<p>There is a big difference between traveling and living somewhere. Believe me, I was worried about cowboys when I moved to Texas from Chicago. But, the worries were for nothing. While there are people who live a somewhat cowboy lifestyle in Texas, there are more people who do not. Especially at a large university in a metropolitan area like Austin. There will be all types of people for you to meet and you will have no trouble finding people you deem “normal.”</p>
<p>its not true, there are a lot of other guys that are not cowboyish.
the diversity in texas is NOTHING compared to california’s; there are some racist people there and way more causaians than you will see in california. but, not everybody is a redneck or a cowboy, especially in austin which is a big city.</p>
<p>racist college students in austin?? still??</p>
<p>I am racist.</p>
<p>There are a lot of hipsters at the school and in Austin</p>
<p>well good for you navyarf.</p>
<p>what do you mean by hipsters TXhorn?? (sorry i just want to make sure we have the same definition lol)</p>
<p>and are ppl are UT super duper nice? like if i were to run into a PRICK i should not worry and know that he is one of the only handful of *******s.</p>
<p>Super duper nice? I wouldn’t go that far. People are nice. It is a big school and people are not always outgoing when meeting new people. Once you start talking, people are pretty nice but you’ll probably need to be comfortable making the first step.</p>
<p>I moved from California a couple years ago and thought it was funny when people said yall. but no its not like extra country here. the weather can’t compare, but i’ve been to UT and the people seem awesome. diversity is just as much as it is in cali.</p>
<p>um dont listen to ffhrea austin is very liberal the only thing that might make it seem different than any other state would be that we say “yall” thats it!</p>
<p>Nice try. :)</p>
<p>I am from a large city, larger than Austin, and I don’t think UT is very diverse, but I don’t mean this in a bad way. I am not an undergrad here, so I can’t comment on how it is to be an undergrad. Forgetting the diversity thing, it really seems like there are a lot of friendly people at UT. While I love the city I’m from, I do like the people in Austin. It is a good vibe, lots of young adult types and overall, I think it’s quite pleasant. </p>
<p>I’ve seen a fair number of greek shirts, but I have yet to see someone wearing a cowboy hat (except for one of my professors). I do not see much “stereotypical” Texas behavior. Overall, the people at UT seem just like normal people, this is probably true at most universities. At much like other universities, I feel like people will tend to stick to their groups, either ethnically or by some other standard. However, I really don’t get such a bad vibe from students here at all. I’m actually pretty impressed with the atmosphere here. </p>
<p>It’s also a good thing to remember that while Texas can be a conservative state, Austin is a pretty liberal town. I’m not even saying liberal or conservative is better than another, but I feel like the Texas stereotypes are mainly conservative stereotypes, cowboy hat, bible thumping, etc.</p>
<p>I have seen a lot of pickup trucks though!</p>
<p>Austin is a SWPL Kingdom.</p>
<p>…swpl???</p>
<p>Google says SWPL is stuff white people like. I suppose navyarf doesn’t think Austin is diverse enough, with too many white people. I guess 64% white is too overwhelming, even though that is 10% less than the national average.</p>
<p><a href=“http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ACSSAFFFacts?_event=ChangeGeoContext&geo_id=16000US4805000&_geoContext=&_street=&_county=austin&_cityTown=austin&_state=04000US48&_zip=&_lang=en&_sse=on&ActiveGeoDiv=&_useEV=&pctxt=fph&pgsl=010&_submenuId=factsheet_1&ds_name=ACS_2008_3YR_SAFF&_ci_nbr=null&qr_name=null®=null%3Anull&_keyword=&_industry=[/url]”>http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ACSSAFFFacts?_event=ChangeGeoContext&geo_id=16000US4805000&_geoContext=&_street=&_county=austin&_cityTown=austin&_state=04000US48&_zip=&_lang=en&_sse=on&ActiveGeoDiv=&_useEV=&pctxt=fph&pgsl=010&_submenuId=factsheet_1&ds_name=ACS_2008_3YR_SAFF&_ci_nbr=null&qr_name=null®=null%3Anull&_keyword=&_industry=</a></p>
<p>What I mean by “SWPL Kingdom” is that Austin culture is mainly defined by SWPL cultural norms. I am not referring to the percentages of white people compared to minorities, because some white people are “the wrong type of white people”. There are plenty of towns full of the “wrong type of white people”. You should read the SWPL book or blog to see what I mean by SWPL. </p>
<p>I like living in SWPL Kingdom. It can get a little overwhelming at times.</p>
<p>I think what he’s describing is what used to be referred to as “yuppie” culture, or the culture of liberal-minded, urban, upwardly-mobile, educated professionals…of any race or ethnicity. If you want a dosage of “ghetto” (of any race) or “redneck” (of any race) or “country” or “barrio” or some other subculture, Austin isn’t the place to be.</p>
<p>He’s basically saying that Austin thinks of itself as “weird” and “nonconformist” and “unique” and “experimental”, but it’s actually extremely predictable and ordinary if you look at it from the right angle.</p>
<p>I personally love Austin. And I classify myself as being in its key demographic, at least for the most part.</p>
<p>In answer to the topic starter, I would say NO…Austin is not filled with the quintessential cowboy-types. Yes, there’s a strong presence of Greek, but it’s not overwhelming to any extent. I have a wide array of friends. Only a fraction of them are Greek-affiliated. They usually hang out together anyway. Whatever type of person you’re looking for, you’ll probably find it here.</p>
<p>thanks samster</p>