Honest question: how did Texas politics play into your assessments (if at all)? I've been to Austin many times and really love it. But in the past year I've had three friends leave because they simply couldn't bear living in a state that's endorsed such unnerving policies around abortion, trans rights, immigration, guns, etc.
I'd love to hear your thoughts - is it tolerable because Austin is blue? Do you feel like being in Texas your vote can help shift the tide? Do these things simply not matter so much to you? Etc. Thanks!
I don't think we readers actually know whether our host shares the deep-blue political views of your friends that you outline here, just for the record...
Texans will have a right to be proud about something (see your post "An Introduction to Texas Blues in 12 Tracks" linked to in this one) when they stop allowing themselves to be governed by politicians who've been bought and paid for by hyper-conservative old male billionaires. That's right, I'm not from Texas. Never will be. Good luck to you, though.
First, it's fascinating (perhaps disturbing) that so many who've commented regarding Ted's assessment of Austin can only seem to be upset about our politics. In reply, I suggest that the all are welcome to stay away, it won't bother anyone here, regardless of political affiliation. I appreciate that the topic never came up in the article. I live in Fort Worth, the only major city (now just over one million residents, twelfth largest in the US) that has a Republican majority in the city government. And would you believe it, we all get along, even with next-door neighbors who have competing Trump/Biden, Beto/Cruz, Beto/Abbott signs in their front yards around election time. One thing Ted is absolutely correct about (though he didn't name it specifically), is Southern Hospitality. The vast majority of people living here in Texas, or in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, (north) Florida, Georgia, and the tier of states on their northern borders, actually try to live and behave that way. Perhaps those who made derogatory comments could learn to practice that a bit.
Regarding pickleball, it's a game, rather than a sport, that people who aren't willing to dedicate themselves to learning to play tennis well, or those who've become too old to play tennis anymore, turn to. The noise of the ball just annoys the hell out of me and my wife when its practitioners are within hearing distance the "big court."
As someone who grew up in Texas I’ve always loved how polite people are as they vote for elected officials that fight to take away my civil rights. Sure the lives of minorities, women, queer and trans people are worth less in the eyes of the Texas GOP... but at least they say “bless your heart”!
Do you really want to go there? First, you miss the point of my comment (intentionally I surmise), in which I note that Gioia never (never!) mentioned politics, yet those of you, specifically on the left, have to make politics the most important thing in your lives. I find that behavior to simply be shallow. And second, what "rights" are being taken away? Only ones that have been created by politicians who thrive on the unhappiness and division in our country. You apparently think that "minorities, women, queer and trans people" supersede the rights of anyone who isn't special. They don't. And now, Chris, I hope you cheer up and have a wonderful day.
I think we both know that it’s not about “minorities, women, queer and trans people" or any of those things. One can virtue signal to other commentators and simultaneously feel a smug superiority to our lesser brethren in Texas. It’s a twofer! To address the perceived problems. Minorities have the same rights in Texas as any other state. There was a conference of mayors to highlight the border problem. To a man, they were Mexican American. As far as women, let’s face it; what we are really talking about is abortion. I don’t know what laws are changed since Roe v Wade was overturned and how many women have been affected but I hope that crisis situations can be resolved for most cases. Maybe Chris hasn’t heard anything about the thriving gay communities in Dallas and other cities in Texas (or so I am told!). Trans people? Seriously? What rights has Texas so callously trampled on? Adults can do as they please but there’s no right to begin transitioning a minor. Mark my words: I predict that 20 years from now when these “trans kids “ have grown up a lot of them will be suing the pants off the doctors, counselors and therapists who encouraged and enabled their transitions. There’s a strong progressive and populist tradition in Texas. Somewhere in west Texas there’s a town named New Deal. It’s a huge state and defies easy categorizations.
Owen, I think it's time we sat down for a beer, or preferably, a stout frozen margarita (mine receive heartfelt approval). I appreciate your erudite commentary greatly. It's amazing how many thoughtful, well-spoken people exist who you converse with on the interweb, but never manage to meet in person.
Regarding Chris, and his or her ilk, I stand by my response regarding how shallow people like (shim?) are. The line that comes to mind is: "Can't we all just get along?" My wife has decided, and I concur, that the left are simply evil and never will.
Sadly it sometimes seems like that even though I am a lefty/libertarian on many questions, a la Scott Horton. I remember my time in Texas very fondly and it may or may not be significant that the last honest pol was Ron Paul.
Thanks for the confirmation that people with different political affiliation can still have thoughtful, common sense interactions. Ron Paul was/is correct, we need to audit the Federal Reserve, or maybe get rid of it as our Founding Fathers advocated.
I find your conclusion perfectly reasonable. But, as I said, Fort Worth is relatively conservative, and I would guess my upper middle class neighborhood leans about 55/45 conservative, yet we all get along very well. There's no reason we should be at each others' throats. Unfortunately the hyper-politicized left can't seem to manage that.
They're upset about Texas politics which doesn't affect them but they're blasé about corruption in Washington, endless wars, being extorted by big Pharma and military contractors, and giving away $ billions to neo-nazis in Ukraine. Go figure. 😒
Apparently, southern hospitality goes out the window if pickleball is involved. Lol! Your take on the sport/game issue is interesting... Consider: ping pong is an Olympic sport
Yes, ping pong is definitely an Olympic sport. Pocket billiards is difficult to master as well, perhaps it could be considered a sport as well? From my perspective such Olympic sports as these and the women who are competing in the twirling ribbons on a stick "sport" shouldn't be. I'm sure that there are those who excel at pickleball, but there's an apparent difference between the unskilled who play that game and those who try to play tennis. The pickleball novices have a much better chance at keeping a ball in play than the overt "hackers" on a tennis court. Physics plays its part, in that being able to make contact with a ball 24" from your hand and direct it 78' from baseline to baseline is orders of magnitude more difficult than using a short paddle to place the ball 14' from baseline to baseline. Other than being annoyed by the obnoxious racket pickleball makes I have no qualms about it. Well, I withdraw that; I truly take exception to the pickleballers who tape, and have even painted lines on tennis courts.
Oh, that is funny. I 1st learned about Pickleball at a Relative's house party. He dug it SO much he put in a court. So of COURSE, I had to try it (it was strongly suggested to me that day). I actually found it fun & saw it could be decent excercise for someone who needed it but didn't need to COMMIT.
I sounds like you really don't like it ,for whatever reason. I was surprised, but nowadays there isn't a Subject in the known Universe that doesn't inspire Vitriol in at least one person ...
I have no vitriol toward pickleball. As I mentioned, older tennis players have turned to it because it creates much less punishment on the body, many of whom are friends of mine and my wife's. Since you've played you must have noticed the racket (no pun intended) caused when the paddle strikes the low pressure plastic ball. Playing tennis well requires a fair amount of concentration, and when the pickleballers are paddling away on the wall/basketball courts adjacent to the tennis courts it is truly annoying. Playing on public facilities because I don't have the budget and the fact that there are no private clubs near my home results in having to be annoyed on occasion. I'll live with it.
I enjoyed reading this. A fascinating insight into something I cannot imagine for myself. I can't imagine being able to so consciously and deliberately select where I want to settle, from so many options, and then having no impediments to do so. The US is very fortunate to have all these options, and that US citizens of sufficient means are completely free to choose between them. Due to the lottery of birth, and terrible political decisions of a small number of now deceased fellow (UK) citizens, my options are more limited. Acquiring a second citizenship increased the options, but that is certainly a time consuming method. And for the majority of people in the world, they are not even close to having something like this as a dream.
Former Texan here: Austin was heaven in the '70's! But I cannot imagine choosing to live in TX now. I think scorpions and snakes are not your biggest worries. Good luck.
Good story. Mine is largely personal reasons and I wouldn't insist that they apply to anyone else.
Last year (April 2021) I had decided to move there, and went for a week just to confirm. (I live in San Jose and my house is paid for, which I'll freely admit skews my outlook).
I left thinking "why in God's name would I want to live HERE?" The weather sucks, compared to NoCal (but of course almost everywhere does). One of my friends who moved there in the 90s said, "The first summer was horrible. The second, we put in a swimming pool. The third, we got a summer home somewhere else."
Surprisingly, the traffic sucks, too, and that was during the pandemic. I think the red light times are much longer than California's, because I spent an inordinate amount of time waiting for the light to change. There are fewer roads, and thus, traffic is much more concentrated on them.
Third, the scenery is boring. I'm used to mountains on the horizon. Sorry.
Fourth: housing is not nearly as much of a bargain as one would think, being from California.
The last reason is just personal. I'm not married, no kids, and I've been here a long time. I just don't want to move. Actually seeing the destination in person brought that home to me. Your mileage may vary.
I like this piece very much. Choosing where you want to live is a big deal, and it is a delight to read about your journey, and your one year perspective is telling because you and your family have many living experiences for relevance. I look forward to your year two perspective next late August.
After 40 years of working in college athletics, and dabbling in playing jazz, I retired, and my wife and I chose the Olympic Peninsula in Washington for climate, gorgeous scenery, and proximity to Seattle. After living in Hanover, N,H., Syracuse, NYC, Providence, Philadelphia, Palo Alto, Washington (DC), and Columbus, we were ready for a place where there was no “big game” in town, but we could get to one if we wanted to.
So you shared your experiences in Austin, which are important only because of your delight in them, and that is just the right reason to like a place. Now in my eighties, I have seen four Mariners games, three great shows at Jazz Alley, eaten at excellent restaurants, and have drive 40 minutes from my house to walk up on Hurricane Ridge. And, I get to play in three bands. Place is important!
Reading your pieces is also joy! I have been working on “Footprints” and “Infant Eyes” thanks to your piece celebrating the great Wayne Shorter.
Reading “I get to play in three bands.” That’s fantastic!! I had a very good impression of Olympia from the biography of Kurt Cobain. Seems it’s still a great place.
What jazz club? I looked for somewhere to play there for 25 years, and the closest I got was The Elephant Room whose owner literally told me my music would not sell enough beer. Jazz is WAY low on Austin's priority list. I thought jazz was the top of your priority list in music?
I love watching people freak out when someone even mentions Texas and doesn’t immediately add the parenthetical “except for the Governor of course!” - it seems to be people who don’t live here who have their panties in a perpetual wad about “the politics.” Believe it or not, our lives do not revolve around the antics in the capitol.
This was an interesting personal assessment of Austin and the many merits that went into your choice...I especially appreciated the support of local musicians. I lived in Philadelphia in the early '70's, at a time when the Phila Metro/Delaware Valley area (included Jersey suburbs, and exurban large venues) was the most successful live concert region IN THE WORLD in terms of receipts (my brother worked for the Magid Brothers and I have this from the inside), yet the local musicians could barely get arrested. The fees were miserable. (That changed by the '80's I understand.) For jazz musicians it was a fantastic platform for education, hence the emergence of Stanley Clarke, the Brecker Brothers, Pat Martino, etc., and the presence of eminences like Dennis Sandole. Incubate and head up to NYC...
And I was in Austin coincident with the Texas Book Festival (name?) and it was very impressive.
But I digress. I would have been intrigued by more detail on your criteria for eliminating various domestic choices (Portland, Santa Fe, Las Vegas [don't laugh, a sleeper], New Orleans), as my wife and I, New Yorkers, have been going through this process lately. Evidently salt water doesn't matter that much...will your wife be satisfied with Corpus Christi?!?! For us, it's sine qua non, and our temporary condo-near-the-kids in Tulsa falls well short in the salt air department.
One could say that this is truly a First World problem, but since it is, why not treat it with the respect and analytical rigor it deserves ;-)
Really enjoying your observations and excursions...glad I signed up.
I have lived in Munich, Germany for three years now, visited Austin a couple times, and have said Munich is like a 900 year old version of Austin. Munich has big universities (120,000 students in a city of 1.5 million), it's the capital city of a state that thinks it's its own country—according to many Bavarians the German southern border rests at the northern border of Bavaria, tech is booming, tons of money (very old money that is), all about the outdoors (Alps a short drive to the south) and tons of culture. Question is, can Austin pour the massive amounts of money required for public transportation to make it a true 21st century city??
This New Jersey suburban guy knows what you’re talking about with regard to change and it’s inevitability. There were twelve farms in my town when I was a kid. There is only one left (well, there’s another half farm still in the chicken and egg business.) My high-school-diploma parents were able to handle building a house and raising the four of us kids on one income. They even put three of the four of us through college (I paid my way through three degrees - Thank you President Biden for relieving me of the very tail end of it!). I used to be able to work May through August and pay my entire tuition at the local State college. You simply can’t do anything like that today. Also, like Tara, I fell in love with “North County” as the locals refer to Northern San Diego County. Change is not only inevitable as you noted in Austin, but it is always happening. Kudos to you for observing it.
It’s not an opinion (except the “illegal” part, which actually is an opinion, but an informed opinion based on my legal education & 40 years working for the IRS). Someone has to pay, and it’s not Biden, and it’s not you. Just who do you think it is? But hey, you are in - well, I won’t say “good” - company. What I’m hearing from my kids is that their peers who are not presently benefiting from Biden’s move plan to stop paying their loans, on the theory that he will up the ante. When any of you leave my house, I will be sure to count the spoons.
I spent one magical night in Austin while en route to California and I'll never forget the people who put us up for the night and warned us about being careful with the cops. I loved it then and I love the picture you paint of it now. But like Ryan, below, I have great trepidation about the politics. Scary shit! Anyway, best to you and yours and wherever you go, may you stay forever weird.
Yeah, Austin is a cool city, but unfortunately it's in the state of Texas. One of those places where you can find yourself ass deep in mud with dust blowing in your eyes. And the political climate . . . wowser!
Donald F. Buchla vowed he would never go there, and an analog voltage-controlled synthesizer pioneer can't be all wrong on such matters . . .
Honest question: how did Texas politics play into your assessments (if at all)? I've been to Austin many times and really love it. But in the past year I've had three friends leave because they simply couldn't bear living in a state that's endorsed such unnerving policies around abortion, trans rights, immigration, guns, etc.
I'd love to hear your thoughts - is it tolerable because Austin is blue? Do you feel like being in Texas your vote can help shift the tide? Do these things simply not matter so much to you? Etc. Thanks!
I don't think we readers actually know whether our host shares the deep-blue political views of your friends that you outline here, just for the record...
People really can’t put together that maybe some these policies are what is making places like California uninhabitable except for a privileged few?
Are they just so insulated form the consequences that they can’t recognize the problem or just don’t care?
Texans will have a right to be proud about something (see your post "An Introduction to Texas Blues in 12 Tracks" linked to in this one) when they stop allowing themselves to be governed by politicians who've been bought and paid for by hyper-conservative old male billionaires. That's right, I'm not from Texas. Never will be. Good luck to you, though.
From my perspective, this describes every state.
First, it's fascinating (perhaps disturbing) that so many who've commented regarding Ted's assessment of Austin can only seem to be upset about our politics. In reply, I suggest that the all are welcome to stay away, it won't bother anyone here, regardless of political affiliation. I appreciate that the topic never came up in the article. I live in Fort Worth, the only major city (now just over one million residents, twelfth largest in the US) that has a Republican majority in the city government. And would you believe it, we all get along, even with next-door neighbors who have competing Trump/Biden, Beto/Cruz, Beto/Abbott signs in their front yards around election time. One thing Ted is absolutely correct about (though he didn't name it specifically), is Southern Hospitality. The vast majority of people living here in Texas, or in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, (north) Florida, Georgia, and the tier of states on their northern borders, actually try to live and behave that way. Perhaps those who made derogatory comments could learn to practice that a bit.
Regarding pickleball, it's a game, rather than a sport, that people who aren't willing to dedicate themselves to learning to play tennis well, or those who've become too old to play tennis anymore, turn to. The noise of the ball just annoys the hell out of me and my wife when its practitioners are within hearing distance the "big court."
As someone who grew up in Texas I’ve always loved how polite people are as they vote for elected officials that fight to take away my civil rights. Sure the lives of minorities, women, queer and trans people are worth less in the eyes of the Texas GOP... but at least they say “bless your heart”!
Do you really want to go there? First, you miss the point of my comment (intentionally I surmise), in which I note that Gioia never (never!) mentioned politics, yet those of you, specifically on the left, have to make politics the most important thing in your lives. I find that behavior to simply be shallow. And second, what "rights" are being taken away? Only ones that have been created by politicians who thrive on the unhappiness and division in our country. You apparently think that "minorities, women, queer and trans people" supersede the rights of anyone who isn't special. They don't. And now, Chris, I hope you cheer up and have a wonderful day.
I think we both know that it’s not about “minorities, women, queer and trans people" or any of those things. One can virtue signal to other commentators and simultaneously feel a smug superiority to our lesser brethren in Texas. It’s a twofer! To address the perceived problems. Minorities have the same rights in Texas as any other state. There was a conference of mayors to highlight the border problem. To a man, they were Mexican American. As far as women, let’s face it; what we are really talking about is abortion. I don’t know what laws are changed since Roe v Wade was overturned and how many women have been affected but I hope that crisis situations can be resolved for most cases. Maybe Chris hasn’t heard anything about the thriving gay communities in Dallas and other cities in Texas (or so I am told!). Trans people? Seriously? What rights has Texas so callously trampled on? Adults can do as they please but there’s no right to begin transitioning a minor. Mark my words: I predict that 20 years from now when these “trans kids “ have grown up a lot of them will be suing the pants off the doctors, counselors and therapists who encouraged and enabled their transitions. There’s a strong progressive and populist tradition in Texas. Somewhere in west Texas there’s a town named New Deal. It’s a huge state and defies easy categorizations.
Owen, I think it's time we sat down for a beer, or preferably, a stout frozen margarita (mine receive heartfelt approval). I appreciate your erudite commentary greatly. It's amazing how many thoughtful, well-spoken people exist who you converse with on the interweb, but never manage to meet in person.
Regarding Chris, and his or her ilk, I stand by my response regarding how shallow people like (shim?) are. The line that comes to mind is: "Can't we all just get along?" My wife has decided, and I concur, that the left are simply evil and never will.
Sadly it sometimes seems like that even though I am a lefty/libertarian on many questions, a la Scott Horton. I remember my time in Texas very fondly and it may or may not be significant that the last honest pol was Ron Paul.
Thanks for the confirmation that people with different political affiliation can still have thoughtful, common sense interactions. Ron Paul was/is correct, we need to audit the Federal Reserve, or maybe get rid of it as our Founding Fathers advocated.
Stay well.
“What ‘rights’ are being taken away?”
Oh boy someone get this guy a wireless telegraphy machine!
So, Chris, you didn't manage to answer my question. That explains a lot.
Deflect, deflect, deflect.
The blue-state readers commenting here collectively make an excellent case for keeping as far away from blue states as possible.
I find your conclusion perfectly reasonable. But, as I said, Fort Worth is relatively conservative, and I would guess my upper middle class neighborhood leans about 55/45 conservative, yet we all get along very well. There's no reason we should be at each others' throats. Unfortunately the hyper-politicized left can't seem to manage that.
They're upset about Texas politics which doesn't affect them but they're blasé about corruption in Washington, endless wars, being extorted by big Pharma and military contractors, and giving away $ billions to neo-nazis in Ukraine. Go figure. 😒
Owen, truer words have not been spoken; you are absolutely correct.
Apparently, southern hospitality goes out the window if pickleball is involved. Lol! Your take on the sport/game issue is interesting... Consider: ping pong is an Olympic sport
Yes, ping pong is definitely an Olympic sport. Pocket billiards is difficult to master as well, perhaps it could be considered a sport as well? From my perspective such Olympic sports as these and the women who are competing in the twirling ribbons on a stick "sport" shouldn't be. I'm sure that there are those who excel at pickleball, but there's an apparent difference between the unskilled who play that game and those who try to play tennis. The pickleball novices have a much better chance at keeping a ball in play than the overt "hackers" on a tennis court. Physics plays its part, in that being able to make contact with a ball 24" from your hand and direct it 78' from baseline to baseline is orders of magnitude more difficult than using a short paddle to place the ball 14' from baseline to baseline. Other than being annoyed by the obnoxious racket pickleball makes I have no qualms about it. Well, I withdraw that; I truly take exception to the pickleballers who tape, and have even painted lines on tennis courts.
Oh, that is funny. I 1st learned about Pickleball at a Relative's house party. He dug it SO much he put in a court. So of COURSE, I had to try it (it was strongly suggested to me that day). I actually found it fun & saw it could be decent excercise for someone who needed it but didn't need to COMMIT.
I sounds like you really don't like it ,for whatever reason. I was surprised, but nowadays there isn't a Subject in the known Universe that doesn't inspire Vitriol in at least one person ...
I have no vitriol toward pickleball. As I mentioned, older tennis players have turned to it because it creates much less punishment on the body, many of whom are friends of mine and my wife's. Since you've played you must have noticed the racket (no pun intended) caused when the paddle strikes the low pressure plastic ball. Playing tennis well requires a fair amount of concentration, and when the pickleballers are paddling away on the wall/basketball courts adjacent to the tennis courts it is truly annoying. Playing on public facilities because I don't have the budget and the fact that there are no private clubs near my home results in having to be annoyed on occasion. I'll live with it.
I enjoyed reading this. A fascinating insight into something I cannot imagine for myself. I can't imagine being able to so consciously and deliberately select where I want to settle, from so many options, and then having no impediments to do so. The US is very fortunate to have all these options, and that US citizens of sufficient means are completely free to choose between them. Due to the lottery of birth, and terrible political decisions of a small number of now deceased fellow (UK) citizens, my options are more limited. Acquiring a second citizenship increased the options, but that is certainly a time consuming method. And for the majority of people in the world, they are not even close to having something like this as a dream.
Just gotta make it to Nuevo Laredo and Bob's yer uncle.
Former Texan here: Austin was heaven in the '70's! But I cannot imagine choosing to live in TX now. I think scorpions and snakes are not your biggest worries. Good luck.
You did not mention the terrible Texas politics.
Yes, Austin may be a liberal city, but the State of Texas politics is a disaster.
Good story. Mine is largely personal reasons and I wouldn't insist that they apply to anyone else.
Last year (April 2021) I had decided to move there, and went for a week just to confirm. (I live in San Jose and my house is paid for, which I'll freely admit skews my outlook).
I left thinking "why in God's name would I want to live HERE?" The weather sucks, compared to NoCal (but of course almost everywhere does). One of my friends who moved there in the 90s said, "The first summer was horrible. The second, we put in a swimming pool. The third, we got a summer home somewhere else."
Surprisingly, the traffic sucks, too, and that was during the pandemic. I think the red light times are much longer than California's, because I spent an inordinate amount of time waiting for the light to change. There are fewer roads, and thus, traffic is much more concentrated on them.
Third, the scenery is boring. I'm used to mountains on the horizon. Sorry.
Fourth: housing is not nearly as much of a bargain as one would think, being from California.
The last reason is just personal. I'm not married, no kids, and I've been here a long time. I just don't want to move. Actually seeing the destination in person brought that home to me. Your mileage may vary.
I like this piece very much. Choosing where you want to live is a big deal, and it is a delight to read about your journey, and your one year perspective is telling because you and your family have many living experiences for relevance. I look forward to your year two perspective next late August.
After 40 years of working in college athletics, and dabbling in playing jazz, I retired, and my wife and I chose the Olympic Peninsula in Washington for climate, gorgeous scenery, and proximity to Seattle. After living in Hanover, N,H., Syracuse, NYC, Providence, Philadelphia, Palo Alto, Washington (DC), and Columbus, we were ready for a place where there was no “big game” in town, but we could get to one if we wanted to.
So you shared your experiences in Austin, which are important only because of your delight in them, and that is just the right reason to like a place. Now in my eighties, I have seen four Mariners games, three great shows at Jazz Alley, eaten at excellent restaurants, and have drive 40 minutes from my house to walk up on Hurricane Ridge. And, I get to play in three bands. Place is important!
Reading your pieces is also joy! I have been working on “Footprints” and “Infant Eyes” thanks to your piece celebrating the great Wayne Shorter.
Reading “I get to play in three bands.” That’s fantastic!! I had a very good impression of Olympia from the biography of Kurt Cobain. Seems it’s still a great place.
What jazz club? I looked for somewhere to play there for 25 years, and the closest I got was The Elephant Room whose owner literally told me my music would not sell enough beer. Jazz is WAY low on Austin's priority list. I thought jazz was the top of your priority list in music?
The Elephant Room is what he may be referring to. On Congress downtown, down some stairs to a lovely basement club!
But what about Texas politics and your disgusting governor? Apparently, in your case, it’s see no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil.
I love watching people freak out when someone even mentions Texas and doesn’t immediately add the parenthetical “except for the Governor of course!” - it seems to be people who don’t live here who have their panties in a perpetual wad about “the politics.” Believe it or not, our lives do not revolve around the antics in the capitol.
This was an interesting personal assessment of Austin and the many merits that went into your choice...I especially appreciated the support of local musicians. I lived in Philadelphia in the early '70's, at a time when the Phila Metro/Delaware Valley area (included Jersey suburbs, and exurban large venues) was the most successful live concert region IN THE WORLD in terms of receipts (my brother worked for the Magid Brothers and I have this from the inside), yet the local musicians could barely get arrested. The fees were miserable. (That changed by the '80's I understand.) For jazz musicians it was a fantastic platform for education, hence the emergence of Stanley Clarke, the Brecker Brothers, Pat Martino, etc., and the presence of eminences like Dennis Sandole. Incubate and head up to NYC...
And I was in Austin coincident with the Texas Book Festival (name?) and it was very impressive.
But I digress. I would have been intrigued by more detail on your criteria for eliminating various domestic choices (Portland, Santa Fe, Las Vegas [don't laugh, a sleeper], New Orleans), as my wife and I, New Yorkers, have been going through this process lately. Evidently salt water doesn't matter that much...will your wife be satisfied with Corpus Christi?!?! For us, it's sine qua non, and our temporary condo-near-the-kids in Tulsa falls well short in the salt air department.
One could say that this is truly a First World problem, but since it is, why not treat it with the respect and analytical rigor it deserves ;-)
Really enjoying your observations and excursions...glad I signed up.
Jeep
Yeah it's in Texas though.
I have lived in Munich, Germany for three years now, visited Austin a couple times, and have said Munich is like a 900 year old version of Austin. Munich has big universities (120,000 students in a city of 1.5 million), it's the capital city of a state that thinks it's its own country—according to many Bavarians the German southern border rests at the northern border of Bavaria, tech is booming, tons of money (very old money that is), all about the outdoors (Alps a short drive to the south) and tons of culture. Question is, can Austin pour the massive amounts of money required for public transportation to make it a true 21st century city??
Munich is an amazing city for all the reasons you’ve listed.
This New Jersey suburban guy knows what you’re talking about with regard to change and it’s inevitability. There were twelve farms in my town when I was a kid. There is only one left (well, there’s another half farm still in the chicken and egg business.) My high-school-diploma parents were able to handle building a house and raising the four of us kids on one income. They even put three of the four of us through college (I paid my way through three degrees - Thank you President Biden for relieving me of the very tail end of it!). I used to be able to work May through August and pay my entire tuition at the local State college. You simply can’t do anything like that today. Also, like Tara, I fell in love with “North County” as the locals refer to Northern San Diego County. Change is not only inevitable as you noted in Austin, but it is always happening. Kudos to you for observing it.
President Biden didn’t “relieve” you. He’s making your fellow taxpayers pay what’s left of your loan. Illegally.
Interesting opinion. I’ll keep mine however.
It’s not an opinion (except the “illegal” part, which actually is an opinion, but an informed opinion based on my legal education & 40 years working for the IRS). Someone has to pay, and it’s not Biden, and it’s not you. Just who do you think it is? But hey, you are in - well, I won’t say “good” - company. What I’m hearing from my kids is that their peers who are not presently benefiting from Biden’s move plan to stop paying their loans, on the theory that he will up the ante. When any of you leave my house, I will be sure to count the spoons.
This business of Biden “relieving” loans has implications far beyond what I had thought: https://thezvi.substack.com/p/grand-theft-education?r=cjox6&utm_medium=ios
I spent one magical night in Austin while en route to California and I'll never forget the people who put us up for the night and warned us about being careful with the cops. I loved it then and I love the picture you paint of it now. But like Ryan, below, I have great trepidation about the politics. Scary shit! Anyway, best to you and yours and wherever you go, may you stay forever weird.
Yeah, Austin is a cool city, but unfortunately it's in the state of Texas. One of those places where you can find yourself ass deep in mud with dust blowing in your eyes. And the political climate . . . wowser!
Donald F. Buchla vowed he would never go there, and an analog voltage-controlled synthesizer pioneer can't be all wrong on such matters . . .