People & Places
Austin Texas: Take a bow
Jo-ann Hodgson finds out why Austins leisure and lifestyle opportunities are music to many British ears
Home to stars such as songwriter Willie Nelson, cyclist Lance Armstrong, tennis player Andy Roddick and actress Sandra Bullock, Austin, Texas, is the proud host of a wide range of lifestyle and leisure opportunities, not always associated with the city, known primarily for it's title 'The Live Music Capital of the World'.
Music
With more music venues per capita than any other US city, Austin certainly deserves its nickname. The city's music scene revolves around the famous venues of 6th Street and a plethora of music festivals which see visitors flocking from around the world. Austin City Limits, the longest-running live-music music programme on American TV, and Capital Sports & Entertainment run the annual Austin City Limits Music Festival, a music and art festival held at Zilker Park. The Park will also host the 50th Zilker Park Summer Musical in 2008, which has earnt the title of the longest-running outdoor musical. Other music festivals in the city include the Urban Music Festival, held during the Texas Relays weekend in April, the Austin Reggae Festival, also held in April, and Carnival in February. Once known purely for its country and blues music, with such well-known names as Janis Joplin and Stevie Ray Vaughan having strong links with the city, Austin's music scene is now as diverse as its population, nurturing all styles of artists.
Arts
As well as music, Austin plays guardian angel to many forms of media, being home to Ballet Austin, the fourth largest ballet academy in the country, and hosting major annual film festivals the Austin Film Festival and South by Southwest festival. In 2004 the city was even named as the top city in which to live and make movies. Austin also has a vibrant theatre scene, with many resident companies producing a wide range of work and the city also playing host to many international theatre productions. Taking advantage of the city's strong performing arts culture, many theatre groups join with local dance and music groups to create unique work.
For those more interested in fine art, Austin's not short of opportunities to broaden one's cultural horizons. Among the city's most popular galleries are the Austin Museum of Art, which displays contemporary exhibitions of work by both international and local artists, the Museum of Art Laguna Gloria, set in the landscaped grounds and historic villa on Lake Austin, and the Blanton Museum of Art, home to one of the country's top university fine art collections and displays of Latin American, Renaissance and Western art. The creative scene not stopping there, many local businesses and artists also produce handmade indie fashion which can be found in the city's many boutiques or regular outdoor markets.
Outdoor pursuits
Although being the largest city in the US without a team in the National Football League, National Basketball, Major League Baseball or National Hockey League, Austin offers many opportunities to those looking to get their heart rate going and be close to nature. There are plenty of tracks for aspiring Lance Armstrongs to practice on with the bicycle-friendly Texas Hill Country and central Lady Bird Lake Hike and Bike Trail attracting cyclists from around the world. The proximity of bike trails and water also makes Austin the perfect location for a growing number of triathlons, including the Capital of Texas Triathlon held every Memorial Day. Rockclimbers, kayackers and hikers are also among those outdoor types to enjoy Hippy Hollow, a county park which sits alongside Lake Travis.
As well as the Austin Zoo in Oak Hill, home to a wide variety of displaced and neglected wild and domestic animals, Austin also has a wildlife spectacle which attracts the interest of more than 100,000 people a year. The Congress Avenue Bridge is home to the world's largest urban population of Mexican free-tailed bats, which emerge every evening at around sunset to eat. Not a city representative of the backwards image many have of Texas, then.
Brits' guide to Austin
Mike Watson from the Austin Expat Brit Meetup Group gives Emigrate America an idea of what potential emigrants should know about his city.
Climate
It's much warmer here. We have fairly mild winters and really hot summers, which means we are able to spend more time outdoors year-round.
Cost of living
I would say the cost of living is cheaper, eating out especially is much cheaper.
Politeness
People tend to be polite and engaging when you first meet them although I would say that it is often harder to really get to know people. People here tend to have more superficial relationships.
Youth
Austin is quite a young city with a lot of students due to the central location of the University of Texas (UT) as well as other universities. There are around 50,000 undergraduates at UT alone.
Music
This is a big music city. Self-dubbed the 'live music capital of the world', you can hear pretty much every kind of music live, every week.
Transport
You just can't get around easily without a car, so you tend to spend more time in one and more money on one here, although petrol (gas) is much cheaper here at around $2.70 a gallon.
Informality
This is a very informal city in the way people dress, both socially and in the workplace.
Diversity
Austin's has a very eclectic population due to the influence of the universities, hi-tech companies, government, music industry, growing film industry, and its more historic, slightly hippie roots.
Scenery
Austin is a very scenic and beautiful city, it's perched on the edge of the hill country and there aren't too many hills in Texas.
Top ten leisure opportunities
1. Golf courses there are many of these around.
2. Hiking.
3. Running there are many jogging trails around the city and various organised races throughout the year
4. Cycling Austin is the home of Lance Armstrong.
5. Water-sports there are several large areas of water downtown and to the north-east which offer boating, water-skiing and wave-running opportunities.
6. Eating out all kinds of restaurants can be found in Austin.
7. Music all types of live music is on offer in Austin.
8. Clubs and bars 6th Street is renowned for these.
9. Sport we don't have much major league pro sports but a lot of college sport is followed with great passion, for example baseball, football, soccer and basketball.
10. The Arts music, dance and fine arts are available.
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