Austin is way overrated! It's nothing more than an
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7/2/2010
I'll be honest with everyone and say Austin isn't all it's hyped up to be. Yes, it's a friendly city, but it does absolutely nothing for me. I'll gladly state why I dislike Austin.
1.) IT'S HOTTER THAN HELL MOST OF THE TIME. The only real season here is summer. The spring and fall last all but a month, and the winter is maybe two weeks. Summer here begins about mid-April and goes all the way into November. Not to mention, it's super humid like a swamp, and the air is thick enough to swim through.
2.) AUSTIN ISN'T AS LIBERAL AS EVERYONE THINKS IT IS. Yes, it's progressive for a Texas city, but that's not saying much. Trust me; I lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for three years, and there's no comparison between the two. Need I remind everyone Austin is the Capital of Texas, one of the most backward states in the Union? Most of those right-wing radical politicians live here and not Dallas nor Houston. Needless to say, Austin is one of the most racially segregated cities in America.
3.) THERE ISN'T MUCH CULTURE HERE. South by Southwest lasts one week out of the year, and it's usually crowded and overpriced. The music scene here is quite lame.. I find it ironic how the self-proclaimed "Live Music Capital of the World" has no opera, symphony, or orchestra .Okay, so there's a few nice parks here. Whoopie! Some people here think watching bats fly off Congress Bridge is exciting, too. There are no professional sports teams, planetariums, major museums, zoos, aquariums, or other major amenities here. Yes, I know San Antonio is down the road. Baltimore is down the road from Washington, D.C, and San Diego is not far from Los Angeles. That said, their juxtapositions towards other major cities didn't stop those locales from maturing. Austin has some good restaurants, but the shopping here is lame at best. Even the radio stations in Austin are dull.
4.) THIS CITY IS WAY OVERPRICED. The cost of living here is outrageous for a city with little activity and too much traffic. If the city of Austin is going to milk its residences for every penny, the least they could do is give them some entertainment back in return. Not everyone wants to go down to Sixth Street and watch a bunch of 40-year-old adolescents play mediocre music at best.
5.) AUSTIN HAS A VERY ELITIST ATTITUDE. My older brother in Houston first took note of this, and I must say I agree. UT is a very preppy school with a "holier than thou" mindset. The locals here think they're smarter and more sophisticated than anywhere else in Texas. They're forgetting NASA is located in Houston, and both Houston and Dallas have far more culture than Austin. In fact, I read recently that Houston was ranked one of America's top ten most underrated cities. The Austinites love bashing everywhere else in Texas, yet they get their panties in a wad when someone else returns the favor.
6.) THE CASUAL ATMOSPHERE IS QUITE UNBECOMING. The people here have no concept whatsoever about formal wear. Whenever I walk into a high-class restaurant, I see them wearing jeans, t-shirts, shorts, sneakers, sandals, or flipflops. In every other city I'd lived, I'd be thrown out of a restaurant for not wearing nice clothes and a tie. I even went to a wedding where people dressed casually. How pathetic is that? If Austin wants the reputation of being the most sophisticated city in Texas, the least they could do is act like it.
If you want to live in a city that refuses to grow up and the adults act like college kids, you might like Austin just fine. However, if you're looking for a mature city that's affordable and has several activities going on, then I'd recommend staying away from Austin. The entire cultural hearth of this city revolves either around UT or the State Capitol. They didn't broaden their horizons like every other place I've lived. I'm sure the reader is wonder why I don't just leave this place. Believe me, I would if I had the means. Unfortunately, I'm stuck here for the time being due to the economy and whatnot. Also, I just graduated college not long ago, so I must get some experience before I go elsewhere. Rest assured I'll be leaving Austin in the not-too-distant future, and this time I won't be coming back.
Dustin | Austin, TX