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I used to live in Austin in 2007 until 2013. Even back then the transition to tech hub was well underway. We went from the Portland of the south to a yuppie par

I used to live in Austin in 2007 until 2013. Even back then the transition to tech hub was well underway. We went from the Portland of the south to a yuppie paradise in fairly short order. Who can say whether the changes are good or bad? They're going to happen either way. We traded weird restaurants and way too much hipster music for tech bros and planned areas like the domain. They both have their charms and their annoyances. On a related note, we live in an age of mass communication. Cities that become cool become migration magnets due to widespread knowledge and relative ease of relocation. See: Boulder Portland asheville nashville bend boise missoula Austin tacoma, others I'm sure. I view it as a net negative because part of the reason these 'weird' cities came to be was the needs of the locals who already lived there. Nowadays some liberal musician will just move to city X instead of giving their personality to the area around them.

rossdavidh 5y ago
I mostly agree. I should point out, however, that my wife and I both came from small towns in southern Illinois, which are the same size (actually slightly smaller) they were decades ago. It isn't better.
- atdrummond 5y ago
  From Quincy here. Absolutely agree. I spent a decade working to get FTTH and new schools built there and it basically sapped my entire drive to do anything more.
jseliger 5y ago
Austin prohibits adequate housing from being built: https://austin.curbed.com/2020/1/30/21115370/austin-housing-development-missing-middle-affordability-zoning https://austin.curbed.com/2020/1/30/21115370/austin-housing-..., which is likely driving up the cost of living in the city—just like California. Without liberalizing zoning laws, Austin will likely continue to see the exact same effects as California. This can be changed: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16704501 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16704501 if enough people want it to change.
- rossdavidh 5y ago
  While Austin's zoning laws could definitely be better, there is tons of housing being built even now. I see large numbers being built at the edge of town. Not saying there's not problems, especially for new construction in old neighborhoods, but it's not like there isn't a lot of construction happening.
  - bgorman 5y ago
    Building large numbers of housing at the edge of town isn't the solution. It is the core problem with American city planning.
    - ZoomerCretin 5y ago
      Sprawl is an environmental disaster. On top of land-use changes, it also causes longer commutes, both of which produce more CO2 than upzoning and densifying city centers. Unfortunately, it's in most property owners' best financial interests to rent-seek by blocking any new development, especially considering Texas passed our own version of California's disastrous Proposition 13 in the last legislative session.
      - lawnchair_larry 5y ago
        Has nothing to do with rent seeking. Density ruins neighborhoods.
        tomnipotent 5y ago
        > Density ruins neighborhoods Can you give examples?
        dragonwriter 5y ago
        Well, for one, while there are some conflicting results, there is lots of research pointing to high-density housing leading to elevated rates of violent crime. e.g., https://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/normal/13030.html https://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/normal/13030.html
ghaff 5y ago
Hopefully snow is an obstacle for a lot of people into moving into a number of regions. (Although some cities in the snowbelt are already fairly popular/pricey.)
- vineyardmike 5y ago
  Where is the snow belt? Is that just the entire north half of the country?
KirillPanov 5y ago
> Cities that become cool become migration magnets > tacoma This is a joke, right? I mean, the phrase "aroma of Tacoma" is popular for a reason.
throwaway0a5e 5y ago
>Boulder Portland asheville nashville bend boise missoula Austin tacoma, others I'm sure. If you asked someone to build a list of cities where a massive inflow of outside money has screwed things up for everyone the list would look very similar. But nobody moving in notices the decline because the all things considered state at any given time is always better than the state of the place they're leaving (or they wouldn't be relocated).

rossdavidh 5y ago

I mostly agree. I should point out, however, that my wife and I both came from small towns in southern Illinois, which are the same size (actually slightly smaller) they were decades ago. It isn't better.

atdrummond 5y ago
From Quincy here. Absolutely agree. I spent a decade working to get FTTH and new schools built there and it basically sapped my entire drive to do anything more.

jseliger 5y ago

Austin prohibits adequate housing from being built: https://austin.curbed.com/2020/1/30/21115370/austin-housing-development-missing-middle-affordability-zoning https://austin.curbed.com/2020/1/30/21115370/austin-housing-..., which is likely driving up the cost of living in the city—just like California. Without liberalizing zoning laws, Austin will likely continue to see the exact same effects as California. This can be changed: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16704501 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16704501 if enough people want it to change.

rossdavidh 5y ago
While Austin's zoning laws could definitely be better, there is tons of housing being built even now. I see large numbers being built at the edge of town. Not saying there's not problems, especially for new construction in old neighborhoods, but it's not like there isn't a lot of construction happening.
- bgorman 5y ago
  Building large numbers of housing at the edge of town isn't the solution. It is the core problem with American city planning.
  - ZoomerCretin 5y ago
    Sprawl is an environmental disaster. On top of land-use changes, it also causes longer commutes, both of which produce more CO2 than upzoning and densifying city centers. Unfortunately, it's in most property owners' best financial interests to rent-seek by blocking any new development, especially considering Texas passed our own version of California's disastrous Proposition 13 in the last legislative session.
    - lawnchair_larry 5y ago
      Has nothing to do with rent seeking. Density ruins neighborhoods.
      - tomnipotent 5y ago
        > Density ruins neighborhoods Can you give examples?
        dragonwriter 5y ago
        Well, for one, while there are some conflicting results, there is lots of research pointing to high-density housing leading to elevated rates of violent crime. e.g., https://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/normal/13030.html https://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/normal/13030.html

ghaff 5y ago

Hopefully snow is an obstacle for a lot of people into moving into a number of regions. (Although some cities in the snowbelt are already fairly popular/pricey.)

vineyardmike 5y ago
Where is the snow belt? Is that just the entire north half of the country?

KirillPanov 5y ago

> Cities that become cool become migration magnets > tacoma This is a joke, right? I mean, the phrase "aroma of Tacoma" is popular for a reason.

throwaway0a5e 5y ago

>Boulder Portland asheville nashville bend boise missoula Austin tacoma, others I'm sure. If you asked someone to build a list of cities where a massive inflow of outside money has screwed things up for everyone the list would look very similar. But nobody moving in notices the decline because the all things considered state at any given time is always better than the state of the place they're leaving (or they wouldn't be relocated).