The capital of the U.S. state of Texas and seat of Travis County, Austin is situated in Central Texas on the eastern portion of the American Southwest. It has a population of roughly 800,000, and is the 4th biggest city in the nation (2000-2006). In the year 2006, the city of Austin was selected as the 2nd Best Big City in "Best Places to Live" by Money magazine and 3rd in the year 2009. MSN also named it the "Greenest City in America." It ranks 2nd on the list of cities with the best people, based on CNN Headline News and Travel & Leisure magazine. During the year 2009, the city of Austin was chosen as the least stressful big metro area by Forbes magazine.
People from Austine take great pride in their eccentricities and individuality in their way of life, beliefs and character; never taking themselves too seriously. This particular city is the only one within the state that permits women to appear topless in public. One of its local motto is "Keep Austin Weird," and this particular statement not only encourages diversity but is also intended to enhance and support independent and local companies. SoCo, a shopping district that stretches down South Congress Avenue from Downtown, is packed with many restaurants, coffee shops, as well as cultural events. Amongst the yearly events consist of the O. Henry House Museum, which hosts the yearly O. Henry Pun Off - a pun contest where contestants show amazing wit. Other events include Carnaval Brasileiro in the month of February, Art City Austin and Austin Reggae Festival in the month of April, Eeyore's Birthday Party and Spamarama. Austin City, that is referred to as The Live Music Capital of the Globe, has a vibrant music scene which revolves around the various nightclubs situated on 6th Street and yearly film/music/interactive festivals known as South by Southwest (SXSW). Zilker Park is likewise the home of the three-day Austin City Limits Music Festival (the longest-running concert music program on American television,) every year. The festival and television show both attract musical artists from around the globe.
The city boasts over 50 public swimming pools, that are spread out all over the city. The more popular pools in the city consist of the Deep Eddy Pool, oldest man-made swimming pool in Texas, and Barton Springs Pool, which is the biggest urban area natural swimming pool within the country. In 2004, The Austin Parks and Recreation Department was given Excellence in Aquatics award during the year 1999 and the Gold Medal Awards during 2004 from the National Recreation and Park Association. For parks, the Hippie Hollow Park is the only officially sanctioned clothing-optional public park in the state of Texas. It could also be a good location for everyone to go rockclimbing, kayaking, swimming, exploring, and hiking along the greenbelt. Zilker Park forms part of the greenbelt along the Colorado River.
Among the largest companies in Austin comprise the United States Federal Government, Freescale Semiconductor (spun off from Motorola in 2004), IBM, St. David's Healthcare Partnership, Seton Healthcare Network, the State of Texas, the City of Austin, the Austin Independent School District, Dell, Texas State University-San Marcos, and the University of Texas at Austin, The University of Texas. At the center of Austin City's financial system is High Technology. Every year, there are thousands of graduates from the engineering and computer science programs at the University of Texas at Austin. These graduates normally work at technology and defense industry sectors. Amongst the high-tech companies which hire them comprise: Hewlett-Packard, Google, Cisco Systems, Intel Corporation, National Instruments, Samsung Group, Applied materials, Cirrus Logic, AMD, 3M, eBay/paypal, Apple Inc., Hoover's, Silicon Laboratories, Sun Microsystems and United Devices.