Little D vs. ATX: A Comparison of Two Texas Cities

Eleven years ago, a New York Times tourism article was published about my hometown of Denton, Texas, and local residents were very proud that it made some favorable comparisons to my current city, Austin, Texas. If you are thinking about moving to one of the two cities, obviously there are many factors that you will need to consider, more than I am exploring today. Nonetheless, looking at the creative, artistic nature of the two cities, the transportation situation, and population pressures can give some illuminating insights into the two cities.

Mural in downtown Denton, Texas across from Recycled Books and Records

The most notable similarity between the two cities is the intellectual and creative energy that both cities represent. Both cities have universities with very prominent arts and music departments, which cultivate amazing talent in these areas. In both Denton and Austin, it seems that anywhere you go, you can see amazing musical entertainment and visual art. Indoor spaces like restaurants and bars as well as outdoor spaces like the parks and the farmer’s markets offer fantastic performances for free and beautiful creations for sale. Austin has greater international recognition for its self-proclaimed status of “Live Music Capital of the World,” and on a given evening, there are hundreds of live music performances in ATX. I haven’t run the numbers, but I imagine that the proportional live music to population between the two cities is actually pretty similar.

The author with UT ESL students at the 360 "Pennybacker" Bridge in Austin, Texas, Summer 2017

A less appealing aspect of the cities, and one in which the two cities differ more, is the traffic. Denton minimal traffic shines in comparison to Austin’s daily frustrating gridlock. In Denton, you can get pretty much anywhere within the city limits in 15 or 20 minutes in a car, whereas Austin drivers are used to sitting in traffic for forty-five minutes to an hour, and sometimes even longer. However, in response to that issue, Austin offers much better public transportation. On major corridors, there are city busses every 10 or 15 minutes, while in Denton, buses are an afterthought that are few and far between. Bike lanes, while they need improvement in both cities, are much better in Austin compared with Denton. Cyclists in Denton have to share lanes with the big trucks and SUVs that populate Texas roads, while in Austin they have many routes with at least some designated space to themselves.

Finally, affordability and population are two other major differences between the cities. Austin has been experiencing a boom for the past ten years, since it gained a reputation for weathering the financial crisis better than other cities. Along with this boom, Austin has grown significantly in population, and its housing prices have increased as well. According to the Texas Association of Counties, as of 2017, Austin was nearing one million inhabitants while Denton was at just around 140 thousand. Both cities are seeing an increase in their housing prices, but the pressure in Austin as house prices have doubled and tripled in recent years has been well documented for pushing lower income families out of town to areas like Bastrop, Del Valle, and Manor.

Overall, I love both of these cities. Their strengths in the arts is the most distinguishing characteristic that they share in common, while they differ considerably in their traffic, public transportation options, population, and affordability. There are other aspects of the two cities to consider if you are deciding where to live, such as equity issues, natural beauty, politics, job opportunities, and the education system. I hope that my brief observations can be helpful even while I recommend a more thorough exploration of the cities before making a decision.

References

Beehner, L. (2008, May 11). An Indie Scene That Comes With a Texas Twang in Denton. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/11/travel/11cultured.html

The County Information Program, Texas Association of Counties. (nd). Denton County profile. http://www.txcip.org/tac/census/profile.php?FIPS=48121

The County Information Program, Texas Association of Counties. (nd). Travis County profile.  http://www.txcip.org/tac/census/profile.php?FIPS=48453

Spring Break in the Midwest!

During Spring Break, I went to Minneapolis, Minnesota and Madison, Wisconsin. I was worried that the weather would be freezing because they recently have had some terrible snow and temperatures in the negative 40s. However, we had good timing, and the weather was beautiful and sunny! Everyone was very excited about how much nicer the weather was than it had been all winter.

We spent three days with my wife's 96-year-old grandmother in Madison, Wisconsin. She is more positive than almost anyone I know even though she suffered an injury a few weeks ago and is very limited in her movements. We mainly stayed in her apartment and played cards and talked. Overall, it was a very pleasant visit!

Here is Tamara's grandma, Harriet, with her mom, Karla.

Our time in Minneapolis was also very pleasant, but it was very different in that we spent a lot of time out on the town. We went with some good friends to listen to an amazing Cuban soul band, Daymé Arocena, at the historic Dakota Jazz Club. The music was fantastic, and the atmosphere was really warm and friendly. People really seemed to enjoy the music, even though it was more of a sit-down place, not the sort of place where people get up and dance.

The Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis

We also took some really nice walks around some lakes in Minneapolis. Below is a photo with Tamara's aunt Deanna next to Lake Harriet, which is still frozen! Even though it looks really frigid, the air felt warmer in the sunshine than it looks in this photo!

Welcome to Denton, TX

My hometown is Denton, Texas, a small city about forty-five minutes north of Dallas. We call it the northern point of the "Golden Triangle" that includes Dallas and Fort Worth, but no one in Dallas or Fort Worth has heard of this golden triangle.

Here is a photo of my wife Tamara and me in front of the downtown courthouse, a local landmark on the city square.

Denton is a city with a lot of creativity and culture! We have two universities, the University of North Texas and Texas Women's University, and both of them have amazing music, art, and theatre programs. Jazz and classical music are specialties at UNT, but there is every genre you can imagine. Denton is said to have a lot in common now with the way Austin was twenty years ago, and it's not just locals who claim that! Here is a link to a New York Times article that asserts that comparison.

Brave Combo is one of the most unique and fun bands I know, and they call Denton home.  Here they are playing at the Denton Arts and Jazz festival, a free event that attracts thousands of visitors:

In addition, Denton has one of the coolest bookstores I have ever explored. It's called Recycled Books and Records. This photo doesn't do it justice; you need to go and see it for yourself!

All in all, if you like music, art, and quirkiness, I highly recommend visiting Denton. Let me know if you are going up there! I'll give you more tips on where to stay and what to see!

Welcome to the Spring 2019 Writing 4 Blogging Project!

BLOGGING!

ELP 4 Writing Class Spring 2019

We are all going to create blogs, write blog posts, and comment on each other’s blogs!

Log into Google with your utaustinesl.org email address or create a new Google Account in English. Make sure that you write down your password so you can remember it or use a service like LastPass.com to save your passwords securely.

Open Blogger.com

Click “Create Your Blog.”  Choose a name for your blog that does not already exist. For example: YourNameSpring2019

Send me the URL for your blog.  Mine is sladesimprov.blogspot.com

First blog post:

Write at least two paragraphs.  Include at least one photo.

Topic Option 1:

Introduce us to your hometown. What are the best and worst aspects of it? Would you recommend that we visit? What do locals know about your hometown that tourists probably do not know?

Topic Option 2:

Introduce us to a friend or family member who you are really fond of. Describe the person and your friendship with that person.

Topic Option 3:
Tell us about your experience in Austin.

Please publish your blog by Sunday night at 10:00pm. You are welcome to publish it sooner. Next week we will all read and comment on each other's blogs.  Everyone will have at least two comments.

This will be an opportunity for you to practice your writing in an interactive way with an audience of your classmates! Enjoy!