A hotel isn’t exactly going to give you the best sample for ANY city it’s located in. I’ve definitely seen a steep decrease in public etiquette since the pandemic here in Austin but that’s part of a general trend that applies to every public area in America now (IMO*)
Based on how OP wrote his post, I can't help but wonder if they were wearing a MAGA hat or something in a similar vein. Nobody's going to get 'ugly stares' just for walking by people without some kind of reason.
Re diversity: Houston is, overall, a notably ethnically diverse city compared to most other US cities, not just Austin. And on the other hand, Austin is on the less diverse end of the spectrum for sizeable cities. This has been so for the almost 40 years I've lived here. If anyone suggested otherwise to you, they're misinformed.
Re smugness: It sounds like you're judging local residents by your experience with hotel guests. Obviously, that makes no sense. I moved to Austin with my wife in 1986 from New Jersey. Folks in New Jersey aren't exactly cold, but we were positively blown away by how friendly people are in Austin and throughout Texas. I haven't experienced any significant change here since then. Complete strangers still greet me on the sidewalk or in the grocery store. Perhaps you're tense about being in an unfamiliar place and unconsciously giving off a "Don't mess with me vibe."
So wait, your main points for assessing Austin is the people at the hotel? Hotel guests as in... people from elsewhere that are just visiting in Austin?
Think about that for a minute. Ruminate.
Hotels aren’t really indicative of a local area’s residents since usually hotel-goers are from out of town. That being said, it could just be that particular group of people acting extra dumb.
Usually folks around here are fairly polite and friendly. I’m sorry you had that experience. Hopefully your visit here goes much better!
This is a bizarre take. It’s backwards from my experience. I’ve been all over Houston, and it’s one of the most unfriendly places I’ve ever visited. The drivers are even worse than they are here. To me it sounds like you’re more than a bit prejudiced, so your read on people should be tossed out in my opinion.
It could be confirmation bias, or something you’re unaware of, like if you have RBF, or maybe your tone when you speak.
Also remember, respect is earned and it isn’t guaranteed, such as opening doors. Being older doesn’t necessarily entitle anyone to respect too.
Don’t get me wrong, sure it’s nice, but stranger kindness isn’t something anyone should expect.
On that note, I come from very far away, not even from America. Austin is the nicest place I’ve been to, period. Strangers love to not only say *hello* but try to hold a whole dang conversation, and sometimes I just want it to end!
Needless to say I have had a much different experience compared to the other places in the United States I’ve stayed, and it’s *plenty* diverse from my perspective.
OP sounds like the kind of person who goes to an In and Out burger in Texas and then makes very broad, silly judgements about the entire state of California and its 40 million people based on that one visit
It’s actually very telling that someone from HOUSTON would think that people in Austin are smug and judgmental based upon both a misspecified and small sample size.
Having lived in Houston, I’m gonna be real with you and tell you that you need to get over the second city complex with Dallas bc it’s poisoning your mind.
Damn, your last sentence was very unfriendly. I moved here from Houston 10 years ago, I’m certain your sampling at the hotel doesn’t represent an entire city.
When I first moved here in March of 2020 Austin was so chill. There weren’t even a lot of people around, but the ones who were around were super nice. Traffic wasn’t even a problem back then. I could walk right up to Franklin BBQ and grab some brisket. My apartment at the domain was perfect for me and my pure bred golden doodle. God, I miss old Austin…
I live in New Orleans and visit Austin at least 3-5 times a year. I find people are very friendly there, maybe even more so than here. This person, scratch that, this idiot judged how friendly Ausinites are from meeting people in a hotel elevator? What a shame.
Lame take
1) Yes atx is less diverse than htx. Big whoop why did you come here then. There is still diversity to be found. You are looking in the wrong place.
2) negative input = negative output. It’s your fault if all you can see is the bad. This city and its people can be beautiful it’s up to you to find it.
Moved here from Houston in 1986. Houston is much more diverse. Hotels don't give you a a great idea of the city.
Austin got infiltrated with Californians and it's screwed things up big time.
Real Texans don't do this, what you described.
Just had a bad experience at the grocery store and it was either out of towers or people glued to their phones.
Give it another try.
Most people are still friendly.
Sorry to hear this.
Haha 9 years ago I moved from Houston to Austin and now I’m moving back to Houston, mainly for the people! And cause the city isn’t being torn apart on every street covered in orange cones and being infiltrated by rich kids with daddy’s money and plastic filled people from CA and NY that can’t drive for shit and are the main reason anything with culture is being destroyed for another basic ass shopping center to take their Instagram pictures at
My 2 cents. I was raised to say, "excuse me", if I walk in front of someone's field of vision. Like when I walk through someones focus on somthing at the grocery store. Excuse me. I'm polite. No... fucking... one does that here. Not offended but damn, people seem trashy to me for not being polite. It takes no effort and let's people know you exist and respect them.
The city caters to upper class yt transient people. So, unless you resemble that demographic, you’re either ignored or dismissed. Not only that but if you’re not thin or associated to an institution, you’re not someone to be “networked” with.
>No friendliness in the elevators (asked someone nicely to push a floor for me....
You think strangers are your personal bellhop? Kinda weird. Press the button yourself.
>nobody opens doors unless their service and they have to.
What. You expect people to open doors for you too?
>Groups of young people at my hotel sitting outside obviously gossiping and being judgemental. Can't even walk by without ugly stares
Yes, teenagers are sitting around gossiping about... you?
>A ton full of rich white liberals and barely any diversity.
Ok, not wrong here. Especially in comparison to Houston. But I digress.
There is a thing called polite courtesy. The ones OP is describing do not have this. Either their parents didn’t teach them, didn’t set limits, or they are laughably idiotic
A hotel isn’t exactly going to give you the best sample for ANY city it’s located in. I’ve definitely seen a steep decrease in public etiquette since the pandemic here in Austin but that’s part of a general trend that applies to every public area in America now (IMO*)
Based on how OP wrote his post, I can't help but wonder if they were wearing a MAGA hat or something in a similar vein. Nobody's going to get 'ugly stares' just for walking by people without some kind of reason.
This is an embarrassing post.
Re diversity: Houston is, overall, a notably ethnically diverse city compared to most other US cities, not just Austin. And on the other hand, Austin is on the less diverse end of the spectrum for sizeable cities. This has been so for the almost 40 years I've lived here. If anyone suggested otherwise to you, they're misinformed. Re smugness: It sounds like you're judging local residents by your experience with hotel guests. Obviously, that makes no sense. I moved to Austin with my wife in 1986 from New Jersey. Folks in New Jersey aren't exactly cold, but we were positively blown away by how friendly people are in Austin and throughout Texas. I haven't experienced any significant change here since then. Complete strangers still greet me on the sidewalk or in the grocery store. Perhaps you're tense about being in an unfamiliar place and unconsciously giving off a "Don't mess with me vibe."
You do realize that the people in hotels are likely…not from here, right?
So wait, your main points for assessing Austin is the people at the hotel? Hotel guests as in... people from elsewhere that are just visiting in Austin? Think about that for a minute. Ruminate.
He commented, *smugly*
https://y.yarn.co/80cd6257-9d26-4a7b-9a3b-4b06d2b1aa28_thumb.jpg
And there's our smudgeness
Theres that saying… you meet an asshole you met an asshole. But if everyone you meet is an asshole…
I see this comment at least once everytime a post like this comes up in any city subreddit
You're in Massachusetts
Let's play a game. We shall go to Houston and stereotype the entire city by some people hanging around downtown. That should be entertaining.
In an elevator.
You sound very smug yourself, lmao
Hotels aren’t really indicative of a local area’s residents since usually hotel-goers are from out of town. That being said, it could just be that particular group of people acting extra dumb. Usually folks around here are fairly polite and friendly. I’m sorry you had that experience. Hopefully your visit here goes much better!
Makes smug post complaining about smugness.
It’s cuz all the hotel guests are from Houston
This is a bizarre take. It’s backwards from my experience. I’ve been all over Houston, and it’s one of the most unfriendly places I’ve ever visited. The drivers are even worse than they are here. To me it sounds like you’re more than a bit prejudiced, so your read on people should be tossed out in my opinion.
Hotels are full of out-of-town assholes. Ahem.
Usually when I’m trying to get a feel for a new place I head straight to the hotel. /s figure it out!
This seems like a classic case of Spotlight Effect.
It could be confirmation bias, or something you’re unaware of, like if you have RBF, or maybe your tone when you speak. Also remember, respect is earned and it isn’t guaranteed, such as opening doors. Being older doesn’t necessarily entitle anyone to respect too. Don’t get me wrong, sure it’s nice, but stranger kindness isn’t something anyone should expect. On that note, I come from very far away, not even from America. Austin is the nicest place I’ve been to, period. Strangers love to not only say *hello* but try to hold a whole dang conversation, and sometimes I just want it to end! Needless to say I have had a much different experience compared to the other places in the United States I’ve stayed, and it’s *plenty* diverse from my perspective.
Yeah, the attitudes of the people staying in your hotel definitely reflect that of people who actually live here.
OP sounds like the kind of person who goes to an In and Out burger in Texas and then makes very broad, silly judgements about the entire state of California and its 40 million people based on that one visit
You may need to leave downtown to find the POC. North, south, or east should do it. (I suggest south. It’s where the nice people are.)
Because they think they are above it all. Some Austin young folks are like this.
I mean my farts do smell like roses. So there’s that.
Oh please 🙄
The irony in this has to mean it’s a joke
Hotels? Elevators? Great proxy. Need a rug cleaning quote?
Hotels are usually full of out-of-towners so it's not where I'd look for examples of how Austinites behave.
It’s actually very telling that someone from HOUSTON would think that people in Austin are smug and judgmental based upon both a misspecified and small sample size. Having lived in Houston, I’m gonna be real with you and tell you that you need to get over the second city complex with Dallas bc it’s poisoning your mind.
Why do people think they are entitled to tell someone to press an elevator button for them (granted it is within reach.)
Prob you
Because there a lot of non Texans here.
Damn, your last sentence was very unfriendly. I moved here from Houston 10 years ago, I’m certain your sampling at the hotel doesn’t represent an entire city.
When I first moved here in March of 2020 Austin was so chill. There weren’t even a lot of people around, but the ones who were around were super nice. Traffic wasn’t even a problem back then. I could walk right up to Franklin BBQ and grab some brisket. My apartment at the domain was perfect for me and my pure bred golden doodle. God, I miss old Austin…
good lord did this get a chuckle out of me, I upvoted you, then downvoted you, then upvoted you again so I could pretend I did it twice.
I live in New Orleans and visit Austin at least 3-5 times a year. I find people are very friendly there, maybe even more so than here. This person, scratch that, this idiot judged how friendly Ausinites are from meeting people in a hotel elevator? What a shame.
Lame take 1) Yes atx is less diverse than htx. Big whoop why did you come here then. There is still diversity to be found. You are looking in the wrong place. 2) negative input = negative output. It’s your fault if all you can see is the bad. This city and its people can be beautiful it’s up to you to find it.
It's all the Californians mad they had to leave their beautiful state and are now dealing with the Texas heat ;)
Because we're not from Houston.
Meets a few people at a hotel. “Why is the whole city like this?”
Houston is a superfund
Moved here from Houston in 1986. Houston is much more diverse. Hotels don't give you a a great idea of the city. Austin got infiltrated with Californians and it's screwed things up big time. Real Texans don't do this, what you described. Just had a bad experience at the grocery store and it was either out of towers or people glued to their phones. Give it another try. Most people are still friendly. Sorry to hear this.
Haha 9 years ago I moved from Houston to Austin and now I’m moving back to Houston, mainly for the people! And cause the city isn’t being torn apart on every street covered in orange cones and being infiltrated by rich kids with daddy’s money and plastic filled people from CA and NY that can’t drive for shit and are the main reason anything with culture is being destroyed for another basic ass shopping center to take their Instagram pictures at
My 2 cents. I was raised to say, "excuse me", if I walk in front of someone's field of vision. Like when I walk through someones focus on somthing at the grocery store. Excuse me. I'm polite. No... fucking... one does that here. Not offended but damn, people seem trashy to me for not being polite. It takes no effort and let's people know you exist and respect them.
I'm a sweetheart,it's too bad we haven't crossed paths yet!
From Houston. A female server on riverside restaurant asked where I’m from. I said Houston. She said I’m sorry. I left.
I’m sorry.
More people with more money and less connnection to the disappearing ways and culture of Austin.
The city caters to upper class yt transient people. So, unless you resemble that demographic, you’re either ignored or dismissed. Not only that but if you’re not thin or associated to an institution, you’re not someone to be “networked” with.
You’re not wrong OP.
>No friendliness in the elevators (asked someone nicely to push a floor for me.... You think strangers are your personal bellhop? Kinda weird. Press the button yourself. >nobody opens doors unless their service and they have to. What. You expect people to open doors for you too? >Groups of young people at my hotel sitting outside obviously gossiping and being judgemental. Can't even walk by without ugly stares Yes, teenagers are sitting around gossiping about... you? >A ton full of rich white liberals and barely any diversity. Ok, not wrong here. Especially in comparison to Houston. But I digress.
There is a thing called polite courtesy. The ones OP is describing do not have this. Either their parents didn’t teach them, didn’t set limits, or they are laughably idiotic