JG etc.

When I have told people that I am from San Francisco this week during SXSW in Austin, a lot of locals have said to me, “doesn’t Austin remind you of San Francisco?” Well, not really. Don’t get me wrong, Austin is great, but it is definitely different than San Francisco.

Here are some differences between the two cities and why San Francisco remains the spot for creative types. (BTW, three days in Austin makes me makes me an expert on their local demographics.)

-Too many bars and not enough cafes… Maybe that is what happened to Dell, they all kicked coffee and picked up booze. But seriously, it is hard to be productive when you can’t find coffee at noon but there are bars open all over.

-Austin is as white as milk. There is just not enough cultural diversity.

-With no diversity in culture the food suffers. I mean you can get really good BBQ, but if you eat in Austin everyday, you will not live past 65.

-The guilty pleasure of choice in Austin is alcohol. I have not smelled marijuana once this weekend. Most creative people don’t want to go to a bar and slug beers and bump chests all night. There are other ways to relax.

-Austin seems to be trying a little too hard. I see a lot of people walking around with “Keep Austin
Weird” T-Shirts. Almost like being weird is hip. In San Francisco if you want to see weird just go to the Folsom St. Fair, they ain’t faking it there.

-Austin is in Texas, however you slice it you have to deal with the fact that almost everything in your state is named Bush something.

Great parts of Austin

*The people are friendly
*They have great wifi
*Cheap
*Space
*Bicycles. I have seen some great beach cruisers and road bikes, it is nice to get some iterations outside of the typical SF Hipster.
*Good looking people.
*Weather has been great
*Good music scene, you can sort of just dance down the street.
*Homeless people appear healthy(er). I gave a homeless guy a dollar yesterday and then I noticed he was in better shape than me. In San Francisco, you give people money because they don’t look like they are going to survive the night. That is not funny, but true, eh?

Good times.