Stevie Ray Vaughan Memorial (Credit: Knowsphotos via Flickr CC)
Step off the plane into Austin-Bergstrom Airport, and the wafting scent of Salt Lick BBQ is one of the first indicators this town is going to woo you. Try not to swoon over the unmistakable guitar riffs of Stevie Ray Vaughan ubiquitous in bars around town. And if your heart doesn’t do a back flip when gazing at the skyline from a grassy corner of Barton Springs, then you’re beyond help.
I had to leave Austin for it to sink in: living in this overgrown college town is something that ruins a person for living elsewhere. While it’s impossible to completely describe what makes this town so lovely to call home, here are some of the reasons I can never hang my hat anywhere else.
1/ You expect bakeries, video stores and coffee shops to be open late.
Halcyon serves coffee and drinks, and also has a humidor (Credit: David Ingram via Flickr CC)
Wanna grab a drink at the same bakery where you picked up your morning coffee? No problem! In Austin, no one blinks an eye when a bakery doubles as a bar, art space and live music venue.
2/ You don’t think twice when you’re invited to a free after party.
Not only is Austin the “Live Music Capital of the World,” but it’s a city packed with festivals. With those festivals come after parties. No ticket? No worries. If you can’t see the headliner on the main stage, with a little bit of detective work, the odds are in your favor that you can still witness a set or two later in the night.
3/ You expect an entire bar of salsas when you go out for tacos.
Try different salsas and guacamoles from various regions at La Condesa (Credit: La Condesa)
From smoky avocado to roasted tomatillo and hatch green chili, Austinites are trained to sniff out the red and green rainbow of salsas in every Tex-Mex restaurant in town. Forget the wine menu, in Austin salsa spreads are de rigeur. If they don’t serve up an array at your table, a generous spread in the center of the restaurant of awaits you to dress up your dinner.
4/ It’s assumed that grown adults can still join a kickball league.
A close play during an Austin Sports & Social Club kickball game (Credit: ASSC)
We’re an unabashedly active city, where there’s nothing we love more than hanging out, drinking cheap Lone Stars and kicking a ball around together. Whether it’s soccer, kickball, geocaching, softball, rowing or ultimate frisbee–if it’s a sport that can be played, then there’s a Meetup group for it!
5/ You don’t have to search hard to find an amazing backdrop for your next Instagram selfie.
Explore our favorite selfie spots in Austin (Credit: Mathis Kennington)
One-of-a-kind murals and street art bedeck practically every corner, with new work popping up constantly. The HOPE Outdoor Gallery alone is a constant source of visual inspiration.
6/ You never pack your t-shirts and flip flops away. Ever.
Whether it’s Austin’s casual dress code or the fact that we’re always two weeks away from what the rest of the country considers “spring” weather, you can wear the same clothes 52 weeks out of the year. Seasons are only a thing in Austin if you’re talking about allergies.
7/ You can get groceries at Austin’s Disneyland for healthy adults: the Whole Foods flagship.
The Whole Foods flagship store in Austin (Credit: Brittany Highland)
Walk in beer fridge? Got it. Tucked away seafood restaurant? Yes, right over there. The flagship Whole Foods on North Lamar Boulevard is an over-the-top embarrassment of riches. I give thanks for this gift to the city every single time I choose a bottle of kombucha from over eight local brands on display.
8/ You can rent actual movies from physical stores here.
I Luv Video (Credit: Robert Luke)
Independent video stores are still a thing in Austin. Vulcan Video and I Luv Video both do an amazing job of keeping the dream alive, doling out hard-to-find films and blockbusters seven days a week.
9/ You expect to chat it up with hipsters and good ole’ boys alike.
Driving through the southwest on my road trip back to Austin, I knew I had hit Central Texas when a sweet couple made small talk with me while I pumped my gas. We’re friendly here and it’s contagious.
10/ When you go out to dinner, you expect decent live music while you enjoy your margarita. And bottomless chips and salsa, please.
Unwind on the outdoor patio at Manuel’s Great Hills (Credit: David Ingram via Flickr CC)
This is not normal, y’all. Austin’s patio game is hard to beat. There are few pleasures that top listening to gritty honky tonk outside Guero’s while drinking cheap, top-quality margaritas and munching on chips and salsa.
11/ You expect a yoga class every day of the week.
Credit: Practice Yoga Austin
In an art museum, with your newborn, high-powered and aerobic-focused, intention-setting and contemplative, donation-based to super elite. Try every yoga style under the sun in Austin.
12/ Your dog is your co-pilot and you can take him just about anywhere.
We love our pets here! Between the array of dog parks and accommodating restaurants where patios are filled with diners and their pooches, it’s low stress to bring your dog along for a fun day around Austin.
13/ You can enjoy a breakfast taco all day, every day.
Migas breakfast taco bliss at Veracruz All Natural (Credit: Edwin Ochoa)
At a food truck, in a bar, dressed up on a paper menu. However you want it, we’ve got one with your name on it. If you want breakfast tacos with savory deliciousness tucked inside, Austin serves them up like no where else.
@kristinmleigh wants to know:
How was Austin ruined you for living anywhere else?
Very well stated!
God I hate hipsters who ruined a good thing. I hate you. Austin ruined itself…to find ‘AUSTIN’ again, you’d have to start over somewhere that only a loser would love.
You need to re-read #9.
Howdy, Please go away and never come back. Thanks.
It’s awfully crowded here. I bet you’d like living somewhere else really well. I hear California is nice. You can go complain about Texas there, I hear they all do that.
born and raised here. the city isnt ruined, just avoid rush hour and try harder to find hidden gems. the bars along south lamar arent packed.
Born and raised in Austin. Lived here 55 years. Austin’s not ruined, it’s just different. It has evolved. It has to. We all do. Michele Murphy sounds like that old joke: you know how many old Austinites it takes to change a lightbulb? Four. One to change it and three to stand around and talk about how great it used to be in the 60s. Having said that, there is a lot more traffic. So, Michele, if you want to move somewhere else, please do so. The rest of us would appreciate it.
We are in NE Ohio. Two things we can’t find: Real Texas style brisket and excellent mexican food. We measure the quality of mexican food by the salsa. Nothing comes up to the standard that we got used to in Austin.
I’m Ruined too.
* No expectation of Uber.
* No expectation government will ever build new roads.
* Prompt food service due to THC concentrates being a felony.
* No annoying, noisy train service except to Leander penal colony.
* High taxes keep out smelly working people, but provide for charming urban campers and vibrant POCs.
Never change Austin!
What about San Antonio or Dallas? I’m sure they’d love to have you.
same regurgitated austin listicle of “dogs and breakfast tacos” as last week and the week before and the week before and
Try New York. Junie thinks it’s great!
Don’t really miss your list but miss my old school Austin friends … I now have NYC … It is a pretty cool city that has seasons, the weather for outdoor patios and rooftop bars and I get to wear all my cool coats! Dogs are everywhere and I think great food was born here! Get over yourself, Austin.