Austin, Texas

Formerly known as Waterloo in the mid 1800's, Austin, Texas is the state capital and the county seat of Travis County. Austin is centrally located in the county along the legendary Colorado River. The city was established by the three-year-old Republic of Texas in 1839 to serve as its permanent capital, and named in honor of its founder, Stephen F. Austin. Austin’s population in 2009 was 757,688 residents according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

For the last 20 years, Austin has been known as a leader in both technology and creativity. During that time, Dell computers rose from its humble beginnings to become a Fortune 500 company and Austin is home to enough major technology corporations to have earned the nickname "Silicon Hills."

On August 29, 1991 the city became known as the "Live Music Capitol of the World" upon discovery that Austin has more live music venues per capita than Nashville, Los Angles, New York City, or any other city in the nation. The city is home to nearly 200 venues and is home to thousands of musicians. The PR for the city boasts that "…you can catch a show any day of the week, at almost any time, if the mood and the tune strike."

Austin is also home to the main campus of the University of Texas. This center of learning is a major research university that has more than 50,000 students, 2,900 faculty, and 21,000 staff members. The mission of the University of Texas is "to transform lives for the benefit of society through the core values of learning, discovery, freedom, leadership, individual opportunity and responsibility.

Austin, Texas  is the state capital of Texas and the county seat of Travis County. Austin is centrally located in Travis County along the legendary Colorado River. The city was established by the three-year-old Republic of Texas in 1839 to serve as its permanent capital, and named in honor of its founder, Stephen F. Austin. Austin’s population in 2006 was 709,893 residents according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Entertainment, especially music, is offered in abundance in Austin, Texas. The city is billed at the “Live Music Capitol of the World.” The slogan became official on August 29, 1991, after it was discovered that Austin had more live music venues per capita than anywhere else in the nation. The main campus of the University of Texas is located in Austin. The city is home to enough large sites of major technology corporations to have earned it the nickname "Silicon Hills." Austin was selected as the No. 2 Best Big City in "Best Places to Live" by Money magazine in 2006.