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The city of Austin lies within 200 miles of three of the 10 largest cities in the U.S. (Houston, Dallas, San Antonio). With more than one million people, the Austin metropolitan area serves as a center for academic, political, research and technological activities in the region. There are no state or local corporate or personal income taxes imposed on homeowners in Austin.
It is only fitting that Austin is home to one of the most technologically advanced convention centers in the country. Constructed of native Texas materials, from rustic limestone to polished granite, the center has won architectural awards. Yahoo! Internet Life named Austin as "the fourth most wired city in the U.S."
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Central Austin Culture
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Arts & Entertainment: Even on a cold, rainy day (of which there are very few), you will never be bored in Austin. The "Live Music Capital of the World," as Austinites like to claim, the city ranks sixth in the nation for the number of artists and musicians per capita. It is almost impossible to walk around downtown and not see a display of art or hear an artist performing. For a more formal brush with the music scene, visit one of over 120 live music venues dotting the city. But first, grab a bite to eat at one of Austin's amazing restaurants. Locals pride themselves on the outstanding Tex-Mex, but there is something for every taste bud. Get your fill of margaritas, enchiladas, chips and queso from The Oasis with its breathtaking view of Lake Travis, the east side's very own Vivo, and the legendary Trudy's chain restaurants. Chomp down on some authentic bar-b-q at The County Line, Rudy's BBQ, The Salt Lick, or Stubb's BBQ. Grab a bite to eat at all hours of the night at Magnolia Café or Kerby Lane. Order a good old fashioned burger at Hut's Hamburgers, Dirty's, or EZ's. Enjoy a formal evening at Carmelo's, Tree House Grill, or Threadgill's. Museums: Indulge your mind at one of Austin's top-tiered museums, centers, or galleries. History buffs can learn about the state's past at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Musueum. Politics fiends can take a tour of the state capitol building and the Governor's Mansion. Nature-oriented folks can catch the bat colony underneath the Congress Avenue Bridge or explore the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. Art enthusiasts frequent the many galleries in the downtown area. More formal art reviews take place at The University of Texas Blanton Museum of Art or Harry Ransom Center. Outdoor Activities: Austin is famous for its soft, rolling hills, its wide open spaces and its refreshing lakes. While a city through and through, Austin has maintained 28 miles of hike and bike trails that attract everyone from hard-core cyclists like Lance Armstrong to the leisure walker. Mount Bonell offers hikers an expansive view of the city and surrounding lakes; other hikers prefer the scenery of the 809 acres that make up the Barton Creek Greenbelt. Runners tend to favor the trails around Town Lake where people can also rent kyaks for the day or watch competitive crew teams practice their rowing skills. The Colorado River feeds Austin's three local lakes along with numerous others in the region that makeup the 150 mile expanse of the Hill Country lakes. In the summer, the natural Barton Springs Pool promises to cool off Zilker Park visitors; in the winter, the same visitors can take in the beautiful Trail of Lights display. In all, Austin is home to 174 parks and playgrounds and nearly 50 golf courses.
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Central Austin Education
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Finding the perfect property often depends on finding the right school. Austin Real Estate Advocates understand the importance of education. They compiled a list of links of Central Texas Schools to help you jumpstart your search.
Public Schools
Austin ISD
Bastrop ISD
Coupland ISD
Del Valle ISD
Dripping Springs ISD
Eanes ISD
Elgin ISD
Florence ISD
Georgetown ISD
Granger ISD
Hutto ISD
Jarrell ISD
Lago Vista ISD
Lake Travis ISD
Leander ISD
Liberty Hill ISD
Manor ISD
McDade ISD
Pflugerville ISD
Round Rock ISD
San Marcos CISD
Smithville ISD
Taylor ISD
Thrall ISD
Wimberley ISD
Private Schools
All Saints' Episcopal Day School
Austin International School PK-4
Austin Jewish Academy PK-8
Austin Peace Academy PK-5
Austin Waldorf K-12
Brentwood Christian School K-12
City School PK-8
Concordia Academy 9-12
C. S. Lewis Hall K-12
Grace Covenant Christian School K-8
Griffin School 9-12
Hill Country Christian School K-12
Holy Family Catholic School PK-8
Hope Lutheran School PK-8
Hype Park Baptist Elementary School K-6
Hyde Park Baptist Jr/Sr High 7-12
Jackie's Performing Arts School K-8
The Khabel School 6-12
Kirby Hall School PK-12
Legendary Oaks Christian School PK-12
Oakmont School K-12
Odyssey School 4-8
Our Savior Lutheran PK-5
Paragon Preparatory Middle School 5-8
Parkside Community School K-6
Rawson Sunders School for Dyslexic Children 2-8
Redeemer Lutheran School PK-8
Regents School of Austin K-12
Sacred Heart Catholic School K-6
San Juan Diego Catholic High School 9-12
Shoreline Christian School PK-8
St. Andrew's Episcopal School K-12
St. Austin Elementary and Middle School K-8
St. Francis K-8
St. Gabriel's Catholic School PK-8
St. Ignatius, Martyr, Catholic School PK-8
List of Charter Schools in Austin
Charter School
Austin CAN! Academy
Austin Discovery School
Cedars International Academy
Eagle Academy of Austin
Eden Park Academy
Harmony School of Science (Austin)
Harmony Science Academy - Austin
KIPP Austin College Prep
NYOS - Magnolia McCullough Campus
NYOS - Yager Campus / Administrative Offices
Premier High School of Austin
SAILL (Austin)
Star Charter School
Texas Empowerment Academy
University Charter School, George M. Kozmetsky
University Charter School, National Elite Gymnastics
University Charter School, Settlement Home
University Charter School, Star Ranch
University Charter School, The Oaks
University of Texas - University Charter School
University of Texas Elementary School
Higher Education: Austin residents place high value on higher education, evidenced by the fact that over 39% of adults over 25 years of age have a bachelor's degree or higher.
The University of Texas: The largest institution of higher education in the Austin area is the University of Texas, with almost 50,000 students. UT-Austin is a world class center of education and research.
Austin Community College: With approximately 27,000 students, Austin Community College has seven permanent campuses and more than 70 teaching locations throughout the city and surrounding areas.
Other Austin-Area institutes for higher learning include:
*Southwest Texas State University
*Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary
*Southwestern University
*Concordia Lutheran College
*St. Edward's University
*Episcopal Theological
*Seminary of the Southwest
*Huston-Tillotson College
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Central Austin Employment
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Austin has been named the ""5th best small metro area in the U.S. for business" by Inc. Magazine
Major Industry
Austin is one of the premier high tech communities in the country. Within the past decade, Austin has attracted 925 advanced technology companies, employing some 110,000 people. That includes more than 400 companies involved in software development, the second-largest concentration of such companies in the nation. Austin's high-tech sector continues to grow at a remarkable seven percent per year.
The Austin region's five county area has emerged as one of the country's leading technology centers. In the 1990's, it added more information technology jobs than Silicon Valley, Boston's Route 128 or Research Triangle in North Carolina. High Tech employment in Austin has nearly tripled over the last ten years, giving rise to the region's preeminence as one of the leading technology centers in the world.
Sales and Marketing Management names Austin second as "One of the best places to do business next year".
Top 10 Employers
* University of Texas at Austin
* Dell Computer
* Motorola
* IRS/Austin Center
* City of Austin
* Advanced Micro Devices
* Austin ISD
* HEB Grocery Store
* IBM Corporation
* Seton Healthcare Network
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Central Austin History
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Founded in 1839, Austin was chosen as the capital of the Republic of Texas because of its central location, fresh water, natural beauty and the proximity of limestone and timber. Austin was named for Stephen F. Austin, a colonizer of the area. Lyndon Baines Johnson, 36th U.S. President, was born in the Texas Hill Country and represented the 10th Congressional District in Congress. Austin has seven historic districts and 210 historic structures, including the Capitol and the Governor's Mansion.
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Central Austin Housing
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The average price of a home in Austin is $197,500. The median price of a single family home is $137,300. An average rent of a two bedroom, two bath apartment is $911.
Aldridge Place [Area 4], part of the North University Neighborhood Association, a treasure trove of homes from the 1920s just north of the University of Texas at Austin, is a small neighborhood of about 140 homes bordered roughly by 34th Street, Speedway, 30th Street and Guadalupe Street. The central feature of the neighborhood is Adams-Hemphill Park, located along the banks of Waller Creek. Homeowners in this neighborhood enjoy a walk or bicycle ride to restaurants and groceries shopping. Homeowners greet each other on the street as moms pushing little ones on strollers, joggers and walkers and university students riding bikes to and from classes. There is a nice mix of age groups in this neighborhood.
Allendale [Area 2]
Forty years ago, Joan Crestly and her husband were looking for a safe neighborhood to raise a family - one that was close to downtown with good schools and easy access to shopping. They found it in Allandale. Their children are long gone, but the Crestlys are still in Allandale, which is bound by 45th Street on the south, Burnet Road on the east, MoPac Boulevard on the west and Anderson Lane on the north. Countless others are discovering what the Crestlys have known all along: Living in Central Austin is where it’s at.
Today, it’s difficult to picture Allandale as the flat farmland it was when construction began in the 1960s. The majestic trees that provide respite from the sun were planted back then. Today, those trees provide shade for the ranch-style homes situated along wide streets that offer ample room for motorists, bicyclists and walkers. The houses are mostly one-story and range from $100,000 to $220,000. Median price is $160,000, although the scramble for houses in the neighborhood increases the median price in May and June.
Bryker Woods
It was the physical beauty of Bryker Woods - with its lovely old trees and charming old homes - that attracted Jim Nelson to the neighborhood. It was the family atmosphere that kept him there. Nelson and his wife are raising three children in the home they bought in 1984. And they are staying put - "I love being near downtown but still away from it," Nelson said. "I can be at work downtown in 10 minutes. But because of its well- defined geography, Bryker Woods is confined. There are advantages to that." That confinement makes him feel safe since there is little through traffic. However, some parts of the neighborhood - such as on 29th Street - are seeing more traffic as motorists attempt to find shortcuts between MOPAC Boulevard and Interstate 35 to downtown.
Bryker Woods is bordered by Westover on the south, 35th on the north, Shoal Creek on the east and MOPAC Boulevard on the west. It was developed between the 1930s and 1950s, mostly with bungalows and a few larger homes surrounded by large, shady trees. At the end of May, houses with 1,200 square feet and three bedrooms and two baths sold for $205,000 in a day.
Clarksville [Area 1B]
John Guffey looks at the youngsters playing in his Clarksville neighborhood and sees the Rainbow Coalition. "That’s what I call them," said Guffey. "You see all kinds of kids on skateboards or bicycles. I don’t see kids anywhere else get such a mix of neighbors. We have all kinds of people with all kinds of lifestyles." Guffey bought his house in the near West Austin neighborhood 20 years ago when many considered the area to be "seedy" and mortgage companies wouldn’t finance homes there. Today Clarksville, named after Charles Clark who led a group of freed slaves to settle in the area in 1871, is one of the hottest-selling markets. The neighborhood is listed in the National Register of Historic Homes. Doctors,lawyers, architects and restaurant owners and waiters call Clarksville home.
The neighborhood boundaries recognized by the historical register are West Lynn Street on the east, MoPac Boulevard to the west, Ninth Street on the south and Waterston Avenue on the north. Most people, however, consider Clarksville to include all the area from Lamar Boulevard to MoPac Boulevard and Sixth Street to Enfield Road. A Clarksville address can cost prospective homeowners from $135,000 to $399,000 for a single-family home. Median price is $200,000. Some condos are available for around $55,000. Homes are all pier and beam, and built between 1910 and 1930. All homes have hardwood floors, with older ones boasting oak floors. Many homes are built from long leaf pine, a tree that was found locally back then, but is no longer available.
Old Enfield [Area 1B]
For countless years, Wadene Harrison and her husband tried to fashion their ranch-style home into a colonial-type home. "We just couldn’t get there," Harrison said. So 17 years ago, they bought their dream house in the Old Enfield neighborhood nestled in the hills just west of downtown Austin.
The neighborhood, bordered by MoPac Boulevard on the west, Lamar Boulevard and Pease Park on the east, 24th Street on the north and Enfield Road on the south, is a treasure trove of colonial architecture and quiet streets canopied by the branches of majestic live oak trees reaching across the street. Add its history into the mix, and it’s the perfect neighborhood as far as Harrison is concerned. "The history is certainly part of the appeal," said Harrison, who served six years as president of the Old Enfield Homeowners Association. "And the trees are incomparable." Harrison credits the rich soil and nearby Shoal Creek for the girth and growth of the trees.
The neighborhood, featured recently in Town and Country magazine as one of the 25 best neighborhoods in the country in which to live, is where Harrison wants to stay. She is selling her house on Woodlawn Avenue, which she considers to be perhaps the prettiest street in Austin, and is looking for a smaller home. "We are committed to Central Austin," Harrison said.
Downtown restaurants and grocery shopping are minutes away. And there is easy acess to major thoroughfares such as MoPac Boulevard and Interstate 35 through Enfield Road. Nearby Lamar Boulevard also provides an outlet for those traveling north and south. Yet once within the neighborhood, the quiet streets offer respite from the hustle and bustle of the city. The neighborhood’s location is one of the reasons homes sell well in the vicinity. Home prices range from $200,000 to several million. The median is $550,000 to $1 million.
Hyde Park [Area 4]
The opportunity to live in a historic home, the convenience to downtown and the traditional neighborhood feeling to Hyde Park convinced John and Catherine Moore this is where they wanted their home to be. The Moores and their 11-year-old daughter moved in last August from suburban Rollingwood into a restored 1938 home, and "We just love it," said Catherine Moore, who owned a home in Hyde Park while she attended the University of Texas in the 1970s. "It’s convenient to everything," Catherine Moore said. "Our daughter can ride her bike. We feel relatively safe walking and riding. We walk to church three blocks away. We’re so near the university, where we go to a lot of events." Catherine Moore said she also likes the diversity and tolerance of people in the neighborhood, which was entered into the National Registry of Historic Districts in 1990. "There’s an incredible mix of people," she said. "The man next door is a retired coach. We have professors from UT. On certain blocks there lot of young children. My husband says people here are interested in the life of the mind."
Because of its proximity to the university, many residents are renters. Hyde Park was established as a streetcar subdivision just north of the University of Texas in 1897, and is a mix of Victorian homes and bungalows. The original boundaries were from 38th to 45th streets and Guadalupe and Duval Streets. The success of the neighborhood led to an expansion of the neighborhood a few years later, said Cecil Pennington, a former president of the neighborhood association. The boundaries were expanded to include areas up to 51st Street and Airport Boulevard., down the railroad tracks to 45th Street back into Duval Street. Among the best-known landmarks are Hyde Park Baptist Church, the Elisabet Ney Museum and Schipe Park. Some consider the Hyde Park Bar & Grill to be a landmark in itself.
Tarrytown [Area 1B]
Location. Good schools. Charm. Those are the three reasons Paula and David Duke bought their home in Tarrytown. "Location was the number one reason," Paula Duke said. "My husband works downtown. It takes 10 minutes to get to his office." From where they live, Duke said she can quickly travel to North or South Austin on MOPAC. "We’re in the middle of everything," she said. Duke said they like the charm of older homes - built in the 1930s and 1940s - found in Tarrytown.
Real estate agents define as the area bound by Westover Road on the north, MOPAC Boulevard on the east, Enfield Road on the south and Lake Austin on the west. The Dukes looked for six months, each time coming back to Tarrytown. For the Dukes, who have a two-year-old child and are expecting another, good schools were very important. While still living in Alabama, they read the Texas Monthly article rating Texas schools, which gave nearby Casis Elementary four stars. .That was definitely a factor,. Duke said.
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Central Austin Nature
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Austin lies in one of three geologically stable areas in the U.S. The inactive Balcones Escarpment extends through Austin, creating the dramatic hills and environmental features which characterize the area. A series of dams on the river has created seven lakes that stretch from the Austin city limits to a point 150 miles. The sparkling lakes and dramatic terrain make Austin an oasis for sports and recreation. Lake Travis lies on Austin's western edge; Lake Austin and Town Lake are situated in the heart of "River City" dividing north and south.
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Central Austin News
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Search for "Austin TX" - Austin College Announces Fall Theatre Schedule by Austin College - Texomaland
| Big Brothers Big Sisters provides quality volunteer and professional services to young people, utilizing mentoring relationships that assist them in achieving their highest potential as they grow to become responsible men and women. |
- Austin Jazz Vocalist, Dena Taylor, Returning to the Studio and the American Jazz Songbook - PRWeb
| Jazz vocalist, Dena Taylor, is going back into the studio to record a new CD that is sure to please her fans. |
- Laser Tattoo Removal Training Course Offered by New Look Laser College - PRWeb
| New Look Laser College, a leading cosmetic laser training program - and the only one focused on laser tattoo removal training - holds intensive 3-day training courses in their Houston facility as well as on-site training around North America and Europe. |
- Alejandro Escovedo - The Austin American-Statesman
| In June 2008, Alejandro Escovedo released his 9th solo album Real Animal. Produced by Tony Visconti , Real Animal is a collective journey through Escovedoa s various musical incarnations from punk rock to string quintets and is as introspective as it... Reviews & Comments Alejandro Escovedo, Marmalakes Cactus Cafe Austin TX 2247 Guadalupe St. |
- Jimmy Edgar - The Austin American-Statesman
| Detroit/Berlin Techno Legend Releases New Full Length, Plays Learning Secrets Party In 2001 at the tender age of 18, Detroit native Jimmy Edgara s hyper-sexed cosmic-techno caught the ear of Warp Records, where he cranked out his brand of amped-up laptop funk for the next eight years, culminating in the full-length classic a oeColor Stripa . |
- Cowboys open new pro shop in Fort Worth's Sundance Square - Fort Worth Star-Telegram
| The black Lincoln Town Car pulled up to the curb on Main Street in Sundance Square and out stepped two Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders dressed in blue warm-ups. Jordan Baum and Lauren Williams were escorted inside, where they were the featured guests at Friday's grand opening of a new Cowboys Pro Shop downtown. |
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Central Austin Recreation
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Guadalupe River, where you can rent inner tubes, lash them together and spend the day soaking in the sun. Austin also features three natural spring-fed pools for public swimming: Barton Springs, Hamilton Pool and Deep Eddy. Barton Springs is the most popular choice, but Deep Eddy shows late-night movies during the summer — where else can you float in dark waters at midnight watching "Creature from the Black Lagoon?"
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Central Austin Transportation
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The average commute time in the Austin area is 15-20 minutes, though rush hour traffic may require additional time in the car. Several major highways transect Austin: Interstate 35 runs north-south through the downtown area and is considered the dividing line for east and west Austin. U.S. Highway 183 loops around from far northwest to northeast, then south to southeast. Also known as Research Blvd., Anderson Lane, and Ed Bluestein Blvd. U.S. Highway 290 enters north central Austin from east of I-35, joins I-35 south to State Highway 71 and extends west with Highway 71. Also called Ben White Blvd. Loop 360 (Capital of Texas Highway) extends north-south on the far west side of Austin intersecting with Highway 183 and then Loop 1 on the north and with Highway 290 on the south. Loop 1 (Mo-Pac Expressway) runs north-south just west of downtown. Intersects with FM 1325 (Burnet Road) in far north Austin and extends south trough Loop 360 and Highway 290 west to Slaughter Lane in far southwest Austin.
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Central Austin Weather
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Austin is hot during many months of the year, with 300 days of sunshine annually. Average temperatures range from 42 - 62 in the winter and 75 - 95 in the summer. Average annual rainfall is 32.49 inches. Call 476.7744 for time and weather information.
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