What is the big hype about Austin, Texas?
I’ve been here about 8 years; while a short time for many, my time here is greater than most. 8 years ago, Austin still had that sleepy small town vibe that people yearn for and one distinct and recurring theme about Austin is that it’s a city where everyone is always talking about it as though it were one of the dominant brands in the world.
Last week was MediaTech Ventures’ inaugural MediaTech Week and thanks to a headline in the Austin Business Journal, I found myself on the receiving end of that question, “Why Austin?? What’s all the hype about?”
“Why Paul O’Brien is on a mission to make Austin the Hollywood of media-tech” — Mike Cronin, Austin Business Journal
Here’s the thing…
Austin still does have that small town vibe people yearn for. You just have to know where/how to find it. It’s that small town vibe coupled with unmatched economic development that is driving something magical about Austin, Texas.
I recently made the quirky point, in a local argument about traffic or some such, that, “a city that isn’t growing is dying and a city that isn’t changing is a myth.” Austin is growing and changing.
“A city that isn’t growing is dying and a city that isn’t changing is a myth.”
Potential.
That’s what all the hype is about. The real word to use about Austin isn’t startups nor music capitol and it isn’t weird nor millennial, what Austin has is unparalleled potential.
The 35 corridor with San Antonio is the fastest growing metropolitan region in the country.
All those people are coming here.
Like people coming to the “new world,” they’re fleeing where they’re from and bringing with them their distinct culture, experiences, wealth, and network. What made the promise of the new world but those collisions? What made the United States the world power that it is was a very similar immigration. Potential.
What makes Austin so appealing might be characterized in a few bullets:
- Character. Be that SXSW, Franklin’s, or Zilker, there is a distinction about Austin that draws people. Now, the same can be said of all cities with appeal, Austin isn’t unique in that way, but it is distinct. And that matters.
- Capitol. The city is the capitol of one of the largest economic regions in the world, with Austin at the center of 3 of the 10 largest cities in the country
- Capital. Being where Austin is, as wealthy individuals catch on to how the internet works (something slowly happening, granted, compared to the coasts), wealth will increasingly move into innovation. Potential.
- Warmth. Both weather and people :) When my wife and I were seeking where to live, we cut off the top half of the country, too cold. We then focused on the “Midwest” because we longed for neighbors who talked to one another.
- Independence. A bit of Texas’ heritage and lasting impact on people is that word. Politically, it’s rather Libertarian and culturally it’s be yourself. Yes, I realize on paper it’s rather Liberal in a Conservative State; what I’ve found though is how that manifests, in a way that I think is ideal — a bit of everything and to each their own.
- Metropolitan. Believe it or not, yes; and I use that word in particular. What I’ve seen most in the growth is a global interest. Austin’s new development makes it a young city with global attention.
- Opportunity. Similar to the word potential but I’m using opportunity to refer to the low cost of living and prolific jobs. People here have the opportunity to afford a home, be freelance, start a business, or comfortably raise a family. Downtown is unfortunately horrifically expensive and pushing out people who can’t afford it while neglecting any form of mobility BUT head just a few miles out of downtown and you find a reasonable cost of living and most of the jobs and entrepreneurs.
Big picture, that’s what I see driving the hype. The hype itself is exactly that, hype. Greatest place for startups or Live Music Capitol of the World? Eh… in some respects. That’s hype. Just as saying the traffic is the worst in the world is really just hype. Don’t get me wrong, it’s bad, but it’s not LA bad.
Look past he hype and see why Austin has hype and you see something unusual in the world today: potential.
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