The recently conducted U.S. Census has shown that the population in Austin has grown significantly over the past year.  In fact, Austin Business Journal reports that the population increased by 2.4% since the July 2007 census, at which time the population in Austin was a healthy 734,074.  With the increase over the past year, the city has now added another 18,000 residents to its population.

Thanks to the recent population growth, Austin has officially been listed as the eight fastest growing city in the nation between July 2006 and July 2007.  Other Texas cities also made the list, including Fort Worth, San Antonio and Houston, with the latter receiving 39,000 new residents during the one year time span.  As a result, Houston was officially ranked as…

In addition to offering its residents an increasing number of job opportunities as well as one of the most stable housing markets in the country, Texas has also been ranked as one of the least-burdensome states in terms of taxing its citizens.

The Austin Business Journal reported that the Tax Foundation recently released its annual report and listed Texas in the 43rd position, with 1st being the worst, for its tax environment.  The list was compiled by evaluating the state and local taxes that each of the state's residents had to pay.  This amount was then divided by the total amount of income in the state.  According to the Tax Foundation, the average burden was 9.7% of a state resident's income.  Residents of Texas, however, only paid 8.4% of their…

Austin has quickly emerged as a model city when it comes to green living and green city planning.  Therefore, it should not come as too much of a surprise that one of the city's largest companies, Dell, has also decided to become a little bit greener.

According to a report in the Austin Business Journal, Dell has achieved some impressive new green milestones.  This includes being completely carbon neutral, which the company has managed to do by reducing energy use and using both solar power and wind power energy sources.  In addition, the company has provided financial backing for a major forest preservation project in Madagascar.  This was accomplished when the company paired up with Conservation International in order to help protect 591,000 acres of…

Are you a nature lover?  If so, you will be thrilled by the numerous opportunities to explore nature that are available in the Austin area.  Whether you want to take a hike, go biking, of simply sit on a bench and get close to nature, you will certainly find great opportunities to commune with nature in the Austin area.  Here is a look at just a few of the great things for nature lovers to do in Austin.

• Watch the urban Mexican Freetail bat colony fly from beneath the Congress Avenue bridge at sunset – it is the largest colony of these bats in all of North America!
• Spend time at Zilker Park – which offers 351 acres of recreational opportunities.  Visit the Nature Center to learn more about Austin’s wildlife or take a walk

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One area that the city of Austin has always excelled in is its health and medical offerings.  Therefore, a recent announcement from Austin Orthopedics and Sports Medicine is a fitting match with the health-conscious, athletic mentality of the residents of Austin.

According to a recent news release, the Austin Orthopedics and Sports Medicine facility has recently opened.  The building, which houses 4,200 square feet of office space, is located a Post Oak Center North Building 1, 2200 Park Bend Drive, which is located just across the street from the already existing North Austin Medical Center.

The new facility is run by Kalin D. Kelso, M.D., who is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon.  Here, patients can receive total management of their care and take

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If you decide to visit Austin or if you plan to make Austin your city of residence, you will certainly want to know about all of your transportation options.  Since Austin is such a large city, you will be happy to learn that there are numerous transportation options available in the Austin area.

The Austin-Bergstrom International Airport

The Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is located near Texas 71 East and U.S. 183 South.  Here, you can catch a plane to nearly almost any destination in the world.  There are also plenty of airline carriers available at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.  These include:

• Aeromexico
• American Airlines
• American West
• Continental Airlines
• Delta Air Lines

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If city living is something you absolutely adore, you will be happy with all that the city of Austin has to offer.  Here is a look at some of the great cultural experiences and other fun that is available in Austin so you can have a good time no matter what day it is!

• Take a walk down Guadalupe Street, which is known as The Drag, and visit the many shops and interesting parlors
• Check out art at the Huntington Art Museum, which houses the Mari-Jmes Michener Collection of rare 20th century art
• Pay a visit to the Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection, which is home to more than 630,000 periodicals, maps, books, pamphlets and more
• Take a look at the Moonlight Towers lights, which are 165 feet

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If you are a bird lover, you will be thrilled by the variety of birds flying in, through, and past the city of Austin.  In fact, two teams of birders recently took a census of birds in Mower County and they discovered that the area has quite a number of species to offer to bird enthusiasts.

During the census, which took place on May 10 between the hours of 5:00 am and 7:00 pm, the teams managed tally up 109 different species of birds.  The birds were observed in a variety of areas, as the team spanned an area that included the western marshes of Mower County all the way to Lake Louise State Park. 

Over the past 14 years, the average number of species observed in this same area came to 113.  Ever since 1993, a local chapter of the National Audubon

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Are you a history buff?  If so, Austin is a great place for you to visit or to live.  The streets are simply filled with wonderful historic buildings and sites.  The hardest part will be determining which of these historic sites you should visit first!

• Take a tour of the State Capitol building, which is both historically and architecturally significant
• Take a stroll down the historic 6th Street during the day
• Visit all of the twelve National Register Districts located in Austin and learn more about the city’s great Historical heritage
• Tour the University of Texas
• Visit the French Legations, which was built in 1841 and is the oldest building in Austin
• Take a guide tour

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The Austin area already offers a wide variety of opportunities for pursuing higher educational goals.  With the help of Concordia University’s new satellite campus, however, Austin residents can enjoy one more option for launching a new career or honing their professional skills.

The new Concordia University satellite campus is located at 7701 N. Lamar Boulevard and has already started its first round of classes.  In fact, just this week, around 350 students started taking their classes at the campus.

The new 20,400 square foot downtown campus is mostly used to house its College of Adult Education, which offers programs that are meant to help adults earn a degree while still holding onto their full time jobs.  The campus also offers a Master’s of

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