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I don't think the insular quality that people are talking about in this thread is unique to Austin. Rather, it seems to be a part of the culture in all large American cities. I've traveled all around Europe and have found people there to be a lot less insular than Americans in many respects. The way our cities are organized promotes a feeling of separation from our fellow man: suburban sprawl, America's emphasis on private transportation over public transportation, strip malls, and large homes all encourage people to spend less time with others and more time with themselves . . .
Any thoughts on this?
I wholeheartedly agree with you on the big picture. Sprawling post-automobile cities inherently do not promote social interaction. Austin, though it's trying slowly to buck the trend with mixed use projects etc., certainly is no exception. It would be a lot of preaching to the choir, but you'd probably enjoy the documentary "Subdivided" ( Subdivided - Isolation, Community, Urban Sprawl, and The McMansion, a Documentary Film by Dean Terry ), made by a Dallas filmmaker.
However, I must disagree with you somewhat on your assessment of Austin in particular. There is something a little less friendly about this place, even when compared with some larger cities. My personal experience is in going between Austin and Dallas. When I'm here at home, in Austin, I frequently jog Town Lake. That trail is one of the things I love most about Austin. Coming from a smaller East Texas town, it's just my nature to say "good morning" and "hello" to fellow trail joggers, so for a long time I would try. I still try sometimes. When I do, I get met with silence, no eye contact—face down, maybe a strange look at best. And unless my dog and another jogger's dog either hit it off really well or decide they wanted to try to kill each other, thus forcing myself and the other owner to have some type of exchange, it has been extremely rare for another jogger or walker to initiate any sort of greeting or contact.
My experience at White Rock Lake in Dallas (their equivalent of Town Lake), however, has been the exact opposite. Bikers and groups of joggers, particularly in the early morning, will sing out in unison sometimes "good morning" to me as they pass in the other direction. They'll smile, wave, and sometimes even engage in entire conversations about ducks, the weather, dogs, biking gear, Dallas politics, etc. The first few times this happened to me, I looked around at the bushes to make sure there wasn't some kind of camera crew filming some sort of spoof. But, I jog there ten or fifteen times per year and have been doing so for about eight years now, and it's always like that. I don't know what it is, but there's something different about Austin.
I've actually had the same experience in the neighborhoods. I jog and walk through Hyde Park and Northfield almost daily. For a while, I began to think everyone around me was deaf as I noticed that the vast majority of "good mornings", nods, and waves were ignored. Yes, I checked to see if they were wearing headphones. I can count the times on one hand that I've received a greeting of some sort from someone I didn't already know. It has been extremely rare. In Dallas neighborhoods—though people sadly don't seem to walk and jog as much in the neighborhoods there—it's still been the opposite despite there being fewer people.
I found it a little frustrating at first, but hey—no skin off my back. But, it's so much the opposite from what I ever would have guessed. Maybe it's the California influx here? I've never spent any time in California so I have no idea what people are like there. I know there is a California clan in my wife's family, and compared to the Texas part of the family, they're definitely not as outgoing or willing to engage socially in the same way. I'm resisting the temptation to make broad judgements based on that, but the impression is definitely building.
But, to those of you who think there is something about Austin that is sort of introverted—it's not just you. It's real. I don't know if everyone's a little stoned, a little too cool for school, a little hung over in the morning, or what. Whatever it is, it seems a little ironic for a place that's supposed to have so many people who like to get up on stage, play guitar, and sing. Maybe they're just saving all of their outgoing energy for that. One neighbor suggested that maybe most of our neighbors are all so worried about paying their property taxes and are too busy contemplating whether or not drowning is really such a bad way to die that they don't even notice anyone else is around them.
Hey there, I'm sure you've received a lot of responses but it would help to know your age group. As a single divorced man, the domain really only has a few happy hour places to meet singles. As we all know, the bar scene can be kind of boring and tasteless though! Have you tried engaging in outdoor activity or other hobbies? I find Austin to be full of different types of people, and one of the reasons I love Austin is the friendliness. I am not so sure about North Austin these days, there is a lot of development and a lot of people who live up there are new to Austin. It's almost as if Cedar Park and Round Rock are another country (mind and personality-wise). I think you'd really enjoy the culture if you spent more time in Austin. Of course being out of college, I'd say college is the best place to meet someone but if you're out of college like me: the only things that are left are meeting up at the "cool hangout spots." Try Do512.com for cool ideas on live events, things to do. There are breweries, wineries, parks, trails, etc. Lots of fun stuff and you will meet people everywhere. Trust me, Austin is still "keepin' it weird" and that's a good thing!!!
Southern Hospitality cannot be found in Texas. sorry.
I have to disagree here...southern hospitality is ALL OVER Texas...but it does seem to be lacking in Austin, which is a city of transplants.
But when I go to small towns in Texas, or to Dallas or San Antonio, the people are VERY welcoming and friendly to me.
BTW - one time I was on Tennessee, and the people there HATE people from other places, ESPECIALLY if you are a yankee. The lady there (a flower shop owner), told me when I was there:
'Hey...you know how we like to say, "y'all come back now'"?
I said, "yes",
She said: "Well, when we say that...we actually mean...you yankees and outsiders are not welcome here, dont ever come back!".
A couple days later, when my work at her shop was done, and I was leaving, as I walked out the door, she said, "Hey..."...I turned arouind and said, "Yes?"
She looked at me with a *****-eating grin and said..."Y'all come back now, ya hear?"
As we all know, the bar scene can be kind of boring and tasteless though!
I disagree. I love the bar scene.
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Have you tried engaging in outdoor activity or other hobbies? I find Austin to be full of different types of people, and one of the reasons I love Austin is the friendliness.
+1
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I am not so sure about North Austin these days, there is a lot of development and a lot of people who live up there are new to Austin. It's almost as if Cedar Park and Round Rock are another country (mind and personality-wise).
Dellionaires, Samsungomites
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I think you'd really enjoy the culture if you spent more time in Austin.
+1
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the only things that are left are meeting up at the "cool hangout spots." Try Do512.com for cool ideas on live events, things to do. There are breweries, wineries, parks, trails, etc. Lots of fun stuff and you will meet people everywhere. Trust me, Austin is still "keepin' it weird" and that's a good thing!!!
My experience at White Rock Lake in Dallas (their equivalent of Town Lake), however, has been the exact opposite...
Wow, reading this forum over the last few years, I thought Dallas was just a soul-less, materialistic, corporate, over-grown metropolis with lots of big hair, religious zealots, and money-grubbing L.A. wannabes. Austin was the ONLY place to be in Texas. I like Austin a lot but that doesn't mean I have to hate Dallas.
Just goes to show how bent personal opinion can be. Dallas always gets a bad rap from Austinites. I get the impression that most of that kind of talk is just perpetuated by people who've either never been or spent very limited time there. Seems so trite and stupid.
I am finding this thread really weird! When I arrived here - granted it is nearly 8 years ago, the friendliness drove me nuts. Granted I have never lived in a subdivision or mega apartment complex, but I have memories of people I had met once stopping me while walking downtown or on the drag and wanting to chat endlessly and me thinking: "Jesus, if i wanted to talk to you for fifteen minutes, I would call you and we could go for coffee." And then the long chats between the check out clerk and some customer while everyone else is waiting on line, and I am internally screaming "Hurry up people!" I got a flat tire half an hour after driving down from Chicago and the guy who was trimming the trees at the house next door was unbelievably helpful. I realized later that I had moved into a section of Clarkesville, where everybody was very much up in everybody else's business (mostly but not always in a good way, and people were curious about the newcomer.) My immediate neighbor became my best friend. I agree that Austin can be cliquey - you just gotta find your clique. My tested strategy for meeting people in a new place is to keep going to places you like over and over again - the same bar, the same coffee-shop, the same farmer's market, the same restaurant (its important to pick places you like!!) and eventually the regulars will get curious and come and talk to you. I have found Austinites quite quick to invite you into their homes - much quicker than anywhere else I have lived. I have also found that often the new people you think you are going to be friends with don't pan out, and someone I initially thought was a little dull or strange turns out to be great, so I try to stay open and not rush to friendship decisions. Good luck to the OP!!
That has been my experience too. My wife has lived here since 2003, me since 97 and every single weekend for the rest of the month we have 2-3 holiday parties plus 1 during the week.
For halloween our whole cul de sac - kids and no kids hung out bbq'd and gave out candy. However two cul de sac's down they don't do anything. So it can be hit or miss.
I have found austin to be friendly and I have to work to keep the number of friends/commitments at a manageable level.
The sports I play all go out for dinner/drinks afterwards, people from work go out sometimes (at my last job it was weekly), neighbors hang out almost every weekend.
As an outsider not speaking the language (I'm British), I've found Austin to be the most friendly place I've been to in the states. While I've not spent more than 3 days in Dallas/Houston/San Anotonio, you don't really need to in order to get a feel for how they differ from Austin itself.
The bar scene here is diverse enough to suit all needs. Anyone that says this isn't so has stuck to only one side of 6th (East OR West). Always check the chronicle or Rare magazine.
I landed in South Congress (SoCo) a year ago and immediately felt at home. I've also lived downtown but moved back in order to feel slightly more Austin-like. Downtown is great for going out and meeting people, seeing great bands and drinking like no other place.
Living to work seems to be a common need though and it makes sense that people in Round Rock and "P town" love those places for their convienience. I can't comment on the homely-ness of them because I am single and most colleages and friends who live there are attached with Children. They all rave about how great it is for the family but I don't know that anyone actually meets new people up there - and most spend time with workfriends for that reason.
Anyway - if you are single then on Facebook there's a group called Single In Austin, Texas. It regularly organizes events and meetups. There's also Meetup.com which caters to a variety of tastes.
Being less reliant on my car has been a big draw for me in SoCo. I can walk into town very quickly or jump on a bus: Don't forget that there's some major bus routes around town, the Metro website has details. That works for me but maybe not everyone
I was always amazed by people at white rock lake in Dallas. The friendliness is like something out of a storybook lol. I noticed the cold introverted attitude everywhere in Austin. It really is bizarre.
Are you a minority by any chance? I was wondering why people weren't smiling and waving back at you in Austin? I keep thinking it is discrimination or racism.
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Originally Posted by 8080a
I wholeheartedly agree with you on the big picture. Sprawling post-automobile cities inherently do not promote social interaction. Austin, though it's trying slowly to buck the trend with mixed use projects etc., certainly is no exception. It would be a lot of preaching to the choir, but you'd probably enjoy the documentary "Subdivided" ( Subdivided - Isolation, Community, Urban Sprawl, and The McMansion, a Documentary Film by Dean Terry ), made by a Dallas filmmaker.
However, I must disagree with you somewhat on your assessment of Austin in particular. There is something a little less friendly about this place, even when compared with some larger cities. My personal experience is in going between Austin and Dallas. When I'm here at home, in Austin, I frequently jog Town Lake. That trail is one of the things I love most about Austin. Coming from a smaller East Texas town, it's just my nature to say "good morning" and "hello" to fellow trail joggers, so for a long time I would try. I still try sometimes. When I do, I get met with silence, no eye contact—face down, maybe a strange look at best. And unless my dog and another jogger's dog either hit it off really well or decide they wanted to try to kill each other, thus forcing myself and the other owner to have some type of exchange, it has been extremely rare for another jogger or walker to initiate any sort of greeting or contact.
My experience at White Rock Lake in Dallas (their equivalent of Town Lake), however, has been the exact opposite. Bikers and groups of joggers, particularly in the early morning, will sing out in unison sometimes "good morning" to me as they pass in the other direction. They'll smile, wave, and sometimes even engage in entire conversations about ducks, the weather, dogs, biking gear, Dallas politics, etc. The first few times this happened to me, I looked around at the bushes to make sure there wasn't some kind of camera crew filming some sort of spoof. But, I jog there ten or fifteen times per year and have been doing so for about eight years now, and it's always like that. I don't know what it is, but there's something different about Austin.
I've actually had the same experience in the neighborhoods. I jog and walk through Hyde Park and Northfield almost daily. For a while, I began to think everyone around me was deaf as I noticed that the vast majority of "good mornings", nods, and waves were ignored. Yes, I checked to see if they were wearing headphones. I can count the times on one hand that I've received a greeting of some sort from someone I didn't already know. It has been extremely rare. In Dallas neighborhoods—though people sadly don't seem to walk and jog as much in the neighborhoods there—it's still been the opposite despite there being fewer people.
I found it a little frustrating at first, but hey—no skin off my back. But, it's so much the opposite from what I ever would have guessed. Maybe it's the California influx here? I've never spent any time in California so I have no idea what people are like there. I know there is a California clan in my wife's family, and compared to the Texas part of the family, they're definitely not as outgoing or willing to engage socially in the same way. I'm resisting the temptation to make broad judgements based on that, but the impression is definitely building.
But, to those of you who think there is something about Austin that is sort of introverted—it's not just you. It's real. I don't know if everyone's a little stoned, a little too cool for school, a little hung over in the morning, or what. Whatever it is, it seems a little ironic for a place that's supposed to have so many people who like to get up on stage, play guitar, and sing. Maybe they're just saving all of their outgoing energy for that. One neighbor suggested that maybe most of our neighbors are all so worried about paying their property taxes and are too busy contemplating whether or not drowning is really such a bad way to die that they don't even notice anyone else is around them.
That is really strange how Dallas gets a bad rap from Austinites. Dallas is perpetually interesting, diverse, and friendly.
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Originally Posted by twange
Wow, reading this forum over the last few years, I thought Dallas was just a soul-less, materialistic, corporate, over-grown metropolis with lots of big hair, religious zealots, and money-grubbing L.A. wannabes. Austin was the ONLY place to be in Texas. I like Austin a lot but that doesn't mean I have to hate Dallas.
Just goes to show how bent personal opinion can be. Dallas always gets a bad rap from Austinites. I get the impression that most of that kind of talk is just perpetuated by people who've either never been or spent very limited time there. Seems so trite and stupid.
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