Keep Austin Weird!

Note: This is part one of three posts about Austin. The next two parts will be about food (yum!) and points-of-interests.   

So I've been in Austin for about a week now and I can say that so far, it's my favorite city to visit in the United States. I could pretty much see myself living here. Let me give you (ya'll) a summary of what Austin's all about.

Austin Skyline

First off, it's a pretty small city compared to others I've visited. Unlike Houston, which is large and widely spread out, Austin is a city of about 790,000 people and small enough to easily get around in.

credit: AustinPost

Second, Austin is very eccentric and diverse. The city's local motto is "Keep Austin Weird", which rings true to its name. So far, I've seen quite a few weird sides of Austin, as well as the hipster, ghetto, urban, and classy sides, all combined. From people commuting on a unicycle (cause two wheels are obviously too boring) to a movie theater that serves food and beer, Austin has them all. The motto is also used to promote an independent, anti-corporate business culture. You won't see a lot of chain restaurants and shops in this city, which I think is refreshing (compared to Los Angeles). Lots and lots of mom-and-pop stores and small businesses, so there's a lot of variety when shopping around.

Daniel Johnston's famous "Hi, how are you" mural on Guadalupe St. (credit: anoopiyer)

Third, the city has an outstanding arts and music culture. You'll find a lot of small businesses with street art and murals plastered on the walls of the building. Very cool. For music, Austin is known as the Live Music Capital of the World because of its vibrant live music scene, and for good reason. It has more music venues per capita than any other U.S. city and hosts a lot of festivals, including the famous annual film/music festival known as South by Southwest (SXSW). And if you head down 6th street any night of the week, you'll find plenty of bars and clubs featuring live local bands and DJ's. One of the coolest bands we went out to see so far was Wheeler Brothers at the Shady Grove. Combine that with some frozen Jack & Cokes from the bar (for $3.50!) and you have yourself a very good night.

Wheeler Brothers playing at Shady Grove, Austin.

So that's Austin in a nutshell. If you love live bands, great food, beautiful scenery, and an abundance of street art, definitely hit up Austin on your next road trip. Next post, I'll be covering the food scene in the city and all the awesome tacos, Cuban sandwiches, and Czech kolaches we've been stuffing our faces with. Thanks for reading!