What to Expect When Visiting Austin, Texas

My husband and I recently visited Austin, Texas and I thought I'd share my first impressions for anyone who is considering visiting the city. I can give you advice based on our time there. I will say this; it's everything we hoped it would be. Being from Indiana, we were looking for a town with great weather and a culture in which we could work as creative professionals for a possible move.

Austin also seems to be a great place to visit and in several areas reminded me of a tourist town. There's lots to do recreation wise, a university, lots of park space, an easy flow of traffic and a great layout to the streets, and so much more. If you are going to be a first time traveler there, don't worry about being able to find your way around. We had never been there before and didn't get lost one time.

Guadalupe Street runs through downtown Austin, Texas. If you've ever been to Atlanta, Georgia, than I can safely compare it to Little Five Points for you, if Little Five Points were stretched out along one main road. It's got the same look and feel. There are countless trendy businesses, independent restaurants, yoga and pilates studios, unique clothing stores, bookstores, vegetarian restaurants, and much more.

Also, in several places, there are quaint residential neighborhoods located just off of Guadalupe. There are several types of neighborhoods all the way down this diverse street. There are a handful of campus buildings, and even countless apartment complexes from student housing to upscale downtown buildings.

This is an excellent street to just cruise down if you're new to town or just passing through and don't have much time to explore. It is very crowded though and is populated with mostly students. There is another street called Lavaca that runs parallel to Guadalupe and these two streets came in very handy.

Austin is a very complex town and there's so much to see. There is a beautiful west-side of town and it covers a lot of territory away from downtown. It's a very hilly area, very green and lush, and full of Mediterranean style mansions and beautiful tile-roofed houses. The views are incredible in this area of town, and it would be worth it just to drive through and take a look. Of course, this is coming from someone who lives in the Mid-West. So anything other than flat corn fields is a sight for sore eyes to me.

One of the best things about the city of Austin is the beautiful weather. There's a lot of sunshine, which makes for a very happy visit and a very healthy place to live. One thing that I noticed was that there were always a lot of people out jogging, walking their dogs, pushing strollers, riding bikes, and just generally exercising. Maybe it's the weather that makes it such an easy place to stay fit.

There also seemed to be an artsy culture. I noticed a lot of working professionals walking around without worrying about covering their tattoos, sporting unique hairstyles, colors, and even clothing. There seemed to be a great deal of performance venues and we were told that Austin is the live music capitol of the country. So the music culture is huge, as well as the film culture. There are several film festivals that happen in Austin, the biggest of which is South by Southwest, otherwise known as SXSW. There are several theaters in the area as well, and word on the street is that most of the nightlife happens downtown later in the evening.

If you want to visit somewhere with a lot of performance venues, great weather, but no mainstream tourist clogs, you should definitely consider Austin. I would recommend it, just print out a map or grab an atlas beforehand and take a guidebook with you. Have a budget for some recreation, but know that you'll be spending a lot less visiting than you would if you were visiting a large theme park. I hope you enjoy Austin as much as we did.