Austin Texas. America's Coolest City and Live Music Capital of the World

[Music] hey guys and welcome to cool vision in this video we'll visit austin texas austin is the capital of texas and it's the 11th most populous city in the u.s with a population of 981 000 people and 2.2 million people living in the metro area austin is located in the hill country of central texas 146 miles northwest of houston 182 miles south of dallas and 74 miles northeast of san antonio it's the fastest growing metropolitan area in texas and that is in part because of a rising number of californians relocated into the city according to the austin chamber of commerce people are attracted to the lower income tax and the lower cost of living while austin doesn't have california's beaches and mountains there is a lot of similarities austin is also very hilly especially on the west side and many neighborhoods have spanish-style homes built on the hillsides with great views very similar to the neighborhoods in south california austin is also very liberal and there are a lot of homeless tents in the city some right in front of the city council building the slogan is keep austin weird which actually means keep austin unique and support local businesses from being overrun by national corporations it's one of the youngest cities in the u.s the average age of residents is 31 years thanks to the university of texas campus which is one of the largest universities in the us and it's attended by over 50 000 students this is the university of texas and the unofficial slogan is hooking horns so shelley graduated from this university what was your degree soviet eastern european studies right she loves moscow i do yellow blue moscow [Music] austin is a party town and it has more live music venues per capita than nashville memphis or new york city let's take a look at some parts of the city let's start with downtown the central business district of austin is home to some of the tallest all-residential condo towers in the u.s like the independent and the ostonian downtown austin is currently undergoing a skyscraper boom with many condos and high-rise towers being built in 2015 forbes ranked austin as the second fastest growing city downtown is dominated by the texas state capitol the seaholm district is a formerly industrial section of the city that has now been transformed into a vibrant urban neighborhood at the core of the district is the decommissioned power plant which has been redeveloped into a landmark residential and retail destination nice part of town [Music] sixth street is a historic street and entertainment district in downtown austin it has many bars clubs and music venues similar to bourbon street in new orleans or beale street in memphis traffic is closed thursday through friday nights and there's a variety of different events happening every year ranging from music and film festivals to bike rallies austin's been called the music capital of the world expect a rowdy crowd looking to party tons drink specials and a huge selection of live music venues it doesn't matter monday or friday sixth street is always busy there was a motorcycle rally at the time of our visit too bad the night ended in a mass shooting 14 people got shot and one person died later i even found a russian bar in austin you want to see how russians are partying let's go comrades [Music] rainey street is another neighborhood in downtown austin consisted mostly of bungalow style homes built in the early 20th century once this area was a sleepy residential street but now it has turned into a popular nightlife district all bungalows have been fixed up and renovated into bars and cocktail lounges with large backyards and porches i think compared to the 6th street rainey street gets a younger crowd [Music] now let's take a look at south congress also known as soco that's a shopping district stretching down south congress avenue from downtown this area is home to many coffee shops eccentric stores restaurants and festivals and is keeping it weird which means there are a lot of local businesses try amy's ice creams there are so many varieties i got belgian uh chocolate and strawberry let's try it try thin crust pizza and local beers at home sliced pizza and then if you're still hungry buy it into some juicy burgers that hop daddy i had an el diablo burger and man it was too spicy this is an al diablo burger [Music] as the cost of living in texas cities continues to climb gentrification is reshaping neighborhoods east austin is a vibrant walkable area with close proximity to downtown that used to be predominantly black the east 11th street has a history of being the heart of the african american community in east austin there is a huge black artist matter street mural on east 11th street here you're going to find a lot of cool bars and breweries and now this area is getting gentrified which means it's being taken over by upper income condos apartments and houses some people are not happy about it because as the property taxes increase low-income residents are getting priced out but it's capitalism the greater austin metro area had a gross metropolitan product of 168 billion in 2020 whole foods market is a multinational supermarket chain that was founded and is headquartered in austin it was recently acquired by amazon tech companies like ibm apple dell and activision are coming here large numbers that's why austin is sometimes called the silicon hills similar to silicon valley in california it's a good alternative to the west coast if you want to get a technology job enjoy an urban lifestyle but avoid skyrocketing expenses of the bay area elon musk is in austin too it's building a new tesla mega plan here look at it it's going to be enormous austin is also emerging as a hub for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies according to numbeo average monthly net salary is 5 700 or 69 000 a year real estate has been driven sky high by all these tech jobs that are here now prices have increased substantially for example some 10 years ago a small house in this neighborhood cost around 400 grand but today it's more than a million the western suburbs consist of rolling hills on the edge of the texas hill country many houses have a swimming pool of course because of the hot summer keep austin weird has been a local model for years featured in bumper stickers and t-shirts this model has not only been used in promoting austin's eccentricity and diversity but is also meant to support local independent businesses austin is home to the largest known bad colony in north america stop by the congress avenue bridge at dusk and enjoy the performance every evening from march to september the bats fly out to hunt in a black cloud and crowds of spectators gather to watch it 5.3 of residents in the austin metropolitan area identify as lgbt austin is very lgbt friendly as of 2019 there were 2 255 individuals experiencing homelessness in travis county there are a lot of homeless people in downtown area i saw some people camping right in front of the city council building but in may 2021 the camping ban was reinstated this ban introduces penalties for camping sitting or lying down on a public sidewalk or sleeping outdoors in or near downtown austin or the area around the university of texas campus austin is best known for its texas barbecue tex-mex cuisine and great beer franklin bbq is perhaps austin's most famous barbecue restaurant it has sold out a brisket every day since its establishment in july 2014 president barack obama visited the restaurant and bought lunch for those in line behind him but to be fair he cut the line in the first place we visited one of the country line restaurants they've been serving up legendary slow-smoked barbecue since 1975. they're famous for their big meaty ribs extra lin brisket and spicy german sausage like five times bigger breakfast tacos and cuesto are popular items in the city austin is sometimes called the home of the breakfast taco the food is amazing and one thing that's so cool about austin is that most of its food is local many of the local restaurants started as food trucks austin has the second largest number of food trucks per capita in the u.s there were 1256 food trucks operate in 2016. in 2009 72 of austin commuters drove alone 10.4 used carpool six percent work from home and only five percent use public transportation even though austin is still very much car dependent they're developing light rail systems now capital metrorail is a 32-mile commuter rail system which opened in 2010 currently the capital metro system consists of only one line the red line but in 2020 capital metro's 10 billion transit expansion plan was approved and that means there's going to be three new light rail lines actually within the next few years [Music] one going out to the airport one maynard elgin downtown transit tunnel austin is known as the most bike-friendly city in texas and was ranked number seven in the u.s by bicycling magazine in 2016. what are the major sites of austin the texas state capitol is the seat of government of the state of texas it was constructed from 1882 to 1888 and at the time it was the seventh largest building in the world it's actually five feet taller than the us capital in washington dc and interesting fact about it you see there's two flags on top of the building that's facing the south and there's only one flag facing the north and the reason for that is when it's facing the south is kind of a way to say to mexico hey we got a big brother on our side right on the other side there's only the texas flag as a way to tell washington dc hey guys we can always succeed so you better be nice to us the texas state capitol is also a major tourist attraction make sure you walk up to the fourth floor for views of the dome and rotunda you'll see portraits of the past presidents of the republic of texas and governors of the state of texas among other things there is a painting depicting the surrender of general santa anna at the battle of san jacinto and while you're here you can visit the governor's public reception room what else you can visit the contemporary austin which is texas primary contemporary art museum visit hope outdoor gallery which is a paint park for colorful murals visit the paramount theater an austin cultural icon or have lunch at the driscoll hotel which is the oldest operating hotel in austin featuring lavish bridal suites two restaurants and a grand ballroom this romanesque style building was completed in 1886. south of the city you'll find formula one circuit of the americas raceway that has hosted the united states grand prix do you see it's open there look at her she wants to get on the track we can barely make it up a hill yeah hold my beer take some pictures of the penny backer bridge also known as the 360 bridge it's another tourist attraction and the signature element in the loop 360 in the texas hill country visit the oasis on lake travis restaurant it's a great place to try some nachos and margaritas while enjoying the views of lake travis this restaurant was built in 1982 by a houston entrepreneur such an interesting and amazing place breathtaking views of lake travis and mexican gourmet food it's a little bit off the beaten path but it's well worth the visit [Music] austin is part of texas hill country a geographic region of central and south texas texas hill country is beautiful and is home to numerous lakes rivers and waterways notably this area is home to many types of wildflowers that blossom throughout the year this is wild seed farms and in fact it's the nation's largest working wild flower farm now these yellow flowers that you see it's called black-eyed susans of course i wanted to see blue bonnets but i was told they're in april and may and now it's june are you enjoying yourself in texas oh yeah as soon as i mentioned that i'm from russia this gentleman said he's been to russia i just came there for the energy business and i've been doing business with energy companies for years over there so it's always a i thought russia was fantastic very similar to the united states different way of living but very quality people and very nice i played football at abilene christian on the national 1977 national championship team went on to uh be an energy trader and just kind of took it from there it was kind of like playing football you have to remember a whole lot same thing you just uh you're not hitting people anymore or getting it or getting hit yeah what's your name sir uh glenn glenn labhart you can go to my website labheartrisk advisors good stuff great to meet you thank you if the outdoors is your thing you're going to enjoy it so many things to do here from wine tasting to cycling to horseback riding there are over 100 wineries and vineyards this area is also known as the peach capital of texas [Music] it gets really hot in austin in the summer luckily there is a lot of things you can do to get away from the heat there are over 50 public swimming pools and swimming holes locals like to cool off at the historic barton springs municipal pool the nation's largest natural swimming pool situated in silke park and deep adipool texas oldest man-made swimming pool both range in temperatures from 68 fahrenheit during the winter to about 71.6 fahrenheit during the summer it can get pretty hot during the summer like today's 95. you need the place to cool off and barton springs is one of those places the biggest downside is that a lot of these places get extremely crowded just look at it so another cool option is to go tubing there are a few places to go tubing in austin and then it's a lot of fun is everybody coming hey bro we good just don't hit anyone austin tends to be a healthy city in general everyone is out running or biking or walking their dogs ladybird lake is a river-like reservoir on the colorado river we can go swimming and boating and paddle boarding i've never seen so many paddle boards anywhere else zilker park is austin's favorite park amazing location on the banks of lady bird lake with miles of hiking and biking trails large open lawns sports fields cross country courses and picnic areas this is where they have acl every year austin city limits music festival mount bane is one of the highest points in austin at 781 feet it has been a popular tourist destination since the 1850s that's a prominent point along the lake austin portion of the colorado river to reach the top you'll have to climb 102 stairs but as a reward you'll get a fantastic view of colorado river downtown austin and the surrounding hills no doubt mount bonnet is a great place to live if you can afford one of those fancy waterfront and water view properties prices range from 1.2 million all the way to 10 million waterfront lots started 3 million [Music] is there a lot of crime in austin not really as of 2021 austin is one of the safest large cities in the u.s austin is known as an enclave of liberal politics in an otherwise conservative state in the 2016 presidential election 66.3 percent of travis county which contains the majority of austin voted for hillary clinton also travis county was the only county in texas to reject texas constitutional amendment proposition 2 that effectively outlawed gay marriage and did so by a wide margin people in austin love dogs dogs are welcome here virtually everywhere it is more common than not to see dogs alongside the owners at coffee shops taco joints and even grocery stores some say austin is becoming another dallas with its arrogant attitudes the original appeal of austin was that it was a laid-back place but maybe not anymore the state's power grid which is kept separate from the rest of the country failed last year in february 2021 winter storm yuri dropped prolific amounts of snow across texas including austin this is what my friend's place looked like at the time wow now let's sum it up why is austin such a desirable place today there are a few reasons number one jobs companies are coming here in large numbers building jobs in various industries number two lower taxes compared to other states number three warm weather number four austin has a great nightlife and number five it's a relatively safe city what are the downsides though the traffic which can get very congested summer that can get very hot real estate prices are high compared to other texas cities there's not a lot of public transportation and there are a lot of homeless tents in downtown all right hope you guys enjoyed this video about austin texas and let me know what you think have i missed anything i'll see in my next video about philadelphia thanks for watching [Music] year i can [Music] the heroes [Music] you

Channel: CoolVision

Views: 359,542

Keywords: keep it weird, austin travel guide, austin sights, relocating to Austin, best city in the us

Id: KzX9kJumv9A

Length: 20min 27sec (1227 seconds)

Published: Thu Dec 30 2021