Austin is weird…

And for that, I hate Austin, Texas.

Hear me out before you think I’m jumping to conclusions.

The People

Whether you like a place really comes down to its people.

Unfortunately, almost everyone in Austin is two-faced.

What is that side that you don’t know about? It’s having a huge chip on their shoulder about life. Why they are mad about isn’t clear, but what is clear is the fact that that hatred has built up over a lifetime and isn’t going away anytime soon.

But if you’re a tourist, a college student, or if you have money, there’s a good chance you won’t see too much of it as they try to suppress that side of them (especially in customer service).

However, if you have nothing for them to take (money), their ugly side will come out and they will treat you badly.

You can understand this problem better with something I call…

The Divide

I’ve seen this problem in other cities as well. I call it the divide.

What I mean by that is the rich and the poor. It seems like the stronger the divide is, the stronger the hatred there is in the city.

And here in Austin, there is no middle class.

The rich are rich but still aren’t happy (if anything they tend to be rich because their hatred for life caused them to pursue money with the anger and tenacity that normal people don’t, thinking it’ll cure them, but it still hasn’t made them happy).

And these people tend to treat people poorly (even the help).

Then you have the dysfunctional poor who hate the rich and themselves because they think money will solve all their problems and they don’t have any. (But if that’s true, then why are some of the happiest people I know some of the poorest. These people are just messed up in the head.)

They hate the rich, but they still want their money so they put up with their crap which makes them hate the rich even more.

And if you’re not one of the angry rich, both the bitter poor and the angry rich will take their frustrations out on you.

Ultimately, the hatred and unhappiest comes from everyone thinking the world will solve (or caused) their problems. They’ll never see that it is their thoughts and actions that create their own suffering. These people will never take 100% responsibility for their own actions and their life.

I mean can’t we just love people for who they are, not for how much money is in their wallet? How can people think it’s okay to go around hurting others just because you’re in a bad mood? I mean, that’s how a child thinks.

But since they think that the world (money) will solve their problems, they put themselves in places and chase people who they think have it.

And they chase off people who they think don’t…

(By the way, Austin does not hate transplants. They hate people without money, which just happens to be most transplants as they are often weirdos wanting to brace Austin’s weirdness.)

Weirder Than You Think

So the “The Divide” is clearly dysfunctional, and I guess you can also call it weird, but Austin takes it to a new level compared to other dysfunctional cities (I would name names, but pissing off one city is enough for me).

Austin takes it to a new level by having just, in general, weird people. I’ve never seen so many girls with colored hair (red, green, blue, pink, silver, etc.).

Sure, they look cool (think of your favorite anime), but everyone knows to stay FAR away from girls like that.

It’s like tattoos and piercing, it’s antisocial. But unlike tattoos and piercing, there is no hiding that when you have dyed hair. There is no hiding their antisocial personality.

And I think every antisocial person hates society at some level, as that is pretty much the definition. So there is a good chance that they hate you.

But if it isn’t them, it’s the hipsters. We’ve got a huge hipster scene here. (We can all agree on hating hipsters, right? Or I guess they’re yuppies, here? I don’t know.)

And that’s the problem with Austin, the angry rich and bitter poor who think money is the cause of all of their problems will hate you and the weird antisocial people who probably have no idea what they really stand for or what they are against will also hate you because you aren’t one of them.

But the real problem is misery loves company…

(Back to the transplants. The hipsters hate the transplants who try to bring a modern feel to the city, whether that be a west coast or Dallas feel. Basically, Austin expects you to bring your money and feed their weirdness.)

Taking Their Frustrations Out On You

I don’t know if it’s the Texas heat or what, but, man, these people are looking for the slightest reason to take their frustrations out on you.

If they can’t find one, then they’ll try to create one. For example, they’ll ask you a simple question and if you say “I don’t know”, or if you know the answer and give it but say or act like you aren’t 100% sure about it, they’ll try to punish you for not knowing.

(Even when you are right and they are wrong, they’ll act like they’re right and you’re in the wrong. The stupidity hurts your brain so much it makes you physically sick. Donald Trump anyone?)

They tend to target out of towners (unless you are a college student, business person, or rich). It’s pretty messed up.

I guess it’s just a sign of lower intelligence. Instead of handling their problems other ways, they seem to try to handle their problems using aggression, often subtle aggression.

I say lower intelligence because if everyone is trying to dominate others or if they’re always trying to take their frustrations out on others, then everyone has to have their guard up. No one can ever relax and live in peace. Everyone is beneath someone so everyone gets dominated eventually. It’s a horrible way to live. A smart person would find another way.

And they’ll use the aggressive tactics with you if they feel threatened by you (regardless if you are in the right or wrong). They’ll get in your personal space and be hostile to you in other subtle ways.

It just reminds me of how a little kid would act who was taught bad behavior by their parents.

And I guess that’s how I would describe many people in Austin: Childish.

(Still don’t believe me? Ask someone working in customer service. I’ve worked in customer service before in different cities and they’re right, that’s where people’s true colors come out and you get a good feel for the people in a town.)

Here are some other things I’ve noticed about Austin…

They Hate the Homeless

Yeah, you read that right.

“No, Austin loves the homeless.”

Well, unlike other cities, who bus their homeless to other cities, Austin’s government has decided to not do that (not sure if it’s policy or a law, but that’s how it is). So you’ll see a ton of homeless people begging on the highways.

But everyone is just wallpapering over some rotten drywall here.

Instead of actually helping the homeless the citizens expect the government or non-profits to take care of it. And they all pretty much end up in a homeless shelter on 7th street. Honestly, I’ve seen so many homeless fights there, but the cops usually do nothing about it. Even if they do, the judge will often put them back on the street without jail time anyway.

It’s a broken system that no one really cares about.

They also live under the highway bridges and they destroy the businesses around it. You’ll often find things like human excrement behind the dumpsters. It’s bad.

They just want to look like they care about the homeless so they can be seen as liberal and progressive.

Maybe a few people in Austin do care about the homeless, but they are going about it the wrong way.

Bottom line they hate people without money and that include the homeless. They only use them to further their image.

Traffic

I’m sorry, but traffic isn’t really that bad. Just wanted to point that out.

University of Texas

So I was a student there a long time ago. I only went only for a year.

While the experience wasn’t too bad (I found the professors to be bizarre and lazy compared to other schools I’ve been to), there were a lot of red flags I didn’t recognize until I got older.

Like I said, students get a special exception from how Austin treats most people. I think they know the University is central to providing money to the city (they want their money and they need to protect the reputation of Austin being a great place for students to keep the money flowing).

However, the exception doesn’t apply to student-to-student relationships. And a decent amount of students are local.

It just goes back to the people in Austin having a chip on their shoulder. Just very bizarre and unnecessary hostile behavior. I just found it very consistent across the board.

I’ve been to other universities, and while, sure, you have your jerks, people had more of a live and let live attitude. But with UT, it was like people were trying to dominate others.

I also remember going to the frat parties in Austin while I was in high school. While we all know frat parties have an unhealthy obsession with sex and drugs (and I’ve been to plenty of party schools), Austin takes it to a new level.

Speaking of sex…

Unhealthy Emphasis on Sex

Austin is hypersexual.

It reminds me of Vegas.

Sure, nothing compares to the Strip, but when you look at a medium-sized city, you expect downtown to be almost empty on a Wednesday night if there isn’t an event going on.

But in Austin, during the summer (while there are no college kids there), 6th street is packed on a Wednesday night!!!

Is everyone trying to get laid on a Wednesday night?!?

And, not to mention, 6th street is pretty gross (Rainey street isn’t that much better).

It’s no surprise that Austin has the highest STD rate in the country.

Trust me, it isn’t just the college kids. I think people are trying to self-medicate their issues (anger, depression, or whatever) with sex.

This is proven with Austin having the most Ashley Madison accounts per capita.

And, no, the massive amount of accounts didn’t come from the University of Texas students.

Let’s talk about the strip clubs.

So, the number of strip clubs in Austin is pretty normal. But what isn’t is the mileage and how busy they are.

I’ve lived in several major cities and the strip clubs are pretty dead during the day (actually, it’s kind of enjoyable). Even when it’s busy during the day, it isn’t that busy.

But Austin’s strip clubs are very busy during the day. Very high r-select behavior here.

So in most places, you can’t touch, or if you can touch, it’s expensive and somewhat discrete (you do it in a private place in the club).

But in Austin, a lot of it is high-mileage, cheap, and the touching of everything is done in the middle of the club (everyone could care less). And it was with attractive girls, too.

I guess that’s a good thing if you like strip clubs, but it’s like these women no longer see value in their bodies or their self-worth. Don’t get me wrong, its strippers we’re talking about here, but it’s like Austin’s culture has warped them and brought everyone’s perception of self to as low as possible.

Even if you are an attractive woman, you are taught to devalue your body; that you only have worth if you let someone use your it.

And that’s exactly what a bunch of sex addicted individuals would want women to think.

Austin makes sex seem so cheap. And that makes people’s worth also seem cheap.

Like I said, it’s very r-select in Austin.

We also have a nudist beach (and it’s always packed). Of course, it’s a bunch of gay guys, but I just find it odd since Austin isn’t a coast city. Sure there are a few lakes in America with nudist beaches, but no other major cities with lakes, that I’m aware of, have nude beaches on them other than Austin, Texas.

All this just proves that Austin is hypersexual.

Even allowing toplessness at the Barton Springs pool, a pool owned by the city that kids go to, is just too much.

Spiritual Junkies

You have so many spiritual advisors here in Austin.

And you have these crystal and bead shops here, too. It’s weird.

It’s like people are trying to escape to their fantasy world instead of engaging in reality.

Just how people often escape to religion, a lot of people here escape to card readers to feel better about themselves.

Yeah, and there is a TON of yoga here. And I think that is just part of the spiritual junkie scene, that I’m going to stretch my way out of this depression instead of seeing a professional.

Social Hackers

Probably the most annoying of all is the social hackers.

They use and abuse people’s kindness to their advantage. They also try to use technicalities to mess with you. They use the letter of the law even when it’s against the intent of the law. But it’s not just the law but general human behavior.

Seriously, it makes me think of serial killer Ted Bundy. He would walk around on crutches trying to carry books to take advantage of the women who felt bad for him.

It seems like everyone is playing a game here.

It’s a Swamp

So there are these big rocks (or small boulders) that they use as landscaping around here.

But if you look at them, they are covered in pocket where mold and bacteria grows. It’s gross.

And I think that’s a real microcosm of Austin, Texas. From a distance, it looks like a normal rock, but once you get close you notice significant decay and rot from all the cavities it’s covered in.

Austin is a swamp. It’s humid. It’s sticky. It’s nasty.

That’s Austin for you.

Diamonds in the Rough

Yes, there are a lot of weird people here, but you do find nice people.

I have found a few nice girls here.

But, unfortunately, they tend to either be slutty and/or kind of easy. They don’t throw themselves at you, but they won’t hesitate to have sex with you.

No judgment, but that’s just not my cup of tea.

Again, I think the culture just corrupts them (or, more likely, the culture attracts these kinds of girls).

I could list a few redeeming factors here, but everything I could list would be something you can find in all the other major cities in America. So there really aren’t any redeeming factors here.

Keep Away from Austin

I keep trying to give Austin another shot, but the longer I stay here, the worse the experience gets. I feel like this girl.

I’ve tried to make friends, but it only seems like the slutty (but nice) girls described above are interested in me. Sorry, but that’s just not enough for me to want to stay here when you consider all the bad I just talked about.

Austin is weird, but not the good kind of weird.

There’s the “this is weird, but kind of fun” and then there is the “something ain’t right here” kind of weird. Austin is the latter.

It’s like the clown from the It movie (the original). At first, you’re like, he seems like a regular clown with a bit of an weird bald look to him. Then he opens his mouth and you’re like, “Oh my god! Run for your lives!”

I’m sorry, but Austin is weird. Stay away.