored is the problem in i…

The vibe from Austin has always been weird to me. "Thanks for visiting, don't move here" or whatever their saying is to that effect. Yet, so few people are from Austin. To me, Austin has always been that poser city trying so hard to be cool and noticed by the other cool cities, but when you try to get to know the city it's just a facade of cool and the rest is just empty and hollow

How does a city try to be cool? And is there a threshold? Is NYC like 89.8% cool and Asheville 67.7% cool? Austin has all kinds of cool sh*t. 17.3% of stuff in Austin is cool. But the rest is a facade.

Re: The Astonishing Transformation of Austin

#53

Post by chrisco255 »

agnos wrote: post #32

Maybe just an untimely experience, but I visited Austin once a little over a year ago during the summer, and downtown was basically a ghost town. I assumed it was because UT was on break, but still I couldn't help thinking "where is everybody?" given the Austin hype. That being said, as a remote worker becoming increasingly disillusioned about Bay Area cost of living and politics, Austin is on my radar. Any Austin tr…

Spend a week or two in ATX and see how you like it! Downtown did lose quite a bit of daytime vibrancy during the pandemic (the night life is still active as ever, however). But I think it's coming back.

Re: The Astonishing Transformation of Austin

#54

Post by jasondigitized »

outside1234 wrote: post #51
halfmatthalfcat wrote: post #6

I spent 8 months on a death march of a project that colored Austin for me but that aside, infrastructurally, Austin sucked getting around and didn't have a ton to offer that didn't revolve around UT (6th primarily) or Rainey. The public transit (what is that streetcar thing even?) is horribly underdeveloped and heavily car dependent. Downtown is "bridge and tunnel"-y. Maybe if I had ventured out to the burbs more, I…

This was my take (multiple trips there for business). Fake music quarter. Too many cars. Felt like a giant cowtown. Flat. Expensive! The fact that they are considering a 20 lane highway through town definitely doesn't give you hope that they get it. https://slate.com/business/2021/10/austin-texas-interstate-3...

Flat? You realize the west side of Austin is where the Hill Country starts right?

Re: The Astonishing Transformation of Austin

#55

Post by jasondigitized »

burlesona wrote: post #46
agnos wrote: post #32

Maybe just an untimely experience, but I visited Austin once a little over a year ago during the summer, and downtown was basically a ghost town. I assumed it was because UT was on break, but still I couldn't help thinking "where is everybody?" given the Austin hype. That being said, as a remote worker becoming increasingly disillusioned about Bay Area cost of living and politics, Austin is on my radar. Any Austin tr…

Would not recommend. It's a great city if you like paying almost as much as SF for housing and getting: - High heat and humidity for 8 months out of the year - Mosquitos that make the few nice days out much less nice - Surprising ice/snow storms in the middle of the few months of nice weather - Having to drive everywhere in heavy and hostile traffic - Risking your life if you want to walk or bike somewhere - Being su…

Not bad points but you didn't mention how incredibly friendly and safe the city of Austin is. Austin bashers always fail to mention the intangibles that make Austin Austin.

Re: The Astonishing Transformation of Austin

#56

Post by DanCarvajal »

selimthegrim wrote: post #47
DanCarvajal wrote: post #41

Speaking as an Oklahoman, Texas is too Texas for its own good.

Would you recommend Bartlesville/Tulsa?

Honestly, Tulsa and Oklahoma City are pretty darn good these days and represent good options for a lot of people. Oklahoma also sneakily has a lot of great outdoor recreation and some of the best bouldering in the U.S.

Oklahoma is interesting, it's got some unique issues but I feel like most people born there never really leave.

Re: The Astonishing Transformation of Austin

#57

Post by jasondigitized »

fumar wrote: post #2

Interesting take on tech and Austin over a long period. I was one signature away from moving there in 2019. I had visited Austin on behalf of clients for fours years prior. It has it charms and a Texas-like version of Denver in a way. I passed on Austin because of its subtropical humid climate. My allergies coupled with high humidity made it an unbearable place to be for long periods of time. I put Miami in the same…

I just can't with these humidity comments. Austin is not humid. It is hot as f*ck but not humid. Houston on the other hand is the most miserable place on earth when it comes to humidity.

Re: The Astonishing Transformation of Austin

#58

Post by trynewideas »

dylan604 wrote: post #16
orange_joe wrote: post #12

I understand the nostalgia for a youth and place that is gone, but it’s interesting to point out in one sentence — “Austin was beset by racial divisions” and in the next paragraph discuss the hope that the city would institute strict zoning to keep out newcomers or as the writing says “if we won’t build it, they won’t come”. So much of this piece is dedicated to the problem of housing, but ignored is the problem in i…

The vibe from Austin has always been weird to me. "Thanks for visiting, don't move here" or whatever their saying is to that effect. Yet, so few people are from Austin. To me, Austin has always been that poser city trying so hard to be cool and noticed by the other cool cities, but when you try to get to know the city it's just a facade of cool and the rest is just empty and hollow

> The vibe from Austin has always been weird to me. "Thanks for visiting, don't move here" or whatever their saying is to that effect

I guess that's the saying Oregon traded to Austin in exchange for "Keep _____ Weird": https://archive.ph/tqKyV

Re: The Astonishing Transformation of Austin

#59

Post by kyteland »

mikebenfield wrote: post #30
71a54xd wrote: post #21

[flagged]

You could just support new housing development and sane urban planning. Then maybe Austin will still be a pleasant and semi-affordable place to live in 10 or 20 years. Lots of moderately wealthy people moving in could be, in some ways, a boon for Austin, if you don't do everything exactly wrong. (The alternative is to refuse to build new housing or do any reasonable urban planning out of resentment towards newcomers,…

As someone leaving Austin after 10 years, one limiting factor to growth here is water. All of the municipal water for the metro area comes from Lake Travis. There's a hard limit to how much growth the city can support even if infrastructure and housing was prioritized.

Re: The Astonishing Transformation of Austin

#60

Post by whycombagator »

jasondigitized wrote: post #54
outside1234 wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This was my take (multiple trips there for business). Fake music quarter. Too many cars. Felt like a giant cowtown. Flat. Expensive! The fact that they are considering a 20 lane highway through town definitely doesn't give you hope that they get it. https://slate.com/business/2021/10/austin-texas-interstate-3...

Flat? You realize the west side of Austin is where the Hill Country starts right?

Right, you can be a few miles (5-15) west of Austin and be 500-1000ft above sea level. Sure it’s not Denver dramatic, but flat just goes to show the GP didn’t experience much of Austin at all
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