An eclectic pick-and-mix of retro funk and entrepreneurial spirit, Austin’s best side is a mystic soup of social consciousness and capitalist development, tattoo-covered artists and internet millionaires. Quality of life reigns supreme. Here even the buttoned-down businessmen are likely to take a day off to go swimming in spring-fed pools, jogging along Town Lake or kayaking on the river. Almost any night here you can listen to live indie rock, jazz-funk, alt country, punk ska, acoustic rhythms, Latin sambas, Tejano trumpets, world beat…shall I go on? All this coolness has not gone unnoticed as citizens proudly strive to ‘Keep Austin Weird.’
In almost anything you read or hear about Austin, you will be told that it is a laid back city. "Laid back" has become Austin's defining trait. First-time visitors get here and expect to find a city whose denizens all move about and express themselves in the unhurried manner.
Over the years Austin has gotten bigger and busier, but it hasn't lost its essential nature. Stay here for a couple of days and you'll feel the laid back quality you've heard about. Austinites are personable, gracious, and open, and for them the enjoyment of the simple pleasures of life holds a great deal more attraction than the rat race. At times it seems that everyone you meet is either a musician, a massage therapist, or has some other sort of alternative career.
Austinites of all walks of life enjoy the outdoors. Barton Springs is the preferred spot for a swim; the popular hike-and-bike trail that encircles Lady Bird Lake is a favorite place for either a leisurely walk or a serious run. And when it comes to hipster restaurants, people watching or vintage shopping, nothing beats the bustling South Congress Avenue district otherwise known as “SOCO”.
The city streets and bike lanes are filled with Austin's many cyclists. Just outside of town are several parks and nature preserves and rivers and lakes that can be enjoyed. Hand in hand with this love of the outdoors is a strong environmental consciousness, which is reflected in the local government. Austin leads the nation in green energy production, has the most aggressive recycling and energy conservation programs in the state, and, though starting late, it has instituted programs to reduce traffic and urban sprawl.
