Saturday, October 3, 2009

Why Austin?

Whenever I mention to people that I have always wanted to live in Austin Texas - They usually screw up their face like they smell poop in the conversation, "Eww Reallllly? Texas? Why would anyone want to move to TEXAS?" ....... I have gotten used to how they spit the word out of their mouths. "Texas"- Wishing it was a physical form they could step on, kick and abuse.... It is ok. People either know about Austin TX or they do not... it is ok....

Austin is like the oasis of Texas - It's own Republic - A little blue city in the midst of a giant red state. Voted #1 place to live in Money Magazine 2006, and #3 in 2009. Also voted the Greenest City in America by MSN. This place has it's own culture, it's own style, it's own niche' - Everyone looks like someone you would like to know. Huge Burning Man community is located down here (Burning Flipside is next month) and they DO keep Austin Weird - today, all the people who did not get into Austin City Limits, can attend a Zombie Concert down the road for free.... zombies and beer! Bikes bikes and more bikes - Austin loves to bike, Austin City Limits only proves that..... In fact, Lance Armstrong, who owns a bike shop here in Austin, is out riding around town today with anyone who would like to join him.... Voted #1 college town by the Travel Channel, Austin's slogan is 'The Live Music Capital of the World' - Austin has more music venues per capita than any other U.S. city (for Pat and I, that is a huge seller - we are live music junkies - Beauty Bar seems to have a bunch of fun shows) Music festivals of the year involve: SouthXSouthWest and Austin City Limits. They have a Record Store down here called WaterLoo that still has in-store shows and they hand out beer! Tons of hiking, biking, yoga classes all over town - Average age is 28 years old. Average sunshine is 300 days a year....

Yea - this city pretty much rules all other cities. Lakes, rivers, hills, beautiful people, fun things to do every-single-day/night.... This city is happiness.

Photos: Austin Skyline, Hill Country just outside the city, SXSW on 6th Street downtown Austin, Barton Springs

5 comments:

Kev said...

And don't forget the Alamo Drafthouse, one of the best places to see a movie.

Unknown said...

Austin, lets see…The Humanity Research Center, The Gernsheim Collection, the first photograph and every any photograph of any note for the first 50 years of the history of photography.

The biggest thing Austin has going for it…San Antonio. The cross roads of civilization in the new world. I keep inundating poor London with info, I think she just hits over load and giggles. Music, with the exception of the Beatles, the entire history of Rock and Roll has its epi-center in downtown San Antonio. You name it, Stones, Who…they all came here to hang out with the guy who brought them to the US. But that is a story that is finally being written.

London is staying on and off here with Perry the kitty (in HEAT!) and Pat who is the laid back MAN! This is where Teddy Roosevelt formed the Rough Riders. His tent was in the studio backyard and the ‘boys’ were across the street. The rail line up the street is where they took the horses off as well as the men who came from all over the US. Funny, the street next to Mission Road Photography Studio is named Yellowstone, imagine that! The park across the way is Roosevelt Park in his honor.

After he had left the family who owned the property built a factory at the edge of the property that is the studio, the first Potato Chip factory in the US.

The oldest Daguerreotype studio in the world, second one built in the US is a few miles from here in Broadway. Home to the most successful portrait photographic business in the world D.F. Goldbeck and sons, still shooting film with Kodak Circuit C-10 cameras last in production in 1912. You can find his work at the Humanity Research Center in Austin.

Don’t for get ‘Fritos’, invented in San Antonio. People think it is a Mexican food, silly them, invented and developed by a German immigrant family that lived on the Southside, the barrio.

Lot of original music and new young bands here in SA. Just remember, if ever there were sister cities it would be Austin and SA.

PD said...

Well, sounds like you won't be bored.
:)

Corey said...

Yesss! Austin is freaking awesome. I used to be on of the "Ewww, Texas." people, then I visited Austin. I moved here 3 months later.

Anonymous said...

if you like Austin, you would really like Portland, OR! come hheeerrreeee