“Keep Austin Weird” – Seriously

Pop-culture aficionados will agree, Austin has a much different reputation than its neighbors in San Antonio, Dallas, and Houston. In fact, many of our friends in the area joke that the only way they leave the area is on an airplane (to avoid the rest, of well… Texas). Due to its Universities and history of being a progressive, somewhat against the grain community (we do celebrate Eeyore’s birthday city-wide, and have an annual Spam-a-Rama festival to raise awareness for the venerable potted meat product), Austin has a vibrant arts and culture scene, here are just a few examples:

The city is also considered to have one of the most active film and movie industry industries behind Los Angeles, as well as a burgeoning modern architecture and arts scene.

The city’s restaurants are an on par with some of the best cities (though some of our firm travel to New York mostly to eat, we could “get by” just fine); ranging from exceedingly eclectic, international, and some excellent home-grown “slow food” movement eateries focusing on the area’s rich agricultural roots. We even have some wineries that are starting to win some awards (though most of the winemakers were poached from Napa and Sonoma, to be fair).

Three of our personal favorites are Vespaio in the “SoCo” area of town, Wink, and Uchi (honestly the best sushi we’ve ever had, with a chef who was won top national accolades).

The Greater Austin area ranks high on the livability scale, which is why Austin frequently ranks high on national lists of Best Cities. In 2003, for example, Austin came in fourth on Travel & Leisure's list of best loved cities, first on Forbes' list of Best Cities for Singles, and third on Hispanic Magazine's list of Best Cities for Hispanics. In 2002, it was in the Money Magazine's Top !0 list of Best Places to Live. Lots of reasons are given-a cosmopolitan atmosphere without big city hassle, great scenery and recreational opportunities, a reasonable cost of living, a great music and cultural scene.

Austin is nestled among the rolling hills and lakes of Central Texas, the seat of state government, an educational Mecca with seven area universities and an entertainment complex that includes the best of live music, the arts and all the fun of the great outdoors.

There are simply no other markets in which the cost to “get into the game” is as low as it is in Austin combined with a market that so many experts feel is poised for tremendous growth in the coming years. Forward thinking investors that jump on board now are likely to reap substantial benefits in the future.

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