Austin's official slogan promotes the city as "The Live Music Capital of the World”. And the illustrious downtown entertainment district is the musical hub for the city. Live music can be found every night of the week at local hot spots like Antone’s, Stubb’s Barbeque, Emo’s, The Red Fez, Threadgill’s and many others. Austin is host to the annual South by Southwest and Austin City Limits music festivals, events that attract fans and musicians from around the world. Austin TX features many of Central Texas’s most notable attractions including the Blanton Museum of Art and the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum. The Texas State Capitol is another favorite destination for many visitors to Austin. Tourists gather at the Capitol to view the building’s architecture, as well as the legislative chambers it houses. When the legislature is in session, visitors are allowed to sit in and observe the proceedings. Another favorite stop is the Lyndon Johnson Presidential Library and Museum. LBJ was one of the city's most famous residents and in 1982, his wife "Lady Bird" created a Wildflower Center dedicated to preserving the native plants of North America.
Austin and the surrounding area offer an abundance of natural beauty. Tourists and locals gather downtown nightly to witness thousands of native Mexican free-tailed bats emerge from under the Congress Avenue Bridge. The city of Austin also features an expansive park system that includes 205 parks, 172 athletic fields, 17 recreation centers, 3 area lakes, and more than 50 miles of hike and bike trails. The area’s temperate climate makes it perfect for outdoor activities. With 2 beautiful lakes located within the city limits and several more just to the northwest, Austin is very popular for water activities such as boating, swimming, and wakeboarding. One thing is for sure, there is always something fun to do in Austin.
Located in the heart of the city, The University of Texas at Austin is one of the largest universities in the Country. Austin is also home to many other nationally recognized institutions of higher learning including Austin Community College, Concordia University, Huston-Tillotson University and Saint Edward's University.
The majority of the area’s children attend the Austin Independent School District. Some parts of the metro area are served by other districts, including Del Valle ISD, Leander ISD, Manor ISD, Pflugerville ISD, and Round Rock ISD. In 2006, 29 of AISD’s campuses earned Exemplary or Recognized ratings from the Texas Education Agency.
Austin residents can choose from a cornucopia of informative and entertaining publications. Austin's daily newspaper is the Austin American-Statesman. The Austin Chronicle is a local alternative weekly that is a favorite among Austinites. The Daily Texan is the well respected student newspaper of the University of Texas. There are several smaller newspapers such as the Oak Hill Gazette, Austin Business Journal, and Texas Family Magazine. Texas Monthly and Austin Woman Magazine are also headquartered in Austin. The large variety of media outlets in circulation reflects the diversity of the Austin population.
The job market in Austin is as diverse as it’s population. The abundance of well educated and versatile employees available makes Austin an attractive location for many major employers. Austin Austin's largest employers include the State of Texas, The University of Texas, SETON, Dell, IBM and Freescale Semiconductor. Other notable high-tech companies located in Austin include Apple Inc., AMD, Applied Materials, National Instruments, Samsung and Sun Microsystems.
In recent years, Austin has become the location for an increasing number of motion pictures, largely due to the influence of The University of Texas at Austin's Department of Radio-Television-Film. Major motion pictures filmed in Austin include A Scanner Darkly, Dazed and Confused, Grindhouse, How To Eat Fried Worms, Idiocracy, Man of the House, Miss Congeniality, Office Space, Road Trip, Secondhand Lions, Sin City, Slacker, Spy Kids, The Life of David Gale and The Wendall Baker Story. In an attempt to encourage future film projects in the area, the Austin Film Society has converted several airplane hangars, from the no longer operational Mueller Airport, into a filmmaking center known as Austin Studios. In 2005, Austin also hosted the MTV series, The Real World: Austin.
Austin is the largest city in the United States without a franchise in any of the major sports leagues. In spite of this, there is no shortage of sporting events going on in Austin. Local support for the University of Texas Longhorns' sports programs is unmatched. Every Austinite knows that when the UT tower is lit up orange, the Longhorns have won again. Minor-league professional sports came to Austin in 1996, when the Austin Ice Bats began playing at the Travis County Expo Center. Since then, minor league baseball, football and basketball franchises have made Austin their home.
“I may not have been born here, but I got here as fast as I could,” is a sentiment echoed by many of Austin’s satisfied residents. As the fourth-largest city in the state and the 16th largest in the United States, Austin, Texas offers metropolitan living with an unparalleled sense of community. Austin was selected as the #2 Best Big City in the "Best Places to Live" issue of Money magazine in 2006. Surrounded by a wealth of natural resources and populated by progressive and conscientious people, it is no wonder that Austin Texas is truly one of “The Best Places to Live”.
At Austin Area Home Store, our friendly and personable agents have a wealth of local knowledge and will help you find exactly the right community in this amazing area. Please contact one of our agents and we will immediately begin the search for your new home. Our agents are standing by 7 days a week to answer any questions you may have. At Austin Area Home Store, we would love the opportunity to show you all that Austin has to offer.
|