I've Drank the Austin Kool-Aid Since 1981!

I moved to NW Austin the week-end of the famous Memorial Day floods in 1981….a memorable way to be welcomed! The population was a little more than three hundred thousand and now we are over 2+ million!

No city in American has changed more than Austin in the last two decades. It has grown by a third in the past ten years.

NW Austin, at the time I moved here, was just coming alive with building expansion projects on the drawing board and goods and services anticipated to be under construction soon. The schools were highly rated, which was a huge concern for me.

Much has been written about Austin and its laid-back weirdness. It really is all about our desire to retain our authentic place in the sun with all our idiosyncrasies. We love our history, music, traditions and culture. We embrace all transplants (remember I’m one too) with open arms but don’t want to be rebranded into a turbocharged tech megalopolis and lose our identity along the way. Our city skyline many of us don’t recognize anymore. I understand we are a big city now but we can, and will retain our flavor and vibe!

So what can you expect when you move to Austin? What is the attraction? Our climate combined with being located in the rolling hills of the Texas Hill Country offers so many scenic outdoor destinations. We love our freedom to discover what Mother Nature provides in our corner of the world, yet still enjoy the downtown vibe. There are so many diverse entertainment districts with trendy shops, restaurants, cool music venues, renowned museums and galleries. There are endless Austin Attractions to discover. 

Our family loves the Annual Thanksgiving Turkey Trot! Paddle boarding on Town Lake is always enjoyed, including precious Bella, my daughters King Charles Cavalier. Bat watching at dusk, under the Congress Ave bridge is an event not to miss!

Austin has the reputation for Our Live Music Scene…. we love our concerts and local venues!  That’s only the tip of the iceberg.  Our Texas capital city features so many unique attractions and world class museums.  We have a soundtrack all our own! You can find sculpture gardens, historic homes; you can zipline through the hill country and or have your children experience hands-on experiences through the Austin Museum Partnership

Austin is sports town! Check out Austin’s sports team. We are infatuated with our new Q2 Stadium and our 3 year old Austin FC soccer team. Verde! Listos! (translation: Green! Let's go!) 

Longhorn Football turns the town upside down! You better be ready to come early, be loud, stay late and wear orange! Matthew  McConaughey is co-owner of the Austin FC MLS team, and an avid sports fan who is frequently sighted along the University of Texas football sidelines, cheering his alma mater. Dubbing himself the universities “minister of culture” he used his pride in his alma mater to encourage similar feelings in the surrounding community.

Every great city has a public research institution and a great private research institution. If you haven’t heard about UATX you will! Their first class will be in 2024. University of Austin will be an American private liberal arts college. Some say they want it to be like Stanford is to Berkley (University of Texas). It will become a huge player in employment in Austin. 

Who are the Major Players employing Austinites? The State of Texas is #1 and the University of Texas is #2. Austin is a government town. There are 5 major employers – each with more than 15,000 workers on average.

I began drinking the Austin Kool-Aid in 1981, raised my children here, and were happy after my two children went off to college and both decided to live, work and raise their families in Austin (I guess they were drunk on the Kool-Aid too).

As an integral part of my grandchildren’s life I feel blessed. I also feel kind of sad knowing the world is now aware of Austin; our best kept secret.  Even with all the changes I feel at home with my quirky, growing city. My wish is for our public safety to be fixed and then we can truly be considered the best city in the world. Oh, and another thing, those thinking its okay to drag race in our major intersections, need to be taken to task. Like any Kool-Aid there are days it can be bitter or tart but most every day it’s blissfully sweet!