Places We Love: Austin and the Hill Country

We're so proud of our home town!

Author

Jeannie Edmunds
August 06, 2024

Howdy! It’s Jeannie Edmunds this week, reporting to you from the place where NextTribe was born: Austin, Texas.

Why do we love sharing our home town of Austin and the Hill Country?

Springtime along Willow City Loop, near Fredericksburg, Texas

Let me count the ways:

  • Home of Austin City Limits, SXSW, and the Music Capital of the World!

  • A magnet for artists, musicians, and innovative startup companies

  • For example, ICON, which builds houses with 3-D printers, and will soon build bases on the moon; Bumble, the dating app started by the woman who co-founded Tinder; and fetii, the Uber of shuttles for group rides to events and concerts

  • Tacos, Tex-Mex, and BBQ are just the beginning

  • Excellent cuisine from around the world, too

  • Natural spring pools, loved by locals

  • Less traffic than in most cities its size

  • One of the dog-friendliest cities in the US

  • The lively South Congress, East Austin, and “Dirty 6th” Street districts

  • Great shopping for boots, cowboy hats, plus local artisanal products and crafts

  • Dance halls like The Broken Spoke

  • Plenty of green space, plus a river runs through it

  • Spring and Fall are the best times of year here, especially March and April during “wildflower season!”

  • Interesting mix of architecture

  • Friendly natives!

No amount of commercial expansion will stop Austinites from enjoying their outdoor time on Lady Bird Lake. Photo: Max Milner

No matter what you’ve heard about Texas (and you’ve probably heard a lot!) Austin is an island of sanity (or insanity, depending on your politics) that co-exists with the State Capitol, a major university, and developers hungry to capitalize on its popularity.

But locals who love it here—natives or not—are fiercely protective of Austin’s image as a fun, friendly, mid-sized city with a small town vibe. It’s not quite Southern, though you’ll hear a lot of “yes ma’am’s and no ma'ams,” and it’s considered rude to honk at anybody on the highway. It’s not quite a Western city either, though you will see a lot of trucks, boots, and cowboy hats.

We feel sorry for visitors to Austin who never leave the city limits. They’d miss things like this creative and iconic “boot fence” out in the Hill Country.

The street style in the city is, for the most part, casual. Bohemian. Funky. But there are expensive private clubs like Soho House and plenty of high-end restaurants, boutiques, and bars. Jazz clubs. Joe Rogan’s Mothership comedy club. Podcasters of every stripe. Influencers, retirees, and people with “normal jobs" are all united by their desire to protect the charm and personality of their hometown.

Women like Jane Ko, aka A Taste of Koko, used her platform to launch Hundred for Hospitality, an initiative that helped feed essential workers during the pandemic.

And NextTriber Lurleen Ladd, featured in Austin Woman magazine for her contributions to women songwriters and her own career as a singer-songwriter. (Lurleen will host a luncheon in her beautiful home during our Austin trip).

Barton Springs in summer. 55 million gallons of fresh spring water per hour to cleanse your spirit and refresh your soul.

Austin needs more affordable housing for sure, but we are grateful to those who’ve fought to preserve the swimming holes and honkytonks, Lady Bird Lake and Zilker Park, and the indoor/outdoor/year-round laid-back ambiance of one of the most photogenic cities in the United States.

Our insider tour of Austin and the Hill Country includes a drive by of Jeannie Ralston’s old home and lavender farm in Blanco.

I took this photo last March on a back road outside of Llano, Texas, the northwestern edge of the Hill Country.

Like most University of Texas students, I loved living here in my late teens and twenties, and now that I’ve been back for a few years, I can’t wait to share my adopted home town with you!

Jeannie Edmunds, COO and Austin Trip Leader

P. S. Save the date: Tuesday, 10/1 (6:30PM ET/ 5:30PM CT/ 4:30PM MT/ 3:30PM PT) Zoom Info Session for Austin Insider Tour

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