Why Austin?

Austin is the capital of the U.S. state of Texas. Known in some parts as Silicon Hills for its booming technology sector, Austin boasts high quality of life combined with moderate cost of living. It has a population of over 1.4 million and frequently ranks highly in numerous Best Cities lists. BioWare is proud to have a studio located in this wonderful urban centre

• Music: Known as the "Live Music Capital of the World", Austin has a vibrant music scene and the most music venues per capita of any city in the U.S. Austin celebrates many festivals during the year, including South by Southwest and the Austin City Limits Music Festival.
• Diversity and Education: Austin boasts a diverse labor force in its young, growing and talented population. Austin is known as one of the most educated cities in the nation; a combined 116,000 students are enrolled at University of Texas Austin and six other Austin colleges and universities.
• Enjoying the Outdoors: The weather is temperate, with an average temperature of 68°F and over 300 days of sunshine each year! Austin has a very active outdoor culture that attracts runners, cyclists, rock-climbers, and more. The Texas Hill Country and plentiful lakes provide a scenic lifestyle for Austinites.

Austin Rankings

Travel + Leisure names Austin among the Top 25 Cities in America. Austin was among the top five in: singles scene, barbecue, people, live music, safety, cheap eats, fun, food/dining (overall), underground arts, nightlife, clubbing, happy hour, affordability, environmental awareness, cleanliness, public parks, athleticism, attractive people, friendliness, vintage shopping and "wild weekend."

In 2008, Austin led the Forbes.com list of "Best Bang for Your Buck" cities because of its affordable housing and promising prospects for job growth in coming years.

Austin is listed among the top 10 greenest cities in the U.S. according to a survey by Popular Science.

With beautiful weather and a great variety of golf courses, Austin was named #1 Golf City in America on CNN’s golf.com.

Forbes.com cites Austin’s nightlife, culture and low cost of living as major reasons it appears again on Forbes’ annual list of Best Places for Singles.

National Geographic Adventure names Austin as Texas’ #1 Adventure Town in its list of "50 Best Places to Live & Play."

Interesting Austin Links

• Austin 360 Guide
• Austin Kids Guide
• Austin at Wikipedia
• CNN Money: Austin - Best Place to Live