Austin Named 'Best City for Next Decade' [News Bits]

As for 2001; how hard of a time was it? I don't recall any major financial catastrophe. Oh wait, you're just talking about the reality of big tech corporations having to make adjustments to their workforces.

How quickly we forget. 21,000 people in Austin lost their jobs to RIFs in 2001. It had a real impact on property values -- it seemed like every other house in Hyde Park had a for sale sign in the yard after people realized they'd recently paid $300k for a 900 sq ft house! It had a real impact on the state and city budgets. It was clear to me that something was going on when I was immediately seated at restaurants that were usally packed.

Maybe you think that it was a media fabrication because you weren't impacted? Good for you, but it did impact a lot of people.

Like I said, you're talking about large corporations having to make adjustments to their workforces to be competitive. It's reality, it happens, it's happening today, it will happen tomorrow; however the news is not out in front of Dell or Samsung covering the story are they? And look how far we've come in less than a decade, lowest unemployment in the country, we created 100,000 new jobs last month alone in TX, property values are up, home sales and purchases are up and there are waits at eateries again. All of that in a decade. I wonder what the city will accomplish in the next 10 years.

I'm quite happy here (as are a lot of people) and I believe there is more opportunity in Austin than anywhere else in the country. If it's going to be so bad, are you already making plans to leave? We hope so, because negativity retards creativity.

If it's going to be so bad, are you already making plans to leave?

Dear lord, where did you get the idea that I think "it's going to be bad?" I simply referenced Austin in the late 1990s versus 2001 to demonstrate that fortunes can turn on a dime.

I also think that 'top ten' lists are beyond stupid irrespective of the category and regardless of whether I agree with the results or not. They're just dumb.

All that doesn't change the fact that in 2001, it really was hard for over 21,000 people in Austin.

From my own experiences, there were pretty limited software engineering opportunities with plenty of really talented unemployed engineers in Austin from mid 2001 through 2004.

I haven't met one person who has visited or moved here that doesn't like it. Seems that the only ones who don't like it are those who don't like change or prosperity. As for 2001; how hard of a time was it? I don't recall any major financial catastrophe. Oh wait, you're just talking about the reality of big tech corporations having to make adjustments to their workforces. The media played that up well, created a whole year of panic news for them.

i want to be there...

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Sorry, C.W. Reading isn't Wes's strong point.

Are you my internet enemy now?

Everybody is a critic. Wes and Nausea95 might have started by reading the article. It focused on economic opportunity and I doubt many who live here will deny that Austin is on an upward trajectory as the rest of the nation remains in a nose dive or stagnant. Everything I read in the article mirrored what this city's residents see and feel around them - Austin is economically vibrant and presents tremendous opportunity for people who are willing to take entrepreneurial risks. I definitely think Austin is at least near the top of our nation in this aspect.

I'll say it again, many here are hyper critical and quick to deem all things "lame". It's one attitude of Austin culture that I can do without.

Wait, was I just being a critic? Damn. See, it's effing contagious.

C.W., you must be one of the few people in the country still enamored of rankings in publications. They're a cheap way to sell magazines and nothing more. When US News started the whole mess with college rankings ~25 years ago it was somewhat interesting but now it's just tireseome.

1. Yes, I read the article. I even read the extended part about Austin's economy. The bits about Austin's entrepreneurship and business climate are all true -- but they were also true before 2001. The point is that fortunes can change on a dime.

2. Top 10 lists are lame. Including Austin in your top 10 list is incredibly lame. Everyone knows Austin is a great city with a great business climate. Including Austin isn't interesting or creative.

3. nausea95 speaks my mind.

I did read the article. Did you assume I didn't just because you have a different opinion? I stand by my opinion that the criteria they use is completely arbitrary like 9 out of 10 of these city rankings. One of the justifications was the "fun factor." I don't deny that any residents (including myself) feel this way about the city, but I think these lists are lame journalism on the same level as a sex-tip pieces in Cosmo.

And I happen to think this is one of the worst, so I made a quick comment to express my annoyance.

Yeah, best city for the next decade is incredibly lame. The blurb about Austin could have been written in 1998 or 1999 and those of us who've been around long know how rough things were for Austin in 2001.

Give me a fucking break. The best city of the next decade?! How vague and meaningless can these arbitrary city rankings get?

The "big internet crunch" has the potential to be a fantastic upgrade. IPv6 will let us have static ip addresses on everything. We could have new ways of doing things, like having your home media server push out new music to your ipod without you having to touch a thing.

The apocalypse isn't for end users. It's for the AT&Ts and Time Warners of the world when they have to upgrade all their end users hardware.