About Austin, TX

Situated in the Central Texas Hill Country, the City of Austin came to be as the capital city of the Republic of Texas and remained the state's capital upon admittance to the Union. The fourth largest city in the state of Texas, Austin is one of the most culturally and ethnically diverse cities in the nation, featuring a high blend of Central American and Central European cultures. Austin was named as the 2nd Best Big City in America to live by Money Magazine. With several music venues, Austin's official slogan is the Live Music Capital of the World, and was dubbed the Greenest City in America by MSN.

Austin is home to the main campus of the University of Texas, rated a Tier-1 university by U.S. News College Rankings, and Austin's population is a mix of students and professors, politicians, state employees and lobbyists, musicians, tech-employees, and much more. Several high-tech companies such as Dell Computers, IBM Research, Samsung, and Intel have large divisions or reside in the Austin area, earning the city the title of Silicon Hills. Austin has seen tremendous growth in the past few years due to excellent weather, low cost living, vast outdoor resources and activities, and an easy-going Texan type of lifestyle.

Most Austinites have a very progressive type of mindset, and Austin's Smart Growth Policy has encouraged high growth with minimal damage to the environment and ecology of Austin. The unofficial slogan 'Keep Austin Weird' has been adopted by thousands of residents in an effort to support local businesses and negate extensive commercialization.

Austin Location

The City of Austin is located in the County of Travis, and Austin's Metropolitan Area includes the cities of Bastrop, Westlake Hills, Pflugerville, San Marcos, Round Rock, Georgetown, and several other excellent suburbs. Austin is also home to Lake Travis, one of the largest and most beautiful lakes in the state of Texas.

Austin is located in the beautiful Texas Hill Country, a large area of rolling hills, vast forests, and has become the heart of the Texas Wine Country. Austin is less than three hours away from three of the ten most populous cities in the United States; Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio.

Austin Weather

Austin has an extremely temperate climate, with highs in the summer around 90, and lows in the winter around 40. Austin receives more than 300 days of sunshine every year.

Austin Kudos:

• Travel & Leisure, "America’s 25 Favorite Cities"
• USA Today, Austin-Bergstrom International Airport lands on the "10 great places to hang out during a layover"
• America's 5 "Best Mountain Biking Towns"
• USA Today, "Ten Great Places to Run Away from Home"
• Cities to Go, "Best City in U.S. and Canada to Pretend You're 20 Again:
• Corporate & Incentive Travel, "Sixth Most Popular Destination for Corporate Meetings"
• USA Today, "Ten Great Places to Find Splendor in the Grass"
• Moody's Economy.com "Best Place for Business in US"

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Austin Accolades

• Austin ranks as the 4th Best City in Overall Standard of Living by Expansion Management, June 2006
• CNN.Money.com, "Austin ranks 2nd among the Top 10 Best Big Cities in the Country" - 2006
• Austin ranks as the 3rd Smartest City in the country by Bizjournals.com, June 2006
• Austin ranks in the Top 5 “Smart Places to Live” by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance and the Austin Business Journal, June 2006
• Austin ranked 28th in Best Places for Business and Careers by Forbes, May 2006
• Austin ranks 2nd in the 50 Best Places to Live by Men's Journal, March 2006
• Austin ranks 6th in the Top 10 Cities for Walking by Prevention magazine, August 2006
• Austin ranks as the Best Place to Live in America for Hispanics by Hispanic magazine for the second year in a row, August 2005
• Austin ranks as the 2nd Best Place to Live for Movie makers by Moviemaker Magazine, December 2005
• Austin ranks 3rd Best Wireless Place to Live in America by Livescience.com, June 2005
• Austin ranks 2nd among the 10 Best Places to Live, judging on financial, educational and quality of life criteria by Money magazine, July 2006
• Austin was included in the 8 Cheapest Places You'd Want to Live survey by Sperling's BestPlaces.com and msn.com, July 2006
• Austin ranks 2nd among the 50 Best Places to Live comparing the combinations of adventure, attractiveness, and affordability by Men’s Journal, April 2006
• Austin was voted the Best Place to Live for Future Business Locations by Expansion Magazine, August 2006
• Austin ranks 9th in the Top 10 Hot Cities for Entrepreneurs by Entrepreneur.com, September 2005
• According to DogFancy Austin is one of the Top 10 Cities to Be a Dog, November 2005
• Austin ranks 8th of America's Cleanest Cities by Reader's Digest, July 2005
• Austin ranks 10th in the Top 10 Healthiest Cities in America by Sperling's, July 2006
• Austin ranks 11th in the 25 Best Running Cities in America poll by Runners World, July 2005
• Austin makes the cut as one of 50 Fabulous Gay-Friendly Places to Live by Gregory A. Kompes, December 2005
• Austin ranks 2nd on Vegetarian Times' Ten Greenest Cities list, July/August 2005
• Pollstar names Austin City Limits Music Festival the 'Festival of the Year' during it's annual Concert Industry Awards, February 2006
• American Way magazine features 'The Top 10 Lists of Great American Music' and Austin appears on three of the lists including 'great music towns,' 'great bigger-is-better music festivals' for the Austin City Limits Music Festival and 'sacred ground' for Threadgill's restaurant, June 2005
• Austin ranks 6th in a study by Silicon Valley naming the nation's Top Tech Hubs. The study compared business and quality-of-life issues, claiming Austin has affordable housing, electricity, and state taxes, September 2005
• Austin is among the Coolest Cities for Young Professionals according to Kiplinger.com, September 2005
• Austin ranks 1st among U.S. cities in the fourth annual Mayors Challenge rankings of the Best Cities for Future Business Locations by Management magazine
• Each year, Intel ranks the Top 100 U.S. Cities and Regions with the Greatest Number of Commercial and Public Wireless Internet Access Points and Austin ranks third, October 2006
• Austin ranks 3rd in a list of America's Most Innovative Cities by the Wall Street Journal

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