Nabe Lover NabeWise

Bedford-Stuyvesant has a storied history of conflict and cataclysmic change. Ask any native New Yorker about Bed-Stuy and most of them will tell you that they will never set foot in the nabe. This is most likely due to its violent history during the period following the death of MLK, through the crack epidemic of the late eighties and nineties. Today, the nabe is much safer than it used to be and has experiencing a paradigm shift in much the same way Williamsburg, Bushwick, and Greenpoint experienced a major shift in the late nineties and early 2000's.

I live in Bed-Stuy now, and while I hesitate to say that I love it, it is very apparent that things are getting better. Bed-Stuy is technically a couple different nabes rolled into one, Bedford, Stuyvesant Heights, Ocean Hill, and Weeksville. Certain parts of the Bed-Stuy area are more rapidly experiencing change than others, and there is a noticeable discrepancy in the quality of life in certain areas. For example, Stuyvesant Heights is much nicer and more gentrified than the other pocket nabes in Bed-Stuy, filled with gorgeous Brownstones and restaurants continually pop up that cater to more foodie crowd.

As the hipsters and students get priced out of Willamsburg and the other super hip areas of western Brooklyn, a lot of them move into Bed-Stuy. I have mixed feelings on this, it seems that as people move into Bed-Stuy out of Williamsburg, the same sort of gentrification that occured there will occur, and eventually the long time residents will get priced out and have to move. I am not a big fan of this, but I am a big fan of NYC becoming safer, which sadly has a connection to real estate value. It sucks, but it's true.

Throughout The United States epic arts and musical career, usually no more than one or two cities could claim to be the center of all things daring, edgy, and different. New Orleans with jazz in the early 1900's; New York City with music and art in the sixties; Seattle in the nineties, etc. Today it's not so clear cut as it once was which city or cities is currently the hotbed of innovation and experimentation, but it seems Austin might be rising out of the ashes of Seattle's reign, poised to unleash it's unique brand upon the world.

Austin is an unforgiving torrential downpour of innovation and art, consistently berating it's residents in a wonderfully cocaphonous manner. Live music permeates the city, Austin being the host of multiple huge and world-renowned festivals such as Austin City Limits and the sprawling and incredible SXSW festival. The sheer quantity of music and art in the city has produced some very quirky nabes which house Austin's art community. Barton Hills and Zilker both boast access to Downtown where most local venues are located, and the park in which Austin City Limits is held, while Bouldin Creek caters to the freakishly hip Austin underground.

There is such an obscene amount of art and experimentation occuring in Austin right now it seems inevitable that the city will eventually rise up and take over the art scene for a time, until some other hotbed rises to dethrone Austin.