Which two cities should I compare for this series next? 🌎🌍🌏🌐 If you're ever injured in an accident, you can check out Morgan & Morgan. Their fee is FREE unless they win. For more information, go to ForThePeople.com/MRBEAT.
They (the powers that be ) have been trying to stuff trains down our throats here in S A for at least the last 20 + years didnt fly then wont fly now . no mater how bad the progressive elites want us out of our gas guzzlers .
I've lived in San Antonio my whole life and everything you said about it was pretty much spot on. All the one important thing you forgot to mention when comparing both cities, it is very important to San Antonians that everyone knows we have better tacos than Austin.
It's true though. I think generally we have better restaurants than Austin, they just have a wider variety of them. Unfortunately too many of them are operated by kids who don't care about the restaurant so the food ain't always up to SA standards.
As someone who lives only like 10 miles from Austin and frequently goes to both Austin and San Antonio, I can confidently say that San Antonio is significantly more chill and welcoming. I35 in Austin is like being stuck in a whataburger line at 4pm on Christmas day
Bruh every real Texan knows that the only day of the year whataburger is closed is Christmas day. Christmas eve though... that's a trip. It's okay though, must have been a mistake. 😊
San Antonio's Greenway system absolutely deserves recognition. Multi-use paths following several watersheds mirror the feel of the downtown Riverwalk (minus the tourists), and with a newly completed connection through Eisenhower Park in the north, we have access to probably 50+ miles of trail that runs through some amazing parks including Phil Hardberger with its Voelcker Homestead and land bridge over the parkway. The Missions in South San Antonio are also accessible via the trail! Another little SA water fact: we have one of the largest recycled "purple pipe" water systems in the country, which provides irrigation for the Riverwalk, golf courses, etc.
I have lived in both cities for many years. San Antonio has more universities than Austin, and has a much better urban bus system. Whereas Austin has the Light Rail, it is not utilized as much as the bus system in San Antonio. SA also has one of three medical education and research systems in Texas. In fact, I had to return to SA to get a transplant that was only possible in Dallas, Houston or San Antonio. I love Austin, but it was becoming prohibitively expensive to live there as a single teacher. Thanks for the video.
Even I know about Fiesta! Tacos, markets, and colorful decorations!! Although I'm up the road and only knew about it because I marched there several years.
@@BryanM86 imagine not finding joy in simple things like a fun party when you get to crack eggshells on people's heads and get a day off school made to honor the history and legacy of a city 🙄
I'm from a town a little bit south of San Antonio and thus didn't go to school in the city. I never realized y'all got the day off for fiesta?? That's so cool Unfortunately UTSA doesn't let us off for it 😔
I remember being a little kid in 2005 and seeing the Austin skyline. It's almost unrecognizable now. But I'm glad more people realize how awesome our city is.
My family moved to Austin in 1967. The Hwy 183 - Lamar Blvd intersection was a 4-way stop sign. Cedar Park was this little town out in the country you never went to except for the annual Cedar Chopper Festival.
It's constantly changing. IMO the city logo should just be the cranes cause there's been a new tall every few years now. Even our most recent tallest has been surpassed again recently, and I won't even say it'll be the "tallest" because taller is already underway.
Austin Sucks. I used to live there I can only imagine how bad it is now. Specifically: extreme congestion (unplanned for), high cost of living and a surplus of Californians
I came to Texas State University in San Marcos in 1977, and have lived in Austin since 1981 (week of the Memorial Day flood). The realtor who found our fraternity house for us told us that everything between San Antonio and Austin would eventually be known as the Austin - San Antonio corridor" : one massive strip of urban sprawl connecting Austin, San Marcos, New Braunfels and San Antonio. I listened to her words, and she was oh so right. Efforts to build a passenger railway between Austin and San Antonio are still underway, but the airline$ lobby to kill it. 🚂🚃🚃🚃🚃
Having lived a few years in both San Antonio and Austin, it still blows my mind how big of a gap the cost of living is between the two. I have several friends that live alone in San Antonio, but I don't know anyone in Austin that doesn't have a roommate.
Yup. I used to live in Austin over 25 years. My sister still lives there along with her boyfriend. I moved away from Texas to Kansas. My wife's first house was $45k in a not too bad neighborhood. Our 2nd house that we bought and moved into 10 years ago was $124k. Now it's around $165k or higher. The same house would be $400k easily in Austin. I am ashamed that I only visited San Antonio 3 times the whole 25 years I lived there. If I had moved to SA, I bet I would still be living there because it's so much more affordable. My friends have moved from Austin to San Antonio simply to be able to buy a house.
they are like two parallel universes. San Antonio is a standard regional commercial center for South Texas and Austin is plugged directly into the global economy and seems to almost exist in the virtual cloud rather than in the actual physical world. San Antonio is middle class families, many with deep roots in South Texas and Austin is ambitious worldly people who have come from all over the world.
….but only in the last 20 years…let’s be honest…they started competing with us and San Antonio didn’t even see it coming…we need to get on a war footing with them…quick.
Notes from someone who has traveled between both cities dozens of times per year for the past 25 years: Population - Austin's population is growing crazy amounts, but they have no highway infrastructure to support it and have little to no suburb development to accommodate it. That's why the population in Austin is decreasing at a steady rate as well as growing. Anyone who used to live in Austin and used to pay $500-$700 in rent 15 years ago are now asked to pay $2000 for a less than desirable apartment. Anyone who didn't already own a home can't afford them anymore as nearly the entire market in Austin is in the millions. Drive out 45 minutes to find homes in the high hundreds of thousands. Austin is still cool (although the "weird" aspect of it has certainly changed to a new kind of weird"), but it will certainly hit a roadblock not too far from now that reduces expansion dramatically. While Austin faces road and housing development issues, San Antonio faces a lack of entertainment and nightlife. The city has been a family centered city for so long, people has less desire to move to it because it's more boring. That said, the population of San Antonio is 2.4mil as opposed to the 2.1mil of Austin, and San Antonio still has loads of affordable housing. Apartments prices have skyrocketed, but enough housing has stayed down in the high hundreds to low thousands that locals don't have too much trouble finding decent places to live. Houses in the downtown area are in the millions, but you can still find a significant amount of move in ready houses for sale in that area in the low hundred thousands. Additionally, San Antonio has robust, developed suburban areas as well as undeveloped suburban areas waiting for people to move in. This means people can find large, brand new homes with the same commute time they'd find in Austin for $250,000-$600,000. They continue to develop housing even though the city has not hit the population necessary for people to start moving out to those further suburban areas. Like I said, the entertainment industry is not there yet. With the lack of a bolsterous entertainment industry, there's a lack of corporate investment, and with a lack of corporate investment, there's a lack of super high paying jobs, and with a lack of super high paying jobs, people would rather move to Austin/Houston/Dallas than San Antonio. Still, that's much easier to develop for San Antonio than road and housing infrastructure is for Austin. It can be done in real time in SA, but Austin is already decades behind where they need to be and will struggle hard to catch up and keep their population growing. Traffic - Austin traffic is so incredibly worse than San Antonio's for this reason. While San Antonio is so spread, out it has a robust highway system. All get backed up during rush hour (don't all major city's streets?), but they're easily cruisable at top speeds throughout the entire rest of the day (RIP 1604, maybe when you're done with construction in 2050). These two things mean that San Antonio traffic is well distributed and constantly moving. Austin on the other hand has a few highways (some are called loops even though they don't loop...) but really everyone uses either tollways, I-35, or MoPac (highway 1). MoPac was traffic free before Austin's massive investment from California, but now is bustling. I-35, though, is by far the most used highway that just about everyone has trouble avoiding, and it.. is... a..... NIGHTMARE. It can literally take you 2 hours to get from the north side of Austin to the south side of Austin if you're taking I-35 during rush hour, and that's not an exaggeration. Traffic on I-35 gets so backed up in Austin that I preferred to drive in LA, and it's impossible to get to Austin's most populated parts of town without taking I-35 for at least some stretch of time. You can get from the south eastern part of San Antonio to the north western border in an hour, which is significantly longer of a distance and significantly shorter a duration. Tha leads into - public transit: San Antonio's the worst city in Texas when it comes to public transit, but Texas is terrible in general. Austin has a train line that everyone hates and hardly connects to anything and that has been voted against expansion over and over, but they have a boulsterous bus system. San Antonio's bus system is receiving a pretty decent amount of investment but still needs a lot of development to be considered good, let alone comparable. The train system being planning in part with Japan Rail, has no future at the moment. Texas does not have the rights to build that train yet, and it doesn't look like they'll ever get them. Famously, Governor Abbott reached out to Japan Rail authorities saying that he is definitely still planning on building the train system with them, but due to how large of a stretch that affirmation was, he was called out by other government officials and had to withdraw that statement. Not only that, but when the train began planning close to two decades ago, the plan included Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio. Now it only includes Dallas and Houston, with possible expansion to Austin later and possible expansion to San Antonio after that. With how anti-train Texas is and always has been, I highly doubt we'll be seeing train connect San Antonio and Austin within the next century.
I loved everything you said, but I just wanted to point out that Austin is in the process of building a high speed metro system around the entire city hoping to relieve congestion. It’s already approved, and hopefully that can help the city out! It’s called “project connect” if y’all want to see it.
@@b-a-r4696 that's phenomenal. It's a great start with what looks like the backbone of a great public transit program. I wonder what the project looks like after their projected costs grew by double from the original 5 billion to a now 10 billion dollars with no plan to raise additional dollars. I hope they keep the line to the airport, and along the east side and follow up with their west downtown line and connecting lines once funding becomes available.
@@b-a-r4696 sorry, I said no plan to raise additional dollars. I meant that is in nothing in addition to the tax funding that they already receive and that will continue to fund the rail system moving forward.
@@AIDAHAR210 unfortunately I do not. At least not within the next 100 years. Perhaps Austin will be able to finish a small rail expansion within the next 10 years, it won't be what they originally planned. That might be completed within the next 25 years. Rail between cities though, I don't think will be significant within the next 100 years. Take a look at California for a perfect example, and they are way more liberal than Texas. They approved their rail project many years ago, and at this point they've spent millions and have yet to build 2 stations. The stations they are working on are way out of the way connecting 2 smaller towns too. A massive issue is eminent domain. Governments and transit company cannot get rights to the land to build on. Currently, lobbiests prefer to redirect money away from public transit and keep it on car infrastructure, but like you said, I agree that we'll at some point hit a generation where they finally agree rail is necessary. Even when that happens, the challenge of actually building is insane.
That's most of the world! When I was in Europe and told people I was from Texas, they all followed up with, "Dallas?" To which I replied, well that's the third largest city....
To be fair, Houston and DFW are so massive that even when I meet someone online from Texas, I can almost just automatically ask Houston? And be correct 75% of the time.
Really good, well thought out video. Being a long term resident of both cities I have just a couple minor criticisms: 1) Austin has been undergoing huge cultural shifts due to the massive inward migration of wealthy people that have been priced out of California... something that is driving the most divergence between the two cities culturally. This point is not emphasized enough i think 2) the fact that Austin has a soccer team is not comparable at all to the San Antonio Spurs, which is one of the most successful sports franchises, and boasts an EXTREMELY loyal fan base unlike any i have seen 3) Not enough love for San Antonio being THE hub for tex-mex. We invented chili, margaritas, the enchiladas most of yall know and Love, and nachos. Its more than fritos..... Other than that, great and accurate insight into two cities i consider home👍
Moved to San Antonio 5 years ago and was the best decision. I love the cost of living and love that it’s a big city with all the great amenities but still a hometown feel
I agree its San Antonio is awesome and folks seem a little nicer and more chill (for the most part) here. Some things here are just Puro San Antonio that gives its character.
I've been in San Antonio for 26 years and love it here. When I first moved here I used to think it would be temporary and that I would eventually land in Houston or Dallas. Thank God that never happened.
@@neiandresamuels5428 You sound like a loser. Will always be a loser. I've never found a place in this world that is boring but I'm not a terrible racist person of privilege like you.
This is awesome! I've lived in Austin for the past 6 years and it's a little bit surreal to see Mr. Beat do a video about two of my favorite cities in Texas. One thing, I don't think I heard a mention of ACL (Austin City Limits) music festival. And also, if we're talking about Austin AND San Antonio I would have also mentioned something about Wurstfest (German-style Octoberfest in between Austin & San Antonio).
Yesss, the San Antonio-Austin Greater Area has such a history with German culture (as well as the surrounding Texas Hill Country). It would have been neat to hear him mention a bit about the towns in-between SA-Aus along the I-35 like New Braunfels and San Marcos.
I’m from San Antonio originally and in my opinion is a decent size city with little to no progression. I’ve been in the Salt Lake City metro area for years and love it! It’s clean, and the city is very proactive when it comes to traffic, weather, crime…etc
Its honestly happy to see San Antone get some growth tbh. Been here for almost 18 years and always happy to visit downtown. Also, the mention of the Hill Country made me smile. Good video btw!
Thank you very much for the detailed comparison of San Antonio and Austin. I lived in San Antonio for more than 30 years. I love the highway system - 2 big circles - 410 and 1604 makes it very easy access and connectivity and the Interstate 10. People are friendly and polite!
I've been living in San Antonio and I still dont understand why the train idea from Austin from SA was rejected. San Antonio rly needs it! It would also relieve that crazy as traffic I was caught in everyday on route 35/N & S. Like it legit takes 1 hour 1/2 to drive from New Braunfels to Medical Center every morning and every afternoon.
I'm from nowhere near Texas and I've never been to Austin, but I have been to San Antonio a few times and I'll always have a soft spot for it (as I'm sure many other bands geeks do)
Oh yes, BOA super regional! Been to that once. It was not far down the road and while we did pretty mediocre when I was in band the school has been phenomenal the last few years.
@@WinginWolf Yep, that and the DCI southwest regional, plus there used to be the All-American marching band as the halftime show for the All-american Bowl
kid from the rgv here, i just want to say as someone who has many relaives in both austin and san antonio. i have been to both many many times. san antonio has a MUCH more relaxed hometown feel compared to austin. and this guy did an amazing job describing them and comparing them. 10/10 video
I can say one thing for sure. San Antonio definitely has its flaws, but it is the most beautiful city I’ve ever seen. And I doubt that will ever change
Houstonian here who visits both cities regularly for work/friends; the growth and changes are MUCH more prevalent in Austin than SA. Because Austin is so much smaller the changes happening are much more visible there - higher housing prices, more traffic, etc. Still super fun to visit but unless they improve their public transportation significantly IMO I’d prefer SA living wise. Since we’re stuck with car dependent sprawl might as well pick the city that makes getting around a car easier in 😅
Hi there, I've a hard time to decide should I invest in R.E. as a landlord to DFW, Houston, S.A. or Austin? The aim is to look for future job growth so rent to those future workers. Which metro city has the best bang for the buck or future growth? Since u visited those cities (I have not yet), pls advise. Thank you!
I grew up here in Austin and most of my family is from San Antonio. I've read about plans to create a 100 mile hike and bike trail to connect Austin to San Antonio.
I lived and was educated in both cities, and currently live in Austin. I grew up in Austin, but my parents were born and raised in San Antonio. I have friends and family in both cities. I frequently call Austin my physical home, and San Antonio my spiritual home. However, San Antonio does have the best breakfast tacos. Great video!
Haven’t even watched it but I know it’ll be good because it’s Mr Beat 😎 As a houstonian I was always jealous those two cities were so close. If we wanna go out of town, it takes a minute 👀
Well unless you're on Interstate 35 lol but yeah I get that vibe! Also, it's time for high speed rail to connect the biggest four cities of Texas, dad gomit. Thanks for the kind words!
Great job Mr. Beat. I've lived, worked and married in both cities LOL. Your coverage was excellent. I'm retired now and living in Europe to get away from all that crazy traffic.
I've been to San Antonio for work and I got to explor the city off hours. I honestly wish I had more time. I got to see the Alamo and Riverwalk and it was a fun time. Deffenitly want to go back sometime soon for a vacation.
These are two of my favorite cities in Texas! That stretch of I-35 between San Antonio and Austin is no fun as I drove it for the first time last year. I-35 in Austin is about to undergo one of the biggest overhauls in the history of the Interstate Highway System, it is MUCH needed! Did you know they discovered a cavern when building I-35 through Austin? Look up Inner Space Cavern! Also New Braunfels just north of San Antonio was once home to the world's largest convenience store, Buc-cee's! I love Texas and I love Buc-cee's!
The I-35 overhaul is probably the laziest infrastructure fix I've seen in a long time. I-35 is congested because people HAVE to use it. They need to focus on creating more roadways that can serve as alternatives to major city areas, and more highway infrastructure around the city to give more entryways to those alternative roadways outside of living within that neighborhood. More investment into their train system instead of constantly voting it down and deeming it a waste of money... I'm not saying the I-35 construction will be without benefit, but I will 100% say these things: 1) the funding for it could be massively better used in different infrastructure projects 2) it's going to make today's I-35 traffic look like a walk in the park. NEVER invest in closing down parts of your only real major highway before investing in effective alternative routes. It's going to be such a nightmare.
My only experience with both cities was about 13 years ago when I went down to UT Austin, as I was exploring PhD programs in my field, and made a mini vacation out of it. Both cities are great. However, I'm a bit more partial to San Antonio as I think/feel its more unique overall than Austin. All the Spanish colonial history/architecture, the unique Hispanic/Tejano culture makes SA like nowhere else in the US. I enjoyed Austin just as much, but I feel like what Austin has to offer, I can get in a city like say . . Denver, but with REAL mountains, instead of mere hill country (Hill Country is beautiful). The left-leaning, tech-heavy, highly educated, live music rich characteristics are basically matched in Denver and Seattle. But San Antonio is very historically unique. Only Santa Fe and Albuquerque match the Spanish colonial history in SA, but they are much smaller than SA.
Can’t believe you didn’t mention the crazy amount of highway overpasses in San Antonio. Some spots where they overlap, they’re stacked to the sky! The look of it is so distinctly “San Antonio”. I grew up visiting San Antonio as that’s where my extended family is from. Moved here 3 years ago and the amount of traffic is overwhelming sometimes, but I definitely enjoy visiting Austin and both cities have so much to offer!
Howdy from San Antonio. It's crazy to see our growth along with Austin I love everything about this city from our historic sites, cuisine, weather and of course the Alamo and river walk. Couldn't be more happier to live here.
They are developing a Texas high speed line aren't they? I think DFW to Houston is the initial plan. It would be great if they could tie in the other big cities too eventually
San Antonio is also the birthplace of _fajitas_ and onion rings. Onion rings are the creation of its historic Pig Stand diner, whose walls include pictures of JFK's motorcade passing by it. That's the same motorcade JFK was in when he was assassinated. Also, San Antonio has several community colleges and universities. The community colleges comprise the Alamo Community College District (ACCD) and they are San Antonio Community College (SAC), St Phillip's Community College, Palo Alto Community College and Northwest Vista Community College. The universities include University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), St Mary's University, University of the Incarnate Word (UIW), Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU), Trinity University and Texas A&M at San Antonio. You might also want to mention that San Antonio has the largest MLK Day March in the nation and every April two weeks of _Fiesta_ celebrations.
Wait, the Pig Stand created onion rings?? Ive been a couple times with my family and I just thought it was a regular diner downtown. Shame it's closed now then
If you drive early enough to avoid the traffic, there is about 12 minutes of pasture and farm left between them. Most times of the day it is more like 30 minutes
Native San Antonian here. I think no mention of San Antonio's Fiesta is a huge miss. The best comparison I can draw is that it is San Antonio's version of Mardi Gras or Carnival, and there is no equivalent in Austin that I am aware of.
As of two years now, San Antonio is the second populous city in Texas right behind Houston which other of these both cities they are great to live in. I am in San Antonio 90% of my life 10% in Austin and my heart is in San Antonio as well as an all Texas.. have a great day I’ll
I've lived in San Antonio my whole life and I overall do enjoy living in SA over Austin. However I do applaud Austin's ambition. They are striving to grow and improve much higher than SA is right now. That's why top tier development such as those beautiful tall skyscrapers, and the F1 track are there. I do hope the leaders of SA can grow a pair and strive for a greater city.
Big buildings and Giant tax exempt corporations are definitely not what can or can't make a city great. Austin definitely has some economic advantages over SA, but they could never touch San Antonio's history and overall importance to Texas as a whole. There is no Texas without San Antonio and it deserves that respect.
You have to be careful about the kind of growth we have here in SA. Otherwise, we could easily become like Houston or Dallas - and lose the charm and hometown feel that is unique to SA.
Yeah just go live in Austin or Dallas then. As someone born & raised in Dallas & been back n forth to Austin since a kid. There’s no culture anymore, there’s no “home” or place to go back to that I recognize. Texas culture is slowly fading away in these places & becoming a corporate world where it’s just people with no personalities, no respect for history etc . Getting rid of food staples, cultural rituals that has been passed down for years. It sucks, San Antonio is the last city in Texas that is actual Texas & I love it for that. It’s the only place I feel like home at whenever I can go. If you want your hometown to be like that just move away, I dont think they want to turn it into a corporate hell hole for a reason. It would displace so many minorities & businesses that have been there for years. Which drive away the culture.
@@jema5039 Yes exactly. I go to Dallas regularly to visit my partner and it is so like visiting any other big city in the US. You have to really look hard to find the things that make Dallas unique and Texan.
I'm from the Dallas/Ft Worth area and Austin has always been one of my favorite cities! I haven't driven down there since 2016 and from what I've been seeing from a distance it has changed dramatically! That skyline just keeps growing!
Austin born and raised! A few things you missed from Austin: Bat Fest which is festival celebrating our bat culture and Austin City Limits (ACL) which is a 2 weekend-long fall music festival that attracts a lot of big artists. San Antonio on the other hand, has Fiesta which is a huge Hispanic cultural festival, and I believe San An also has the home of my favorite soda: Big Red
When you mentioned the little mountains I immediately thought of a place called enchanted rock I used to go there for scouting to climb and explore the caverns
Oh man! Enchanted Rock is awesome for hiking, I love how the big domes fractured in some parts so there's just big chunks of granite slab looking like shattered bits of ceramic or chinaware on the sides of them.
@@placeholder6432 there was one spot that was our fav place to climb there was a mini cavern with a cache inside and there was a place where you could repel at a 90° angle
@@argyjql9113 Ooo the mini cavern reminds me of this place where you can squeeze between some boulders on top of Enchanted Rock and enter into what I called the "secret garden" when I first saw it. It was just a little space inbetween the big boulders that had a nice tree and some space if you wanted to just sit for a bit. Also I might have seen the 90 degree angle before, there's a steep cliff edge on one side of the Rock and I bet that's the same place where you can repel.
The other reason they are on a precipitational schism is because of the edwards plateau. Both benefit from it...and it is almost a 500 ft change in elevation, that is charged by rains and spits out in springs. Though San Antonio gets quite a bit more brackish water, as opposed to almost none in Austin. That is where Barton Springs comes from.
I lived in Austin for about a year. Big take away from that was finding parking anywhere was a nightmare. I’m not talking street parking or garages. I mean if you go to a restaurant or store their parking lots never seemed big enough to hold all the cars! Other than that I liked the city a lot. San Antonio’s River Walk is very nice. Almost reminds me of Venice, Italy.
I grew up in Austin and had grandparents in San Antonio. And for some reason, I had no clue that San Antonio had so much going for it. To be honest, I feel like no one ever talked about San Antonio much. I think I assumed it was just kind of...meh. Which is sad! Because of course that's not true. But in my eyes it was just where my grandparents lived, and where we went to Six Flags.
Finally San Antonio My hometown! Dont forget along with the Alamo, Riverwalk, and Pearl Brewery District we also have Seaworld and Fiesta Texas! Also if ANY Austinite tells you they have the best breakfast tacos don’t follow them into that blasphemy! It starts in San Antonio and gets better until you reach the Rio Grande Valley.
I would add that there is a subtle but important difference in the weather between the two cities. Austin is a tad more vulnerable to extreme weather than San Antonio. You will notice more icing conditions and more thunderstorms in Austin.
The issue is that Ivy Taylor is possibly the only politician that thinks about the cities working together instead of against each other. That train between the two should have started happening years ago. And San Antonio should have installed a rail system at least a decade ago.
Amen. I moved to Austin from south Mississippi and was shocked to hear people complain Austin's humidity. Oh honey, Austin is *rarely* humid! I love it here ❤️
San Antonio has a botanical garden too also having spent time in both I can tell you, San Antonio, is a lot better, the people there are just a lot nicer and there's honestly a real sense of community even with such a large population
Fun video! If you make an updated version in the future please note the following: San Antonio is home to the week long celebration “Fiesta - A party with a purpose”. The majority of the proceeds go to charity. Also, you should recognize each of the missions in SA that make up the World Heritage Site. Finally, 5 time NBA champions San Antonio Spurs should be called out. Keep up the great work!
Traffic in San Antonio has gotten worse but is nothing compared to traffic in Austin- specifically the major roads and highways. The situation is not similar at all. Additionally, Austin is about to embark on a project that will make it A LOT worse in the near future on I-35. San Antonio has also embarked on a similar project "to relieve congestion" but will make I-35 a nightmare for the foreseeable future. My advice is in the next year or so it will be a better choice to drive around both cities
I'm a Boston transplant who has lived in SA for 23 years, 15 of that right downtown. I'm still looking for that Wow factor. Note that the San Antonio river (the Riverwalk), and the newly opened San Pedro creek walk are both supplemented with reclaimed water (from the toilet water processing plant). The people without homes pee at will and it smells it downtown. Pay attention when driving here; cutting in and out of traffic lanes without using a turn signal is a thing here along with failing to yield as taught during all of our driving lessons. During the summer it's Africa hot. And I'm still looking for that Wow factor.
Drivers are terrible, either reckless or driving dangerously slow. SUV drivers being the worst. Nobody here knows what a yield sign means, not even semi truck drivers (one almost hit me the other day, if it wasn't for the nitrous system I have in my car). Theres a lot of kids with riced out pickup trucks making fool of themselves so much making those Honda Civic boy racers of the 00s look legit. All neighbourhoods are just dirty and run down, nobody takes care of their yard or house. You will see broken chain link fences all over. Don't forget the dogs running around the streets and shitting everywhere.
The reason they get so many visitors is because many Mexicans go to these cities especially San Antonio. Also many people like myself from South Texas and surrounding areas visit San Antonio occasionally.
Great video…after 20 years we moved from Austin to Colorado Springs 2 years ago. We simply couldn’t take another summer there. It’s one thing to live somewhere where it gets hot, but when the temps are between 104-112 for weeks at a time it just beats you down. We love living right at the base of the mountains and are now in our happy place.
I have lived in both cities and love them both. There really needs to be a commuter rail between the cities downtown like there is between Dallas and Ft. Worth. There was a plan several for commuter rail years ago but, it died. Your right I 35 between both cities is a nightmare getting worse. If you didn't see the city limits signs going down I35 it would seem you never left one city before you in the next.
Don't forget san antonios botanical garden which is still beautiful when it's not scorching outside And if you want the best tacos or traditional texmex food san antonio is the way to go Austin has some good food I'll admit but it's def more modern food in a sense Born and raised San Antonian here
Speaking as someone who lived in both Austin and San Antonio for several years each..I’d say this video is pretty spot on. Austin is a fun place to live if you enjoy live music and dive bars, and San Antonio is a great place to live if you’re looking for that true authentic Texas vibe..plus SA has better tacos..that’s not an opinion..it’s a fact
I can attest to 35 being super busy. it will not be long before New Braunfels, San Marcos, Kyle, and Buda close the gaps between SA and Austin. All those small towns are not small anymore
As a native of both of these cities since birth - San Antonio drivers are worse, Austin traffic is worse. That said, youre likely to spend an extra 30 minutes in traffic in Austin, sure, but youre likely to be side swiped in San Antonio
Both those cities have medium sized metro area with a population of between 2M to 3M. For me, I'd rather choose Austin, TX over San Antonio. Both of their metro areas have rival universities such as UT Austin, TX State in Greater Austin; UTSA and UIW in Greater San Antonio, just to name a few universities.
If the metro statistical areas of San Antonio and Austin combined were the same density as Kowloon Walled City, you could easily fit everyone within the the area used for the San Antonio International Airport with some room to spare.
San Antonio should be our capitol. There I said it. It's VASTLY more important to our history and more culturally representative. Austin only exists because Mirabeau Lamar didn't want the capitol in a city named after Sam Houston.
Which two cities should I compare for this series next?
🌎🌍🌏🌐
If you're ever injured in an accident, you can check out Morgan & Morgan. Their fee is FREE unless they win. For more information, go to ForThePeople.com/MRBEAT.
ny vs philly
Chicago and Houston
Miami and Atlanta
Belgrade and Novi Sad
Fresno, CA and Reno, NV
"San Antonio is the largest American city without a public rail system" probably the most Texas thing in this video.
lol
San Antonio is a communist hellscape
@@Youreusingtoomanynapkins no troll i won't feed you, begone
We like the freedom to drive wherever we want, whenever we want even if it means dealing with traffic.
They (the powers that be ) have been trying to stuff trains down our throats here in S A for at least the last 20 + years didnt fly then wont fly now . no mater how bad the progressive elites want us out of our gas guzzlers .
I've lived in San Antonio my whole life and everything you said about it was pretty much spot on. All the one important thing you forgot to mention when comparing both cities, it is very important to San Antonians that everyone knows we have better tacos than Austin.
It's true though. I think generally we have better restaurants than Austin, they just have a wider variety of them. Unfortunately too many of them are operated by kids who don't care about the restaurant so the food ain't always up to SA standards.
That should be known due to the 63% of Latinos
I imagine y’all would since yr a little closer to the border
truth.
Yup
As someone who lives only like 10 miles from Austin and frequently goes to both Austin and San Antonio, I can confidently say that San Antonio is significantly more chill and welcoming. I35 in Austin is like being stuck in a whataburger line at 4pm on Christmas day
That's a hard pass. I'd rather not eat lol.
That corridor sucks
Bruh every real Texan knows that the only day of the year whataburger is closed is Christmas day. Christmas eve though... that's a trip. It's okay though, must have been a mistake. 😊
San Antonio's Greenway system absolutely deserves recognition. Multi-use paths following several watersheds mirror the feel of the downtown Riverwalk (minus the tourists), and with a newly completed connection through Eisenhower Park in the north, we have access to probably 50+ miles of trail that runs through some amazing parks including Phil Hardberger with its Voelcker Homestead and land bridge over the parkway. The Missions in South San Antonio are also accessible via the trail! Another little SA water fact: we have one of the largest recycled "purple pipe" water systems in the country, which provides irrigation for the Riverwalk, golf courses, etc.
Holy crap, I shouldn't have missed this. Thanks for shouting it out. I'm a big fan of greenway systems.
100+ miles
San Antonio is a communist hellscape
We really need to get rid of the golf courses those things use so much water just to keep grass alive.
Last year I was able to complete my first 100 mile bike ride using nothing but the Greenway trails in San Antonio.
If you've ever been to Texas you'll know how appropriate and relevant to the content an ad for a personal injury attorney actually is.
lol
They're everywhere - they're everywhere! 😲
I never seen so many of these ads until I moved to SA 😂 don’t forget technical college ads
Youre telling me this isnt common elsewhere????
Very true. The driver’s here are🦇 💩 crazy.
I have lived in both cities for many years. San Antonio has more universities than Austin, and has a much better urban bus system. Whereas Austin has the Light Rail, it is not utilized as much as the bus system in San Antonio. SA also has one of three medical education and research systems in Texas. In fact, I had to return to SA to get a transplant that was only possible in Dallas, Houston or San Antonio. I love Austin, but it was becoming prohibitively expensive to live there as a single teacher. Thanks for the video.
Right on@! Austin sucks! San Antonio Rulz!
as a san antonio guy, HOW COULD YOU FORGET FIESTA ?!?
Even I know about Fiesta! Tacos, markets, and colorful decorations!!
Although I'm up the road and only knew about it because I marched there several years.
@@BryanM86 imagine not finding joy in simple things like a fun party when you get to crack eggshells on people's heads and get a day off school made to honor the history and legacy of a city 🙄
Imagine not going to the “Battle of Flowers” Parade in Downtown San Antonio while your off of school. Good times indeed.
I'm from a town a little bit south of San Antonio and thus didn't go to school in the city. I never realized y'all got the day off for fiesta?? That's so cool
Unfortunately UTSA doesn't let us off for it 😔
True!
I remember being a little kid in 2005 and seeing the Austin skyline. It's almost unrecognizable now. But I'm glad more people realize how awesome our city is.
My family moved to Austin in 1967. The Hwy 183 - Lamar Blvd intersection was a 4-way stop sign. Cedar Park was this little town out in the country you never went to except for the annual Cedar Chopper Festival.
It's constantly changing. IMO the city logo should just be the cranes cause there's been a new tall every few years now. Even our most recent tallest has been surpassed again recently, and I won't even say it'll be the "tallest" because taller is already underway.
Even the footage from this video, mostly shot between 2016-2020, is already outdated!
Its unrecognizable from 10 years ago, almost.
Austin Sucks. I used to live there I can only imagine how bad it is now. Specifically: extreme congestion (unplanned for), high cost of living and a surplus of Californians
Austin is my hometown and I grew up there and the amount of growth it has undergone since I moved away in 2013 is insane.
It really is!
I came to Texas State University in San Marcos in 1977, and have lived in Austin since 1981 (week of the Memorial Day flood). The realtor who found our fraternity house for us told us that everything between San Antonio and Austin would eventually be known as the Austin - San Antonio corridor" : one massive strip of urban sprawl connecting Austin, San Marcos, New Braunfels and San Antonio. I listened to her words, and she was oh so right. Efforts to build a passenger railway between Austin and San Antonio are still underway, but the airline$ lobby to kill it. 🚂🚃🚃🚃🚃
Bro fr tho next time you are down here go visit the domain area, they’ve made so many new additions over there
@Random Person on the internet couldn’t have said it better myself lmao
Having lived a few years in both San Antonio and Austin, it still blows my mind how big of a gap the cost of living is between the two. I have several friends that live alone in San Antonio, but I don't know anyone in Austin that doesn't have a roommate.
Which is more expensive
@@sam56094 Austin by a landslide. Though I should've made that more clear in my original comment.
@@ahubb21 thanks bro
@@sam56094 I'm happy to help brother!
Yup. I used to live in Austin over 25 years. My sister still lives there along with her boyfriend. I moved away from Texas to Kansas. My wife's first house was $45k in a not too bad neighborhood. Our 2nd house that we bought and moved into 10 years ago was $124k. Now it's around $165k or higher. The same house would be $400k easily in Austin. I am ashamed that I only visited San Antonio 3 times the whole 25 years I lived there. If I had moved to SA, I bet I would still be living there because it's so much more affordable. My friends have moved from Austin to San Antonio simply to be able to buy a house.
they are like two parallel universes. San Antonio is a standard regional commercial center for South Texas and Austin is plugged directly into the global economy and seems to almost exist in the virtual cloud rather than in the actual physical world. San Antonio is middle class families, many with deep roots in South Texas and Austin is ambitious worldly people who have come from all over the world.
that's wht Austin is a shithole
pretty much
Austin is basically the Atlanta of Texas
….but only in the last 20 years…let’s be honest…they started competing with us and San Antonio didn’t even see it coming…we need to get on a war footing with them…quick.
Notes from someone who has traveled between both cities dozens of times per year for the past 25 years:
Population - Austin's population is growing crazy amounts, but they have no highway infrastructure to support it and have little to no suburb development to accommodate it. That's why the population in Austin is decreasing at a steady rate as well as growing. Anyone who used to live in Austin and used to pay $500-$700 in rent 15 years ago are now asked to pay $2000 for a less than desirable apartment. Anyone who didn't already own a home can't afford them anymore as nearly the entire market in Austin is in the millions. Drive out 45 minutes to find homes in the high hundreds of thousands. Austin is still cool (although the "weird" aspect of it has certainly changed to a new kind of weird"), but it will certainly hit a roadblock not too far from now that reduces expansion dramatically.
While Austin faces road and housing development issues, San Antonio faces a lack of entertainment and nightlife. The city has been a family centered city for so long, people has less desire to move to it because it's more boring. That said, the population of San Antonio is 2.4mil as opposed to the 2.1mil of Austin, and San Antonio still has loads of affordable housing. Apartments prices have skyrocketed, but enough housing has stayed down in the high hundreds to low thousands that locals don't have too much trouble finding decent places to live. Houses in the downtown area are in the millions, but you can still find a significant amount of move in ready houses for sale in that area in the low hundred thousands. Additionally, San Antonio has robust, developed suburban areas as well as undeveloped suburban areas waiting for people to move in. This means people can find large, brand new homes with the same commute time they'd find in Austin for $250,000-$600,000. They continue to develop housing even though the city has not hit the population necessary for people to start moving out to those further suburban areas. Like I said, the entertainment industry is not there yet. With the lack of a bolsterous entertainment industry, there's a lack of corporate investment, and with a lack of corporate investment, there's a lack of super high paying jobs, and with a lack of super high paying jobs, people would rather move to Austin/Houston/Dallas than San Antonio. Still, that's much easier to develop for San Antonio than road and housing infrastructure is for Austin. It can be done in real time in SA, but Austin is already decades behind where they need to be and will struggle hard to catch up and keep their population growing.
Traffic - Austin traffic is so incredibly worse than San Antonio's for this reason. While San Antonio is so spread, out it has a robust highway system. All get backed up during rush hour (don't all major city's streets?), but they're easily cruisable at top speeds throughout the entire rest of the day (RIP 1604, maybe when you're done with construction in 2050). These two things mean that San Antonio traffic is well distributed and constantly moving. Austin on the other hand has a few highways (some are called loops even though they don't loop...) but really everyone uses either tollways, I-35, or MoPac (highway 1). MoPac was traffic free before Austin's massive investment from California, but now is bustling. I-35, though, is by far the most used highway that just about everyone has trouble avoiding, and it.. is... a..... NIGHTMARE. It can literally take you 2 hours to get from the north side of Austin to the south side of Austin if you're taking I-35 during rush hour, and that's not an exaggeration. Traffic on I-35 gets so backed up in Austin that I preferred to drive in LA, and it's impossible to get to Austin's most populated parts of town without taking I-35 for at least some stretch of time.
You can get from the south eastern part of San Antonio to the north western border in an hour, which is significantly longer of a distance and significantly shorter a duration.
Tha leads into - public transit: San Antonio's the worst city in Texas when it comes to public transit, but Texas is terrible in general. Austin has a train line that everyone hates and hardly connects to anything and that has been voted against expansion over and over, but they have a boulsterous bus system. San Antonio's bus system is receiving a pretty decent amount of investment but still needs a lot of development to be considered good, let alone comparable. The train system being planning in part with Japan Rail, has no future at the moment. Texas does not have the rights to build that train yet, and it doesn't look like they'll ever get them. Famously, Governor Abbott reached out to Japan Rail authorities saying that he is definitely still planning on building the train system with them, but due to how large of a stretch that affirmation was, he was called out by other government officials and had to withdraw that statement. Not only that, but when the train began planning close to two decades ago, the plan included Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio. Now it only includes Dallas and Houston, with possible expansion to Austin later and possible expansion to San Antonio after that. With how anti-train Texas is and always has been, I highly doubt we'll be seeing train connect San Antonio and Austin within the next century.
I loved everything you said, but I just wanted to point out that Austin is in the process of building a high speed metro system around the entire city hoping to relieve congestion. It’s already approved, and hopefully that can help the city out! It’s called “project connect” if y’all want to see it.
@@b-a-r4696 that's phenomenal. It's a great start with what looks like the backbone of a great public transit program. I wonder what the project looks like after their projected costs grew by double from the original 5 billion to a now 10 billion dollars with no plan to raise additional dollars. I hope they keep the line to the airport, and along the east side and follow up with their west downtown line and connecting lines once funding becomes available.
@@b-a-r4696 sorry, I said no plan to raise additional dollars. I meant that is in nothing in addition to the tax funding that they already receive and that will continue to fund the rail system moving forward.
When all the boomers are gone, expect rail development in Texas to take off like in the 19th century
@@AIDAHAR210 unfortunately I do not. At least not within the next 100 years. Perhaps Austin will be able to finish a small rail expansion within the next 10 years, it won't be what they originally planned. That might be completed within the next 25 years.
Rail between cities though, I don't think will be significant within the next 100 years. Take a look at California for a perfect example, and they are way more liberal than Texas. They approved their rail project many years ago, and at this point they've spent millions and have yet to build 2 stations. The stations they are working on are way out of the way connecting 2 smaller towns too.
A massive issue is eminent domain. Governments and transit company cannot get rights to the land to build on. Currently, lobbiests prefer to redirect money away from public transit and keep it on car infrastructure, but like you said, I agree that we'll at some point hit a generation where they finally agree rail is necessary. Even when that happens, the challenge of actually building is insane.
Grew up in San Antonio currently live in Austin both have changed a lot in my life
Well then, I guess I made this video for you.
Yup
I feel like San Antonio is one of those cities that most Americans don’t even realize how big it is
Austin as well
That's most of the world! When I was in Europe and told people I was from Texas, they all followed up with, "Dallas?" To which I replied, well that's the third largest city....
@@CandiPinki
Yeah, genuinely I don’t think many foreigners realize Houston is the biggest city in Texas
They think it’s Dallas
@@coyotelong4349 only reason it isn't Dallas is because fort worth is considered another city.
How big it is? It’s population is only 1.4million
To be fair, Houston and DFW are so massive that even when I meet someone online from Texas, I can almost just automatically ask Houston? And be correct 75% of the time.
Really good, well thought out video. Being a long term resident of both cities I have just a couple minor criticisms:
1) Austin has been undergoing huge cultural shifts due to the massive inward migration of wealthy people that have been priced out of California... something that is driving the most divergence between the two cities culturally. This point is not emphasized enough i think
2) the fact that Austin has a soccer team is not comparable at all to the San Antonio Spurs, which is one of the most successful sports franchises, and boasts an EXTREMELY loyal fan base unlike any i have seen
3) Not enough love for San Antonio being THE hub for tex-mex. We invented chili, margaritas, the enchiladas most of yall know and Love, and nachos. Its more than fritos.....
Other than that, great and accurate insight into two cities i consider home👍
Moved to San Antonio 5 years ago and was the best decision. I love the cost of living and love that it’s a big city with all the great amenities but still a hometown feel
I agree its San Antonio is awesome and folks seem a little nicer and more chill (for the most part) here. Some things here are just Puro San Antonio that gives its character.
I agree, here it’s slow at night like a small town but comes alive during the day
I've been in San Antonio for 26 years and love it here. When I first moved here I used to think it would be temporary and that I would eventually land in Houston or Dallas. Thank God that never happened.
Don't forget that San Antonio also has Six Flags Fiesta Texas (one of the better six flags parks) and Sea World too
Austin has nothing tbh😂😂 so boring. Like Hills, trails and Boring Bars for country and rock music. And the food is mediocre
Yeah I should have brought up the theme parks
Don’t forget you also have a 65% chance of getting away with murder in SA
@@neiandresamuels5428 You sound like a loser. Will always be a loser. I've never found a place in this world that is boring but I'm not a terrible racist person of privilege like you.
@@iammrbeat I believe Six Flags is soon to go under completely, so in the interest of accuracy in to the future it's probably best to be left out.
This is awesome! I've lived in Austin for the past 6 years and it's a little bit surreal to see Mr. Beat do a video about two of my favorite cities in Texas. One thing, I don't think I heard a mention of ACL (Austin City Limits) music festival. And also, if we're talking about Austin AND San Antonio I would have also mentioned something about Wurstfest (German-style Octoberfest in between Austin & San Antonio).
Yesss, the San Antonio-Austin Greater Area has such a history with German culture (as well as the surrounding Texas Hill Country). It would have been neat to hear him mention a bit about the towns in-between SA-Aus along the I-35 like New Braunfels and San Marcos.
I definitely should have mentioned Wurstfest! And I meant to bring up ACL but ultimately cut it out when trying to make this more brief.
You're almost halfway to becoming a bona-fide local Austinite
I'd count New Braunfels as part of the greater San Antonio metro area
"Wurstfest"....it's the "wurst! lol! A literal "sausage fest"! ....am I right?
As a Texan thank you for showing some geographical love!
Heck yeah! I love your state.
I’m from San Antonio originally and in my opinion is a decent size city with little to no progression. I’ve been in the Salt Lake City metro area for years and love it! It’s clean, and the city is very proactive when it comes to traffic, weather, crime…etc
Its honestly happy to see San Antone get some growth tbh. Been here for almost 18 years and always happy to visit downtown. Also, the mention of the Hill Country made me smile. Good video btw!
Thank you very much for the detailed comparison of San Antonio and Austin. I lived in San Antonio for more than 30 years. I love the highway system - 2 big circles - 410 and 1604 makes it very easy access and connectivity and the Interstate 10. People are friendly and polite!
It was awesome hearing you talk about San Antonio since I just moved here around 2 years ago . Best decision I’ve ever made .
Amen , me too.
Same and agreed
I've been living in San Antonio and I still dont understand why the train idea from Austin from SA was rejected. San Antonio rly needs it! It would also relieve that crazy as traffic I was caught in everyday on route 35/N & S. Like it legit takes 1 hour 1/2 to drive from New Braunfels to Medical Center every morning and every afternoon.
As a San Antonio native, I love this video! We don't get a lot of coverage, even though we're 7th largest city in the country.
Which is mindblowing to me!
so true we are so far south people forget about SA
What?
The Spurs put y’all on the map.
LOL!!
@@DialloMoore503 as if.. spurs sucks
Houston and Austin comes to my mind every time I think of Texas then Dallas. SA is always last. from a northerner
I'm from nowhere near Texas and I've never been to Austin, but I have been to San Antonio a few times and I'll always have a soft spot for it (as I'm sure many other bands geeks do)
Oh yes, BOA super regional! Been to that once. It was not far down the road and while we did pretty mediocre when I was in band the school has been phenomenal the last few years.
@@WinginWolf Yep, that and the DCI southwest regional, plus there used to be the All-American marching band as the halftime show for the All-american Bowl
Band geeks unite! I played trumpet in high school.
kid from the rgv here, i just want to say as someone who has many relaives in both austin and san antonio. i have been to both many many times. san antonio has a MUCH more relaxed hometown feel compared to austin. and this guy did an amazing job describing them and comparing them. 10/10 video
I can say one thing for sure. San Antonio definitely has its flaws, but it is the most beautiful city I’ve ever seen. And I doubt that will ever change
It is indeed beautiful. The River Walk area, in particular, doesn't feel like the United States at all.
San Antonio is a communist hellscape
Maybe beautiful in downtown but have you ever been to the endless subdivisions where the people actually live??
If you think SA is beautiful you should visit Chicago, San Francisco or Seattle.
@@mcolemanxc16all three of those cities are trash.
Another great city comparison Mr. Beat!
Fun Fact: San Antonio's Riverwalk is among the oldest historic districts in the country.
Houstonian here who visits both cities regularly for work/friends; the growth and changes are MUCH more prevalent in Austin than SA. Because Austin is so much smaller the changes happening are much more visible there - higher housing prices, more traffic, etc.
Still super fun to visit but unless they improve their public transportation significantly IMO I’d prefer SA living wise. Since we’re stuck with car dependent sprawl might as well pick the city that makes getting around a car easier in 😅
Hi there, I've a hard time to decide should I invest in R.E. as a landlord to DFW, Houston, S.A. or Austin? The aim is to look for future job growth so rent to those future workers. Which metro city has the best bang for the buck or future growth? Since u visited those cities (I have not yet), pls advise. Thank you!
I grew up here in Austin and most of my family is from San Antonio. I've read about plans to create a 100 mile hike and bike trail to connect Austin to San Antonio.
I lived and was educated in both cities, and currently live in Austin. I grew up in Austin, but my parents were born and raised in San Antonio. I have friends and family in both cities. I frequently call Austin my physical home, and San Antonio my spiritual home. However, San Antonio does have the best breakfast tacos. Great video!
Just retired from the military last week, and moved to San Antonio 4 days ago.
Pretty great so far.
Haven’t even watched it but I know it’ll be good because it’s Mr Beat 😎 As a houstonian I was always jealous those two cities were so close. If we wanna go out of town, it takes a minute 👀
Well unless you're on Interstate 35 lol but yeah I get that vibe! Also, it's time for high speed rail to connect the biggest four cities of Texas, dad gomit. Thanks for the kind words!
Well you only got a short drive to Victoria!!
@@TheoMurpse What’s in Victoria though? 😅
Great job Mr. Beat. I've lived, worked and married in both cities LOL. Your coverage was excellent. I'm retired now and living in Europe to get away from all that crazy traffic.
lol that's awesome, and thank you.
lmaooo married in both😂
excited for this one! got family in SA and currently in Austin myself!
I've been to San Antonio for work and I got to explor the city off hours. I honestly wish I had more time. I got to see the Alamo and Riverwalk and it was a fun time. Deffenitly want to go back sometime soon for a vacation.
The JW Marriott Hill Country in San Antonio is a beautiful family friendly resort that we visited last year. Highly recommend it!
These are two of my favorite cities in Texas! That stretch of I-35 between San Antonio and Austin is no fun as I drove it for the first time last year. I-35 in Austin is about to undergo one of the biggest overhauls in the history of the Interstate Highway System, it is MUCH needed! Did you know they discovered a cavern when building I-35 through Austin? Look up Inner Space Cavern! Also New Braunfels just north of San Antonio was once home to the world's largest convenience store, Buc-cee's! I love Texas and I love Buc-cee's!
Don't forget the best water in the country, Schlitterbahn?
@@petercastaneda5338 Schlitterbahn is legit the most amazing water park in the world
I should have brought up the cavern systems! Great additions to the video.
Right on brother 👍🏼
The I-35 overhaul is probably the laziest infrastructure fix I've seen in a long time. I-35 is congested because people HAVE to use it. They need to focus on creating more roadways that can serve as alternatives to major city areas, and more highway infrastructure around the city to give more entryways to those alternative roadways outside of living within that neighborhood.
More investment into their train system instead of constantly voting it down and deeming it a waste of money...
I'm not saying the I-35 construction will be without benefit, but I will 100% say these things:
1) the funding for it could be massively better used in different infrastructure projects
2) it's going to make today's I-35 traffic look like a walk in the park. NEVER invest in closing down parts of your only real major highway before investing in effective alternative routes. It's going to be such a nightmare.
As a San Antonian, I cannot believe I missed this one!
Thank you Mr. Beat! My favorite RUclipsr mentioning my home city!
I'd say San Antonio's yearly Fiesta celebration is something that should be mentioned.
My only experience with both cities was about 13 years ago when I went down to UT Austin, as I was exploring PhD programs in my field, and made a mini vacation out of it.
Both cities are great. However, I'm a bit more partial to San Antonio as I think/feel its more unique overall than Austin. All the Spanish colonial history/architecture, the unique Hispanic/Tejano culture makes SA like nowhere else in the US. I enjoyed Austin just as much, but I feel like what Austin has to offer, I can get in a city like say . . Denver, but with REAL mountains, instead of mere hill country (Hill Country is beautiful). The left-leaning, tech-heavy, highly educated, live music rich characteristics are basically matched in Denver and Seattle. But San Antonio is very historically unique. Only Santa Fe and Albuquerque match the Spanish colonial history in SA, but they are much smaller than SA.
Can’t believe you didn’t mention the crazy amount of highway overpasses in San Antonio. Some spots where they overlap, they’re stacked to the sky! The look of it is so distinctly “San Antonio”. I grew up visiting San Antonio as that’s where my extended family is from. Moved here 3 years ago and the amount of traffic is overwhelming sometimes, but I definitely enjoy visiting Austin and both cities have so much to offer!
I just moved to Austin 2 days ago from Hawaii and this showed up in my recommendation! love it here already
Are you still in Austin? How do you like it so far?
Howdy from San Antonio. It's crazy to see our growth along with Austin I love everything about this city from our historic sites, cuisine, weather and of course the Alamo and river walk. Couldn't be more happier to live here.
San Antonio is a communist hellscape
@@Youreusingtoomanynapkins whatever helps you sleep better at night pal
And this is why our education lacks! Dude can’t even spell cuisine!
Because of the way Texas metro areas are laid out it is the perfect state to start real high-speed rail and these two cities would be ideal to start.
EXACTLY. This needs to happen.
They are developing a Texas high speed line aren't they? I think DFW to Houston is the initial plan. It would be great if they could tie in the other big cities too eventually
@@iammrbeat Why does it need to happen? How do you plan to get around the towns once you get there by Rail?
San Antonio is also the birthplace of _fajitas_ and onion rings. Onion rings are the creation of its historic Pig Stand diner, whose walls include pictures of JFK's motorcade passing by it. That's the same motorcade JFK was in when he was assassinated.
Also, San Antonio has several community colleges and universities.
The community colleges comprise the Alamo Community College District (ACCD) and they are San Antonio Community College (SAC), St Phillip's Community College, Palo Alto Community College and Northwest Vista Community College.
The universities include University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), St Mary's University, University of the Incarnate Word (UIW), Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU), Trinity University and Texas A&M at San Antonio.
You might also want to mention that San Antonio has the largest MLK Day March in the nation and every April two weeks of _Fiesta_ celebrations.
Cool diner story! Luckily it wasn’t demolished when they built the highway right next to it
Wait, the Pig Stand created onion rings?? Ive been a couple times with my family and I just thought it was a regular diner downtown. Shame it's closed now then
Just came back to my hometown Austin after 18 long years and it’s like a magical place now I’m staying here now
Judging by the traffic between the two, you’d think they already merged into one mega city
With all the sprawling suburbs, we basically are.
@日 イデア Big Ideas They'll definitely be a single metro area similiar to Dallas/Ft Worth, and I believe that was the poster's point.
If you drive early enough to avoid the traffic, there is about 12 minutes of pasture and farm left between them. Most times of the day it is more like 30 minutes
@@jesses5463 nah it won’t y’all reaching too hard
Native San Antonian here. I think no mention of San Antonio's Fiesta is a huge miss. The best comparison I can draw is that it is San Antonio's version of Mardi Gras or Carnival, and there is no equivalent in Austin that I am aware of.
Another Mr. Beat classic, I like the blend of history and modern videos
I appreciate the kind words and you being here early. :)
@@iammrbeat
You are our favorite Internet teacher
Mr Beat deserves millions of subscribers
Mr. Beat talking about my home town & favorite town in TX, y'all know it's going to be the best of videos.
I am from Austin and love it, but how did San Antonio's Hemisfair Park not make the list. World's Fair and all.
Native San Antonio and current Austin resident here. Great job Mr.Beat everything you said sounded right.
Finally! I’ve been waiting for another compared video for a while
Thanks for being here early!
@@iammrbeat np 😉
As of two years now, San Antonio is the second populous city in Texas right behind Houston which other of these both cities they are great to live in. I am in San Antonio 90% of my life 10% in Austin and my heart is in San Antonio as well as an all Texas.. have a great day I’ll
Love all your videos man! You put a lot of effort and passion into each one.
I've lived in San Antonio my whole life and I overall do enjoy living in SA over Austin. However I do applaud Austin's ambition. They are striving to grow and improve much higher than SA is right now. That's why top tier development such as those beautiful tall skyscrapers, and the F1 track are there. I do hope the leaders of SA can grow a pair and strive for a greater city.
Big buildings and Giant tax exempt corporations are definitely not what can or can't make a city great. Austin definitely has some economic advantages over SA, but they could never touch San Antonio's history and overall importance to Texas as a whole. There is no Texas without San Antonio and it deserves that respect.
You have to be careful about the kind of growth we have here in SA. Otherwise, we could easily become like Houston or Dallas - and lose the charm and hometown feel that is unique to SA.
Yeah just go live in Austin or Dallas then. As someone born & raised in Dallas & been back n forth to Austin since a kid. There’s no culture anymore, there’s no “home” or place to go back to that I recognize. Texas culture is slowly fading away in these places & becoming a corporate world where it’s just people with no personalities, no respect for history etc . Getting rid of food staples, cultural rituals that has been passed down for years. It sucks, San Antonio is the last city in Texas that is actual Texas & I love it for that. It’s the only place I feel like home at whenever I can go. If you want your hometown to be like that just move away, I dont think they want to turn it into a corporate hell hole for a reason. It would displace so many minorities & businesses that have been there for years. Which drive away the culture.
@@jema5039 Yes exactly. I go to Dallas regularly to visit my partner and it is so like visiting any other big city in the US. You have to really look hard to find the things that make Dallas unique and Texan.
Mr. Beat getting a Morgan & Morgan sponsorship? Congratulations on getting to the big leagues.
I'm from the Dallas/Ft Worth area and Austin has always been one of my favorite cities! I haven't driven down there since 2016 and from what I've been seeing from a distance it has changed dramatically! That skyline just keeps growing!
They finally finished the Road work in Temple on that drive!
@@TheGeneral308 Oh wow! That's going to clear up a lot of traffic!
@@shakarussanders9911 So much time saved.
Austin born and raised! A few things you missed from Austin: Bat Fest which is festival celebrating our bat culture and Austin City Limits (ACL) which is a 2 weekend-long fall music festival that attracts a lot of big artists. San Antonio on the other hand, has Fiesta which is a huge Hispanic cultural festival, and I believe San An also has the home of my favorite soda: Big Red
When you mentioned the little mountains I immediately thought of a place called enchanted rock I used to go there for scouting to climb and explore the caverns
Oh man! Enchanted Rock is awesome for hiking, I love how the big domes fractured in some parts so there's just big chunks of granite slab looking like shattered bits of ceramic or chinaware on the sides of them.
@@placeholder6432 there was one spot that was our fav place to climb there was a mini cavern with a cache inside and there was a place where you could repel at a 90° angle
@@argyjql9113 Ooo the mini cavern reminds me of this place where you can squeeze between some boulders on top of Enchanted Rock and enter into what I called the "secret garden" when I first saw it. It was just a little space inbetween the big boulders that had a nice tree and some space if you wanted to just sit for a bit.
Also I might have seen the 90 degree angle before, there's a steep cliff edge on one side of the Rock and I bet that's the same place where you can repel.
Love Enchanted Rock!
I should have mentioned all the caves!
great video. I'm from San Antonio and everything was very accurate. Both cities are great and different depending what you are looking for.
Yesssss I’ve wanted this one forever!
The other reason they are on a precipitational schism is because of the edwards plateau.
Both benefit from it...and it is almost a 500 ft change in elevation, that is charged by rains and spits out in springs. Though San Antonio gets quite a bit more brackish water, as opposed to almost none in Austin. That is where Barton Springs comes from.
I lived in Austin for about a year. Big take away from that was finding parking anywhere was a nightmare. I’m not talking street parking or garages. I mean if you go to a restaurant or store their parking lots never seemed big enough to hold all the cars! Other than that I liked the city a lot. San Antonio’s River Walk is very nice. Almost reminds me of Venice, Italy.
I've heard San Antonio be called the "Venice of America" before and it has reminded me a tad of Venice as well myself
When I went to Austin in 2019, I only walked, Ubered, or took public transit.
@@iammrbeat that’s probably the best way to do it. Did any restaurants stick out to you?
I grew up in Austin and had grandparents in San Antonio. And for some reason, I had no clue that San Antonio had so much going for it. To be honest, I feel like no one ever talked about San Antonio much. I think I assumed it was just kind of...meh. Which is sad! Because of course that's not true. But in my eyes it was just where my grandparents lived, and where we went to Six Flags.
Finally San Antonio My hometown! Dont forget along with the Alamo, Riverwalk, and Pearl Brewery District we also have Seaworld and Fiesta Texas! Also if ANY Austinite tells you they have the best breakfast tacos don’t follow them into that blasphemy! It starts in San Antonio and gets better until you reach the Rio Grande Valley.
BMT made San Antonio look like the holy land
I live in San Antonio and am glad it is getting acknowledged.
I would add that there is a subtle but important difference in the weather between the two cities. Austin is a tad more vulnerable to extreme weather than San Antonio. You will notice more icing conditions and more thunderstorms in Austin.
Also allergens are a lot worse in Austin too
The issue is that Ivy Taylor is possibly the only politician that thinks about the cities working together instead of against each other. That train between the two should have started happening years ago. And San Antonio should have installed a rail system at least a decade ago.
We went to San Antonio in July it's a dry heat compared to the humidity heat We have in Louisiana.
Amen. I moved to Austin from south Mississippi and was shocked to hear people complain Austin's humidity. Oh honey, Austin is *rarely* humid! I love it here ❤️
The humidity in SA is downright disrespectful
My family is thinking about moving to San Antonio. We will be taking a trip there in March. I'm so excited 😊
San Antonio has a botanical garden too also having spent time in both I can tell you, San Antonio, is a lot better, the people there are just a lot nicer and there's honestly a real sense of community even with such a large population
Fun video!
If you make an updated version in the future please note the following: San Antonio is home to the week long celebration “Fiesta - A party with a purpose”. The majority of the proceeds go to charity. Also, you should recognize each of the missions in SA that make up the World Heritage Site. Finally, 5 time NBA champions San Antonio Spurs should be called out.
Keep up the great work!
This type of stuff is your best content imo
Appreciate you mentioning the first SA settlers coming from the Canary Islands where I'm from.
Traffic in San Antonio has gotten worse but is nothing compared to traffic in Austin- specifically the major roads and highways. The situation is not similar at all. Additionally, Austin is about to embark on a project that will make it A LOT worse in the near future on I-35. San Antonio has also embarked on a similar project "to relieve congestion" but will make I-35 a nightmare for the foreseeable future. My advice is in the next year or so it will be a better choice to drive around both cities
I live in Austin. Takes about an hour just get from the south side of Austin to the north side. It only about a 7 mile stretch.
I'm a Boston transplant who has lived in SA for 23 years, 15 of that right downtown. I'm still looking for that Wow factor. Note that the San Antonio river (the Riverwalk), and the newly opened San Pedro creek walk are both supplemented with reclaimed water (from the toilet water processing plant). The people without homes pee at will and it smells it downtown. Pay attention when driving here; cutting in and out of traffic lanes without using a turn signal is a thing here along with failing to yield as taught during all of our driving lessons. During the summer it's Africa hot. And I'm still looking for that Wow factor.
Drivers are terrible, either reckless or driving dangerously slow. SUV drivers being the worst. Nobody here knows what a yield sign means, not even semi truck drivers (one almost hit me the other day, if it wasn't for the nitrous system I have in my car). Theres a lot of kids with riced out pickup trucks making fool of themselves so much making those Honda Civic boy racers of the 00s look legit. All neighbourhoods are just dirty and run down, nobody takes care of their yard or house. You will see broken chain link fences all over. Don't forget the dogs running around the streets and shitting everywhere.
I miss the covid lockdown
Austin is California with HEB, BBQ and humidity
@日 イデア Big Ideas or maybe it is a compliment. I frikken love it here.
The reason they get so many visitors is because many Mexicans go to these cities especially San Antonio. Also many people like myself from South Texas and surrounding areas visit San Antonio occasionally.
Great video…after 20 years we moved from Austin to Colorado Springs 2 years ago. We simply couldn’t take another summer there. It’s one thing to live somewhere where it gets hot, but when the temps are between 104-112 for weeks at a time it just beats you down. We love living right at the base of the mountains and are now in our happy place.
I prefer Boulder.
Denver beats Colorado Springs any day of the week
@@waspwrap1235 I was able to get a nice house here near The Broadmoor almost right up against the mountains for $429…can I do that in Denver?
I have lived in both cities and love them both. There really needs to be a commuter rail between the cities downtown like there is between Dallas and Ft. Worth. There was a plan several for commuter rail years ago but, it died. Your right I 35 between both cities is a nightmare getting worse. If you didn't see the city limits signs going down I35 it would seem you never left one city before you in the next.
Don't forget san antonios botanical garden which is still beautiful when it's not scorching outside
And if you want the best tacos or traditional texmex food san antonio is the way to go
Austin has some good food I'll admit but it's def more modern food in a sense
Born and raised San Antonian here
Hey Mr. Beat! I love your videos! It's a bit crazy to you making a video about my hometown, San Antonio, and about Austin!
Hmm... this effort is no longer profitable.....
Speaking as someone who lived in both Austin and San Antonio for several years each..I’d say this video is pretty spot on. Austin is a fun place to live if you enjoy live music and dive bars, and San Antonio is a great place to live if you’re looking for that true authentic Texas vibe..plus SA has better tacos..that’s not an opinion..it’s a fact
I can attest to 35 being super busy. it will not be long before New Braunfels, San Marcos, Kyle, and Buda close the gaps between SA and Austin. All those small towns are not small anymore
FABULOUS and accurate video - wonderful historical comparison!!! The two cities are absolutely different world’s culturally and always will be.
Please do Miami and Atlanta compared next please I would really appreciate it that!
What about Miami and Tampa instead? I'm really confused about how to compare the Florida cities.
As a native of both of these cities since birth - San Antonio drivers are worse, Austin traffic is worse.
That said,
youre likely to spend an extra 30 minutes in traffic in Austin, sure, but youre likely to be side swiped in San Antonio
Both those cities have medium sized metro area with a population of between 2M to 3M. For me, I'd rather choose Austin, TX over San Antonio. Both of their metro areas have rival universities such as UT Austin, TX State in Greater Austin; UTSA and UIW in Greater San Antonio, just to name a few universities.
Ok I love when you talked about traffic San Antonio rush hour is NO JOKE
If the metro statistical areas of San Antonio and Austin combined were the same density as Kowloon Walled City, you could easily fit everyone within the the area used for the San Antonio International Airport with some room to spare.
Hey, Mr. Beat. You should definitely do a comparison video on the two big cities in Scotland, Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Mr beast
San Antonio should be our capitol. There I said it. It's VASTLY more important to our history and more culturally representative. Austin only exists because Mirabeau Lamar didn't want the capitol in a city named after Sam Houston.
Honestly it almost already feels like a metro