If you're going to move to Austin, there are things you're gonna hear

To newcomers, everyone says, "Welcome to Austin" and now I'm saying it to others. Scientifically or otherwise, this place is warm.

We like it when people move in here. We need the bright smiles of people who've tasted a salty ocean breeze on their lips, who've had winters where salt dries in funny shapes on their boots. People who've felt the heartbeat of New York, if even once. I like them all.

When I meet someone from San Francisco, I will basically pounce, knowing that we have some of the same familiarities. The bracing, abrupt aroma of ammonia splashed onto the sidewalks and alleys of the Mission, where some bars so dark, you actually cannot see your feet in front of you.

Some of the language spoken here includes universally agreed-upon mispronunciations of certain towns, streets, and landmarks. "Manor" rhymes with Gloria "Gaynor." "Guadaloupe" ends with a "p," and an entire syllable is missing from the end of "Manchaca." It's even spelled "Manchack" on a new corner store sign.

This place is so agreeable that people will move here twice. You'll hear, "Well, when I lived here the second time" or "That used to be my place when I lived here before" And me, I'm on my first time.

Two years from now is too far away to know.