Austin Real Estate Team

When you mention Austin, Texas to other Americans, a few things spring to mind: barbecue, live music, Texas football and the Hill Country. Some might also add politics, but it's a spectator sport that may be too grisly for most to view. It is somewhat of an acknowledgement of Austin's maverick spirit and liberal culture that the city is the largest in America without a major, professional sports team. The nearest big-time pro sports is in San Antonio, 90 miles south, and in Houston, 150 miles to the southeast. What Austin does have however is the University of Texas, the largest public university in the state and home to the Texas Longhorns. In 2005, the school captured the national championships in both football and baseball. And every fall the 'Horns journey north to Dallas for their annual gridiron clash with arch-rival the University of Oklahoma Sooners. So if you're looking for competitive athletics and white-hot rivalries, the Longhorns will prevail any day over the pro teams.

Within an hour's drive of Austin there are a number of barbecue joints that have popped up on the radar of America's culinary world. Out in Luling there's the City Market, one of the best all-round BBQ joints in Texas. The Southside Market and BBQ in Elgin serves incredibly-good brisket and sausage, and Opie's Barbecue in Spicewood has barbecued pork ribs that are sure-fire winners. Out in the Texas Hill Country there are also a number of cafes, restaurants and groceries that serve up excellent Polish, Czech and German fare, and in Austin proper there are any number of haute cuisine restaurants serving French, Italian, Asian and even fusion dining. But eating barbecue in and around Austin is almost a sport in itself. If you want to start an argument (unless you're in the state legislature) just mention your favorite barbecue eatery. The wrangling will go on for days.

Music is the main staple of entertainment in Austin. Just mosey down to 6th Street in downtown and you'll find row upon row of live music bars, dancehalls and restaurants where country, rock, blues and jazz eminate from inside. The best of the music world and the newcomers make it a point to come to Austin for the enthusiastic and appreciative audiences. Austin is also the home of Austin City Limits, the PBS program that is the longest-running music show on American television. There's also plenty of watersports on the lakes and rivers around Austin, and bicycling and running sports have major contests in the area. Lance Armstrong, seven-time winner of the Tour de France bicycle race, lives in Austin. And you can go stand on the Congress Avenue Bridge at the Colorado River every evening and watch the Mexican Free-Tailed bats fly out in search of an evening meal. There are more than 1.5 million of them and they are the largest urban concentration of bats in the world.

Austin does have some professional sports teams--just not in the NFL, NBA, NHL or MLB. The Austin Ice Bats play in the Central Hockey League. The Austin Toros are part of the National Basketball Development League. The Austin Wranglers perform in the Arena Football League, and the Round Rock Express of the Pacific Coast League, a Houston Astros Triple-A club, play the national pasttime up in Round Rock, to the north of Austin.