Houston among least hipster cities but perhaps not for long

Houston may have been voted one of the least hipster cities in the nation but there are signs of Hipsterdom all over the city. Houston may have been voted one of the least hipster cities in the nation but there are signs of Hipsterdom all over the city. Photo: Mobu26, Flickr Photo: Mobu26, Flickr Image 1 of / 80 Caption Close Houston among least hipster cities but perhaps not for long 1 / 80 Back to Gallery

Houston has been named one of the top 10 least-hipster cities in the nation, but with new evidence of hipsterdom springing up all over town, that may be changing.

Hipsters are defined by Urban Dictionary as a subculture of men and women typically in their 20s and 30s that value independent thinking, counter-culture, progressive politics, an appreciation of art and indie-rock, creativity, intelligence, and witty banter. They often can be found grazing day and night in the Montrose area.

Red-blooded, steak-eating Texans will be pleased to hear that the Lone Star state made five appearances on the least-hipster list, compiled by the real estate bloggers at Movoto.com

Dallas ranked No. 10, followed by San Antonio at No. 8, Houston at No. 5, Fort Worth at No. 3 and El Paso named the least hipster city in the country.

The survey uses six criteria: Number of young people, walkability, bikeability, vintage stores, dive bars, vegetarian restaurants, artsy jobs, and vinyl stores.

Guess which city was the most hipster? Take a few minutes to contemplate ...

In the meantime, if you think you're safe in your truck, far away from plaid-shirt-wearing bicycle riders, don't get complacent. There is much evidence to suggest that Houston hipsterdom is on the rise.

1. Public transport is expanding with bicycle racks appearing on many street corners around town.

2. Thrift stores are reporting their busiest holiday season ever, "We were super, super, super busy," said Alexandra Wilpers from behind the counter at Buffalo Exchange on Westheimer, the epicenter of Houston's hipster scene. "Plaid shirts still hold, skinny jeans not so much but everyone has at least one plaid flannel shirt."

Everyone.

3. The local food movement is expanding. You can't shake a stick without hitting a farm-to-table menu in newly opening restaurants (many of which heavily staffed by bearded people). It's a slippery slope from there to vegetarianism ... think about it.

4. The city is seeing a rise in craft/fancy-schmancy cocktails and bars who raise their eyebrows if you so much as consider ordering something as dull as say, a cosmopolitan, or even any cocktail involving vodka, which is only one of the most popular spirits in the nation. Which, to us, smacks wildly of hipster snootiness.

Houston probably isn't about to get sucked into a hipster vortex, but maybe we are all in hipster denial just a little.

And so, back to our quiz. The most hipster city in the US is ...

Portland, Ore.

So if you're a hipster-hater, be glad that it's far away.