Friday, August 30, 2013

Apparently, Tucson Is a Hipster Town Now (Although We're Too Busy Making Pickles to Care)

Posted By on Fri, Aug 30, 2013 at 2:15 PM

Why on earth someone would try to predict the next big hipster city, I don't know (or if the very nature of naming a city as somewhere hipsters might proliferate diffuses the appeal of a city to hipsters, which I believe might be part of the plot to the sequel to Inception), but CultureMap is doing so for the second year, with Tucson making the list with Oak Cliff, Texas and Pittsburgh, PA:

How could a place hotter than the devil's butt crack possibly be hip? Well, don't be surprised if you start seeing Tucson popping up more frequently on lists of unique places to live and visit.

What makes Tucson cool is that it's not Phoenix. What also makes Tucson cool is that it has a vibrant arts scene, gorgeous vintage architecture and inexpensive dwellings. Plus it's a popular place for cult classic musicians to inhabit. (Calexico and Giant Sand are current residents; Neko Case has also called it home.)

If you find yourself visiting Tucson, the only place to stay is Hotel Congress. Famous for being John Dillinger's hideout right before his capture, this boutique hotel is the epicenter of Tucson's arts and culture and features old-timey, inexpensive rooms; gourmet diner Cup Cafe; and bar/music venue Club Congress. The latter highlights a nightly roster of food fests, DJs, dance parties and sweet music acts — like this week's double bill of Howard Jones and Men Without Hats(!).

Tucson also features its own version of Austin's Sixth Street — 4th Avenue —which features your normal array of bars, bookstores, co-ops, markets and locally gift shops. The only difference is, a number of these businesses are 100 percent solar-powered!

If you're thinking of moving to Tucson, check out the neighborhood Barrio Santa Rosa, located within walking distance of downtown and featuring colorful adobe homes from the turn of the century.

In "because of course they did" news, it's worth noting the URL for the article misspells our city's name. Sigh.

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