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Austin: One of the Snobbiest Cities in the U.S.?

flickr.com/jeffgunn

Sure, Austin's got idiosyncrasies, which is a nice way of saying Austinites are "weird."

But, according to a survey from Travel & Leisure, Austinites have also earned another, less flattering, label: Snobby. 

The survey of 20 cities within the U.S. and its territories ranks Austin 19th on a list of snobbiest cities. The travel magazine's previous rankings of third most "offbeat" city and fifth most intelligent city seemed to play into the capital city's ranking. The travel magazine points to the East Side as a hipster haven, along with the "grand dame charm" of the Driskill Hotel and its ritzy roots as the former home of a cattle magnate

Luckily, Austin didn't make the top 10, which included San Francisco in the top spot, followed by New York City, Boston, the Twin Cities, a tie between Santa Fe and Seattle, Chicago, Providence, Washington, D.C. and Charleston, South Carolina. 

While Austinites may disagree with the ranking,  a recent poll from the financial management app Mint doesn't help the label, which called Austin the priciest city in the country for families. According to the survey of 2 million users nationwide over the last two years, it costs on average $877 a month for monthly costs including groceries, home expenses and education — more than San Francisco, Nashville, Seattle and Portland.

Andrew Weber is a general assignment reporter for KUT, focusing on criminal justice, policing, courts and homelessness in Austin and Travis County. Got a tip? You can email him at aweber@kut.org. Follow him on Twitter @England_Weber.
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