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Originally Posted by H2O
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...yes, I know that the Windsor Park subdivision was developed in the 1950s and 60s by NP/C. But, as you yourself point out, it's not a planned community in nearly the same way as Mueller is, not just because the times (and cultural attitudes, and priorities, and zoning laws) were different back then but also because the processes via which the two places are/were developed are totally different. Windsor Park does not even remotely resemble Mueller. It's apples and oranges.
I don't know why you homed in on Windsor Park and ignored the bit about "and surrounding neighborhoods." What other neighborhoods in East Austin are master-planned subdivisions similar to Mueller?
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Originally Posted by H2O
I guarantee you there is a lot more affordable housing in Mueller than in Windsor Park. Sure, the newer market rate houses in Mueller sell for a slightly more per square foot than the older houses in Windsor Park
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Again I'm not sure why you are obsessed with Windsor Park, especially since its proximity to Mueller is a major part of what has been driving up the prices there and gentrifying the neighborhood. Virtually every house that goes on sale in WP prominently features "within X minute drive to Mueller!" in its description and sales pitch.
Price per square foot comparisons aren't useful in this context because lot size is a major part of the value of houses outside Mueller. When you buy a house in Pecan Springs you also get a yard that is anywhere from 5k to 15k square feet, but that's not factored into the price per sqft metrics so they tend to be misleading, especially when used across different house styles and categories.
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Originally Posted by H2O
By diverse, whether you are talking about income, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, country of origin or any other metric, I challenge you to find another Austin neighborhood that is more diverse.
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I'm sorry, what? This is laughable. You accused me of not basing my criticism on "actual knowledge" but perhaps it is you who needs to do some basic research.
https://bestneighborhood.org/race-in-austin-tx/
The maps speak for themselves, especially if you overlay them.
Your comment is funny for another reason though, and that is it's an absolutely perfect example of how white people's idea of diversity tends to massively differ from that of everyone else. From what I've seen, a white person surrounded mostly by other white people will think they live in a super diverse community if there happens to be an "ethnic" restaurant on the corner and if they find themselves standing behind a Hispanic family at the grocery checkout line. I don't know if you yourself are white of course but based on the above race map, and everything else you've posted, I'm willing to go out on a limb on it, and further suggest you haven't experienced true diversity. That's the only explanation for why someone might actually believe that Mueller is the pinnacle of diversity in Austin.
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Originally Posted by H2O
Sure Mueller is more white and middle class than the surrounding neighborhoods used to be, but they have all changed as well.
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The only other neighborhood in East Austin that is as white as Mueller is University Hills, and University Hills has always been a predominantly wealthy and white enclave. Aside from that, if you look at the map above, the trend is clear: Mueller has been having a strong gentrifying effect on surrounding neighborhoods that have traditionally been diverse, and is making them predominantly white just like itself.
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Originally Posted by H2O
There are Austin neighborhoods with greater concentrations of various minority groups, but they are not diverse, they are ghettos (using the term by its true definition, not the pejorative synonym for slum).
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I don't know what you mean. The "true definition" of a ghetto is a neighborhood occupied by minorities. The only reason you would think those neighborhoods
aren't actually diverse is if you believe minority populations are not extremely diverse within themselves (e.g. if you think every Hispanic person you see hails from Mexico, or that a Venezuelan shares the same culture and values as a Guatemalan). If that's the case I encourage you to spend more time with minorities, as hard as that may be in Mueller.
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Originally Posted by H2O
I don't need to defend Mueller to outsiders. If you don't see the value of Mueller, it doesn't impact me, but I wish people who are critical would base their criticisms on actual knowledge of the facts instead of some quick drive through on rare occasions. That stands for any location.
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Well, it's certainly instructive that you refer to people like me as "outsiders." If that isn't a strong signal regarding how insular and out-of-place Mueller is, I don't know what is.
Like I said previously, I drive and ride through Mueller several times a week. I also spend a fair amount of time there. I shop at the HEB. I drink at BD Riley's. Up until recently I had friends living in some of the low-rises (before skyrocketing rents forced them to move out). I'm not passing judgment on Mueller based on internet photos or articles.
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It's the kind of place where neighbors will bring out what they have for dinner and eat together with and without kids in the alley, or in the green. Our neighbor gives guitar lessons on Sunday mornings for the kids outside, and yes, we do have movie nights in the alley for the kids and drinks by the fire for the adults. We have had neighbors who moved to other neighborhoods who have moved back to this very block because they missed the community. 
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