CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — After a recent national ist ranked Corpus Christi among the worst cities for hipsters in the nation, local residents were ready to explain why.
According to LawnStarter, a company that connects homeowners with lawn care professionals, Corpus Christi comes in 143rd out of 150 cities that were surveyed.
The only cities ranking lower were Montgomery, Ala. (144); Columbus, Ga. (145); El Paso (146); Laredo (147); Memphis, Tenn. (148); Wichita, Kan. (149) and Amarillo (150).
The list ranks the cities based on 23 anti-mainstream factors, including the number of thrift stores, craft breweries, art events, farmers markets, and record stores to urban gardening and biking-friendliness.
Corpus Christi resident Michael Vasquez has a specific definition of what a hipster really is.
"So growing up we ended up loving the 90’s clothing so we bring it back," he said. "So that, what’s a hipster to me is reinventing what you love, so as they say history repeats itself so we are repeating history as of right now.”
Jonathan Winfrey, co-owner of VNP Gallery, a local vintage/hype store, says the clothing style of hipsters makes them feel good no matter what society might think.
“A guy or a girl that just wants to wear what they want," Winfrey said. "They just choose whatever ... they don’t have to be modern or vintage or whatever they just do what they feel."
LawnStarter didn’t give Corpus Christi high scores in any of the major categories include fashion, lifestyle, culture and food and drink, calling out a lack of breweries and restaurants sourcing local ingredients.
Some say Corpus Christi's lack of outdoor locales places it behind other cities.
“I think a lot of it is about outdoor amenities and activities you can do in the city," local resident Salsaveal Hassanin said. "It's hard to find like a spot to go on date night or something.”
And Corpus Christi struggles with a lack of healthy eating alternatives compared to other cities across the state and nation.
“There's not a lot of like that you know the influence of health foods and like activities and there’s not a lot of stores that serve you know like the Trader Joe's type stuff," local resident Ali Maawy said. "Whole Food and all these places that let's say you are a vegan you don't have a lot of options (in Corpus Christi.)
No Texas city ranked highly in the survey. Austin was tops at 64th.
“The survey also did rank Austin as 64 which a lot of people at least a lot of people down here would attribute Austin as being the giant Meccas hipster capital in general just because of how artistic it is," Corpus Christi resident Matt Wolak said.
The best city in the nation for hipsters? The list ranks San Francisco.
