Austin has been through this before. If you've been around for a while, you know about the building frame that used to sit downtown for years that was supposed

Austin has been through this before. If you've been around for a while, you know about the building frame that used to sit downtown for years that was supposed to be occupied by Dell. I think you're right, though, that there's been a tipping point. Austin used to be the "Slacker" city, where you could afford to live there while waiting tables and playing in your middling indie band. But the last few times I've been there since moving away, that roughness seems to have disappeared, with a certain branded sameness everywhere. The Alamo Drafthouse is great for the city when it's unique, but when every business is trying to artificially mimic that kind of ironic detachment, it gets boring.