Austin is located in the south central part of Texas. It is the fourth largest city in Texas by population, and seventeenth largest city in the country. Selected as the No.1 Best City in "Best Places to Live" by Money Magazine Austin, Texas, is an extremely attractive city for people to move to. Also voted America's #1 College Town by the travel Channel (there are eight colleges located in Austin, with the main campus of the University of Texas being one of them), Austin offers everything from safety to nature and has the benefits that come with being a large, diverse city. No wonder people are moving to Austin as a diverse, safe, and bustling city, keeping local Austin movers busy.
Austin is a hub of distribution and commerce for the surrounding agricultural area. Additionally, it is a center of technology and research. The most commonly manufactured products include electronics, wood, jewelry, and various military and medical equipments. The city has attracted many technology-related companies and in doing so, produces various computer hardware and software. The biggest employer's of the city include the state government, Dell and IBM. Many other technology companies in the area include Intel, AMD, Apple Computer and National Instrument.
History:
Austin was inhabited by a variety of Indian tribes for hundreds of years before any European settlers reached the area. Some Spanish missions were set up during the 1700's, although they were mostly temporary settlements. Additional settlers reached the area in the 1830's and built a village called Waterloo. In 1839, the village became the capital of the Republic of Texas. Waterloo was renamed Austin in honor of Stephen F. Austin, nicknamed "The Father of Texas." The Texas Archives War, which took place in 1842, was an attempt to move the capital from Austin. A group of men attempted to take the archives of Texas from the city, but were caught and the records were safely returned to Austin.
The Texas State Capitol Building was finally completed in 1888 and was originally noted as one of the largest buildings in the world. The Great Granite Dam was built in 1893 to stabilize the water supply and power for the city. It was replaced by several smaller dams in later years, creating reservoirs in the area. Charles Whitman shot and killed 16 people in 1966 from a University of Texas tower. Many artists fled to Austin in the 1970s to escape the corporate world of other cities. In the following decades, Austin has experienced tremendous upturns from further development and influxes of technology to the area.
Tourism:
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is ten miles from the city. There are no major professional teams in the area, although the city has two minor league teams and major college teams from the University of Texas.
Historic buildings of the city include the state capitol building, the governor's mansion, the former French Embassy, and several other houses and buildings dating back to early in Austin's history. Other destinations surrounding the city include Barton Springs and the National Wildflower Research Center.