4 ms·

Austin is a great place to live.

deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
ebiester 15y ago
Question: how far outside the Austin cocoon can a gay man go without being lynched? (I mean this metaphorically, of course.) Austin has a great reputation, but it's still in Texas.
- hkarthik 15y ago
  In general, you can find more opened minded folks in the urban areas of Texas. You start to see more of the crazies as you go farther into the suburbs. I've had many gay coworkers and they usually stayed close to the city (I live in the DFW area).
- gatlin 15y ago
  I was raised 30 miles southwest of Austin in a rather conservative small town. I have family, friends, and experience in Houston, Dallas, El Paso, San Antonio, Lubbock, Amarillo, etc. Most of the major cities that aren't in the border region. There are homophobic troglodytes everywhere. However, it is verboten to be openly rude about that sort of thing in all but the most repressive and tiny communities. Those are the ones that creep out straight white males like myself, let alone minorities of any kind, so barring a flat tire I don't think you'll end up there by choice anyway. Actually, being atheist is something I tend to keep to myself, too. And actually, a lot of rural areas (which is, geographically, most of the state) have hippies in disguise all over the place. The small town of Kerrville is home to a huge hippie music festival every year; Fredericksburg is near the infamous Luckenbach, where Willie Nelson still shows up occasionally; and places like Wimberley are hidden in the sticks but have wiccans and sell quasi-spiritual swag and incense in the local shops.
- juddlyon 15y ago
  I moved to Austin from SF and was told by a friend prior to moving that "Austin is California surrounded by Alabama." You can definitely sense a cultural contrast outside of Austin.
  - ebiester 15y ago
    I come from Tucson, Arizona actually :) it's the same type of cocoon there, though Tucson is starting to get more conservative as people like me move out (this month even!) and more conservative people move in. Seeing people smoke pot openly in the streets still messes with me.
- h3h 15y ago
  The entire urban core of Austin, Round Rock and Cedar Park are tolerant and generally cosmopolitan, save for the East Side (east of I-35), which has a larger Hispanic demographic and tends toward religiosity and traditional social roles. West of Austin for 20-30 miles, though, are wealthy (and mostly liberal) suburbs that aren't going to give any trouble. That's a long way of saying that, based on my second-hand experience, gay men don't run into trouble in and around Austin or its immediate suburbs.
- natrius 15y ago
  Houston has an openly lesbian mayor. Even Republicans here are making fun of Rick Perry's recent campaign ad (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PAJNntoRgA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PAJNntoRgA). Urban areas in Texas are far from the stereotypes you've heard of. Come visit.
- adestefan 15y ago
  You could ask the same question about SF. Northern California isn't the bastion of hippies and free love that most people make it out to be.
chrisguitarguy 15y ago
I live in Fort Worth. Been to Austin once and it was awesome. I'd live there.

deleted 15y ago

[deleted]

Question: how far outside the Austin cocoon can a gay man go without being lynched? (I mean this metaphorically, of course.) Austin has a great reputation, but it's still in Texas.

hkarthik 15y ago
In general, you can find more opened minded folks in the urban areas of Texas. You start to see more of the crazies as you go farther into the suburbs. I've had many gay coworkers and they usually stayed close to the city (I live in the DFW area).
gatlin 15y ago
I was raised 30 miles southwest of Austin in a rather conservative small town. I have family, friends, and experience in Houston, Dallas, El Paso, San Antonio, Lubbock, Amarillo, etc. Most of the major cities that aren't in the border region. There are homophobic troglodytes everywhere. However, it is verboten to be openly rude about that sort of thing in all but the most repressive and tiny communities. Those are the ones that creep out straight white males like myself, let alone minorities of any kind, so barring a flat tire I don't think you'll end up there by choice anyway. Actually, being atheist is something I tend to keep to myself, too. And actually, a lot of rural areas (which is, geographically, most of the state) have hippies in disguise all over the place. The small town of Kerrville is home to a huge hippie music festival every year; Fredericksburg is near the infamous Luckenbach, where Willie Nelson still shows up occasionally; and places like Wimberley are hidden in the sticks but have wiccans and sell quasi-spiritual swag and incense in the local shops.
juddlyon 15y ago
I moved to Austin from SF and was told by a friend prior to moving that "Austin is California surrounded by Alabama." You can definitely sense a cultural contrast outside of Austin.
- ebiester 15y ago
  I come from Tucson, Arizona actually :) it's the same type of cocoon there, though Tucson is starting to get more conservative as people like me move out (this month even!) and more conservative people move in. Seeing people smoke pot openly in the streets still messes with me.
h3h 15y ago
The entire urban core of Austin, Round Rock and Cedar Park are tolerant and generally cosmopolitan, save for the East Side (east of I-35), which has a larger Hispanic demographic and tends toward religiosity and traditional social roles. West of Austin for 20-30 miles, though, are wealthy (and mostly liberal) suburbs that aren't going to give any trouble. That's a long way of saying that, based on my second-hand experience, gay men don't run into trouble in and around Austin or its immediate suburbs.
natrius 15y ago
Houston has an openly lesbian mayor. Even Republicans here are making fun of Rick Perry's recent campaign ad (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PAJNntoRgA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PAJNntoRgA). Urban areas in Texas are far from the stereotypes you've heard of. Come visit.
adestefan 15y ago
You could ask the same question about SF. Northern California isn't the bastion of hippies and free love that most people make it out to be.

chrisguitarguy 15y ago

I live in Fort Worth. Been to Austin once and it was awesome. I'd live there.