A few years back the opportunity to move to Austin presented itself and we took a leap of faith by leaving Montreal, our hometown, the place where we grew-up and lived all our lives. It wasn’t an easy decision to make with our family and friends there, but the opportunity was a good one and it opened up many doors for us. The lure of moving somewhere new and discovering a new city as well as living in a warmer climate was certainly appealing.
Looking back, we are now very glad we did! We are now permanent residents of the US and able to live and work here. It was also exciting to have so many new places to visit, things to do, restaurants to try, and new friends to make.
Austin, Live Music Capital of the World
Austin is a lively place with a lot of festivals, outdoor concerts and live music venues. In fact, Austin is called the “Live Music Capital of the World” with more live music venues per capita than anywhere else in the nation.
Venues like the Moody Theatre, Long Center, Zach Theatre and Austin 360 Amphitheater are some of the venues we visited often. Many bars and restaurants also offer live entertainment, especially around 6th Street and Congress Ave.
Many outdoor concerts, some free, take place at the Auditorium Shores by Lady Bird Lake. Austin hosts yearly SXSW (South by South West) and ACL (Austin City Limits) concerts and events, which are extremely popular and jam-packed with things to do. It’s a city that beats to the sound of music!
Recreation: Boating, fishing, football
Sports and outdoor activities are also a big part of the daily lives of many Austinites. With so many lakes in and around the city, boating and fishing are very popular activities.
With all the lakes around Austin we often rented a boat on either Lake Austin or Lake Travis, we even joined a boat club with monthly dues to facilitate getting out more often and learning how to navigate and dock a boat ourselves. This was a fun way to explore the area and see things from a different perspective.
Following our outing, we liked to catch the sunset from the terrace of the Oasis restaurant, which offers great views over Lake Travis.
To escape the heat of the summer, Barton Spring Pool is the place to go to cool off—the water temperature hovers around 68– 72°F (20- 22 °C). Since it’s a natural spring fed pool, it stays cool year-round.
Let’s not forget about football, and the Longhorns… did I mention football? Even College and High School level football fills stadiums, which can hold 15,000-20,000 cheering parents and fans. Texas has some of the largest high school football stadiums anywhere, some costing over $60 million!
Bat Fest on Congress Bridge
The city’s slogan is: “Keep Austin Weird”. March to October, people congregate on and around Congress Bridge to watch the bats fly away by the thousands at sundown. It’s quite impressive to watch these swarms of bats (1.5 million at last count) head out for the night. In August, there’s even a Bat Fest on the bridge! Weird indeed, but also kind of cool. The slogan is very fitting for a city that prides itself with its quirky murals and bats.
What to eat
It’s almost impossible to visit Austin and miss out on good BBQ, it’s everywhere and many food venues claim to have the best BBQ in town. Barbecuing is an art form! The fun part is to try all the different places and draw your own conclusion. If you ask, it’s almost like talking about religion. People are adamant and insistent on Salt Lick, or Rudy’s, or Franklin, and the list goes on…
Mexican food is also everywhere—delicious, spicy and authentic! We were impressed at the availability and the selection of dishes. One of our favorite places Hecho in Mexico had specialties from different regions. They made a rose petal sauce, which went great with beef. They also had a ghost pepper salsa that was the hottest thing we had ever tasted.
Day trip itinerary around Austin
During our time in Austin we ended up taking our out-of-town guests on a day trip around town. We started our tour by going for a walk around Lady Bird Lake and Barton Springs Pool.
After leaving the Zilker Park area we headed out to the Texas State Capitol building with its impressive rotunda and manicured grounds.
Then we went to the South Congress Area (SoCo) on the other side of Lady Bird Lake where we spent time browsing through some of the eclectic shops. One of our favorites is the Big Top Candy Shop which makes its own soda from a fountain. It’s like a trip back in time, as is much of this retro neighborhood.
After this (and an early dinner) it was time to get back to Congress Street Bridge to watch the bats take off.
In the evening, 6th Street is the place to go if you’re looking for live entertainment comedy or just people watching. We always enjoyed the comedy shows at Esther’s Follies, which is a fun parody on current events. Go if you’re in town!
Short trips to take from Austin
San Antonio is only an hour’s drive away from Austin and is a nice place to visit. There you can visit the Alamo and walk along the River Walk. Also, on the way you can visit old monasteries and missions.
Further south near Houston and on Gulf Coast you can go to Galveston, and a little further southwest to Corpus Christi. Or you can go to South Padre Island which is even further south. Unfortunately, we did not have the chance to go yet but we were told the area was spectacular. Perhaps one day we’ll make it there…
It’s also possible to drive down and take a cruise from Houston or Galveston.
See our post: Day and Weekend Trips from Austin, Texas
Destiny brought us to South Florida, and we love it here. But we do miss the good ol’ southern hospitality of Texas and our smiling friends that welcomed us and made us feel at home.