Austin
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about
Austin is the state capital of Texas, the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 15th-largest in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in the nation from 2000 to 2006. Originally named "Waterloo", it was the capital of the independent "Republic of Texas" in 1839. And independent it still is! Austin enjoys a reputation for being much more liberal than the rest of Texas as illustrated by the championing of local businesses over globalization.
Austinites are known for being music lovers, the city's official slogan is "The Live Music Capital of the World", a reference to the many musicians and live music venues within the area.
Located in central Texas, on the eastern edge of the American Southwest on the banks of the Colorado River. Austin has a population of 786,382 and the metropolitan area's population is 1,769,952. The Eastern part of the city is flat while the western half is on rolling hills. The skyline consists of fairly low buildings that are spread apart.
Austin is a major centre for the high tech industry and is also home to the University of Texas at Austin. It was greatly affected by the dot com boom and bust. Dell, 3M, Apple, Hewlett-Packard, Google, and Cisco are just some of the high tech companies with operations in the city. Austin hosts the SXSW music festival, an industry-based event that features some 2000 performers in over 90 venues in the downtown area. It is one of the largest music festivals in the US. It is also home to the Austin Film Festival. A number of motion pictures have been set in, or filmed in Austin due to the strong influence of the university's department of Radio-Television-Film.
localtime
GMT -5
dialing codes
+1
video standard
NTSC
visa info
Visa not required for British, Canadian, Australian and other EU passport holders for up to 90 days except for nationals of Cyprus, Greece, Hungary, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania and Slovak Republic who require a visa.
national holidays
Jan1 NY Day;3rd Mon in Jan MLK Jr Day;3rd Mon in Feb President's Day;last Mon in May Memorial Day;July 4 Ind. Day; 1st Mon in Sept Labor Day; 2nd Mon in Oct Columbus Day; Nov 11 Veterans Day; 4th Thurs in Nov Thanksgiving Day; Dec 25 Christmas Day
weather
Humid subtropical climate characterized by hot summers and mild winters. Severe thunderstorms occur in spring, summers are hot and humid and winters are mild and dry
languages
English
airport
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is located 8km southeast of the city
getting around
Most of the public transportation is on buses but a new Rapid Line is in development that will involve 60ft long train-like buses. There is a newly unveiled commuter rail system that opened in March 2010. Austin is very bike friendly and also features a car sharing programme
advertising agencies
GSD&M, LatinWorks, MAKOS Advertising, Sicola Martin
important contacts
Austin Film Commission www.austintexas.org/filmmakers