Funky feeling

Nearby college town lands on list of ‘vibing’ Texas spots that aren’t Austin

San Marcos is giving off good vibes.

Courtesy of Visit San Marcos

Looking for the Austin vibe without the Austin home prices? The Mansion Global real estate website suggests checking out San Marcos, 30 miles to the south of Austin.

A list published August 15 by Mansion Global places San Marcos, home of Texas State University and two outlet malls, among the five “vibing” towns in Texas that aren’t Austin.

Mansion Global notes that while Austin may attract a lot of attention from non-Texans who adore the city’s “funky atmosphere, vibrant music scene, foodie credentials, and outdoorsy lifestyle,” it’s not the only place in Texas featuring those amenities.

The website observes that cultural life in San Marcos includes outdoor concerts, monthly “Art Squared events” with local artists, artists’ booths at the farmers market, and art displays at local restaurants.

San Marcos, part of the Austin metro area, “used to be a sleepy place in the 1990s, then Texas State University started expanding,” Kimberly Adams, a real estate agent with McNabb & Co. in San Marcos, tells Mansion Global. “Now there are about 40,000 students and around 70,000 permanent residents here. So, we’re still small compared to Austin, but we have the Hill Country amenities and a great music scene here.”

About 50 miles south of San Marcos is another “vibing” place singled out by Mansion Global: San Antonio.

Mansion Global emphasizes that San Antonio boasts some of the same attributes as Austin: music venues, great restaurants, and Hill Country surroundings.

“San Antonio’s Hispanic-Tejano culture infuses the foodie culture and music scene, which covers the gamut from country to heavy metal to hip-hop to Latino styles,” Mansion Global points out.

Tamara Strait, a real estate agent with Phyllis Browning Co. in San Antonio and daughter-in-law of country music legend George Strait, tells Mansion Global that San Antonio draws people who covet privacy.

“People move here from other parts of Texas, from California, Seattle, and New York because they like living in the Hill Country that surrounds downtown and yet have the convenience of being close to the city,” she says. “There’s plenty of luxury shopping and great restaurants in town, and then people like to take day trips to the wineries and music venues nearby in places like Fredericksburg and Luckenbach.”

Also generating a like-Austin-but-not-Austin vibe is Fort Worth, according to Mansion Global.

“Fort Worth is a culturally well-rounded place to live, with a vibrant food scene, world-class art museums, and performing arts centers,” John Zimmerman, a real estate agent with Compass in Fort Worth, tells Mansion Global. “Fort Worth has one of the most attractive business climates in Texas, so we’re seeing many business owners from California, Illinois, and the East Coast relocate here.”

Rounding out the list of the five “vibing” locales in Texas are Corpus Christi, praised for its access to boating, fishing, and beaches; and Marfa, the arts and cultural mecca in West Texas.

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share the road

Texas races to the bottom in new list of best states for cyclists

Photo by Justin Wallace on Unsplash

If you've ridden your bicycle in Austin, you already know how true this is.

In what will come as no surprise to cyclists around Austin, the state of Texas is not a good place for bicycle riding. According to a new report of the "Most Cycling-Friendly States in the U.S.," Texas comes in at No. 47 — meaning that only three other states are worse.

The report, from Philadelphia personal injury law firm KaplunMarx, examines all 50 states based on six metrics: Air quality index, the number of cyclist deaths per one million residents, bike routes per square mile, local government actions supporting cycling, federal funding for cycling projects, and bicycle laws.

Texas musters a mere 31 points out of 100 for its "cycling friendly score."

The most cycling-friendly state in the U.S.: Minnesota, which earned 84 points to claim the title.

According to the report's findings, there have been 15 local government actions per capita in Texas that integrate pedestrians and cyclists in transportation projects. Texas' has a 41 air quality index value, and there are approximately 1.2 bike routes per 1,000 square miles in the state.

On cyclist deaths, Texas does a little better, with three cyclist deaths per one million residents in Texas — about nine percent lower than the national average.

According to KaplunMarx founding partner Ted Kaplun, there is an average of 857 cyclist fatalities in the U.S. every year. He adds that every measure or community effort to improve cyclist-friendliness is beneficial for all Americans.

"It's crucial for all states to continually assess and enhance their cycling provisions, learning from both high-ranking peers and their own experiences," he says.

Top-ranking Minnesota has only one cyclist death per one million state residents. It also has about 27.2 bike routes per 1,000 square miles.

After Minnesota, the remaining top five best states for cyclists are Massachusetts (No. 2), Rhode Island (No. 3), Washington (No. 4), and Iowa (No. 5).

At the bottom of the list are Nevada (No. 48), Arizona (No. 49), and Utah (No. 50) — all of which performed far worse than Texas to be declared the three least cycling-friendly states.

The entire country still has areas for improvement when it comes to creating a safer environment for cyclists, regardless of where each state landed on the list, according to Kaplun.

"With over 53 million Americans riding bicycles regularly, the importance of cycling-friendly infrastructure and safety measures cannot be overstated," said Kaplun in the report. "This isn't just about rankings – it's about enhancing the quality of life, promoting sustainable transportation, and most crucially, saving lives."

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