Is San Angelo a Mini Austin?

With San Angelo’s recent growth and continuous development, some see the city as emerging as a miniature Austin.

“The art scene has grown so much within the last ten years. I think the progression has brought a lot of new thought to the area,” Thomas Franke, an art enthusiast originally from Austin, said.

Franke moved to San Angelo after retirement 16 years ago. Since then he said he’s witnessed how the art community has contributed to the city.

“It seems that local artists have really been able to flourish here and new artists really get a chance for exposure. That’s not common for a city this size,” Franke said.

The majority of San Angelo’s art galleries are found in the downtown area. Each third Thursday of the month the galleries, along with other businesses, participate in the downtown “Art Walk”. Aside from downtown galleries, the Chicken Farm Art Center provides a venue for artists to share their work, and the exhibits at the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts give the community an opportunity to view the works from artists both in and outside of San Angelo.

Austin is undeniably known for the presence of live music throughout its city. San Angelo may not come close in number, but live musical performances have become increasingly available.

“It’s cool to be able to come downtown and hear people singing and playing their instruments. It gives San Angelo a charm other towns don’t have,” Anna Taylor said.

Just about every day of the week Sealy Flats has a live band lined up. Restaurants and bars down the street from Sealy Flats have caught on to the “charm” of live music and usually give musicians an opportunity to play during the evenings and weekends.

For Gregory Daniels, living downtown would give him a different perspective of San Angelo.

“I want to find a place downtown because it will be closer to a city lifestyle,” he said.

30 West Loft Apartments, along with other private properties downtown, give residents an opportunity to live that city life. With the option to live in a loft apartment, San Angelo feels even more like it’s larger companions.

Daniels said, “It’s nice that in San Angelo I have an opportunity to live downtown without the big city price tag.”

According to Sperling’s Best Places, housing in San Angelo is 25 percent less expensive than that of Austin.

One resident said, “It’s cool to be compared to Austin. I can see some commonalties. But we are San Angelo—that’s unique enough.”