Had a conversation with my friends today about why #Austin is failing to be the next #SiliconValley, despite the “progressive” nature of the city, the lower cost of living, the zero state income tax, and all the incentives they’re pushing to tech companies, and I’m wondering if it’s because it’s LITERALLY SURROUNDED BY #TEXAS.
If you’re not a conservative cis-het white able Christian man (or his cis-het child-bearing wife), Texas literally wants to exterminate you. If you have a uterus, they want to control it. If you want to teach your kid about black history, they want to prevent you. Austin may be an oasis, but it’s very much part of the state.
Maybe that’s why tech people don’t want to move to Austin. Have you seen who does tech every day? The same people they want to kill and control. Maybe that’s why they’re not attracted there. Just spitballin’ here.
“'Where ambition goes to die': These tech workers flocked to Austin during the pandemic. Now they're desperate to get out.”