Austin/Phoenix growth rates

[DetroitN8V]

Originally Posted by Steve-o

Hardly. Tucson, maaaaaaybe, definitely not Austin.

You're saying Phoenix has more personality than Austin? I couldn't disagree more. Yeah we have the mountains and the whole SW thing but Austin is hip, young, music (SXSW!), BBQ, lakes, beautiful older homes. Way more character in Austin. I'm happy here but Phoenix is so bland compared to Austin.

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by DetroitN8V

You're saying Phoenix has more personality than Austin? I couldn't disagree more. Yeah we have the mountains and the whole SW thing but Austin is hip, young, music (SXSW!), BBQ, lakes, beautiful older homes. Way more character in Austin. I'm happy here but Phoenix is so bland compared to Austin.

Austin was generic feeling to me. The housing stock is more attractive, thats about it. Downtown, like Phoenix is a dud, but at least we have pro sports here to compensate somewhat. Phoenix is also young, and you can find everything in Scottsdale that you can in Austin. Heck, Im not a big fan of Tempe, but Tempe felt more "alive" than Austin, even including along the vaunted 6th Street. Here the mix of Mexican/Spanish/Native American vibe outdoes anything you find in Austin. IMO, Amarillo feels like true Texas (ie longhorns, steaks, dusty plains, cowboys,etc), Austin didnt. It felt like an overgrown suburb. I know many people say that about Phoenix, too, but Austin was "generic" for lack of better term. And the whole overplayed "keep Austin weird" slogan that you see everywhere just lent the town an even more generic feel to me.

[Jeanneelise]

Originally Posted by azriverfan.

The latest Census count shows Phoenix has 1,513,367 or 1.5 million.

Phoenix still sixth-largest city in U.S.; officials say population undercounted

This couldn't be further from the truth There is a reason it's called the Valley. It's essentially one city. You can't tell when youre driving through Tempe and Scottsdale or Tempe and Chandler for example. They bleed into one another like L.A.

In Austin, there is a clear separation among it's suburbs. You clearly know when you are in Round Rock, Georgetown etc.

Also, Austin is a lot smaller. You can immediately tell when you fly into their airport which feels like a small city airport compared to Sky Harbor which is far larger and busier.

The reason the roads in Austin are busier is because you have less of them. The highway/freeway system in Austin is not fully developed. Case in point, getting to the airport in the past required taking side streets to get to the Austin airport. There was a lot of construction to fix this problem. In the Valley, we have multiple loops and freeways. You still have to take side streets and there are not a lot of freeways in Austin. Austin reminds me of Tucson in that respect. Phoenix is closer to Dallas in terms of size and scopre. Austin is much smaller.

I think Austin is overrated. It's hyped because it's the only somewhat liberal/progressive/non-Texas feeling city in the state of Texas. Among Texans, Austin is their pride and joy. However, to anyone living in the West, it doesn't really feel any different than Phoenix, Portalnd or a lot of cities on or near the West Coast in my opinion. Austin is also not that liberal or progressive socially. It is relative to Texas but it feels socially moderate to me. There are still a lot of cowboys in Austin.

Sorry no cowboys anymore, made me laugh. And as for the burbs in Austin your wrong there is no open land between round rock and Austin anymore same with westlake.. Its not about less roads in Austin , it is a older city and built that way! Not on a grid just winding werid roads. Plus hills and rivers to avoid.

As for the airport it has never been a side street thing. The old airport was smack dab in the middle of the city and then they moved it and the only way you can get there was via a expressway! Sky harbor; derp, its a hub. Go to Dallas if you want a huge airport. OH and quit comparing Austin to Tucson its just laughable.

How long has it been since you've been in both cites?

( Plus IMHO Texas is way more liberal than AZ. Just take a peek at the Forbes list Mesa is the #1 most conservative city in the US.)

[Jeanneelise]

Originally Posted by Steve-o

Austin was generic feeling to me. The housing stock is more attractive, thats about it. Downtown, like Phoenix is a dud, but at least we have pro sports here to compensate somewhat. Phoenix is also young, and you can find everything in Scottsdale that you can in Austin. Heck, Im not a big fan of Tempe, but Tempe felt more "alive" than Austin, even including along the vaunted 6th Street. Here the mix of Mexican/Spanish/Native American vibe outdoes anything you find in Austin. IMO, Amarillo feels like true Texas (ie longhorns, steaks, dusty plains, cowboys,etc), Austin didnt. It felt like an overgrown suburb. I know many people say that about Phoenix, too, but Austin was "generic" for lack of better term. And the whole overplayed "keep Austin weird" slogan that you see everywhere just lent the town an even more generic feel to me.

More generic than Phoenix??? Can I have some of the drugs your on? Less generic than the beige city of Phoenix?

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by Jeanneelise

More generic than Phoenix??? Can I have some of the drugs your on? Less generic than the beige city of Phoenix?

Colors dont make a city "generic". If that was the case, Santa Fe, NM, would be "generic", which its about the furthest thing from.