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Austin |
Highland Lakes |
Climate |
Area Towns |
Cultural Events
Located in the heart of the state, this
beautiful hill country city is the capital of Texas.
With its central location, the city is 200 miles south
of Dallas/Fort Worth, 77 miles northeast of San Antonio
and 162 miles west of Houston. Austin has progressed
from a rapid growth pattern experienced in the early
1980's to a steady, controlled period of prosperity in
recent years. The city has developed a diversified
economy that combines a high percentage of government
employment with a robust service sector and a growing
high-technology base.
During the past decade, Austin has
ranked as one of the fastest growing cities in America
with one of the healthiest economies. Austin's economy
is broadly based with the largest segments of employment
being in local, state and federal governments as well as
the University of Texas. The city is recognized as a
research and development center in the southwestern
United States; over 200 industries are classified as
high-tech, employing in excess of 30,000 people. Austin
has attracted such corporate luminaries as Sematech,
IBM, Texas Instruments, Motorola, 3M, Lockheed, Applied
Materials, Apple Computer, Lotus Development Corporation
and Samsung.
Tourism currently brings more than $500
million and 1.6 million people to the Austin area each
year, according to the Chamber of commerce studies.
People flock to Austin to enjoy the scenic Texas Hill
Country, its recreational activities and highly regarded
cultural offerings.
Austin's past two decades of growth
should be sustainable in future years. The solid
economic base of government and education-related
employment, augmented by expanding manufacturing
influences, blend well for the city's plan of controlled
growth and "quality of life." It is anticipated that
these combining factors will contribute to a projected
population over one million people in the Greater Austin
area by the year 2000. |
