Archive for December, 2009

Merry Christmas!

Enjoying a lazy Christmas provides a bit of time for reflection, so I am taking this opportunity to collect and publish my observations–both good and bad–of life over the last 50-51 weeks.  For those of you who don’t know my background, I moved from Atlanta last January after spending 19 years in the Atlanta area.  We chose Austin because of its proximity to family, its climate, and its employment outlook.  Indeed, the move was exacerbated because my wife found a job here.  As a native of New Orleans, I looked forward to a place that was closer in population to my home and that had some of the sense of community I grew up enjoying.

A few months ago, I happened across a similar one-year retrospective published by Alora Chistiakoff, and I recommend reading it for its thoroughness.  I share her perspective on a lot of the items she mentioned.  With that contrast of Austin and California as a model, I shall share my perspective on moving west from Atlanta after growing up in New Orleans:

1. Climate: While I could have done without 60+ days over 100 degrees this past summer (a record, apparently..Welcome to Texas!), it still beats what this Gulf Coast native considers frigid winters.  Being further south, Austin‘s average high and average low are 5-10 degrees warmer than Atlanta‘s for most months of the year.  I much prefer heat to cold.
2. Community: I have found it quite easy to network and make friends in Austin.  People are warm, open, and friendly and seem to enjoy participating in community activities.  The technology and entrepreneur communities are very active and energetic here, and that’s something I wasn’t used to in Atlanta.  In fact, I would not be considering a few side business ideas if I were still in Atlanta–the people around me in Austin make this kind of thought second-nature.  To be fair, this perception is subject to bias: I wasn’t as active in the community there either.
3. ProductCamp: The product management community here is strong, and I’ve been lucky to become involved with the planning team on the marketing side.  Great people from whom I’ve learned a great deal, and to whom I hope I’m able to contribute enough.
4. Twitter: Everyone here seems to be on Twitter.  Apparently Twitter got its start at SXSW, which I’m sure is a contributing factor, but i think the ethos of the people here plays a big part.  I was aware of Twitter in Atlanta, but at least in the circles I frequented, it wasn’t even close.
5. Civic pride: There is definitely a gargantuan difference in the pride people have living in the Austin area, as compared to the Atlanta area–at least among the circles I frequent.  Austinites boast about being from Austin, and enjoy opportunities to experience the city, even though they may disagree with some of the city’s policies; metro Atlantans in the suburbs bemoan having to drive ITP (“inside the Perimeter”) and resent the City of Atlanta due to their disagreements over policy.  To me, this has been a wholeheartedly refreshing change.
6. Festivals: Austin has two giant ones every year, SXSW and Austin City Limits Festival, and practically some small festival every week.  People here enjoy community (am I repeating myself?) and opportunities to enjoy life.  The Atlantis Music Conference is the closest Atlanta has to SXSW’s Music segment, and sadly, Music Midtown went dormant a few years ago.  I haven’t been able to attend either Austin festival yet, but perhaps 2010 will provide that opportunity.
7. The motto: Austin’s unofficial motto is “Keep Austin Weird.”  There’s not just a support network for small business, it’s an ecosystem.  People go out of their way to support local businesses.  Loads of independent coffeeshops, for example, that people actively support.  How cool is that?
8. Food: So, Austin is more BBQ and Tex-Mex than anything.  It’s not New Orleans, but neither is Atlanta.  There’s enough variety to keep me happy, although finding good pho and other ethnic delicacies is more difficult than saying “just go to Buford Highway.”  Austin has the Whole Foods HQ downtown, although my wife is partial to HEB’s snooty brand, Central Market.
9. Surroundings: Atlanta’s rolling hills and trees were a bit more visually appealing – Austin has that in the western “Hill Country” suburbs, but the city itself is flatland built amongst farms rather than cut out of forestry.  To my Georgia friends who think Austin is all cows and cowboys, I have to point out it’s more semiconductor engineers than cowboys in Austin proper.
10. NOLA: Partly due to the similar ethos, I find a lot of New Orleans natives here – and I can’t get away from crawfish boils in the Spring, and snowball stands (or “sno-cone stands”) in the summer.  Lots of Saints fans–literally hundreds gathering at Shoal Creek every Sunday.  And no Falcons fans, though they’re even hard to find in Atlanta   So not enough to feel “just like home,” but it’s enough of a taste to be comfortable.
11. “Live Music Capital of the World”: Another aspect of the city I haven’t been able to enjoy enough.  The most prominent sounds of Austin are indie-rock, but there is good blues, an upcoming soul scene and a touch of jazz to be found.  I’m probably a heretic for thinking Austin’s music scene needs to be more diverse to challenge New Orleans’, but I’m thankful for the diversity to be found and hoping to enjoy it in person more.
12. No State Income Tax: My net income went up once my address changed to Texas.  That said, when we buy a house, I’ll have to watch for property tax.
13. Bars: Although most of my going-out experience in Austin is for happy hours, I feel at home visiting bars with personality.  Bars.  Atlanta, much like other large metros such as Dallas, is more of a dance-club town.  New Orleans is a bar town.  I’m in my element.
14. Transplants: Atlanta brings in lots of New Yorkers; Austin brings in the Californians.
15. Politics: I was more plugged into Atlanta’s suburbs, which are definitely deep red.  Austin’s burbs (Williamson County) are just as red, but i keep hearing that one of the reasons for Austin’s success is that it’s a blue city within a red state.  I need to live here longer to really figure out if that’s accurate.
16. Population: 25 million people between Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Austin, all within 3 hours (not counting Traffic).  Crazy.
17. Water: Austin’s as land-locked as Atlanta.  Atlanta’s drought is finally over, Austin is finally working on its own.  This fall seems rainy, so the lake has been rising.  Out of the frying pan…
18. Climate: People here aren’t worried about being the “flash flood capital” although they are conscious of places that are flood-prone (Spicewood Springs Road, Shoal Creek, etc).  What people actually dread — and rightfully so, might I add — is hail.  This spring my car was pelted to oblivion along with much of NW Austin.  Thunder seems epic here, I believe because of the extended horizon and the flat terrain.  Hoping to wait to replace my old clunker until we have a garage.
19. Blue Laws: In Texas, unlike Georgia, you can buy beer on Sundays in a store….but not before noon.  I don’t drink enough for that to matter, but it’s amusing.

To summarize, it’s been an enlightening year.  I’m considering ideas for side businesses, which is a massive change of perspective from my life in Atlanta.  Atlanta’s mindset is corporate in nature, and while I had a couple of friends who ran their own businesses, they seemed like oddities and I didn’t quite “get” it.  In Austin, the entrepreneurial spirit and the sense of place is alive and strong.  So although it’s been a separation from friends and family, the move has been fruitful in terms of personal growth.

Now…back to being Merry!