Austin Texas Real Estate

If youre looking for a top-notch Texas city to call home, youre sure to be delighted and surprised by whats on offer in Austin. Austin got its start as an 1838 trading post on the Colorado River in what was then a Native American buffalo hunting ground. Times have certainly changed since then  and Austin (named after an intrepid colonist) is now home to over half a million residents. The city is also the Texas state capital.

Because Austin is the state capital city, youll find historic buildings and cultural institutions that arent found elsewhere in the state. The Texas State Capitol building (located, appropriately, in Austin) stands 14 feet taller than the United States Capitol  which only goes to show that things in Texas do simply have to be bigger and better. Visitors and history buffs can troll around the Capitol Visitors Center in a building that was once a land office or wander through the Texas State History Museum.

What really makes Austin, Texas real estate stand out, however, is Austins reputation as a cultural and creative mecca. For years, residents have hawked bumper stickers and t-shirts that plead, Keep Austin Weird  and this is meant in a very real way. In the book The Rise of the Creative Class, Austin was assigned the highest creativity index score in the nation  recognizing the citys strong population of artists, musicians, writers, dancers, and others of less easily identifiable artistic ilks.

Weird? Really? Consider this: every night from March through October, over one and a half million bats fly out from under a downtown bridge. People come to watch and celebrate  every night.

Austin, Texas real estate isnt all about the quirky, however. Austins creative status also has to do with the profusion of cultural institutions that are part of daily life. The city is home to professional ballet, opera, and theatre companies  as well as a symphony. Youll find a score of museums, dozens of art galleries, and a motley but enthusiastic collection of interdisciplinary performance companies.

Life in Austin, Texas, then, is sure to have something for everyone. Whether youre looking for a vibrant and cosmopolitan city, millions of bats, or a world-class symphony, its all available at your fingertips. The beauty of the Austin community is that everything is available to all comers, no matter what youve come from and where youre headed. Check out Austin today  youre sure to be pleasantly surprised.

Jay Carter and Michele Kim Carter are not your typical real estate agents. They believe in working hard for their clients, and then re-investing their free time and money into worthy causes such as Big Brothers/Big Sisters and Austin Junior Forum. In the summer of 2007, Jay and Michele collected donations of children's clothing here in Austin, and then personally delivered them to orphanages in El Salvador. http://www.livinginaustin.com