Austin is a city in the state of Texas and is the county seat of Travis County.
The city of Austin is home to many tech corporations that were nicknamed the Silicon Hills in the 1990s. It includes giant companies like Dell, Apple Inc., IBM, National Instruments, and Oracle Corporation.
The well-developed biotechnology industry has also brought excellent results with it, as reported by real estate company CBRE who ranked Austin third on a list of fastest-growing life sciences markets in America.
The University of Texas is one of the largest universities in the United States and number 1 on public university rankings. There are several smaller private colleges, including Concordia University and Saint Edward's.
Located approximately eight kilometers southeast of Austin's downtown center is its largest airport, known as Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, which opened to public use in 1999.
Austin is home to Lady Bird Lake and many other lakes which offer swimming all year-round. The lake closest to Downtown Austin stretches through the center of town; however, a larger lake called Lake Austin sits about 13 miles west of Downtown.
Austin is known for its live music scene has been named "The World Live Music Capital." This award comes from South by Southwest (SXSW), one of the biggest festivals in America, with over 2,000 performers playing on nearly 100 stages around Austin. The event grew into a ten-day festival dedicated to film and digital media too.
There are also restaurants near Oyster Landing on Lakeshore Blvd. and music bars that open in the evenings with live performances by local artists or those who have made it big time!
Let's face it: living here rocks!
