Future Austin

[marc]

Man oh man is Austin coming along quickly. Austin has always been a hot spot and definitely the best place in TX, IMHO.

BUT, its ascendancy to become a major metropolis is really breathtaking to watch from LA. i know many complain about it losing its small town feel and such, but i am just looking at it from an urban lovers point of view. i wonder if it would ever surpass SA or Big D in population? Any thoughts? ALSO, how long do you all think it will be before we can hardly tell where Austin ends and SA begins? i am thinking of the monsters like D-FW and the H-town megalopolis which seems to gobble up more and more of the surrounding countryside every year.

m.

[crunchtastic]

ALSO, how long do you all think it will be before we can hardly tell where Austin ends and SA begins? i am thinking of the monsters like D-FW and the H-town megalopolis which seems to gobble up more and more of the surrounding countryside every year.

With the exception of a couple miles of highway immediately north and south of San Marcos, I-35 between San Antonio and Georgetown is already one long strip mall, or so it seems. Actually even further north of Georgetown--Salado, maybe.

[20sGirl]

Is it still? I grew up in the hill country just outside of Austin, but have spent a lot of time in both San Antonio and Galveston in the past year, and both of those places retain a lot of originality and charm that have been lost in Austin as that city has become overrun with Californians.

Galveston really is weird...lions, tigers, and bears...weird. To draw a comparison, Galveston is a biker chick. She's not much to look at but is a fun ride in more ways than one, rough and two-dimensional on the surface but very complex and even a tad bit schizo--even self-destructive--as you get to know her.

San Antonio is a city with an old soul; Fort Worth's hispanic half-sister. She's the older woman (relative to myself) that I'm always attracted to, genuinely and charmingly uncomplicated. She's a true Type B personality that knows what she really wants, doesn't have to prove anything, and that goes easy on my wallet. Raised as a military brat, she holds down a job in the leisure/hospitality sector.

Austin is a bubblegum degenerate; she is a young, loud, immature, fickle little girl that makes for good eye candy and little else. Dallas is her older sister, far more refined and practiced in the art of materialistic seduction; but then Dallas always had to work at being seductive whereas Austin's natural beauty has made her far more complacent and airheaded. Austin is worth visiting every now and then--she does put on one hell of a party--but there's always a steep cover charge. She fancies herself an artist and as something special. She's not, though, and is only so delusional on account of the endless number of douchebags that will tell her anything in order to get in her pants.

I can't say too much about Houston. She's kind of homely-looking but has a cuteness that's hard to pin down; many people just can't see it and look at me funny when I bring it up. She is an engineer that relocated here for career opportunities, entirely because it was a smart thing to do, not so much because she wanted to be here, per se. She spends most of her time working and likes to visit Austin or Galveston on the weekends. Something about Dallas doesn't sit easy with her, and she just doesn't know that much about San Antonio or Ft. Worth for lack of exposure. But she'd probably like them.

I LOVE this! You are so creative. But I guess that makes me a bubblegum degenerate because although I live in Houston, I love Austin! You can't beat the natural beauty and I guess I'm a city girl at heart who doesn't mind the crowds. 6th Street was never really my scene as I don't like drunken frat boys and vomit. But in the daylight hours, Austin has some great hiking trails. And yeah, I'm a nutty crunchy type who loves all the California food available. I started visiting Austin back in the early 90's. I guess I missed the "weird" phase because I don't really think Austin is all that much weirder than any other city or college town I've visited. Hell, I think I've seen weirder things right here in Houston.

[TJones]

I LOVE this! You are so creative. But I guess that makes me a bubblegum degenerate because although I live in Houston, I love Austin! You can't beat the natural beauty and I guess I'm a city girl at heart who doesn't mind the crowds. 6th Street was never really my scene as I don't like drunken frat boys and vomit. But in the daylight hours, Austin has some great hiking trails. And yeah, I'm a nutty crunchy type who loves all the California food available. I started visiting Austin back in the early 90's. I guess I missed the "weird" phase because I don't really think Austin is all that much weirder than any other city or college town I've visited. Hell, I think I've seen weirder things right here in Houston.

The "Weird" comes out at night. The live music nightlife and the "different festival every other weekend" is one of the reasons I am glad to be back up here in Austin.

[TexasVines]

The "Weird" comes out at night. The live music nightlife and the "different festival every other weekend" is one of the reasons I am glad to be back up here in Austin.

pffffffttttt.....the WEIRD is out in full force in the daytime unless you don't consider a 50+ year old guy in high heals and a pink tutu walking up north Lamar pulling a LARGE ricskhaw like trailer weird

[TJones]

pffffffttttt.....the WEIRD is out in full force in the daytime unless you don't consider a 50+ year old guy in high heals and a pink tutu walking up north Lamar pulling a LARGE ricskhaw like trailer weird

Leslie kinda keeps to himself during the daytime, although he can be seen roaming around. The real show starts at dusk for him/her. If you think Leslie is the only "Weird" thing then you must live a very sedate life.

[TexasVines]

Leslie kinda keeps to himself during the daytime, although he can be seen roaming around. The real show starts at dusk for him/her. If you think Leslie is the only "Weird" thing then you must live a very sedate life.

no he is far from the only weird in Austin but I was just pointing out that it is out in full force 24-7......drag worms never sleep.....well the must sleep sometime, but there are more to take their spot and there is plenty of other weirdness 24-7

[swtsig]

no he is far from the only weird in Austin but I was just pointing out that it is out in full force 24-7......drag worms never sleep.....well the must sleep sometime, but there are more to take their spot and there is plenty of other weirdness 24-7

goddamn drag rats

[lockmat]

Found this list of Austin projects, updated as of 1/09

http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/downtown/downlo...oster_jan09.pdf

Is it me, or do they seem to be over building? How are they getting this big time hotels condos etc when Houston is barely getting them. Just doesn't make sense in my head.

[liammclaren]

Austin isn't weird, it's yuppie. You want weird? Try Corpus Christi. THAT is weird.

[TJones]

Found this list of Austin projects, updated as of 1/09

http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/downtown/downlo...oster_jan09.pdf

Is it me, or do they seem to be over building? How are they getting this big time hotels condos etc when Houston is barely getting them. Just doesn't make sense in my head.

Well, they plan to expand the campus to another 5,000 or so students. Those students have parents, who will most likely visit. The festivals are non-stop, and Austin is getting more notariety everyday. More conventions are trying to get slated here over Las Vegas, it is all for the "bring the family with you to the convention" thing. The lofts are being extrememly overbuilt at this time, and with this economic downturn, I think there will be alot of vacancies like you see in Miami currently.

[TexasVines]

Well, they plan to expand the campus to another 5,000 or so students. Those students have parents, who will most likely visit. The festivals are non-stop, and Austin is getting more notariety everyday. More conventions are trying to get slated here over Las Vegas, it is all for the "bring the family with you to the convention" thing. The lofts are being extrememly overbuilt at this time, and with this economic turndown, I think there will be alot of vacancies like you see in Miami currently.

I am 99% positive UT is still planning on trying to CUT 2,000 students to get down to 48,000 students

just over 52,000 is what UT has been up to tops and they have declined as best they could from there

[JDawgATX]

Found this list of Austin projects, updated as of 1/09

http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/downtown/downlo...oster_jan09.pdf

Is it me, or do they seem to be over building? How are they getting this big time hotels condos etc when Houston is barely getting them. Just doesn't make sense in my head.

Actually no, they are not overbulding in downtown Austin. Demand continues to be strong for condo development and whatever is not under construction now, will not be built until the economy gets better. The 44 story 360 Tower which opened up summer of 08 only has 2 units left. Demand has also picked up since Jan 09 as people are begining to buy condos in towers that are still under construction.

[TheNiche]

Actually no, they are not overbulding in downtown Austin. Demand continues to be strong for condo development and whatever is not under construction now, will not be built until the economy gets better. The 44 story 360 Tower which opened up summer of 08 only has 2 units left. Demand has also picked up since Jan 09 as people are begining to buy condos in towers that are still under construction.

FYI people cannot buy condominiums that have not yet been issued a certificate of occupancy. They can only reserve them--and condo developers throughout the United States have encountered much difficulty in the past year trying to convert pre-sales to closed sales. There is no reason to believe that Austin will be an exception.

[drfunk]

I don't really think Austin is all that much weirder than any other city or college town I've visited. Hell, I think I've seen weirder things right here in Houston.

Having lived in both places, Houston is MUCH weirder than Austin. For the most part, Houston just doesn't self-mythologize in the same way.

I always have to smirk when I see a 32-year-old millionaire walking around Whole Foods in designer jeans and a "Keep Austin Weird" T-shirt. Will the luxury condo tower for which they razed Shady Grove trailer park keep Austin weird? What about all the high dollar yuppie restaurants metastasizing around the high dollar yuppie South Congress district? Or the D/FW-ish luxury corporate retail/housing development at the Domain? WEIRD! And any Austinites who say that Austin is a more diverse city than Houston are smoking something.

There was weirdness in Austin in the 70's and 80's. There are little pockets of it that remain, but for the most part it is now Fisher-Price's My First Big City. TexasVines nailed it: Austin is only worthwhile these days for the dudes that sold a patent on their comp sci grad school thesis for a few $million and now just basically dude around town all day. For people that work for a living, it is the same melange of horrible traffic, expensive housing, and crowds everywhere that most other non-"weird" large cities offer.

I don't want to make this a tedious Austin-v.-Houston debate, but the notion that Austin is "weirder" than Houston, or anywhere else, is nothing more than internalized marketing.

[NThomas]

...And any Austinites who say that Austin is a more diverse city than Houston are smoking something...

That's kind of a given... hahahaha

[swtsig]

Having lived in both places, Houston is MUCH weirder than Austin. For the most part, Houston just doesn't self-mythologize in the same way.

I always have to smirk when I see a 32-year-old millionaire walking around Whole Foods in designer jeans and a "Keep Austin Weird" T-shirt. Will the luxury condo tower for which they razed Shady Grove trailer park keep Austin weird? What about all the high dollar yuppie restaurants metastasizing around the high dollar yuppie South Congress district? Or the D/FW-ish luxury corporate retail/housing development at the Domain? WEIRD! And any Austinites who say that Austin is a more diverse city than Houston are smoking something.

There was weirdness in Austin in the 70's and 80's. There are little pockets of it that remain, but for the most part it is now Fisher-Price's My First Big City. TexasVines nailed it: Austin is only worthwhile these days for the dudes that sold a patent on their comp sci grad school thesis for a few $million and now just basically dude around town all day. For people that work for a living, it is the same melange of horrible traffic, expensive housing, and crowds everywhere that most other non-"weird" large cities offer.

I don't want to make this a tedious Austin-v.-Houston debate, but the notion that Austin is "weirder" than Houston, or anywhere else, is nothing more than internalized marketing.

could not agree more.