Austin is the capital of the great State of Texas and the seat of Travis County. It has a population of over 743,000. Now, that’s a BIG CITY! It’s moniker for a long time has been “The Live Music Capital of the World” due to its innumerous live music venues, more per capita than giants like New York City, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Memphis or even music giant Nashville!

A major cultural and economic center, the city sits stately on the Colorado River banks. It has many attributes that you won’t want to overlook. In 2006, Money Magazine ranked Austin the 2nd best big city in which to live on their list of “Best Places to Live.” MSN voted Austin 1st on their “10 Greenest Cities in America..” The Milken Institute ranked the city 12th in the U.S. on their list of biotech and life science centers.

Travel & Leisure Magazine and CNN Headline News ranked it 2nd on their list of cities with the “Best People in U.S. Cities,” meaning the traits and personalities of Austin’s citizens. The Travel Channel ranked it America’s No. 1 College Town, and it’s ranked the 5th safest city due in part to fewer than 3 murders annually per 100,000 people.

Citizens of Austin are often referred to as “Austinites,” and Austinites are proud of their power tech community. As Silicon Valley became too expensive, companies began looking outside the four walls of the San Francisco Bay area and began to spread out to the different corners of the U.S.

One such place was Austin, Texas often dubbed as “The New Silicon Valley.” Dell Computer, a local corporation decided to go public in the late 1980s. It started a momentum of successful investors who invested in upstart companies like Motorola and Cisco, then moved on to the dot-coms. Even after the bust, Austin made a great come-back.

Austin most certainly is a mecca for technology, and many other non-tech companies call this city home, too. It hosts many major corporate businesses, including Whole Foods and Dell - both Fortune 500 companies who have their headquarters here. It’s a powerhouse of a place for higher education, work life, arts, culture, entertainment, recreation, safety, health, conservation, recreation and public, private and alternative education for the kids.

With all these amenable amenities, you’re going to pay a little for real estate, but it will be worth it. You can’t quash quality and you wouldn’t want to. You may decide on a central Austin cottage, or an urban loft or a brand new suburban home. How about a golf resort abode or lakeside living? It’s all here. So much to choose from here in Austin!

With a beautiful cityscape day or night, Austin beckons you to come and live … you’ll come alive in Austin!

If you’re interested in finding out more about Austin real estate, click Austin, TX Homes For Sale and MLS Listings.