Just how weird is Austin

An article in the Wall Street Journal called The Next Youth-Magnet Cities
top 10 creative Cities with Austin at #5 and Dallas at # 9. I am going to Austin to discover how Weird Austin really is. Well I am going to ACL to find out. I will update this post with my findings.

Well as you may have guessed Austin lived up to its name and I did my best to leave Austin as weird as or weirder than I found it. My recent trip to Austin Texas for the Austin City Limits music festival was a blur of great music, great food, and great people. Although I have visited Austin a number of times before, I was much more aware of the different aspects of the city that have lead to its appeal to young professionals and creative types. The first thing that stood out to me, was the abundance of parks and open natural areas in the city, ACL is in fact put on by the Austin Parks service, and all profits go towards the creation and maintenance of parks. On my arrival to the concert grounds, I was in awe of the number of bikes on the bike racks, Austin and it citizens have worked hard to increase bike use. As far as Texas goes Austin is extremely forward thinking environmentally speaking, and generally speaking I think this is an important factor, attracting young professionals and creatives. The concert is carbon neutral with energy from Green Mountain. Austin is also very supportive of small businesses; this was made even clearer by the food stands all of which were local favorites. Furthermore, the crowd at the concert and on the busses was pretty diverse. I have never seen so many tattoos and piercings, a great deal of this diversity is a direct result of the UT, which helps to bring students and professionals from around the country to Austin.

Cities must have large events especially annual events or something that brings people into the city. People must truly experience a city before they decide to move or realize they are missing out. ACL by holding the concert relatively close to the city and using it to support various global and local causes is showcasing all that Austin has to offer any weirdo who visits.