Cities similar to Austin,TX
My wife and I are an interracial couple with two young children. We are also teachers. We love Austin because of its coolness, tolerance, and lack of chain stores. However, it has gotten too expensive to live downtown and we hear teaching jobs are hard to come by.
I have heard that Louisville is an up and coming Austin. Is this true? or would anyone know another up and coming city that has similar qualities as Austin?
Sent by Fred from Las Vegas
June 25th, 2008 at 7:49 pm
I went to college in Minneapolis and from what I’ve heard about Austin from friends who go to school there, they are very similar cities. Minneapolis is very tolerant and diverse despite being in the middle of Minnesota! Politics are very progressive and there is a strong community supporting local business. Biking is very popular even in the winter. Public transportation is fantastic. Great art and music scene, too!
I’ve heard that Portland, Oregon is the Minneapolis-of-the-West/New-Austin
and that is a place I want to move because of many of the reasons i’ve listed above.
June 28th, 2008 at 11:12 am
I don’t know about Louisville being an up and coming anything. It is very elitest and full of old money. The Bardstown Road area is a safehaven for other types, but it can get a little extreme. I have family there and every time we visit I am disgusted by the amount of wealth around the city. If you are into that type of thing go for it. I know they pay teachers well, but it might not be what you are looking for. Of all places, I heard Tulsa, OK was an up and coming city…
June 30th, 2008 at 1:26 am
I don’t know where you got your info but Austin has a lot of chain stores. As a matter of fact our neighborhood lost out to a super WalMart mainly due to the city’s backing of the chain store.
Also, every year the Austin public schools have a hundred or more openings every year.
You are correct it is getting very expensive to live downtown. But then, it is getting very expensive to live anywhere with in 25 miles of downtown Austin.
I wish you luck in finding the Austin I found 35 years ago.
July 1st, 2008 at 10:42 am
On the contrary to Jim, I happen to LOVE Louisville. I go to school in another great litle town full of sophistication and character, Bloomington, Indiana - but I travel down to Louisville (2 hr drive) whenever I can. Its a really fascinating place with a mixture of midwestern and southern cutlture. Very affordable, and a very creative city.
July 10th, 2008 at 11:26 am
Austin is similar to Boulder, CO (near where I now live) and other cities such as Santa Fe, Flagstaff, AZ and Burlington, VT. Unfortunately, they are very expensive now and elitist in many ways.
My wife and I are from Louisville, KY. We visit regularly. It has an old Southern charm and is very cheap compared to the cities listed above; however, it is no Austin. In fact there is extreme sprawl and minimal progressive movement in Louisville.
Most cities like Austin, Boulder, etc. started out as rough little holes in the wall. I believe that saltier cities with progressive potential in the coming decades would be Lawrence, KS, Laramie, WY and Missoula, MT. They are small and edgier in many ways, but well worth the look.
July 10th, 2008 at 3:15 pm
I’ve lived in Austin and traveled to Austin. I now live in Denton, Texas. In fact, I was born in Denton. I’ve heard a countless number of people say that Denton reminds them of Austin when Austin was smaller.
I love it here; it’s cool and tolerant.