All Blog Entries by Crystal Olenbush

Found 156 blog entries published by Crystal Olenbush.


According to a recent report released by Forbes, Austin has the third best employment opportunities in the nation. The capital city earned this distinction for a multitude of reasons, with the primary reasons cited by the publication being:

  • The city’s relatively low unemployment rate, which is currently sitting at about 7.0 percent
  • The relatively low job-seekers to employment openings ratio, which is currently at about 2.39 to 1

According to Forbes, there are many reasons why Austin has managed to maintain a low unemployment rate. Aside from being a state capital, Austin is also a major convention center. As such, Austin plays an integral role in the music industry. Other aspects that have helped the city thrive include the fact that a number of

6,413 Views, 4 Comments

According to a list recently released by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, Austin was selected as the number one best city to live in for the next ten years. A number of factors were taken into consideration when developing this list, though the primary focus was placed on those cities that were considered to have the most positive business climates combined with the most unique “livability” appeal. According to the report, the capital city is “arguably the country’s best crucible for small business” the report goes on to say that “Austin has spawned many companies with unique twists that have gone nationwide.”

The great success of many businesses with their roots in Austin isn’t the only reason Austin took the number one position, however, as the magazine

25,285 Views, 1 Comment


Whether or not the Formula One Grand Prix will be a good thing for the city of Austin is a subject that is still a matter of much debate. One area of discussion is whether or not the presence of the F1 track and event will be helpful to local businesses.

The bottom line is that the F1 event will be bringing some of the most powerful business people in the world into Austin and there is no doubt that it will have a significant impact on the local technology scene. Two major Austin businesses, Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and Freescale Semiconductor Inc. both have deep ties to the event, as does IBM Inc., which also has significant operations within Austin. With the connections that these businesses already have to F1, it is almost guaranteed that bringing

6,315 Views, 2 Comments


According to the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the data collected by Moody's Economy.com, home prices in the Austin area should stop falling by the final quarter of this year. Furthermore, according to a Fiserv Inc. report that was released earlier this month, the prices of homes in the Central Texas area are likely to start increasing by the first quarter of 2011 and will likely reach their pre-recession levels by 2016.

Although the analysts predict that home prices will have fallen a total of 4.8% by the time the downward spiral reaches its projected bottom at the end of the year, it has still been a far shorter fall when compared to the national average. In fact, the city did quite well when compared to the 374 markets that were included in the…
3,815 Views, 0 Comments

Formula 1 has announced today that Austin, Texas will host a Formula 1 Grand Prix race starting in 2012. A new racetrack will be constructed in Austin, and this new facility will be one of the best in the world. This is a tremendous opportunity for the city, and a dream come true for racing fans. We can hardly wait!!!

austin-formula-1_533   Formula One Officials Select Austin to as New Home of Formula One
Formula One World Championship Limited, Formula One Administration Limited and Full Throughout Productions, LP have recently announced that Austin will serve as the host city to the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix from 2012 through 2021.
“We are extremely honored and proud to reach an agreement with the FI Commercial Rights Holder,” said Tavo Hellmund, who is the…
11,949 Views, 3 Comments


For Austin residents who love exotic automobiles, a new Ferrari dealership is certainly exciting news!  Located at 4108 N. Lamar Boulevard, Ferrari of Austin will sell new and pre-owned vehicles while also offering service, insurance and financing.  The new dealership will feature new Ferrari models ranging in price from $200,000 to $350,000.

The grand opening event, which is by invitation only, will take place on the afternoon of the 25th.  As part of the grand opening festivities, the new Ferrari 458 Italia will be unveiled. The much-anticipated new model won't hit the Texas market, however, until sometime this summer. The mid-engined sports car will replace the Ferrari F430 and has a base MSRP of $230,675. The official 0-60 acceleration speed of the

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While housing markets around the country took a significant hit as the country struggled through economic troubles, the Austin real estate market has fared much better. Although the Austin housing market did take a dip in sales and in housing prices, the fall has not been as drastic as with most markets throughout the country. In addition, just as economic experts predicted, the Austin housing market has started to rebound before other housing markets around the country.

According to the Austin Board of Realtors, multiple listing service data indicated that home sales increased while also spending less time on the market during the month of February. In fact, a total of 1,145 homes sold within the Austin market, representing a 4% increase when compared to…
4,405 Views, 2 Comments

One of the biggest draws to living in the Austin area is the fact that employment opportunities are quite abundant when compared to many other metropolitan areas throughout the country. While there is no doubt that Austin unemployment rates did take a bit of a hit during these difficult economic times, the city has managed to do quite well when compared to national averages and even when compared to the rest of the state. Furthermore, according to some data recently released by the Texas Workforce Commission, unemployment rates in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos area are only getting better.

According to the Texas Workforce Commission, unemployment rates in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos area jumped from 7% in December to 7.6% in January. Things got…
5,181 Views, 1 Comment

Austin's Sail and Ski Center recently announced that it has been selected to host the AquaPalooza Signature Event in 2010. Advertised as "The World's Largest Boat Party," the AquaPalooza event showcased 15,600 boats last year and saw 84,000 visitors. This year, organizers expect the event to be even bigger than last year.

Held during the last two weekends in July, the free AquaPalooza event was created by Sea Bass Boats and is open to both boaters as well as non-boaters. This is the first time the event will be held on Lake Travis, however, as the lake levels had been to low in the past to host the event.

"Unfortunately the rains didn't come and the lake levels continued to drop off, so we were not able to host the event," said Laura Mitchell, who is a

4,325 Views, 1 Comment

Austin is planning to make a bid on becoming one of the sites for the ultra-fast broadband network that is being considered by Google Inc and that will significantly increase the speed of Internet access throughout the city.

Earlier this month, Google announce plans to build one or more high-speed networks in an effort to demonstrate the advantages of having fast Internet access. Through the proposed project, the system would be 50 to 100 times faster than the fastest commercial broadband services typically available in the United States. By offering this super fast service, the company hopes to jumpstart the development of next-generation online services while also demonstrating how to build and operate such a network.

Many within the Austin community think…
3,955 Views, 0 Comments