As a native to San Antonio who’s lived in Austin for 15 years now I couldn’t agree more. You put it perfectly, the authenticity is missing here. I married an Austinite, and I’ve reluctantly accepted that this is where I’ll live for a while, but if I live here 50 years I will still always tell people I’m from San Antonio, but I live in Austin.
I grew up in SA and then spent 30 years in Austin. You've captured the difference so well. If I had to move back to Texas, I'd pick San Antonio over Texas for sure. Congratulations on finding your new hometown!
This made me sad, Alisa. I lived in Austin in the 60s and early 70s and absolutely loved it. It was a hotbed of anti-war activity, hippie pot smoking, intellectual ferment, and Democratic politics that still had some friggin muscle. I was connected at the time in two vectors: as an active member of the SDS who spent about half my time either demonstrating or planning a demonstration; and as the adopted son of a liberal Democratic National Committeeman, and one of the leaders of the left wing of the party in Texas. I used to attend meetings with him at Scholz Beer Garden, which was the hangout in them days for Democratic politicians.
I was on campus the day of the Tower shooting. It's impossible to adequately convey the horror, but we got over it. My dog, Gunther, (big yellow lab) was known and loved by most of the students on campus because he went to campus with me every day, played in the fountain, found me in classrooms, and generally made himself the unofficial mascot. The only "them and us" in those days were the Greeks and the Freaks. Armadillo World HQ was just about to open. Willie was becoming a "thing." Hippies were morphing into cowboys. I swam in Barton Springs pert near every day in the otherwise unbearable summers. Food was affordable and fabulous. The Chuckwagon in the student union was good and ridiculous cheap.
Austin was, in a word, AUTHENTIC. Its reputation came from those days, not from the performative, Dell-spawned, co-working, influencers that followed. If I were to move back to Texas now (ain't happenin' - just sayin') it would be to San Antonio, which is now the center of culture in Tejas and a mighty fine city in its own right. I'm not at all surprised that you figured that out on your own, cuz you're every bit as authentic as Austin used to was.
💯%!! Jack Haynes! You write eloquently of the Armadillo World HQ, the incredible music mash-ups that Eddie Wilson and Hank Aldrich put together, while Miceal Priest emcee’d. The psychedelic art posters from Sheauxnough Studios with their Art Squad. Seeing Stevie Ray Vaughan for $2 cover at Antone’s - the list goes on and ALL of it has been lost. Stay wherever you are, because 31+ years of Republican rule over Texas has destroyed Austin, and the State.
I live outside of San Marcos, and I avoid both big cities as much as possible, too! But I do remember when Austin was, for the most part, much more the city of interest (at least for younger people) than the last twenty years or so has seen it turn. In the 1970s and 80s Austin was fun, quirky, just as open to new comers, casual, not pretentious, nobody cared how much money you had or where you lived (funkier was better) and it had a fabulous smorgasbord of cuisine. Plus it was truly affordable.
But ever since Tech, with its $$$, moved in, arguably sometimes between 1995-2005, (and maybe in 1994, when the Republicans swept every single state-wide elected office in Texas, destroyed the TX Dems, and have controlled every state-wide lever of power for the last 31 years) Austin has become a cheap imitation of its former self. Rounding it all out now, with newish inhabitants of Joe Rogan and Elon Musk ( 🤮), since 2020 and the pandemic, Austin is just as revolting as those two and their politics. Austin has truly changed and I’m so thrilled I moved out into the country 17 years ago, and avoided watching my beloved city get trashed by the soulless, craven, uber-white techno-bros.
Thank you so much Alisa, for this article. You are a newcomer but you nailed it completely. If I were your age, moving into Texas, I’d choose San Antonio, too. There is nothing left to Austin but the historical reputation it no longer deserves.
It’s not really fair to any city to think you know it in a month. Many cities have become homogenized on the surface by tv and the Chamber of Commerce and those type of things that try to make it one size fits all. You don’t really know a place until you get into the neighborhoods and meet real people.
Most cities have changed greatly in the last 25-30 years, lost some their style and become either more like every other town or gone down on their identity until it is almost a caricature, like Santa Fe.
I have lived in Austin (Northwest, bah) but also in Southeast and near the UT campus … different flavors. I have lived in San Antonio and watched it become more touristy in some areas.
My favorite Texas city was Cowtown Fort Worth. It was more conservative than I like but it was raw and unabashedly itself and eminently drivable. I would not live in Dallas if I could help it … their driving scares me more than Chicago or Los Angeles. Houston is too hot and muggy for me although I liked the neighborhood around Rice.
So every city has its own flavor and appeals to different people. San Antonio suits you now and that’s great. Enjoy!
I'm from New Braunfels and spent much of my youth in San Antonio. I retired to Austin. Now I know I made the wrong choice. You described San Antonio perfectly.
It’s sad, but not surprising. Too much success will do that. My wife was born in Austin 64 years ago. 45th and Lamar was the north edge of town. I met her when I was in grad school at UT in the 1980s. Things were changing, but there was still plenty of authentic old Austin left. Places and people I still remember fondly. From your description, it sounds like Austin is now a theme park version of what it once was.
I grew up in south Texas (I thought San Antonio was too far north to be included in the region 😂), and you’ve captured it perfectly. Austin is the kid saying “look at me! AREN’T I WEIRD?” They’re both beautiful places. Austin and Fredericksburg have had the most downgrades in the past 20 years, out of places I remember fondly (to be fair, I consider sharing air with Greg Abbott a horror). Enjoy San Antonio!
My wife and I stopped in San Antonio for a few nights during a three month roads trip we did in 2022. Mostly, because I'm a history freak, I wanted to visit The Alamo but we loved the city itself. I absolutely loved the River Walk.
A million years ago, or more like 35, I lived in Austin for 8 long months. I ran heavy equipment and worked in the original Whole foods and lived just south of the river. I ended up in New Mexico for twenty years. If I had to move to Texas, I would take your observations seriously. I am curious- what made you leave the Land of Entrapment? I ended up in Connecticut.
I totally relate. Some things, like Austin's phoniness and Santa Fe's economic and esucatioal woes, just never really change. I hope San Antonio feels like home soon. It took several years for me to adjust to Eastern ways.
As a native to San Antonio who’s lived in Austin for 15 years now I couldn’t agree more. You put it perfectly, the authenticity is missing here. I married an Austinite, and I’ve reluctantly accepted that this is where I’ll live for a while, but if I live here 50 years I will still always tell people I’m from San Antonio, but I live in Austin.
My sentiments exactly!
I grew up in SA and then spent 30 years in Austin. You've captured the difference so well. If I had to move back to Texas, I'd pick San Antonio over Texas for sure. Congratulations on finding your new hometown!
Soooo interesting! Acute observation
Austin sounds like a bigger Nashville as both lack authenticity.
Do you have a local writing or reading community wherever you go?
Bc I feel this Substack, global, blogging, etc., community exists mostly online for me. I'd like if it could be a part of my local community as well.
This made me sad, Alisa. I lived in Austin in the 60s and early 70s and absolutely loved it. It was a hotbed of anti-war activity, hippie pot smoking, intellectual ferment, and Democratic politics that still had some friggin muscle. I was connected at the time in two vectors: as an active member of the SDS who spent about half my time either demonstrating or planning a demonstration; and as the adopted son of a liberal Democratic National Committeeman, and one of the leaders of the left wing of the party in Texas. I used to attend meetings with him at Scholz Beer Garden, which was the hangout in them days for Democratic politicians.
I was on campus the day of the Tower shooting. It's impossible to adequately convey the horror, but we got over it. My dog, Gunther, (big yellow lab) was known and loved by most of the students on campus because he went to campus with me every day, played in the fountain, found me in classrooms, and generally made himself the unofficial mascot. The only "them and us" in those days were the Greeks and the Freaks. Armadillo World HQ was just about to open. Willie was becoming a "thing." Hippies were morphing into cowboys. I swam in Barton Springs pert near every day in the otherwise unbearable summers. Food was affordable and fabulous. The Chuckwagon in the student union was good and ridiculous cheap.
Austin was, in a word, AUTHENTIC. Its reputation came from those days, not from the performative, Dell-spawned, co-working, influencers that followed. If I were to move back to Texas now (ain't happenin' - just sayin') it would be to San Antonio, which is now the center of culture in Tejas and a mighty fine city in its own right. I'm not at all surprised that you figured that out on your own, cuz you're every bit as authentic as Austin used to was.
xox
💯%!! Jack Haynes! You write eloquently of the Armadillo World HQ, the incredible music mash-ups that Eddie Wilson and Hank Aldrich put together, while Miceal Priest emcee’d. The psychedelic art posters from Sheauxnough Studios with their Art Squad. Seeing Stevie Ray Vaughan for $2 cover at Antone’s - the list goes on and ALL of it has been lost. Stay wherever you are, because 31+ years of Republican rule over Texas has destroyed Austin, and the State.
I live in between in San Marcos. I avoid both big cities as much as possible!
I live outside of San Marcos, and I avoid both big cities as much as possible, too! But I do remember when Austin was, for the most part, much more the city of interest (at least for younger people) than the last twenty years or so has seen it turn. In the 1970s and 80s Austin was fun, quirky, just as open to new comers, casual, not pretentious, nobody cared how much money you had or where you lived (funkier was better) and it had a fabulous smorgasbord of cuisine. Plus it was truly affordable.
But ever since Tech, with its $$$, moved in, arguably sometimes between 1995-2005, (and maybe in 1994, when the Republicans swept every single state-wide elected office in Texas, destroyed the TX Dems, and have controlled every state-wide lever of power for the last 31 years) Austin has become a cheap imitation of its former self. Rounding it all out now, with newish inhabitants of Joe Rogan and Elon Musk ( 🤮), since 2020 and the pandemic, Austin is just as revolting as those two and their politics. Austin has truly changed and I’m so thrilled I moved out into the country 17 years ago, and avoided watching my beloved city get trashed by the soulless, craven, uber-white techno-bros.
Thank you so much Alisa, for this article. You are a newcomer but you nailed it completely. If I were your age, moving into Texas, I’d choose San Antonio, too. There is nothing left to Austin but the historical reputation it no longer deserves.
OMG -Unicycle Skynardcore! It calls up quite a picture in the mind!
It’s not really fair to any city to think you know it in a month. Many cities have become homogenized on the surface by tv and the Chamber of Commerce and those type of things that try to make it one size fits all. You don’t really know a place until you get into the neighborhoods and meet real people.
Most cities have changed greatly in the last 25-30 years, lost some their style and become either more like every other town or gone down on their identity until it is almost a caricature, like Santa Fe.
I have lived in Austin (Northwest, bah) but also in Southeast and near the UT campus … different flavors. I have lived in San Antonio and watched it become more touristy in some areas.
My favorite Texas city was Cowtown Fort Worth. It was more conservative than I like but it was raw and unabashedly itself and eminently drivable. I would not live in Dallas if I could help it … their driving scares me more than Chicago or Los Angeles. Houston is too hot and muggy for me although I liked the neighborhood around Rice.
So every city has its own flavor and appeals to different people. San Antonio suits you now and that’s great. Enjoy!
I'm from New Braunfels and spent much of my youth in San Antonio. I retired to Austin. Now I know I made the wrong choice. You described San Antonio perfectly.
It’s sad, but not surprising. Too much success will do that. My wife was born in Austin 64 years ago. 45th and Lamar was the north edge of town. I met her when I was in grad school at UT in the 1980s. Things were changing, but there was still plenty of authentic old Austin left. Places and people I still remember fondly. From your description, it sounds like Austin is now a theme park version of what it once was.
Mission San Jose'. Good choice! I've been there many times. Getting married under that rose window of theirs will be something really special.
I grew up in south Texas (I thought San Antonio was too far north to be included in the region 😂), and you’ve captured it perfectly. Austin is the kid saying “look at me! AREN’T I WEIRD?” They’re both beautiful places. Austin and Fredericksburg have had the most downgrades in the past 20 years, out of places I remember fondly (to be fair, I consider sharing air with Greg Abbott a horror). Enjoy San Antonio!
Been meaning to subscribe for a while, but this entry sealed the deal. Congrats on moving to my hometown. Signed, Homesick Angelino
My wife and I stopped in San Antonio for a few nights during a three month roads trip we did in 2022. Mostly, because I'm a history freak, I wanted to visit The Alamo but we loved the city itself. I absolutely loved the River Walk.
A million years ago, or more like 35, I lived in Austin for 8 long months. I ran heavy equipment and worked in the original Whole foods and lived just south of the river. I ended up in New Mexico for twenty years. If I had to move to Texas, I would take your observations seriously. I am curious- what made you leave the Land of Entrapment? I ended up in Connecticut.
Lack of economic opportunities for me and my adult son.
I totally relate. Some things, like Austin's phoniness and Santa Fe's economic and esucatioal woes, just never really change. I hope San Antonio feels like home soon. It took several years for me to adjust to Eastern ways.