About Austin, Texas

Austin is the eccentric and diverse capital of the second largest state in United States, Texas. The city is located in the central part of Texas and also acts as the seat of the County Travis. Based on its size, Austin is the fourth largest city in Texas and holds the 14th place in terms of the population. According to the 2010 census, the city has close to 800,000 people.

Austin is also the fastest economically expanding cities in Texas and also ranks among the top five in Untied States. The city has become a major hob of tech companies that today call Austin as their headquarters. Major fortune 500 companies such as Dell, IBM, Freescale semiconductors, etc. have their headquarters in Austin. Other major companies such as Apple, AMD, eBay, Blizzard Entertainment, Cisco Systems, Google, Oracle and others too have a large part of their operations in Austin. The city is comparable to cities such as Silicon Valley in terms of entrepreneurial ventures. The incredible pace with which the tech companies have setup here, the city has come to be known as "the Silicon Hills". Apart from tech companies, Austin also has a good number of biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies and is ranked at 12 in the list of life science and biotech cities in United States. The city is currently in a phase of skyscraper boom that is leading to numerous high rises in the downtown area of Austin. The city is well connected locally by busses and Metrorail trains. However, most people here prefer bikes as a primary more of transportation.

The attractiveness of the city's well educated employable population is one of the biggest drawers of these companies to Austin. Austin is home to one of Texas's most prestigious and well equipped research universities, the University Of Texas. Apart from the higher education services, the city is also home to good schools that attract families to Austin.

The community is well known for its live music scene which can be found almost everywhere. Apart from its love for live music, the city is also home to numerous cultural events that bring people from all parts of United States here. The city also has numerous well known museums and art galleries that fulfill the needs of history buffs.

The city has about 220 public parks and 50 public swimming pools throughout the city. The Austin Parks & Recreation Department has received many awards for its maintenance of public facilities. The city of Austin also has the Barton Springs pool, a naturally spring fed pool with warm waters. The parks in Texas allow visitors to indulge in rock climbing, exploring, kayaking, exploring and other activities.

Sports fans might feel disappointed that Austin is the only large city and a capital city in United States without any representation in a major professional sports league club. However, sports fans in Texas will be surprised to find the good number of Longhorns supporters of the college sports baseball and football teams. The Texans are also represented by the Austin Ice Bats in the American Hockey league. Many endurance sports marathons like international bike rallies are organized in and an around Austin. The city of Austin is also set to host its first Formula 1 race in 2012.

About Austin, Texas

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