[jnihiser]

Hey Austin Forumers.

I visited Austin for the day on Saturday, and thought you might like an Atlantan's impression of the city.

First of all...the city is much larger than I expected, in terms of general build out. Of course, I keep up with construction via the city, but sometimes you just can't gauge size until you actually see it in person.

We hung out at Handlebar, The Ginger Man, and The Paggi House. All of them were cool.

The number of bars and restaurants (non-chain) was also really impressive. Having been to places like San Antonio, Austin has a distinctly non-Texan, non suburban flair.

Now, apparently we were there during a pride parade, so the number of people hanging around probably numbered in the thousands by 8p. That was really cool to see so many folks out and about.

Walking around town was really easy.

6th St. is rem. of Bourbon St. I'd love to know if Austinites actually hang on 6th or not, as it seems like it might attract lots of folks from out of town.

Generally, the amount of residential either existing or just out of the ground was really impressive. I would argue that you are in the same league as Denver in this category (the amount of res. going up in areas like LODO is very similar).

The only surprising thing in Austin? No streetcars...if there was ever a city that deserved them...it you guys.

I'm looking forward to my next trip to Austin.

Feel free to ask me other questions about my experience in Austin.