Austin, Texas

The people of Austin are a varied and amazing bunch, comprising all ages, races, and walks of life. There's one thing they all have in common, and that's that Austin residents have a vibrant lust for life. It may sound cliché, but people in Austin are just plain happy. You just don't see frowns here. That's in no small part due to this great city, too. Certainly all types of professions are represented here in Austin, from politicians, to business owners to creative types. Even a few celebrities call Austin home, among them probably the most high-profile Austinite being Lance Armstrong. One of the most interesting phenomena that take place in Austin is the sort of disregard for classes that may take place in other cities. You might be seated next to the richest person in Austin dressed in flip flops and jeans and be served by a waitress with a PhD, all in the same day. Here in Austin, it's about doing what makes you happy, and there's a huge community to support you until you find what it is that makes you happy! 

Austin offers tons of opportunities to socialize. If you like music, you're in luck, considering Austin is the "music capital of the world". There's always a show going on somewhere in this town, whether at Emo's, Antone's, The Broken Spoke or the famous Threadgill's (where musicians like Janis Joplin and Stevie Ray Vaughan played often) or literally countless other locations. In fact, pretty much any business open to the public has live music at some point during the week!

If music isn't your scene, don't worry, there are lots of clubs and bars to have fun and meet folks. Sixth Street downtown is likely the most infamous place to do your socializing, with many people likening the area to New Orlean's Bourban street. As the writer of this wiki is originally from Louisiana, she can tell you it's no Bourban Street, but can see where they might make the comparison. Bars offer cheap drink specials and no covers, and you're bound to run into lots of tourists. Sixth street isn't the only place downtown to hang out though, with downtown also sporting a Warehouse district and the 2nd street district, all offering plenty of great places to hangout.

Of course, downtown isn't the only place to socialize, areas like SoCo (South Congress Avenue) and the Drag (the area next to the University of Texas) are also great spots in Austin that offer a lot of choices. The great thing about Austin is that you'll have a lot of fun finding those locations that are off the beaten path, and not in one of the areas already mentioned!

The food in Austin is as varied as its people, and you'll be surprised not only by the unusual types offered, but of the different price points available to residents. You don't have to be rich to eat good food!

Though, if you do enjoy a fancy meal, places like Uchi, Lamberts, Eddie V's, Three Forks, Asti and The Belmont should definitely be checked out, not only for their great food but also the wonderful atmosphere.

More humble eating establishments can definitely be found in Hoovers, Lola's, and Gene's. And of course you can't be in Austin without trying out Stubb's barbeque. Great Mexican food abounds here in Austin also, the usual rule being the farther away you are from downtown, the better it gets. And don't pass up the numerous taco carts sprinkled around the city, you can get some of the most delicious and authentic tacos from these roadside restaurants.

While it seems prices on houses and apartments are on the rise, it seems most residents in Austin are so happy to be living in Austin, they'll pay whatever they need to pay. And though it would be nicer if prices weren't so expensive, there are still a few areas where deals can still be found. In the opinion of many, the quality of living here is just amazing, and you don't have to take the writer of this wiki's word for it, either. Austin has made the top ten lists in a variety of catagories in magazines like Forbe's for a few years running now. Austin has a great job market, is witnessing explosive growth and offers its residents an amazing array of activities to enjoy. Not to mention how healthy Austin is! With a huge selection of healthy and fresh groceries and restaurants as well as numerous ways to get active outdoors, Austinites are leading happy, healthy and prosperous lives. All that hype you've probably heard about Austin---it's all true! 

Austin is lucky to have a pretty good public transportation system, with Capital Metro buses willing to take you where you need to go. The city also offers several free bus lines, called the Dillo's, that run limited routes to more popular locations. Soon to be operational will be a light rail system in Austin, primed to connect the downtown heart of Austin with farther away locations up North. Austin is also home to an international airport.

Traffic can definitely get pretty bad in Austin at times, even with the large number of highways through the city. Interstate 35, Mopac (or Loop 1), highway 71 and 290 and Highway 360 all serve Austin, but can all get congested during peak traffic times. In fact, many major streets, like Lamar, Guadalupe, South Congress and others can become very congested. You can always try Red River Road when things get busy, they call it the "people's highway" here in the city.

And of course, there are always bikes to get around. Austin is a pretty big bike city, and a lot of its residents get to work and play on their cycles. Some roads in the city feature bike lanes for safety, and there are lots of improvements planned for bikers and their safety in the future. It's advised that any future residents planning to use bikes as their primary mode of transportation familiarize themselves with Austin's specific bike laws, to avoid getting tickets for riding on certain sidewalks or without proper light at night.

You're definitely going to want to check out individual neighborhoods in rentwiki to gauge the personality of areas you are looking to rent in. Each neighborhood in Austin is distinct, and you'll want to pick the area that best fits your personality and interests. In terms of finding that dream place to live, Craigslist is a great tool to help give you some leads. Driving around the area you are interested in looking for "for rent" signs is a great option to find a new home. The best method though, is hiring an apartment locator, which most in this city work for you for free. They will help narrow down your search and help you find the perfect place that both feels like you and is in your budget. When you've located your dream place, you'll want to act quick. Putting down hefty deposits to secure your location is a good idea in a city where great deals get snatched up quickly.

As mentioned before, Austin is the music capital of the world, and at any given weekend there's bound to be either amazing music shows going on or even music festivals. The famous Austin City Limits takes place in the city of course, but other smaller music festivals exist, like the Fun Fun Fun Fest, as well as even more specialized festivals, like the Psychedelic Rock festival. Also mentioned are the amazing amounts of outdoor activities available here. Greenbelts like Barton Creek, Bull Creek and Shoal Creek are sprinkled around the city and provide ample places to hike, swim, mountain bike and mountain climb, as well as canoe and kayak. Numerous state parks take residence in the city, one example being McKinney State Park, were things like camping and fishing are available activities.

If you're in to more indoor activities, you'll definitely want to check out all the famous Alamo Drafthouse movie theaters, which feature old and new movies and a food and drink menu. The Paramount Theatre downtown hosts both classic movies and contemporary shows. If you're really into movies, music or media you'll of course want to check out the South by Southwest Festival that takes place in Austin.

Austin is lucky to have a full and amazing comedy scene here in the city, with venues like Coldtowne Theater, The Hideout, The Velveeta Room, Esther's Follies and Capital City Comedy Club not only producing amazing local talent but hosting famous national talent.

All of that being said, there's also a club or organization for nearly every activity imaginable in Austin! The best thing to check out is the calendar of Austin's paper The Austin Chronicle for listings on not only things to do, but also clubs to join. Other great resources are The Austinist's "ist list" and Austin 360.  

While of course all of Austin is a lot of fun, certainly there are areas that have a denser amount of interesting things and local people. Downtown is a great place to hang out, with lots of options for drinking and eating and a lot of urban energy. The Drag (Guadalupe Street along the University of Texas) is a young crowd, and offers lots of delicious and affordable options for food and drinks. SoCo along South Congress is a hip and happening place to shop and go to restaurants, and both South First Street and South Lamar street offer similiar hip and local-filled businesses to patronize. The North Loop is gritty area filled with Austin charm, and Hyde Park is a great place to sense the history of Austin. You can't forget about the Hike and Bike Trail and Zilker Park, both feature huge green spaces and lots of outdoor activities, like kayaking and canoeing. New developments like The Triangle and The Domain offer residents luxury shopping experiences.

Austin's got plenty of essentials, and most areas have a grocery store very closely located to the neighborhood. It would be impossible to list every essential in the city, but know that plenty of options exist for all essentials in terms of local or national businesses, and businesses of all sizes and varieties. It's best to check out each local rentwiki neighborhood page for specifics on particular essentials. Keep in mind though, that Austin is the birth place of the famed Whole Foods, which is a pretty important essential to most Austinites.

Austin's pretty lucky with the job market. Huge companies make Austin their home, like AMD, Dell, 3M and plenty more, all offering great jobs to Austin residents. Being a capital city, lots of government jobs are available, also. Austin has several major educational systems, like the University of Texas, St. Edwards University and Austin Community College, all of which employ a large number of Austin residents. Even with the economic woes of late 2008, Austin is still faring pretty well. In fact, earlier this year, Business 2.0 Magazine ranked Austin fourth in the nation for protected job growth among urban areas. We're expected to see a job growth of 24.7 percent between 2005-2015. Austin also boasts a low unemployment rate of 4.1 percent.

Most Austin schools fall under the jurisdiction of the Austin Independent School District, which offers many education choices for kids and parents to choose from. With different types of instructional programs, parents in Austin have the options to find the right school for their kid's learning needs. Along with neighborhood schools, AISD also offers specialized magnet schools and focus academies. Along with AISD schools, Austin also offers lots of smaller Montessori schools and alternative schools, like Eco School and The Griffin School.

Many Austin parents will tell you that neighborhood schools are hit and miss. More hits than misses, but it's still important to check into the specific schools that are in neighborhoods and areas you are interested in. Great schools do exist in Austin; a recent Newsweek magazine poll found that out of 1200 of the nation's top schools, 12 of them were in Austin.

The Austin real estate market is certainly diverse. There are neighborhoods that feature older, post war bungalows. There are neighborhoods with a mix of older homes and newer, larger modern homes. There are neighborhoods filled with huge mansions over looking the town lake. And there are neighborhoods with old and run down houses in dire need of restoration. Because of this variety, home prices also vary wildly.

2008 has seen the average price of a home hover at the mid $200s, in August hitting an average price of $261,799. Some houses in the older and nicer neighborhoods as well as some of the more modern homes being built in the city can top a million dollars. If you're good with tools, fixer-uppers can offer potential homeowners good deals. If you don't mind living far from the heart of Austin and living in a fixer-upper, you might even be able to find a home under $100,000.

And while recent economic woes in 2008 have slowed the market, in general Austin's housing market is only getting bigger.

Austin weather, not counting winter or summer, is pretty great. Overall a temporate climate, it makes for gorgeous Spring and Fall weather. Summer can get pretty unbearable, with the number of hot days over 90 degrees in any one summer usually at about 111 days, give or take. The hottest days are usually in June and July. Winters are usually pretty mild, averaging only about 19 days a year with the temperature below freezing. Average annual rainfall is about 32.1". There can be some floods in the summer, and some freezing rain in the winter, but overall, Austin weather is quite enviable, and affordS Austinites plenty of opportunities to spend time outdoors!