So tell me about Austin

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Permalink Reply by Sean Padilla on May 15, 2009 at 3:38am

I'll try to keep this as concise as possible.

Yes, Austin is weird, but that's not always a good thing: for every truly creative, open-minded person walking around, there are three smelly schizophrenic panhandlers waiting to harass you.

Since moving here, I've never been unemployed for more than three weeks; however, I've also been in constant conflict with passive-aggressive middle-aged white colleagues. (I just started working for a Hispanic boss this week, though, so cross your fingers!)

The rent is reasonable, but if you live near the UT campus or north Austin, your landlord is guaranteed to suck.

The weather here is only warm during the spring and fall; in the summer (which is about two-thirds of the year), it feels like Satan's putting everyone in a perpetual headlock.

Last but not least, THERE ARE NO BLACK PEOPLE HERE. Seriously: Austin's only nine percent black, and most of the black population lives in one area of the city.

In other words, please move here because I'm lonely and need friends :-(

Permalink Reply by sceneless on May 15, 2009 at 2:00pm

hahaha....thanks for the info man. I can deal with hot weather. I love it actually.

Permalink Reply by Shannon Stone on June 29, 2010 at 9:13pm

there are some blacks that live in austin it's just sprinkled about austin. i attend school there and i love the city. i thought about moving there after i graduated but i dont know i might come back to houston. there's plenty of things to do there but you have to know the right people to find out what's going on. it's kind of hard for afropunks to fit in there though...but you should visit go see for yourself.

Permalink Reply by Sydnee Jane on January 5, 2011 at 1:14pm

Austin is Awesome! Second fav city, love the live music scene. Laidback atmosphere, but the music scene and 6th street is whats up!

Permalink Reply by talk ta ras on April 26, 2011 at 12:54am

well if you want to be in a huge punk scene Austin is it, plus there's lots of crusty punks and train hopping traveling punks that go though Austin every year. like me,great punk rock festivals at emo's, every body is  in a band, wednesday  throw sunday 6th street it packed, 5 out of a week partying  ,its pretty much a collage town/music town/ for whites/ if you don't mind living in a white cool world Austin is for you.. but their are more cooler blacks in Houston and more alternative blacks in Houston as well and more jobs and reasonable rent, not a lot of jobs in Austin. it sound weird to say it but i bet after the whole afro punk film came out there mite be more black punks in Houston and plus the other flavorer of the new Orleans people, Houston the 4 largest city in the U.S.A.and plus you can all ways go to shows in Austin only 3 hour away

Permalink Reply by Jaime Quinn on August 1, 2011 at 11:13am

fun place!

Permalink Reply by Albert Frankenstein on August 26, 2011 at 5:49pm

I've been in Austin for 20 years. I may have had cool people in the 90's, but the city has sold itself so much that all the "weird" is surface. People I work with still marvel at guaged ears or pierced lips.

Don't get me wrong, it's MUCH better than the rest of Texas, but if a place is really "weird" then why does it need a slogan like "Keep Austin Weird"? There's no "Keep San Francisco Gay" slogan!

Austin is weird in comparison to the rest of Texas. If you come here you will find people trying to pay high rent from their low-paying jobs, Wal-Marts and gentrification just like everywhere else.

Your best bet is to hook up with a good crew of friends. If you can find that then Austin can be pretty cool.

Permalink Reply by taryn m on September 8, 2011 at 2:53pm

um...someone mentioned afro punks in houston...WHERE?!? i live here for 3 1/2 years and i havent witnessed many. but i fuckin love austin and how the city is surrounded by wilderness. the people are happier there too.

Permalink Reply by Phazero Ad Mortem on December 6, 2012 at 2:42pm

Austin is okay, I mean compared to the rest of Texas it's an oasis but it's small, really, really small and can become boring fairly quickly. There is a lot of music but to me it's pretty homogenous and the venues around here are kind of sad even compared to a Hell-hole like Dallas. Oh and its really hard to get a job if you don't have friends already working at the place. I don't want to be too negative though, it's a relaxed place, clean, lots of woods to explore, artsy (sort of), a couple of good schools, lots of friendly people and its very safe. I just don't think it's a place to really grow in,it's just a nice place to settle before moving to a 'real' city (pref outside of Texas).

Permalink Reply by Phazero Ad Mortem on December 6, 2012 at 2:45pm

Oh and dirty 6th is awful. Drunks, stupid drunks, drunk whores, drunks in costume, drunks on a pole, drunks in a window....terrible place. East 6th is much more chill and "integrated". Oh and speaking of, yeah you have to get a magnifying glass to find minorities here. We are very, very outnumbered lol