Things That Used to Cost $3
6 posts in this series
A eulogy for affordable Austin, one price tag at a time.
"Adjusting for inflation and broken dreams."
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Latest Posts
Every entry in the Things That Used to Cost $3 collection, newest first.
One Small, One Jumbo, and a Water Now Tops Twelve at 412 Sterzing
Breaking down Sno-Beach's current menu at the purple trailer on Sterzing Street where a small hits four dollars and the jumbo tub seven, set against late-90s pricing that matched a gallon of milk, all while tracking the 3 p.m. elementary school rush and post-pool family math near Barton Springs.
Thrift Store T-Shirts: From $3 Bin to $45 'Curated Vintage'
You used to dig through a bin for a $3 tee. Now someone digs through the bin for you and charges $45.
Barton Springs Admission: The Price of Cold Water and Civic Identity
Barton Springs was free, then $3, then $5, then $9. The water stayed the same. We didn't.
Parking Downtown: A $3 Meter, a $30 Garage, and the Death of Spontaneity
Parking used to be an afterthought. Now it's a second mortgage.
A Eulogy for the $3 Breakfast Taco
Austin's signature food used to be cheap fuel, not a lifestyle brand.
Lone Star at the Bar: A $3 Tall Boy Requiem
The Lone Star tallboy was a civic institution. Now it's a 'retro selection' on a craft menu.
Explore Another Series
Follow a different branch of the complaint tree when you’re done here.
Condos of Shame
Documenting the luxury boxes replacing everything you loved.
"Where your favorite taco truck used to be."
SXSW Ruin Counter
Tracking the annual corporate colonization of Austin's weirdest week.
"It used to be about the music. Now it's about the lanyard."
Tech Bro of the Week
Satirical profiles of the disruptors disrupting your neighborhood.
"Move fast and break rent prices."
Comedic Austin nostalgia satire. We remember when this town was weird for free.
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