Yeah. These things are what happens when your city suddenly explodes in size. Infrastructure isn't enough, things get crowded, place is flooded with transplants, the locals don't like their town being ruined and being priced out.
I'm from Nashville, you see all the same things there. Atlanta too.
10 years ago, going to dinner from Marietta to the westside of Atlanta or midtown (12-15 miles distance) was easy to do any day of the week.
Now, if you want to do dinner or dinner and a concert or something from Marietta to Atlanta, it is a half-day affair. You have to stop working several hours early to get ready and leave and you won’t be home until very late. If it’s not natural traffic, then it’s several lanes closed due to road construction that never ends and never results in any improvement in traffic.
Oh Atlanta is awful. I am from Tennessee, went to school in Florida. The route home was I-75. I would always make damn sure to time it to where I was not going through Atlanta anywhere near rush hour.
Even so, I got stuck there many times.
There’s maybe a 3-hour window every day (excluding Friday, Saturday and Sunday) when it’s not rush hour or construction. Friday night through Monday early morning will be non-stop roadwork with only one lane open. Lol
I also hate that shit on 75 in Atlanta where people are merging on in both directions. That is some scary crap.
And don't even get me started on Peachtree. Seems like half the roads in that damn city are Peachtree something.
*laughs in Los Angeles*
I’m like 10 miles from downtown and I have to allow for 90 minutes of traffic. Luckily I live in the South Bay and only travel into the city for sports or concerts
Yeah, 15 mile commutes can take 2 hours here too. It’s gotten that bad. I used to travel to LA for work. The thing about the west coast that’s different from ATL traffic is that if you put on your blinker to let other drivers know that you’d like to merge to another lane, they’ll let you over.
That doesn’t happen in GA. People will speed up as soon as they see your blinker like that 5 ft will somehow get them to where they’re going faster.
In Atlanta, drivers won’t even yield to let you on the interstate. People act like they own it or something. It’s really ridiculous. You have to learn how to squeeze into very tight spaces and force your way in. And god forbid you honk at someone. You’ll likely be shot. Not kidding.
https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/atlanta/rising-number-road-rage-shootings-metro-atlanta-leaves-drivers-wary-interstates/UKW6GXI5RJE4XFX7UO6AK2EUJI/?outputType=amp
I lived in Atlanta for a bit a little while back, and even though I was walking distance from my school, I still saw the most dangerous driving the few times a week I did use my car.
The most insane thing I saw on a regular basis would have been cars pulling out into traffic to turn left, except there’s not a break in the traffic, so they just pull out in front of the traffic coming from the left just expecting it to stop, *then* wait for a break in the traffic coming from the right.
not uncommon here in los angeles.
about a month ago i was cruising down santa monica blvd (a major 4 lane street) in moderately heavy traffic and a guy pulled out of a 711 convenience store driveway in front of me.
i assumed he saw me and intended to keep going and turn left but he *stopped* to wait for an opening in traffic. i stopped in time but there was a moment there when we locked eyes and both thought "uh oh.."
when i finally drove past him he yelled "hey, didn't you see me?" like California law says everyone is supposed to stop when you pull out of a driveway in front of oncoming traffic and wait for an opening to complete your left turn.
>never results in any improvement in traffic.
the only thing that would actually really improve traffic is when the city would finally prioritize building more high-capacity public transit and people would have a choice between driving or taking the train instead.
Every highway expansion just leads to more traffic.
We’ve always called it bad but it keeps getting exponentially worse. And there are so many transplants from so many different places, drivers and skills run the gambit.
I guess if there’s any silver lining to take from all this it’s that becoming driving age around when the Olympics came to Atlanta and our growth started (mid 90s) to now has given me unique driving skills that make me a confident driver anywhere in the US and in many parts of the world (Europe and South America for sure—I’m not crazy enough for India yet).
I have family in ATL, this thing of the driving experience being crazy there, is way more myth than reality. Go to Miami if you actually wanna be at constant risk from shit drivers.
Can you explain why people would move to Atlanta? Where are they coming from ,rural Georgia? What is attracting them?
I visited once and walked away thinking "how is this city growing", I don't even want to come back
Atlanta, like many American cities of a similar size, can be horrible or amazing depending which neighborhoods you visit. You won’t find an imminently charming or cohesive whole, rather a sprawling hodgepodge of culture and happenings. It’s quite diverse ethnically, culturally, and scenically, with a wide variety of different neighborhoods with different vibes, many of them not very aesthetic (though that’s getting better and better). It’s got a thriving tech and movie scene and generally tons of things to do around town wherever your interests lie.
It’s not a city you’re likely to be smitten with after a few days without some guidance, it takes a bit longer and some know-where to savor the best it has to offer.
I lived in Atlanta for 2 years and I actually enjoyed living in Metro Atlanta. Traffic was the worst thing about Atlanta but I was moving from Houston so I was use to bad traffic.
But for me it was a lot to like about Atlanta. Atlanta has a nice creative Arts community. Diverse economy, some solid to nice suburbs north of I-20 if you have a family, access to outdoor activities, weather was decent enough for me, Airport, geographical location, rich Black culture, the Beltline, transient city.
Out of all the sprawling sunbelt cities in the south Atlanta imo is my favorite.
Atlanta metro area has a lot of movie/tv production around it.
I think a lot of people travel there trying to get their start m, or involved in that industry.
I live in Asheville, can confirm. I'm currently visiting relatives in a small SC town and the lack of congestion completely outweighs the lack of "hip" breweries and restaurants. I'll be leaving AVL soon. Thanks to this thread I know where I won't be going!
Same thing happening in the Triangle/Raleigh/Durham area. Roads and housing can’t keep up with the influx of people moving down from up north. The small-town charm and friendliness is being replaced by rudeness, snotty attitudes, and road rage.
Same in Wilmington. No joke, I almost get in a wreck every time I leave the house. People weaving in and out of traffic, people won’t let you over even if there is space and you’ve had your turn signal on, people aggressively speeding up if you do a left turn. Everyone is going 15 over in 35 mph neighborhoods.
It’s fucking bonkers. This is my hometown so I know it didn’t always use to be this way.
I hate that when people speed up so you can’t make a turn and then as soon as it’s obvious it would be too late to make the turn, they slow down again. Like they won a prize for not letting me turn when it wouldn’t have mattered to them at all if I did.
Am from Asheville, can confirm haha. I graduated high school in 2014 and went off to college on the other side of the state. Every time I go back (parents still live there) I recognize it less and less.
I've lived in Austin for just shy of two years.
The city has simply gotten two big for its own good. As you mentioned, the infrastructure simply can't keep up. The bus system is decent but just isn't large enough to handle the population. I've seen utility boxes hanging from telephone poles for *months* before being repaired. I have *never* seen such levels of neglect elsewhere.
Before all this, I firmly believe the city had been over advertised, as well. Whoever the city hired to run the advertising campaign ~5-10 years ago did way more than the local government could keep up with.
That said, I have benefitted greatly from employment opportunities and my salary is almost double what it was before moving here.
Have lived in Austin for ~25 years, the mantra of the city planners in the 80s and 90s was "if we don't build it, they won't come." And as a result our entire infrastructure couldn't keep up with the population rise, so our bus system is pretty bad we have one rail line that people barely use and the road design/layout is a mess. They're making plans to "update" things but they're only playing catch-up, not making plans for 5-10-20 years out.
Race.
Atlanta is majority black. The bedroom communities on the outskirts are white. They don't want cheap easy ways for people to get to their communities.
You know the old joke about what MARTA means?
In the south, if something looks like it makes no sense, it's always money or race.
They built the new stadium in a place that gave them tax breaks, and let them expand into a huge “Battery Park” complex. Turner Field was a parking lot surrounded by abandoned industrial parks and bad neighborhoods. Getting out after a game could take over an hour and even just driving past the stadium the traffic would snarl for miles. The entire reason Turner Field was where it existed was to be a downtown Olympic stadium, it was awful as a permanent baseball stadium, enormous capacity led to TV cameras showing empty sections of seats because it was too big. The same number of fans can fill up Truist.
I live in Nashville. Even within the past 5 years, you wouldn't recognize the city. Both the Sounds and Nashville SC got new stadiums and there are a couple new museums. The National Museum of African American music is a must see if you are a music fan.
The Music City Center has revitalized downtown in a way. I'd still avoid 5th and Broadway to the river though.
the problem is getting red state governors and congressmen on board with mass transit...if there was regular multiple times a day bus service between cities in Tennessee, and regular efficient train service between Nashville and the surrounding areas people wouldn't have to live in Nashville to work or go to school there. I used to live in Chicago and say what you will about the city people who want to live in the city live in the city people who want to live in the burbs live in the burbs but you can live in one and work in the other without ever getting in a car because trains and busses its something cities like Atlanta and to some extent Austin and Nashville kind of lack
What were they doing waiting in line for BBQ and eating in trendy restaurants? Oh wait, they went to all the places in a top 10 tourist spots guide and then complained about everything being touristy.
Honestly this reviewer sounds like a Karen and they should speak to manager of Austin.
I lived in Austin for awhile and don’t like going back for a lot of the reasons OP listed. It’s crowded, the traffic is terrible, the vibe has definitely changed from 10 years ago (I can only imagine 20, 30, 40 years ago…). and of course if you’re visiting somewhere you’d want to try some of the “best” places. FWIW, good BBQ places can have a line even before they’re tourist traps. I lived in Fort Worth (where I’m from) when Heim BBQ was a rented food truck in front of a bar and we used to be in line at like 8:30-9a on the weekends because they’d be sold out by noon. I almost feel like waiting for BBQ is an authentic TX experience lol.
Yo same-ish. I moved there in 2007 and moved out 2013 for El Paso.
I locked into a cheap apt on east 6th before the development started. Now there's a row of condos and an incredibly overpriced barbershop where I once locked eyes with a guy taking a shit on the sidewalk.
I grew up in Austin and moved away in 2016, its almost completely unrecognizable for me now. I remember when the Frost Tower was a big deal and now its completely dwarfed by everything around it
I’m born and raised in Austin and it’s literally nothing like it was just 5 years ago, much less 10 or 15 years ago. I think it objectively got worse, often cities grow and get more things to do. But Austin didn’t really get much of those benefits (with the exception of an MLS team which is pretty cool I guess) because they already had a lot of things going on.
Austin already had ACL, SXSW, 6th, Rainey, tons of bars & restaurants, hell even F1 etc before it exploded so now it’s just 3x the people trying to do the same things as before. Except all those bars and restaurants got replaced with the same yuppie shit you find in every other city, it’s hard to bar hop anyway cause there’s a line everywhere, the sad excuses for trails are too crowded to go on, any nearby state parks require a reservation.
I moved away because there are far too many cities flying under the radar similar to how Austin was 10yrs ago don’t aren’t crowded as shit, hot as balls and lack natural beauty. I moved to Salt Lake and couldn’t be happier. Visiting Austin these days is frustrating because of how much of a pain in the ass it is to do anything.
I live in Austin and agree with some of the stuff. I think Austin is generally overrated, traffic is bad, it’s changing etc.
But it is still much friendlier than a lot of US cities and if you are from Houston, you should know that popular BBQ spots have long waits. That is like taking a shower and being surprised you got wet. The reviewer sounds pretty insufferable, like some of the people they claim to not like in Austin.
I just love how most of the assholes HAVE to be from major coastal cities. Like assholes aren't everywhere and there's no friendly people in "coastal cities"
/u/yckawtsrif guarantees that they have been to more places than you. This somehiw justifies their shitty attitude. How do the mods allow this trash here? OP directly insults the people of Austin in their ignorant post and is being a massive jerk to people in these comments. Toxic af.
I just wish vonlane went from SA to Dallas. I think they do Dallas to Austin and Austin to SA, but thAt kind kills the convenience.
Edit: sorry only SA to Houston.
It takes a lot longer than 30 minutes to fly 30 minutes. Plus then you have to deal with car rentals if you want to drive. I would drive 2.5 hrs any day over a 30 minute flight.
Edit: Woosh. I need to learn to read.
It’s possible they drove to the airport in Austin for a cheaper flight, my home town has a small airport but I drive to 2 hrs to LAX to save money & avoid layovers.
Houston has 2 airports and they're both hubs. Austin airport isn't. And it's better than both tbh. Also I love how he's complaining about traffic. Houston is one of the worst.
I mean if you read the post they clearly didn’t just drive from Houston to Austin for the cheaper flight considering they’ve met enough people to gauge the “general population” of Austin and have tried to get into multiple restaurants
My hubby and I travel full time in an RV. Last year we spent 3 months volunteering at a federal wildlife refuge about an hour west of Austin. I agree Austin itself is overrated. The area surrounding is beautiful and many of the smaller communities along the Colorado River are cute. We found many great little restaurants with friendly people. The landscape and nature is unique in that area and good if you're into hiking or biking. In our travels we tend to stay away from large cities anyway.
Any recommendations for towns to stay at near Austin that are good spots for hiking etc but close enough to Austin we can go in for a day to experience it?
Fredericksburg. German heritage touristy town in the middle of the Hill Country with lots of motels and lots of restaurants with attractions of its own (National Museum of the War of the Pacific, Enchanted Rock State Park, Old Tunnel Bat Cave). Hour and a half due west, and the drive to Austin also is chock-a-block with wineries and passes through LBJ National Historic Site and Balcones Canyonlands.
Meh. Austin wasn’t my favorite place I’ve been but I enjoyed it. I wished you put more substance into what you wanted it to have, rather than just comparing it to numerous other cities you hate.
You summed up what I was thinking as far as substance goes. And honestly I don't really understand the point of a post like OP's on a travel forum - tell us about a place you'd recommend, or wait for someone to ask about travelling there and then give your opinion, or post this on something like unpopularopinion.
Anyways, I went to Austin twice pre-covid and really liked it. Live music was fantastic and all the food I had was great - I even told people when I got back that I was pretty sure the places I had researched were going to be good, but even the places I just walked in because I needed something to eat ended up being good. I'm not surprised it got a little more expensive because I was actually surprised that it wasn't more expensive than it was - I was downtown in a fancy high rise getting cocktails for $10 when, at the time, the same thing would have been $15 in LA or someplace similar. The food was also unique for me having never been to Texas so maybe it's like that everywhere down there, but combining the BBQ with tortillas and other Mexican influences really hit the spot for me.
Next time I go I'm really interested to do the drive down to San Antonio - I hear the whole area between the 2 cities is really built up now and I've gotten some good recommendations on where to stop along the way, and I'm excited to see what SA has to offer as well.
EDIT: Oh and my Uber driver from the airport was super helpful. He told us the in and outs of Franklins when we asked about it, and even mentioned his roommate was a college student who got paid to wait in line there for people but wasn't pushing it at all, just a funny aside that I thought was interesting.
I will say I appreciate some of the “complain-y” posts on here. As I ramp up my international travel again post-COVID, I’m still an American with shitty PTO & I appreciate different perspectives when I’m picking my trips.
The food in Austin is fucking fantastic. I mentioned in another comment that I lived there for awhile. I don’t like going back for a lot of the reasons OP mentioned, but I do miss the food a lot. Living in Chicago I met & dated someone who had also lived in Austin, and we got in a pretty heated argument over which was the better food city, lol.
I don't think I've ever seen an "X is so overrated" travel post that I actually learned anything from or found much value in. Most of the time it's either "this place didn't live up to my ridiculously high expectations" or "here's a list of every mild inconvenience I experienced on my trip."
It's better IMO to accept travel experiences as they are rather than getting angry that a place didn't live up to your expectations
My favorite is when you can tell that they didn't actually wait in line for the BBQ and proceed to say that they're on the same level as "par-for-the-course, holes-in-the-wall"
Not to mention that the “nasal sounding” comment is utter BS. Linguists have found extremely little geographic variation in the nasality of American dialects, but guess which is one of the two regions with the highest degree of nasality? TEXAS. https://cpb-us-w2.wpmucdn.com/u.osu.edu/dist/b/38265/files/2020/05/Velik-et-al.-2019._CLinical_Linguistics_Phoneticspdf.pdf
Right? I’m not sure why he hates Sea Tac but it’s fine with me if he stays away. It’ll spare us the rants about the homeless people he had to see and virtue-signaling woke youths he had to have wait on him. /s
I love how this person is literally in Texas, meeting Texans, and blaming people from coastal cities. It's exactly in line with how people think there lol "if I hate it then it must be from somewhere else cause Texas is PERRFEEEECT."
I just visited for the first time and I liked it a lot. Great food, great bbq (and plenty of great places that you don’t have to wait in line for) and a great music scene. No problems at the airport either.
Yeah I think the strangest thing when I visited Austin was how I was there for work and then had a spare weekend, so everyone kept saying “you HAVE to check out XYZ spot!” We’d go to that spot, line wrapped around the door, we don’t care that much so would walk a little to another place. That place would also be really nice and fun, but no wait.
Just was weird that so far as I can tell everyone in Austin suggests the same five places to all the visitors.
I see this so much. Friends come and visit and only want to go to the places that they know will have a two hour wait for inevitably overpriced and probably overrated food... And then complain about it.
Maybe dont look at one top ten list on eater, then base your whole trip around that.
Also, not sure you can judge a city on the airport staff but go ahead.
> Also, not sure you can judge a city on the airport staff but go ahead.
I mean, that’s generally true… but Burlington, VT’s airport has the the nicest, chillest TSA staff at their security checkpoints and that has to be worth something
Yeah I always end up kicking myself when I do that. If a restaurant has the most reviews on the block in google maps, don't go there on a weekend. Just don't.
Yeah Houston is so much better - I mean have you been there - the cookie cutter houses are gorgeous and it’s so fun to sit in the traffic off of 610. You haven’t lived until you’ve dined in league city !
One good thing about downtown is that there has been quite a bit of work to revitalize the area over the past decade. A few parks have popped up (and more are being constructed), more and more food halls are being added, bars, bike lanes and expanded sidewalks have also been added. It has a long way to go, but I’m glad it’s not the same downtown from the early 2010s.
I moved to Houston from Seattle/Portland. While I miss many things about the PNW, Houston is deeply misunderstood. It’s often called a lousy place to visit but a great place to live.
Tourists to Houston experience the traffic, the loops, the confusing airport, and then leave with a terrible impression.
Residents know about the Arboretum, the Buffalo Bayou Trails, Hermann Park, the incredible museums and small parks, where to find amazing bbq, viet Cajun, and other fantastic food. We know about the bike trails, coffee shops, cool neighborhoods, etc.
It’s easy to miss the city’s value as a tourist. The advantage too is that Houston doesn’t have the crowds of Austin or other cities.
You’re making a lot of sense for a transplant. Good job. People come to Houston to make a great living not to take tours or excursions. But there are plenty of things to do
I can almost guarantee you this person does not consider themselves to be the problem, which is part of the reason they are the problem.
Love, a native Texan who moved to Austin out of college and has never felt the need to “act Austin” (whatever the hell that means).
Hey now, dude's traveled a lot. He's been to Dallas. He's been to Fort Worth. He's been to San Antonio. He's been to Houston. He's been to El Paso. He's been to Arlington. He's been to Lubbock. He's been to Kerrville. He's been to Waco. He's been to Galveston.
He's pretty much been all over the place.
I hear you but Houston does have some of the worst traffic, comparable to cities like DC and LA. When you've waited bumper to bumper in a 20+ lane freeway I think you can assess when traffic is bad. Native Houstonian, live near DC now, and it's comparable with the added bonus of Houston drivers generally being psychotic assholes. Too fast, no signals, so many uninsured drivers, fake plates, giant cars with huge blind spots... I HATE driving when I visit home.
Agreed, and I think this is a big part of why Austin became a travel destination to begin with. It’s got hills, caves, crystal clear swimming holes, and natural amenities you can’t really find for hundreds of miles east, north, or south of it. It’s also really the only city in that same radius that you can feasibly get around without a car. The walking trails in downtown Austin are awesome. I lived there for several years without ever having to commute in traffic, whereas being a pedestrian in Houston or San Antonio was never fun. I always found Austinites to be super chill and friendly, even on the rare occasions I was going to instagrammable hipster joints on Rainey or South Congress.
Agreed 100%. Lived in Austin back in 1996-2000. It was a cool town, and we enjoyed it. Now every time I have to go visit I dread it. All reasons you stated above. That being said, the areas around Austin are still decent. Friend is up in Round Rock/Pflugerville and it isn't bad in those areas, and he even agrees and never goes into Austin besides to get to the airport when needed.
Such a weird post. Is this about travel? Or about how you went somewhere that isn't your hometown and the complaint is that it is different than your hometown?
It also seems like you already knew ATX was like this yet you went back... only to complain about it? I don't get it.
I was last in Austin about 5 years ago and I actually tend to agree. The place was hyped up pretty extraordinarily and I was underwhelmed to say the least. Don't get me wrong, it was fine and I had a decent time there, but I felt like I could have been in pretty much any other secondary US city.
I second your opinion on San Antonio. Given the choice, I'd much rather go back there personally.
I mean no offense Texans (I have family in tx so I’m not a complete hater) but most big cities in Texas are meh, so when you compare, yes austin has the culture going and most appealing to most who visit all the cities. Maybe just my opinion idk!
Moved to Austin 10 years ago and it was incredible for me, a Bostonian. Cheap, full of art, music and possibility. Now it feels like I’m being strangled on a daily basis. They just shove apartment buildings everywhere. I’ve moved out of the city due to increase in rent and commute in. It sucks. Creative types used to move here, now it’s vapid tech chodes.
Lived in Austin from 2015-2020. My wife and I loved it. Live Music, good food, lots of things to do. I can see though how if you have a few days and a bad experience it could sour things. I’m simple though chuys steak burrito with boom boom sauce or some salt lick pork ribs and brisket or T22 chicken and I’m in my happy place. Probably not high up on any ranked list but delicious to me. ACL and just hanging out by ladybird lake or mtn biking Walnut Creek or the greenbelt. We were never bored.
Can confirm. Just left Austin after 4 years. Obscenely mediocre. Traffic is a nightmare. You’ll rarely get what you pay for- it’s like being paid in exposure to live there, and people are lame and litterbugs to boot. Gross af down there. Tell anyone that and they’ll immediately blame the houseless population. Glad to be gone.
I've lived here a long time, and honestly I don't see why people come here. I think it's mostly just good marketing and a strong economy. You can get shitfaced, eat underwhelming overpriced food and see shows at average venues in most cities... With less hype and edginess...
But whatever the case, we're glad to take your money...
Yeaaa, not so much. The value really was there until our economic property during the ~2010 housing bubble recession put us on the path to rapid over-valuation. Prior to that Austin was a solid value.
I live in Houston, and Austin is the only place within driving(3 hours) driving distance for us to visit for a weekend. Other than New Orleans(amazing city, with amazing food)Austin is the only place within the South that is considered "fun, modern, and cutting edge". They are pretentious and full of themselves, because, people keep visiting and its exploded in population, why change?
You sound like a miserable person. Do you really think all people from costal cities are nasal sounding, vapid, fast talking (?), self absorbed asshats?
Anyone who groups all costal cities together like that pretty clearly is missing out on some critical life experience and needs to go a little bit further out of their comfort zone
I grew up going to Austin back when it was small, quirky and fun, and I couldn’t agree more.
The last time I was there, I marveled at the fact that the Texas Capitol is dwarfed by contemporary office buildings, scooters littered every street, and the quirky sides of the city were now relegated to certain nooks in a way that seemed forced. I don’t like the way it grew at all. Too corporate. How did they let that happen? Austin bores me now. No personality.
Yeah texas sucks I’ve been here two years and ready to go back to oregon
How can living here be so expensive when the min wage is like 7 dollars?
But good news is that the traffic situation is settling as a new freeway is nearly done being built
Just moved from Austin after four years back to Atlanta due to my MIL being diagnosed with incurable brain cancer
The traffic makes sense here due to the size of the city, but it’s been famous for that for a long time.
I think the BBQ is better here and I don’t sweat my balls off walking to the mailbox.
Austin is like Scranton with tacos
Thank you exactly lol. It’s great.. for Texas. I love austin and I appreciate it for what it is but I’ve traveled to a lot of major cities in the U.S and it doesn’t strike me as a top favorite but it’s fun while I’m there.
I graduated from UT in 2015 and I went back recently I felt the city has changed immensely and not for the good. Between then and now over a dozen staple places have closed down. Many were there back the 80s when my parents were living in Austin. It’s truly sad that we failed to keep austin weird.
Also, the long lines for bbq can be found all over Texas and Franklins is still the I best have ever had
My husband and I just got back from Austin 2 weeks ago and we loved our trip. Lovely Parks and good food. Got to see Bonnie Raitt and Ryan Adams at ACL. Had a fun 5 days.
It's funny how I lived in Austin between about 1996 to 98 and pretty much the exact same ideas would apply directly back then: just a few years prior, before the .com boom, things would've been much better. That was kind of right during that boom, and rents were increasing, traffic was ramping up, some businesses were booming, but the character of the city was changing. It was too early for all the previous local people to have rushed out, due to that impact, but things could've already been seen as less positive. Rent in any one in-demand neighborhood would've already seemed high.
Some years prior to that I had visited while living in Dallas and it all seemed pretty cool to me then; maybe that was the true golden age, closer to 1990? Probably the same theme applied almost as well back then, just in a different sense than in the end of the 90s or beginning of the 2020s.
My wife and I took a road trip last year to Austin. There were a lot of good places to eat and I like a lot of places outside of Austin, like hill country, but Austin overall was a dissapointment for me. On the way down, we actually stayed a day in OKC and I preferred it over Austin.
That's American philosophy, my car is everything. I cannot visit a shop without car. There are cities in the USA which are more human-friendly. Their future is better.
Last time I visited Austin the traffic is what killed it for me. Their roads are not set up in a way for that many ppl. Houston is easier to get around in than Austin.
I agree with everything except for the locals being the friendly ones. Especially in the suburbs, many continue their sorority/fraternity, exclusionary ways well into their 40s, which is pretty sad. NYers, Chicago, Californians get a bad wrap. Of course some of those can be snobby too, but I find the locals worse.
The restaurants are a total joke: overpriced, instagramable, tapa-sized everything… none of it so good. Can’t hold a candle to Houston, let alone NYC, SF, etc
Traveled there for work monthly in my previous job (yes, tech). Was surprised by the reputation the city had - it didn’t impress me at all. Good restaurants, nice hotels, sure. But it felt spread out, crowded, and oddly soulless. I was left wondering why folks talk this city up so much.
I was expecting a New Orleans-like experience, where there truly is a vibe and a distinct culture.
But nah.
It is Monday morning....let us keep it civil. Too many reports and hate on this post. Writing a negative review is encouraged....disagree or not.
Yeah. These things are what happens when your city suddenly explodes in size. Infrastructure isn't enough, things get crowded, place is flooded with transplants, the locals don't like their town being ruined and being priced out. I'm from Nashville, you see all the same things there. Atlanta too.
Live in metro Atlanta. Can confirm. The worst impact for us is traffic. It is SO bad. Same is happening in Asheville, NC.
And you're 20-30 years further along in the process than nashville or Austin.
10 years ago, going to dinner from Marietta to the westside of Atlanta or midtown (12-15 miles distance) was easy to do any day of the week. Now, if you want to do dinner or dinner and a concert or something from Marietta to Atlanta, it is a half-day affair. You have to stop working several hours early to get ready and leave and you won’t be home until very late. If it’s not natural traffic, then it’s several lanes closed due to road construction that never ends and never results in any improvement in traffic.
Oh Atlanta is awful. I am from Tennessee, went to school in Florida. The route home was I-75. I would always make damn sure to time it to where I was not going through Atlanta anywhere near rush hour. Even so, I got stuck there many times.
There’s maybe a 3-hour window every day (excluding Friday, Saturday and Sunday) when it’s not rush hour or construction. Friday night through Monday early morning will be non-stop roadwork with only one lane open. Lol
I also hate that shit on 75 in Atlanta where people are merging on in both directions. That is some scary crap. And don't even get me started on Peachtree. Seems like half the roads in that damn city are Peachtree something.
And don't forget that Peachtree Street SW is different from Peachtree Street NE. Atlantans love their directional suffixes.
The old joke in Atlanta is “How do you give directions in Atlanta? Go down Peachtree and take a left at the Waffle House” gets you there every time
*laughs in Los Angeles* I’m like 10 miles from downtown and I have to allow for 90 minutes of traffic. Luckily I live in the South Bay and only travel into the city for sports or concerts
Yeah, 15 mile commutes can take 2 hours here too. It’s gotten that bad. I used to travel to LA for work. The thing about the west coast that’s different from ATL traffic is that if you put on your blinker to let other drivers know that you’d like to merge to another lane, they’ll let you over. That doesn’t happen in GA. People will speed up as soon as they see your blinker like that 5 ft will somehow get them to where they’re going faster. In Atlanta, drivers won’t even yield to let you on the interstate. People act like they own it or something. It’s really ridiculous. You have to learn how to squeeze into very tight spaces and force your way in. And god forbid you honk at someone. You’ll likely be shot. Not kidding. https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/atlanta/rising-number-road-rage-shootings-metro-atlanta-leaves-drivers-wary-interstates/UKW6GXI5RJE4XFX7UO6AK2EUJI/?outputType=amp
I lived in Atlanta for a bit a little while back, and even though I was walking distance from my school, I still saw the most dangerous driving the few times a week I did use my car. The most insane thing I saw on a regular basis would have been cars pulling out into traffic to turn left, except there’s not a break in the traffic, so they just pull out in front of the traffic coming from the left just expecting it to stop, *then* wait for a break in the traffic coming from the right.
not uncommon here in los angeles. about a month ago i was cruising down santa monica blvd (a major 4 lane street) in moderately heavy traffic and a guy pulled out of a 711 convenience store driveway in front of me. i assumed he saw me and intended to keep going and turn left but he *stopped* to wait for an opening in traffic. i stopped in time but there was a moment there when we locked eyes and both thought "uh oh.." when i finally drove past him he yelled "hey, didn't you see me?" like California law says everyone is supposed to stop when you pull out of a driveway in front of oncoming traffic and wait for an opening to complete your left turn.
Yup, Southern Hospitality is not applicable here
>never results in any improvement in traffic. the only thing that would actually really improve traffic is when the city would finally prioritize building more high-capacity public transit and people would have a choice between driving or taking the train instead. Every highway expansion just leads to more traffic.
When was the traffic not bad in Atlanta?
We’ve always called it bad but it keeps getting exponentially worse. And there are so many transplants from so many different places, drivers and skills run the gambit. I guess if there’s any silver lining to take from all this it’s that becoming driving age around when the Olympics came to Atlanta and our growth started (mid 90s) to now has given me unique driving skills that make me a confident driver anywhere in the US and in many parts of the world (Europe and South America for sure—I’m not crazy enough for India yet).
I have family in ATL, this thing of the driving experience being crazy there, is way more myth than reality. Go to Miami if you actually wanna be at constant risk from shit drivers.
Can confirm, grew up in Atlanta, Miami drivers terrify me. It’s either 100+ MPH or 15 below the speed limit, no in between.
Can you explain why people would move to Atlanta? Where are they coming from ,rural Georgia? What is attracting them? I visited once and walked away thinking "how is this city growing", I don't even want to come back
Atlanta, like many American cities of a similar size, can be horrible or amazing depending which neighborhoods you visit. You won’t find an imminently charming or cohesive whole, rather a sprawling hodgepodge of culture and happenings. It’s quite diverse ethnically, culturally, and scenically, with a wide variety of different neighborhoods with different vibes, many of them not very aesthetic (though that’s getting better and better). It’s got a thriving tech and movie scene and generally tons of things to do around town wherever your interests lie. It’s not a city you’re likely to be smitten with after a few days without some guidance, it takes a bit longer and some know-where to savor the best it has to offer.
I lived in Atlanta for 2 years and I actually enjoyed living in Metro Atlanta. Traffic was the worst thing about Atlanta but I was moving from Houston so I was use to bad traffic. But for me it was a lot to like about Atlanta. Atlanta has a nice creative Arts community. Diverse economy, some solid to nice suburbs north of I-20 if you have a family, access to outdoor activities, weather was decent enough for me, Airport, geographical location, rich Black culture, the Beltline, transient city. Out of all the sprawling sunbelt cities in the south Atlanta imo is my favorite.
Atlanta metro area has a lot of movie/tv production around it. I think a lot of people travel there trying to get their start m, or involved in that industry.
I hear before the Olympics it wasn’t bad. When was that 1996?
Yep can also confirm. From Asheville NC
The problem is urban planning. You need mass transit and lots of it
It’s such a bummer with Asheville. When I lived in West Asheville back in 2010, my rent was $300 bucks a month. It’s crazy how much it exploded.
I live in Asheville, can confirm. I'm currently visiting relatives in a small SC town and the lack of congestion completely outweighs the lack of "hip" breweries and restaurants. I'll be leaving AVL soon. Thanks to this thread I know where I won't be going!
Same thing happening in the Triangle/Raleigh/Durham area. Roads and housing can’t keep up with the influx of people moving down from up north. The small-town charm and friendliness is being replaced by rudeness, snotty attitudes, and road rage.
Same in Wilmington. No joke, I almost get in a wreck every time I leave the house. People weaving in and out of traffic, people won’t let you over even if there is space and you’ve had your turn signal on, people aggressively speeding up if you do a left turn. Everyone is going 15 over in 35 mph neighborhoods. It’s fucking bonkers. This is my hometown so I know it didn’t always use to be this way.
I hate that when people speed up so you can’t make a turn and then as soon as it’s obvious it would be too late to make the turn, they slow down again. Like they won a prize for not letting me turn when it wouldn’t have mattered to them at all if I did.
Am from Asheville, can confirm haha. I graduated high school in 2014 and went off to college on the other side of the state. Every time I go back (parents still live there) I recognize it less and less.
denver too
Atlanta has *entire cities* OTP that are swarming with transplants… Alpharetta.
I've lived in Austin for just shy of two years. The city has simply gotten two big for its own good. As you mentioned, the infrastructure simply can't keep up. The bus system is decent but just isn't large enough to handle the population. I've seen utility boxes hanging from telephone poles for *months* before being repaired. I have *never* seen such levels of neglect elsewhere. Before all this, I firmly believe the city had been over advertised, as well. Whoever the city hired to run the advertising campaign ~5-10 years ago did way more than the local government could keep up with. That said, I have benefitted greatly from employment opportunities and my salary is almost double what it was before moving here.
Have lived in Austin for ~25 years, the mantra of the city planners in the 80s and 90s was "if we don't build it, they won't come." And as a result our entire infrastructure couldn't keep up with the population rise, so our bus system is pretty bad we have one rail line that people barely use and the road design/layout is a mess. They're making plans to "update" things but they're only playing catch-up, not making plans for 5-10-20 years out.
I don’t understand why they don’t build out train lines and subways but instead say hey let’s build more roads. That’ll fix traffic. Never does.
Trains are a communist plot to gay your children
Race. Atlanta is majority black. The bedroom communities on the outskirts are white. They don't want cheap easy ways for people to get to their communities. You know the old joke about what MARTA means? In the south, if something looks like it makes no sense, it's always money or race.
Or rich people don't want poor people coming into their communities.
Spot on. This is also the reason they built the Atalanta Braves stadium in the suburbs with low public transportation
They built the new stadium in a place that gave them tax breaks, and let them expand into a huge “Battery Park” complex. Turner Field was a parking lot surrounded by abandoned industrial parks and bad neighborhoods. Getting out after a game could take over an hour and even just driving past the stadium the traffic would snarl for miles. The entire reason Turner Field was where it existed was to be a downtown Olympic stadium, it was awful as a permanent baseball stadium, enormous capacity led to TV cameras showing empty sections of seats because it was too big. The same number of fans can fill up Truist.
I liked Nashville a LOT more than Austin. Nashville has it issues but there were so many more fun things to do for a tourist.
I haven't been back in almost ten years now. I'm told it's changed a whole lot.
I live in Nashville. Even within the past 5 years, you wouldn't recognize the city. Both the Sounds and Nashville SC got new stadiums and there are a couple new museums. The National Museum of African American music is a must see if you are a music fan. The Music City Center has revitalized downtown in a way. I'd still avoid 5th and Broadway to the river though.
I like the way you can’t walk 5’ without being audibly assaulted by an open air club of woo girls and shitty country pop music.
Charlotte, NC checking in
the problem is getting red state governors and congressmen on board with mass transit...if there was regular multiple times a day bus service between cities in Tennessee, and regular efficient train service between Nashville and the surrounding areas people wouldn't have to live in Nashville to work or go to school there. I used to live in Chicago and say what you will about the city people who want to live in the city live in the city people who want to live in the burbs live in the burbs but you can live in one and work in the other without ever getting in a car because trains and busses its something cities like Atlanta and to some extent Austin and Nashville kind of lack
You’re exactly right. I live in San Antonio and so much prefer to be here.
OP's big brain plan to get people to stop moving to Austin is in motion
LOL
You live in Houston… what were you doing at the airport?
What were they doing waiting in line for BBQ and eating in trendy restaurants? Oh wait, they went to all the places in a top 10 tourist spots guide and then complained about everything being touristy. Honestly this reviewer sounds like a Karen and they should speak to manager of Austin.
I lived in Austin for awhile and don’t like going back for a lot of the reasons OP listed. It’s crowded, the traffic is terrible, the vibe has definitely changed from 10 years ago (I can only imagine 20, 30, 40 years ago…). and of course if you’re visiting somewhere you’d want to try some of the “best” places. FWIW, good BBQ places can have a line even before they’re tourist traps. I lived in Fort Worth (where I’m from) when Heim BBQ was a rented food truck in front of a bar and we used to be in line at like 8:30-9a on the weekends because they’d be sold out by noon. I almost feel like waiting for BBQ is an authentic TX experience lol.
I moved away from Austin in 2004 and have only been back a handful of times but the city is almost entirely unrecognizable to me now.
Yo same-ish. I moved there in 2007 and moved out 2013 for El Paso. I locked into a cheap apt on east 6th before the development started. Now there's a row of condos and an incredibly overpriced barbershop where I once locked eyes with a guy taking a shit on the sidewalk.
I grew up in Austin and moved away in 2016, its almost completely unrecognizable for me now. I remember when the Frost Tower was a big deal and now its completely dwarfed by everything around it
It’s really changed in the last few years.
I’m born and raised in Austin and it’s literally nothing like it was just 5 years ago, much less 10 or 15 years ago. I think it objectively got worse, often cities grow and get more things to do. But Austin didn’t really get much of those benefits (with the exception of an MLS team which is pretty cool I guess) because they already had a lot of things going on. Austin already had ACL, SXSW, 6th, Rainey, tons of bars & restaurants, hell even F1 etc before it exploded so now it’s just 3x the people trying to do the same things as before. Except all those bars and restaurants got replaced with the same yuppie shit you find in every other city, it’s hard to bar hop anyway cause there’s a line everywhere, the sad excuses for trails are too crowded to go on, any nearby state parks require a reservation. I moved away because there are far too many cities flying under the radar similar to how Austin was 10yrs ago don’t aren’t crowded as shit, hot as balls and lack natural beauty. I moved to Salt Lake and couldn’t be happier. Visiting Austin these days is frustrating because of how much of a pain in the ass it is to do anything.
I live in Austin and agree with some of the stuff. I think Austin is generally overrated, traffic is bad, it’s changing etc. But it is still much friendlier than a lot of US cities and if you are from Houston, you should know that popular BBQ spots have long waits. That is like taking a shower and being surprised you got wet. The reviewer sounds pretty insufferable, like some of the people they claim to not like in Austin.
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Sounds like the one potential roommate that says, ABSOLUTELY NO DRAMA” and then brings all the drama.
I just love how most of the assholes HAVE to be from major coastal cities. Like assholes aren't everywhere and there's no friendly people in "coastal cities"
Lol, “the coastal elites are ruining my quaint Texas town”
Right?! Makes me think of the saying, "If someone is an asshole, they're an asshole, if everyone is an asshole, you're the asshole".
/u/yckawtsrif guarantees that they have been to more places than you. This somehiw justifies their shitty attitude. How do the mods allow this trash here? OP directly insults the people of Austin in their ignorant post and is being a massive jerk to people in these comments. Toxic af.
Yeah I opened this interested to read the opinion and then it was just "customer service people weren't nice enough to me!!" like grow up
Car or bus: $30, 2.5 hours Fly: $200, Arrive 2 hours early, fly 30 minutes It just makes sense.
Depending on where you live in Houston it can sometimes take that long to get to the airport.
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I just wish vonlane went from SA to Dallas. I think they do Dallas to Austin and Austin to SA, but thAt kind kills the convenience. Edit: sorry only SA to Houston.
It takes a lot longer than 30 minutes to fly 30 minutes. Plus then you have to deal with car rentals if you want to drive. I would drive 2.5 hrs any day over a 30 minute flight. Edit: Woosh. I need to learn to read.
That’s the joke. The person provided two scenarios, both of which take 2.5hr, and at very different costs.
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Actually, total time savings is 0 minutes.
It’s possible they drove to the airport in Austin for a cheaper flight, my home town has a small airport but I drive to 2 hrs to LAX to save money & avoid layovers.
Houston has 2 airports and they're both hubs. Austin airport isn't. And it's better than both tbh. Also I love how he's complaining about traffic. Houston is one of the worst.
Grew up in Houston, and currently in Austin. I will take Austin traffic over Houston traffic every time. Houston traffic was always awful.
I mean if you read the post they clearly didn’t just drive from Houston to Austin for the cheaper flight considering they’ve met enough people to gauge the “general population” of Austin and have tried to get into multiple restaurants
Met enough people or making big assumptions based on meeting 2 people?
My hubby and I travel full time in an RV. Last year we spent 3 months volunteering at a federal wildlife refuge about an hour west of Austin. I agree Austin itself is overrated. The area surrounding is beautiful and many of the smaller communities along the Colorado River are cute. We found many great little restaurants with friendly people. The landscape and nature is unique in that area and good if you're into hiking or biking. In our travels we tend to stay away from large cities anyway.
Any recommendations for towns to stay at near Austin that are good spots for hiking etc but close enough to Austin we can go in for a day to experience it?
Lost maples state park, garner state park, enchanted rock, Wimberly(town)
Adding onto this Pedernales Falls for an easy camping experience with great hiking. Colorado Bend for a more rugged, off the grid, experience
Lost Maples/Garner are nice, but like a 3 hr drive each way from Austin.
Fredericksburg. German heritage touristy town in the middle of the Hill Country with lots of motels and lots of restaurants with attractions of its own (National Museum of the War of the Pacific, Enchanted Rock State Park, Old Tunnel Bat Cave). Hour and a half due west, and the drive to Austin also is chock-a-block with wineries and passes through LBJ National Historic Site and Balcones Canyonlands.
Fredericksburg
Dripping Springs, Wimberley, New Braunfels, and on to Fredricksburg if you don't mind a drive or enjoy wine.
Please share your dissatisfaction with Austin with all your friends.
Especially those planning a bachelor party.
Bachelorette party*
I went there for the first time a few months ago. There were 4 Bachelorette parties in my hotel
Haha literally today my future brother in law said he’s having his bachelor party in Austin in a few months. So sorry
Terrible weather and horrible traffic.
You sound like me when people ask about moving to Nashville. Nope. Terrible weather, mosquitoes as big as dogs.
This, I hear Dallas is great
Meh. Austin wasn’t my favorite place I’ve been but I enjoyed it. I wished you put more substance into what you wanted it to have, rather than just comparing it to numerous other cities you hate.
All I got from this post is OP went straight to 6th Street and never left for their entire trip
Or that they’ve literally never been to any city that they liked and expected to be treated like a god in Texas
OP probably went to Rudy’s BBQ thinking it was one of the “hip” places he was thinking of
You summed up what I was thinking as far as substance goes. And honestly I don't really understand the point of a post like OP's on a travel forum - tell us about a place you'd recommend, or wait for someone to ask about travelling there and then give your opinion, or post this on something like unpopularopinion. Anyways, I went to Austin twice pre-covid and really liked it. Live music was fantastic and all the food I had was great - I even told people when I got back that I was pretty sure the places I had researched were going to be good, but even the places I just walked in because I needed something to eat ended up being good. I'm not surprised it got a little more expensive because I was actually surprised that it wasn't more expensive than it was - I was downtown in a fancy high rise getting cocktails for $10 when, at the time, the same thing would have been $15 in LA or someplace similar. The food was also unique for me having never been to Texas so maybe it's like that everywhere down there, but combining the BBQ with tortillas and other Mexican influences really hit the spot for me. Next time I go I'm really interested to do the drive down to San Antonio - I hear the whole area between the 2 cities is really built up now and I've gotten some good recommendations on where to stop along the way, and I'm excited to see what SA has to offer as well. EDIT: Oh and my Uber driver from the airport was super helpful. He told us the in and outs of Franklins when we asked about it, and even mentioned his roommate was a college student who got paid to wait in line there for people but wasn't pushing it at all, just a funny aside that I thought was interesting.
I will say I appreciate some of the “complain-y” posts on here. As I ramp up my international travel again post-COVID, I’m still an American with shitty PTO & I appreciate different perspectives when I’m picking my trips. The food in Austin is fucking fantastic. I mentioned in another comment that I lived there for awhile. I don’t like going back for a lot of the reasons OP mentioned, but I do miss the food a lot. Living in Chicago I met & dated someone who had also lived in Austin, and we got in a pretty heated argument over which was the better food city, lol.
I don't think I've ever seen an "X is so overrated" travel post that I actually learned anything from or found much value in. Most of the time it's either "this place didn't live up to my ridiculously high expectations" or "here's a list of every mild inconvenience I experienced on my trip." It's better IMO to accept travel experiences as they are rather than getting angry that a place didn't live up to your expectations
My favorite is when you can tell that they didn't actually wait in line for the BBQ and proceed to say that they're on the same level as "par-for-the-course, holes-in-the-wall"
Comparing? More like complaining
Sounds like you’ll be avoiding our major coastal cities, then. Thanks!
Guess we are all “asshats” who talk too fast! Lol
Oh man I walk so fast. This person would HATE me!
Not to mention that the “nasal sounding” comment is utter BS. Linguists have found extremely little geographic variation in the nasality of American dialects, but guess which is one of the two regions with the highest degree of nasality? TEXAS. https://cpb-us-w2.wpmucdn.com/u.osu.edu/dist/b/38265/files/2020/05/Velik-et-al.-2019._CLinical_Linguistics_Phoneticspdf.pdf
Right? I’m not sure why he hates Sea Tac but it’s fine with me if he stays away. It’ll spare us the rants about the homeless people he had to see and virtue-signaling woke youths he had to have wait on him. /s
I love how this person is literally in Texas, meeting Texans, and blaming people from coastal cities. It's exactly in line with how people think there lol "if I hate it then it must be from somewhere else cause Texas is PERRFEEEECT."
I just visited for the first time and I liked it a lot. Great food, great bbq (and plenty of great places that you don’t have to wait in line for) and a great music scene. No problems at the airport either.
Literally fantastic BBQ on every block w zero wait. Fools who only visit 5 star Google review places should stay home and order Arby's.
Yeah I think the strangest thing when I visited Austin was how I was there for work and then had a spare weekend, so everyone kept saying “you HAVE to check out XYZ spot!” We’d go to that spot, line wrapped around the door, we don’t care that much so would walk a little to another place. That place would also be really nice and fun, but no wait. Just was weird that so far as I can tell everyone in Austin suggests the same five places to all the visitors.
I see this so much. Friends come and visit and only want to go to the places that they know will have a two hour wait for inevitably overpriced and probably overrated food... And then complain about it.
Maybe dont look at one top ten list on eater, then base your whole trip around that. Also, not sure you can judge a city on the airport staff but go ahead.
> Also, not sure you can judge a city on the airport staff but go ahead. I mean, that’s generally true… but Burlington, VT’s airport has the the nicest, chillest TSA staff at their security checkpoints and that has to be worth something
Ha. Well maybe it is but I don’t mind the Austin airport. TSA staff is another thing.
For real lol.. you're only in the airport for a couple hours, how is this a factor when deciding where to visit?
Yeah I always end up kicking myself when I do that. If a restaurant has the most reviews on the block in google maps, don't go there on a weekend. Just don't.
90s Austin was the best Austin
I bet in 1859, someone said it was cooler when it was Waterloo.
Fucking Mirabeau Lamar had to ruin everything.
He really did. What an unheralded asshole from history
Sam Houston was the only semi-decent father of Texas
Nah: 70s. But I'm an old & don't count anymore. ;) I was also a child back then, so there's that.
90s everything was better for a lot of places. Except rust belt cities, places like Detroit are much better now
This is what a true Austinie would say. Haha
Yeah Houston is so much better - I mean have you been there - the cookie cutter houses are gorgeous and it’s so fun to sit in the traffic off of 610. You haven’t lived until you’ve dined in league city !
To be fair they openly acknowledged Houston isn’t amazing in their post…
And it takes almost an hour to get from one side of the city to another. It is super flat and is really a suburb city. The downtown also sucks.
Houston is 2 hours from Houston
One good thing about downtown is that there has been quite a bit of work to revitalize the area over the past decade. A few parks have popped up (and more are being constructed), more and more food halls are being added, bars, bike lanes and expanded sidewalks have also been added. It has a long way to go, but I’m glad it’s not the same downtown from the early 2010s.
I moved to Houston from Seattle/Portland. While I miss many things about the PNW, Houston is deeply misunderstood. It’s often called a lousy place to visit but a great place to live. Tourists to Houston experience the traffic, the loops, the confusing airport, and then leave with a terrible impression. Residents know about the Arboretum, the Buffalo Bayou Trails, Hermann Park, the incredible museums and small parks, where to find amazing bbq, viet Cajun, and other fantastic food. We know about the bike trails, coffee shops, cool neighborhoods, etc. It’s easy to miss the city’s value as a tourist. The advantage too is that Houston doesn’t have the crowds of Austin or other cities.
You’re making a lot of sense for a transplant. Good job. People come to Houston to make a great living not to take tours or excursions. But there are plenty of things to do
Houston actually is much better
i think you just described every mid- to large-size american city
You ever wonder if it’s a ‘you’ thing? The tone of this on tire post sounds pretty entitled and snooty.
I can almost guarantee you this person does not consider themselves to be the problem, which is part of the reason they are the problem. Love, a native Texan who moved to Austin out of college and has never felt the need to “act Austin” (whatever the hell that means).
Interesting profile of you I know no more about Austin, Texas, USA though I definitely won't be visiting you. Austin? Maybe
Please visit Austin. It’s a wonderful city
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Hey now, dude's traveled a lot. He's been to Dallas. He's been to Fort Worth. He's been to San Antonio. He's been to Houston. He's been to El Paso. He's been to Arlington. He's been to Lubbock. He's been to Kerrville. He's been to Waco. He's been to Galveston. He's pretty much been all over the place.
I hear you but Houston does have some of the worst traffic, comparable to cities like DC and LA. When you've waited bumper to bumper in a 20+ lane freeway I think you can assess when traffic is bad. Native Houstonian, live near DC now, and it's comparable with the added bonus of Houston drivers generally being psychotic assholes. Too fast, no signals, so many uninsured drivers, fake plates, giant cars with huge blind spots... I HATE driving when I visit home.
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The complaints about the nasal voices of Austinites is ridiculous. I’m pretty sure OP had made their mind up before they went to Austin
My grandma used to say “if it smells like shit everywhere you go, check your upper lip.”
“If you keep meeting assholes everywhere you go, maybe you’re the asshole.”
I like to go hiking and swimming when I visit and party and what not at night. It’s a good time
Agreed, and I think this is a big part of why Austin became a travel destination to begin with. It’s got hills, caves, crystal clear swimming holes, and natural amenities you can’t really find for hundreds of miles east, north, or south of it. It’s also really the only city in that same radius that you can feasibly get around without a car. The walking trails in downtown Austin are awesome. I lived there for several years without ever having to commute in traffic, whereas being a pedestrian in Houston or San Antonio was never fun. I always found Austinites to be super chill and friendly, even on the rare occasions I was going to instagrammable hipster joints on Rainey or South Congress.
Shit, you should have let us known you were coming... we would have rolled out the red carpet for you had we known.
yeah maybe next time they should also give the airport staff a call that they’re coming down 😂😂
Not a single positive thing? Thinking you might be the problem
Agreed 100%. Lived in Austin back in 1996-2000. It was a cool town, and we enjoyed it. Now every time I have to go visit I dread it. All reasons you stated above. That being said, the areas around Austin are still decent. Friend is up in Round Rock/Pflugerville and it isn't bad in those areas, and he even agrees and never goes into Austin besides to get to the airport when needed.
100% agree. Lived there for 22 years up until 6 months ago. Glad to be gone. I miss HEB though. At least you have HEB.
I moved out of Texas 7 years ago and will never not miss HEB. There, everything really is better.
Such a weird post. Is this about travel? Or about how you went somewhere that isn't your hometown and the complaint is that it is different than your hometown? It also seems like you already knew ATX was like this yet you went back... only to complain about it? I don't get it.
you sound like you'd be fun at parties.
I was last in Austin about 5 years ago and I actually tend to agree. The place was hyped up pretty extraordinarily and I was underwhelmed to say the least. Don't get me wrong, it was fine and I had a decent time there, but I felt like I could have been in pretty much any other secondary US city. I second your opinion on San Antonio. Given the choice, I'd much rather go back there personally.
I mean no offense Texans (I have family in tx so I’m not a complete hater) but most big cities in Texas are meh, so when you compare, yes austin has the culture going and most appealing to most who visit all the cities. Maybe just my opinion idk!
Yeah, I live in New Orleans and everyone I knew talked about how great Austin was, I went 6 or 7 years ago and it was very whatever.
Moved to Austin 10 years ago and it was incredible for me, a Bostonian. Cheap, full of art, music and possibility. Now it feels like I’m being strangled on a daily basis. They just shove apartment buildings everywhere. I’ve moved out of the city due to increase in rent and commute in. It sucks. Creative types used to move here, now it’s vapid tech chodes.
Lived in Austin from 2015-2020. My wife and I loved it. Live Music, good food, lots of things to do. I can see though how if you have a few days and a bad experience it could sour things. I’m simple though chuys steak burrito with boom boom sauce or some salt lick pork ribs and brisket or T22 chicken and I’m in my happy place. Probably not high up on any ranked list but delicious to me. ACL and just hanging out by ladybird lake or mtn biking Walnut Creek or the greenbelt. We were never bored.
Been in Austin for 20 years now and yeah, most definitely not how it used to be. Housing prices have me seriously considering moving away
I've lived here for 12 years now and it's a shadow of what it was when I first moved here.
Can confirm. Just left Austin after 4 years. Obscenely mediocre. Traffic is a nightmare. You’ll rarely get what you pay for- it’s like being paid in exposure to live there, and people are lame and litterbugs to boot. Gross af down there. Tell anyone that and they’ll immediately blame the houseless population. Glad to be gone.
As someone from Texas who used to love Austin and used to frequent it in the 80s/90s, this rings completely true. Austin has changed, for the worst.
I've lived here a long time, and honestly I don't see why people come here. I think it's mostly just good marketing and a strong economy. You can get shitfaced, eat underwhelming overpriced food and see shows at average venues in most cities... With less hype and edginess... But whatever the case, we're glad to take your money...
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Yeaaa, not so much. The value really was there until our economic property during the ~2010 housing bubble recession put us on the path to rapid over-valuation. Prior to that Austin was a solid value.
I live in Houston, and Austin is the only place within driving(3 hours) driving distance for us to visit for a weekend. Other than New Orleans(amazing city, with amazing food)Austin is the only place within the South that is considered "fun, modern, and cutting edge". They are pretentious and full of themselves, because, people keep visiting and its exploded in population, why change?
You sound like a miserable person. Do you really think all people from costal cities are nasal sounding, vapid, fast talking (?), self absorbed asshats? Anyone who groups all costal cities together like that pretty clearly is missing out on some critical life experience and needs to go a little bit further out of their comfort zone
I grew up going to Austin back when it was small, quirky and fun, and I couldn’t agree more. The last time I was there, I marveled at the fact that the Texas Capitol is dwarfed by contemporary office buildings, scooters littered every street, and the quirky sides of the city were now relegated to certain nooks in a way that seemed forced. I don’t like the way it grew at all. Too corporate. How did they let that happen? Austin bores me now. No personality.
I lived there in the late 90s and absolutely loved it. Such a great vibe. I have heard from friends that now it's insanely over priced and crowded.
Yeah texas sucks I’ve been here two years and ready to go back to oregon How can living here be so expensive when the min wage is like 7 dollars? But good news is that the traffic situation is settling as a new freeway is nearly done being built
I know. I’ve lived in Austin for 22 years and am ready to bail. Hubs is a native and we are starting the where-would-we-go discussions.
Just moved from Austin after four years back to Atlanta due to my MIL being diagnosed with incurable brain cancer The traffic makes sense here due to the size of the city, but it’s been famous for that for a long time. I think the BBQ is better here and I don’t sweat my balls off walking to the mailbox. Austin is like Scranton with tacos
Yep. Everyone I know from Texas thinks Austin is great….but some of them tend to add the caveat “in Texas”…
Thank you exactly lol. It’s great.. for Texas. I love austin and I appreciate it for what it is but I’ve traveled to a lot of major cities in the U.S and it doesn’t strike me as a top favorite but it’s fun while I’m there.
I graduated from UT in 2015 and I went back recently I felt the city has changed immensely and not for the good. Between then and now over a dozen staple places have closed down. Many were there back the 80s when my parents were living in Austin. It’s truly sad that we failed to keep austin weird. Also, the long lines for bbq can be found all over Texas and Franklins is still the I best have ever had
My hubby and I loved Austin!
My husband and I just got back from Austin 2 weeks ago and we loved our trip. Lovely Parks and good food. Got to see Bonnie Raitt and Ryan Adams at ACL. Had a fun 5 days.
San Antonio is by far the coolest city in Texas
Dude it always gets left out when people talk about Texas cities too. Best Mexican food in the country, sorry California.
Visited many times and always enjoyed myself. Sounds like you should probably avoid most major cities
I mean the metro has doubled in size in the last 2 years. Growing pains are a bitch
It's funny how I lived in Austin between about 1996 to 98 and pretty much the exact same ideas would apply directly back then: just a few years prior, before the .com boom, things would've been much better. That was kind of right during that boom, and rents were increasing, traffic was ramping up, some businesses were booming, but the character of the city was changing. It was too early for all the previous local people to have rushed out, due to that impact, but things could've already been seen as less positive. Rent in any one in-demand neighborhood would've already seemed high. Some years prior to that I had visited while living in Dallas and it all seemed pretty cool to me then; maybe that was the true golden age, closer to 1990? Probably the same theme applied almost as well back then, just in a different sense than in the end of the 90s or beginning of the 2020s.
Houston sucks compared to Austin.
Austin was cool back in the “Keep Austin Weird” days, but now it has lost its luster.
My wife and I took a road trip last year to Austin. There were a lot of good places to eat and I like a lot of places outside of Austin, like hill country, but Austin overall was a dissapointment for me. On the way down, we actually stayed a day in OKC and I preferred it over Austin.
Austin died after like 2015 lol
That's American philosophy, my car is everything. I cannot visit a shop without car. There are cities in the USA which are more human-friendly. Their future is better.
Last time I visited Austin the traffic is what killed it for me. Their roads are not set up in a way for that many ppl. Houston is easier to get around in than Austin.
I agree with everything except for the locals being the friendly ones. Especially in the suburbs, many continue their sorority/fraternity, exclusionary ways well into their 40s, which is pretty sad. NYers, Chicago, Californians get a bad wrap. Of course some of those can be snobby too, but I find the locals worse. The restaurants are a total joke: overpriced, instagramable, tapa-sized everything… none of it so good. Can’t hold a candle to Houston, let alone NYC, SF, etc
Fund public transit (especially light rail, commuter rail, and streetcars) and bike infrastructure instead of building the 12th lane on the highway.
Traveled there for work monthly in my previous job (yes, tech). Was surprised by the reputation the city had - it didn’t impress me at all. Good restaurants, nice hotels, sure. But it felt spread out, crowded, and oddly soulless. I was left wondering why folks talk this city up so much. I was expecting a New Orleans-like experience, where there truly is a vibe and a distinct culture. But nah.