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