I know Austin has been changing for a while now. I mean, this isn't the first time I've lost a place that has been so dear to me. The first was a 24 hour coffee shop called Mojos that was my hang out all through high school and part of college. It closed about 5 years ago, but recently long running shops have been closing left and right due to neighborhood gentrification and substantial rent increases. The Parlor was one of these places. Austin has been topping all of the "Best Places to Live" lists in newspapers, magazines, and all over the internet. The "cool" Austin that people are moving here to be a part of, is ruining what made Austin great. North Loop, the part of town that was home to the Parlor, was the last bastion of freedom for locals, but now it's been deemed 'hip' and the places that gave it that reputation are being forced out. Pretty soon it's going to all be upscale boutiques like the rest of this city. I've lived here almost all of my life and I'm beginning to no longer feel welcome. With the closing of my favorite place in town, I literally don't know where else to go. I hate it. I'm growing to despise the city that was once so important to me and beginning to resent the people that keep moving here in droves that are causing all of this so called positive change.
The city is becoming phony. SXSW and ACL festivals have had a large part in ruining this town. I remember participating in SXSW when I was in high school, but all of the sudden the price of tickets sky rocketed and now it no longer feels like an event where locals are welcome. Everything is marketed to visitors or to get even more people to move here, which just drives up the price of living and keeps the pay low. On average, people in Austin make $3 less an hour than people in other cities, because there are an abundance of people willing to work for less just to live here. Meanwhile the cost of living continues to rise, while the jobs pay the same or less. Ugh. I hate it. I want out, but family health issues and lack of funds for moving keep us here. I'm not an idiot, I know towns evolve and change, but it just feels so alienating when the places disappearing are time after time the ones that hold a special spot in your heart. I'm hoping that one day things will go back to normal, but I know those are just pipe dreams. In the meantime, I'm just going to keep bitching and hopefully find a place where I feel as at home as I did at The Parlor.
My husband knew how much this whole thing has upset me, so he went out the other day and bought me the above (R.I.P. Parlor) shirt they put out, as a tangible way to remember my favorite place. I've been wearing it for days. So, so sad...
5 comments:
I am so sorry to hear. And I totally know how you feel about losing a place dear to you. Once, I had a bar I could call my own. It was dingy. It was dark. It was cheap. It had karaoke. Oh man, it was the bestest. And since I live in a college town, most of the "kids" wanted to go to clubs, hipster joints, and whatnots. So, MY BAR had to go bye bye. I was sad. :(
♥ laura
the blog of worldly delights
that BLOWS. sadly i'm all too familiar with things i knew and loved being driven by corporate BS. it's rampaging all over toronto, and now i can't even get a hot dog on the street in some areas anymore. go to hell. i want a hot dog!!! the parlor sounds like it would have been right up my alley, so i'm so so sorry to hear that it's gone. sympathies from a fellow dive lovin' sister. <3 <3 <3
i know exactly what you are talking about, and i feel exactly the same :(. it's really sad. when i come into austin on weekends, it's started to feel more and more foreign to me (and not in that 'oh! so much to explore in this awesome place!' way ;p). i believe this is why you guys need to join brandon and me when we move to portland ;D. portland has a lot of the same issues as austin as far as people from all over suddenly wanting to flock there (uh, hello, ME! ;p), but it's not nearly as large a city population-wise, it's a billion times more beautiful (and the weather is AMAZING, in my opinion - with you loving london, you'd feel right at home), and while everyone -wants- to live there nowadays, not many people actually end up moving and staying, as jobs are hard to come by. just sayin'! rip parlor!
It is really sad that great local joints are being pushed out by national chains with no soul or personality. Or if they stay open, the best spots always end up overrun by kids who think they are hip. I saw the demise of my favorite coffee house (do those even exist anymore, or is it all starbucks?) and the overrunning of my favorite dive by the "cool" kids - I feel your sadness.
Thanks for sharing your stories and experiences with me. I know it's happening everywhere and I just hate it for all of us. To some it seems weird to lament a place to such a degree, but it really does feel as though I've lost an amazing friend. Recently I read an article that summed up I feel about this whole Austin change really well. It's a long article, but they get their point across really well...
http://www.dallasobserver.com/2011-06-09/news/finding-austin/
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