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About Austin
If you complement
Austin to any long-time resident, you have
an excellent chance of hearing "you should've seen it in the 60s"
or " 70s" - or any of a number of variations on that theme. In fact
it's become a sore point with a lot of younger Austinites who have
grown tired of hearing it. Nevertheless, it's true. The Austin lifestyle
has always been more "laid back" over other Texas cities - and to
a certain degree it's still true. The two negative factors in Austin
are traffic congestion and population - the roots from which all other
minor problems stem.
Austin has traditionally had a fondness for the outdoors. The Colorado
River (as Town Lake) bisects the town and remains one of the most
under-appreciated bodies of water in the state. Spring-fed Barton
Springs is second only to Balmorhea
as far as a dream swimming pool. Feel for the young native Austinite
who travels to distant cities to discover they don't all have blue/
green water crossing main street or that they can't canoe in the shade
of overhanging trees. The river has traditionally served as a line
separating "unconventional" South Austin from the business district
and the neighborhoods north and west of the capitol and UT campus.
The once-distinct dividing line is fading as many former South-Austinites
move north to fill neighborhoods vacated by those moving north of
town to Round
Top, Georgetown
and Leander. Erasing the line further are up-scale businesses that
are invading the funkiness of South Austin - offering to pay higher
rents that landlords can't refuse. Austin is a pedestrian-friendly
city and the police force may still be the best educated in the country.
Crime is comparatively low and murder still makes the front page -
unlike larger towns that put such statistics under "local happenings."
Yes, Austin may have transvestites running for mayor, and legislators
misbehaving out of sight of their constituency, but it also has buses
that run on time - and some that will even hang your bicycle on the
front in case you're too tired to pedal home. Austin will always be
unique. Austinites love it too much to permit drastic changes. Economic
considerations, aside, the inner-city of Austin is - and will remain
- liveable and loveable. Name another city where a 1980s copy of National
Geographic featuring the town as a cover story can be sold (with a
straight face) in 2004 for $5. You haven't seen Texas if you haven't
seen Austin.
Experience it and maybe you can tell your grandchildren: "You should
have seen it in the 00s."
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