Life in Austin, Texas
Mike Silverman
from http://www.turnleft.com/places/austin.html
Austin, Texas is one of the most progressive and cultured cities in the
Southwest. Austin is the home of Grange populism, LBJ, the Univerisity
of Texas, the Austin Chronicle and the largest per-capita gay and
lesbian population in the state. Austin is an oasis of liberalism,
anarchism, leftism, nihilism and many other isms in a state that is for
the most part an inhospitable desert to anyone to the philosophical left
of George Bush, Jr."
"As a student at the horrendously conservative Texas A&M University in
College Station (about 90 miles east of Austin), I hear all sorts of
"horror stories" about Austin which, instead of having the desired
effect, just make me want to go there! I plan to transfer to UT this
Fall. Austin reportedly has the highest per capita book sales of any
American locale (in contrast to College Sta., which can only lay claim
to the largest volume of alcohol consumed per capita in the US! :).
Austin was also rated the No. 10 college town in the country. With its
staggering 126 music venues, 30 coffee houses, and 18 dance clubs, I'd
like to know which nine cities beat it!! The city is so cool that, even
though 1 in 10 residents is a UT student, the majority of the business
at the clubs does not come from college students!
...and another comment...
among the tens of thousands of newcomers over the past couple of years
have been way too many conservatives -- to the point where I'm not so
sure Austin actually belongs on this list anymore. Besides, you have to
have at least two jobs to afford to live here anymore, just to keep up
with rent increases!! Sorry to burst any bubbles, but this is another
paradise lost. Come for a visit, though, and swim in Barton Springs
before it gets paved over.
...and another comment...
Austin has had a large influx of California high-tech conservative types
lately. It didn't really have suburbs until the early 90s (none to speak
of anyway). Has a better weekly than Seattle (more local political
coverage); more live music than Seattle and Oregon combined; very strict
environmental laws; very gay-friendly in a not-so-gay-friendly state.
Minuses: Not as progressive about urban design issues as
Seattle/Portland -- but we're working on it; more and more highways
being built for the techie types (sounds like Charlotte, in fact) living
in the 'burbs; and powerful developement interests (not too surprising).
The current city council is a green majority (yeah!) and it looks to
remain that way for at least another 3 years. If only those California
emigres would go back. . . .
...and another comment...
I live in Austin and have for two years. It is indeed an oasis of
liberalism in a desert of conservatives and dullards. I came from one of
those desert areas, Abilene, TX. You never know what you are gonna see
when you walk into a McDonalds here and that's why I like it!
...and another comment...
I know there's a lot of comments on Austin already, but I have a
follow-up to an earlier one: I was the disgruntled Texas A&M student who
transferred to UT-Austin. Austin has become sort of a divided city, with
a very liberal central city and somewhat conservative outlying areas. In
the '96 elections, central Austin elected two very liberal state
representatives, one of them openly gay, by approx. 3-to-1 margins. On
campus, gays and lesbians seem pretty well accepted, and interracial
couples are also not uncommon. Student bodies are often adorned with
tattoos, piercings, and dyed hair, and there's probably more "grass" in
people's pockets than on the ground (the campus is at least 90%
concrete). I love it...Austin the beautiful! If it weren't for the
suburbs, it would be heaven.
...and another comment...
I have to agree with the last posting, in which the writer observed the
division within Austin. It has indeed become a "city of territories,"
where people stay mostly in their part of town and comment snidely on
the other parts.
Central Austin is still liberal, but it's unaffordable except to the
upper middle class. South Austin has a fading "Bubba" population that,
more than any other area in the city, retains the old flavor of pre-boom
Austin. But even Bubba-vile is being replaced by sprawling, green-lawned
suburbia. West Austin is almost exclusively for the landed gentry and
the nouveau riche, such as Michael Dell with his 14,000 square-foot
mansion. East Austin is trying to crawl out of it's long-time identity
as the minority near-ghetto of the city. (Blacks and Mexican-Americans
were forced there by legislation in the 1920's.) Finally, north Austin
is not so much Austin as a rapidly growing suburban conglomeration of
several conservative small towns that are now touching at their edge
neighborhoods. Other than it's geographic proximity, north Austin has
very little tying it Austin, culturally or spiritually. I call it "South
Dallas." I can be snide, too.
And so, if you can afford to pay exorbitant rents/mortgages to live in
or near Central or South Austin, then you may find the liberal lifestyle
you crave. Otherwise, you'd be well-advised to visit Austin as a tourist
and live elsewhere. As for my wife and I, we're looking to move to a
slower-paced, less yuppified community, preferably in a warm southern
climate like Austin.
--
Mike Silverman -- cubsfan at turnleft.com -- Lawrence, KS
http://www.turnleft.com/personal
"A free society is one where it is safe to be unpopular" - Adlai Stevenson
algeier
cub...@cjnetworks.com (Mike Silverman) wrote to and
alt.politics.homosexuality:
== from http://www.turnleft.com/places/austin.html
==
== Austin, Texas is one of the most progressive and cultured cities in the
== Southwest.
You mean like pregnant women are allowed to wear shoes?
Robert Schroeder
algeier wrote:
>
> cub...@cjnetworks.com (Mike Silverman) wrote to and
> alt.politics.homosexuality:
>
> == from http://www.turnleft.com/places/austin.html
> ==
> == Southwest.
>
> You mean like pregnant women are allowed to wear shoes?
Hey, watch what you say bub...
You're thinking about Topeka.
Austin is educated.
Robert
Mike Silverman
You know what they say about Topeka, it is just like Wichita but with less
culture.