Austin, Texas is no longer a hidden destination buried in travel books. It is projected to grow in population. About 30 of the Austin population has college degrees compared to the US average of 27.0 have graduate degrees compared to the US average of 9.9%. A lot of this has to do with the University. Many students who come to Austin for school end up not wanting to leave their beloved city. So, you run into a lot of waiters and book store cashiers with college degrees refusing to leave.
The University is just north of the Capital of Texas, which is pretty much the opposite vibe of UT. UT has the young, huge crowd of kids finding themselves, and the state government has all the politically driven players pushing ahead in their careers. This government component of Austin provides the city with all the various official establishments like the Texas School for the Deaf, the Texas School for the Blind, the Texas Real Estate Commission, the Secretary of State, IRS, etc. The deaf and blind schools are interesting in that they provide the city with a more diverse community of people.
The tech sector, which is mostly huddled around up north, brings another layer to the town. The big players are IBM, Dell, Sun, Intel (which is actually south), NI, and AMD (actually south too). This keeps the programmers and computer people a dominant sector in the Austin landscape. Many startups and entrepreneurs have sprouted from the bringing together of these people, which keeps the industry vibrant.
Then there is the music and film scene, which is extremely vibrant. The music scene became know probably in the 60s when Janis Joplin and the Vaughn brothers became known. Now, Austin has many various festivals. The biggest one is South by South West or SXSW for short. It began as a music conference for unknown bands all over the world, music producers, and record labels to all meet up, hang out, and hopefully make some deals. Now, a lot of bigger bands play the circuit and labels have their showcases mixed in with the to-be-discovered. SXSW is more recently become a host to a major film and interactive festival as those industries are growing more and more in Austin. Another more recent music festival that has become popular is The Austin City Limits, which was a well known TV show, and has now become a full-fledged 3 day event showcasing many popular bands. The art scene in East Austin is growing each year as well, with the East Austin Studio Tour and other various promotions. The film, music, and art in the city keep Austin well-balanced.
With all these different aspects of Austin, there is a good mix of everything. All kinds of people live there, and almost everyone can find a place to be happy. And the best part of it all is that everyone is just fine with each other. It is often that a mix of all these people will be at different tables a t a coffee shop and everyone respects each other, no matter which way you decided to go. They enjoy each other's difference, and that is really what makes Austin a special place.
