re: Is Little Rock a shithole or a nice clean city?

quote:

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the seeming protectionism of an identity they've obviously co-opted from Austin is boggling to me

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I don't think it's an identity NWA has "co-opted" necessarily. It's just the closest thing anybody here will tolerate being compared to. There's a lot to dislike about Austin, anyway...

Fayetteville/NWA gets mentioned alongside Austin a lot, and not necessarily by people who live here. Both are semi-southern, new-money, big-state-college having metros. Both are booming and attracting a lot of young people.

The comparisons are actually valid, even before you count things like karst/hill topography, outdoor recreation, cultural activities, big pretty, not-muddy lake, etc.

Austin is the "hip" city to move to, at least within 1000 miles. It makes sense that people here would enjoy the comparison.