FINE FOOD AND
ECLECTIC SHOPPING
When you’re out and about in Austin, you’re
bound to get hungry after all that activity.
That’s good, because dining in Austin is a
delight. A bounty of restaurants offer such
delicious local fare as Mexican food, barbecue
and Southern-style cooking, as well as everything from sushi bars to Italian bistros to fine
French cafés and sumptuous steakhouses.
Try Guero’s Taco Bar on South Congress
or Chuy’s Tex-Mex (multiple locations) for
casual, Mexican fare; The Salt Lick or County
Line for barbeque (see our barbeque article
in this issue for additional mouth-watering
choices); or Hudson’s on the Bend, Uchi, or
Fonda San Miguel for the best in fine dining.
Once you’ve satisfied your appetite, it’s off to
do some shopping. The Domain, located in
northwest Austin, includes Neiman-Marcus
and other luxury shops and boutiques such
as Barney’s CO-OP, Tiffany & Co., David
Yurman, Louis Vuitton, Michael Kors,
Tumi, and the Apple store.
Then there’s the Hill Country Galleria – 152
acres of expansive natural beauty in Bee
Cave with eclectic shopping, dining and
entertainment, as well as office and residential space. Surrounded by a lush nature
preserve, wildflowers, native trees and rocky
streams, the Hill Country Galleria is an
ideal way to spend an afternoon.
Major malls in the Austin area include Lakeline Mall in Cedar Park (Macy’s, Dillard’s,
Sears and J.C. Penney) and Barton Creek
Square in west Austin (Macy’s, Dillard’s,
Sears, J.C. Penney, and Nordstrom). There’s
also the Arboretum, which is home to
national chains such as The Gap, Pottery
Barn, and Barnes & Noble, plus local
boutiques and spas.
Don’t miss the charming boutiques and
shops on South First, in the Second Street
District, or the vintage and antique shops on
South Congress, South Lamar, North Loop,
Burnet Road, and Guadalupe Street (also
known as “The Drag” on the UT campus).
For outlet shopping, this area can’t be
beat, whether you head to the Round Rock
Outlets just north of town, or the Premier
and Tanger Outlet Malls in San Marcos
– just 30 minutes south of downtown on
Interstate 35. Austin is also home to a
250,000-square foot IKEA store in Round
Rock, which is the place to go for hip, inexpensive European choices in home décor for
every room in the house.
NO PLACE LIKE HOME
There’s no doubt that Austin’s a great city
– the “hippest in the Southwest,” according
to travel reviews in The New York Times and
other national publications, but what ultimately makes any city feel like home is its
many and varied neighborhoods.
Choose from charming inner city history
to minimalist downtown loft living to
lush gated communities around the city or
quiet suburban neighborhoods – there’s no
shortage of diverse housing in Austin.
It’s relatively inexpensive to live here. When
many cities were still recovering from the
after effects of the recession and a sluggish housing market, the Austin market
remained steady and stable – with the city
experiencing price gains. Now, even with the
market heating up again, there is still affordable housing to be found across the city. The
median price for a single-family home was
$321,600 in May 2017, up seven and a half
percent from the same month in 2016.
Offerings range from classy downtown
condos, elegant old homes and modern showplaces, to friendly suburban neighborhoods,
to countryside ranches and farmhouses on
the outskirts of town. Wherever you choose
to live in Austin, Texas you will always find
the friendly and neighborly atmosphere that
pervades the entire community.
Welcome to a city that residents and visitors adore – and that you will, too! As you
explore the Austin Relocation Guide and the
city that it represents, it’s easy to see that
there’s a lot to love about Austin. It’s a great
place to live, find success, and enjoy the
good life.
