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Austin, Texas

Austin, Texas is one of the most entertaining places in United States. The city of Austin is the capital of Texas and the hot spot for creativity. The city is a goldmine of musicians, politicians, artists, progressive thinkers, entrepreneurs and Longhorn fans. Austin ranks highly on the list of must see cities of travellers around the world who wish to see the great Wild West, the Texas cowboys and the classic Salons that the movies have popularized Texas with.

The city is brimming with activities of all kinds, the biggest of which is the live music scene of Austin that one can see everywhere, which has also led to the city gaining the nickname, "The live music capital of the World". There are live music performances in Airports, bars, nightclubs, restaurants and even streets, along with more than 200 live music performance destinations. No wonder that chart busting Grammy winging singers such as Shawn Colvin, Dixie Chicks, Asleep at the Wheel, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Willie Nelson and Don Walser and many more, all from Texas.

Austin also ranks at the top of the movie making destinations in Texas with numerous Hollywood movies made here. This introduction only barely scratches the surface of the things that are available in an amazingly pulsating city such as Austin.

Austin is the capital city of the State of Texas, a place which enjoys more than 300 days of uninterrupted sunshine annually. The city has transitioned from its Wild West roots to a technologically forward city with numerous Fortune 500 companies and a dynamic skyline that did not exist 100 years ago. The city has become famous all over the world as a center for education, sports, business, green living, health, and a community that is extremely welcoming to outsiders.

The city has iconic architectural landmarks such as the Granite Capitol building that competes with the Capitol building of Washington D.C. and is even 14.5 feet taller. It is also home to the pompous University of Texas that brings young students from all over United States and the World to be part of this amazingly progressive city, whose population doubles every twenty years like clockwork. The Texan-Mexican cuisine is another reason that pulls people to Austin, were a wide selection of restaurants offering the regions' most famous delicacies are present. The citizens of the city pride themselves in being the greenest city in United States with biker's lanes, compulsory recycling of trash and no public smoking.

Austin History

Texas has been historically an area inhabited by Native American tribes since the 11th century. The area where Austin today stands was inhabited by the Native American tribe of Tonkawa, along with the Lipan Apaches tribe and Comanches tribes which passed through the area and lived in the other parts of Texas. The Spanish explorers were the first to discover this area and they used this area as a way to travel to other parts of America. A few permanent settlements were also created by the Spanish; however none of them turned into permanent ones. The first permanent mission was settled in the Zilker Part area in Austin, which was the combination of three small missions.

In the beginning of the 18th century, the Spanish built permanent settlements and forts around the area where the present city of Austin stands. With the independence of Mexico, the region of Texas gained attraction with new settlements in Austin and other parts of central Texas. However the growth of these settlements was hampered by the presence of Native Americans who were in a constant war with the settled people. The growth in these regions was also hampered because of the same causes and reduced the number of people migrating to Texas. In 1835 the residents of Texas waged a major war against the Native American Tribes and succeeded after two years of war. This led the region now known as Texas to be known as a country of its own with its own president, monetary system and congress.

The capital city of the new founded country of Texas was chosen to be Austin and named after the father of Texas, Stephen F. Austin. The region around that Waterloo area was chosen because of its pleasant surroundings, hills and waterways. The city was also chosen because of its geographical location between the trade routes of Galveston Bay and Santa Fe and also between Red River and the country of Mexico. The newly selected area was planned by Edwin Waller who laid out the plan of the capital city. A temporary Texas State Capitol building was erected in 1939.

Even after the war of Texas and the formation of the country of Texas, the conflicts between the Native Americans did not end. The Texas Rangers were in constant clashed with the Comanches who till 1840 were involved in two wars, the Council House Fight and the Battle of Plum Creek. These two wars assured the end of the conflicts between the Texas Rangers and the Native Americans, whose numbers greatly dwindled. This also led to people from other parts of North America and Mexico moving into Austin and led to the formation of various counties. After 1845, the Republic of Texas became a part the newly formed Untied States of America.

The city of Texas suffered a number of attempts to be disregarded as the capital of Texas, because of its proximity to Mexico and the threat of Native Americans. By 1840's the town had only 854 after the Congress left Austin. By 1880's numerous schools and the establishment of the University of Texas brought numerous people to Austin. Further growth was seen after the completion of the state capitol building in 1888 and was at that time the seventh largest building in the world. After 1920 the government of Austin launched various beautification projects that led to creation of the city's infrastructure.

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 Travis County, Texas

The city of Austin is located in Travis County in the middle of the second largest state in United States. The Travis County is part of the Greater Austin metropolitan area, which is made up of Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos. The county has an overall population of just over a million people, according to the 2010 United States census. The seat of the county is the city of Austin, which also serves as the capital for the state of Texas.

The Texas-based county is named after the general, William Barret Travis who lead the Texas Rangers into the Battle of Alamo and won the battle, successfully ending the conflict between the Texans and the Native Americans. The county is home to Fortune 500 companies such as Dell, Motorola, Sematech, Microelectronics, Texas Instruments, and 3M. The county is one of the largest financial centers of Texas.

The county is known for its high property taxes and is also the county that collects the most amount of property taxes. However the county has no income tax, which makes this an ideal location for working individuals.

Travis County has a major population of Caucasian or White people who make up 68.2 percent of the population, followed by African Americans at 9 percent, Native Americans at 0.5 percent and a large percentage of foreign population with the Asians leading at 4.4 percent.