If you know nothing else about Austin, you probably know we're the capital of Texas and live music! And while both are true, those facts only scratch the surface of what makes our city such a special place to live, landscape, and work. But, of course, the locals know a lot more! For Austinites, this is our home, and as cool as SXSW is, there are plenty of everyday attractions that make living here amazing.

Weather

Austin, Texas It's always sunny in Austin! That's not literally true, but we have sun throughout the year, and our winters are warmer than most Americans experience. Of course, we make up for that a bit with summers that get very hot! On the bright side, though the humidity can be high here, it's not a regular occurrence like in the latitudinally similar states to the east of us. Though the weather here isn't entirely predictable, landscaping companies like Progreen can help you plan with our irrigation solutions. Our relatively warm climate also allows us to grow a wide variety of flora!

Outdoor Activities

It's no surprise that Austinites tend to be an outdoorsy group. The variety of outdoor activities available to us is massive! From bird and bat watching to canoeing and good old-fashion hiking, if you like doing something outside, you can do it here! Despite being an inland city, we have lakes, rivers, and waterways for lovers of all freshwater frivolity. Finally, Forbes rated us as one of the ten fittest cities in the country, and Bicycling magazine named us one of the 20 most bike-friendly cities in America. That's good news for cycling commuters!

Music

We're known as the live music capital of the world, and we take that designation seriously. We have a higher concentration of live music venues than any other city in the United States. Most people know us for the concentration of clubs and venues around 6th Street, Austin City Limits, the longest-running live music TV show, and our music festivals. However, nonlocals might be surprised to know we also have an opera house: The Austin Lyric Opera.

South By Southwest & Other Fests

Of course, you can't talk about live music without also talking about South by Southwest (SXSW), our world-famous music and film festival. SXSW attracts some of the world's most successful musical artists and is a mecca for music lovers worldwide. But we have many other festivals here, ranging from more music like the Urban Music Festival, Chaos In Teja, the Old Settler's Music Festival, and Fun Fun Fun Fest to some other fests you might not expect. Every May, The O. Henry hosts the O. Henry Pun-Off World Championship! Punsters compete with prepared ninety-second speeches in the Punniest of Show Category and off-the-cuff puns in Punslingers. This event is the venue for rising punsters!

Keep Austin Weird

Keep Austin Weird The perfect place to mention the Keep Austin Weird initiative is right after the pun off, wouldn't you say? Austinites are proud of quirkiness and eclectic interests. So, as the city's grown, we've adopted this slogan as both a way to keep our quirky flavor and a call to arms to keep supporting local businesses!

Growth

With over 30,000 citizens added to the city's population since 2010, the metro area is one of the most rapidly growing in the United States. Luckily, we've been able to hang on to our unique vibe despite the explosive growth.

Food

We love our food here! While best known for Tex-Mex and barbeque, our diverse population means you can find a little bit of everything in our city. Our most famous barbeque restaurant is Franklins Barbeque. Its oak-smoked meat has attracted a national following and has been visited by Jimmy Kimmel and Barack Obama, among others. But, you can find a lot of delicious holes in the wall with excellent 'que too. Our food truck scene is also one of the best in the country. With 1,256 food trucks operating at the last count, we have the second-largest number per capita in the U.S.

Conclusion

Austin is one of those cities that most people have heard of, and a lot of people have an idea about it, but no one has experienced it fully until you've lived here a while. At Progreen, we're proud to service the residents and businesses here and want to do our part to keep it weird as your professional green team!