Untitled Document

At the soul of Austin's culture and spirit is probably the University of Texas at Austin (often referred to as just UT). UT is among the biggest single campuses in the nation in terms of official enrolment and diversity of programs offered. The university plays a vital role in Austin's life, not only because it provides its home town with thousands of professionals across disciplines every year, but more so because it helps shape the city's culture, values and spirit. UT is a school of traditions and spirit. The university is consistently ranked among the top sports schools (and party schools too).


	Austin - the heart of Texas
	Austin has been the capital city of Texas since 1870. The city is conveniently located in Central Texas. It also belongs to the wonderful Texas Hill Country. Austin ranks as the 16th biggest city in the States in terms of population. Austinites take pride in the liberal culture of a young, urban and professional city. Austin is home to the University of Texas at Austin, Dell Computers, and of course the College Football Champions 2006.

	Texas Capitol (Photo courtesy Thuy Nguyen)	UT Tower (Photo courtesy Tiendung Le)
	Among the heavily industrial and the typically Southern cities of Texas, Austin stands out as a city with unique natural, cultural and social characteristics. Austin is often referred to as "the blue spot in a red state" as the result of its liberal political orientation. Austin culture is very accepting to diversity and individual differences. People of all races, cultural origins, educational backgrounds and personal attitudes live together in a harmonic and respectful atmosphere. No matter how different you are, you will find yourself accepted and fit in with Austin. No wonder the city's most widely known motto that many Austinites take pride in is "Keep Austin Weird!".


	At the soul of Austin's culture and spirit is probably the University of Texas at Austin (often referred to as just UT). UT is among the biggest single campuses in the nation in terms of official enrolment and diversity of programs offered. The university plays a vital role in Austin's life, not only because it provides its home town with thousands of professionals across disciplines every year, but more so because it helps shape the city's culture, values and spirit. UT is a school of traditions and spirit. The university is consistently ranked among the top sports schools (and party schools too).	Longhorn, the live mascot of UT (Photo courtesy: The University of Texas at Austin. Link)

	The hilly terrain of Austin is spotted with several lakes which make it an ideal place for outdoor activities and sports. Austin is also known for a vibrant youth life with famous bars on 6th street and a the energetic college crowd. In terms of cultural fusion, you will find that Austin is strongly influenced by Mexican culture as in any other city in Texas. This influence is reflected in the popularity of Mexican cuisine, music and arts that are abundant across the town. Picture to the right: Austin Town Lake (Source: link)

	At Austin's heart is live music. The city is named "the live music capital of the world". Thousands of bands perform in hundreds of bars and restaurants all over town everyday of the week. Austin is the host of the two big annual music festivals: the Austin City Limits (ACL) Music Festival in September, and the South-by-Southwest (SXSW) Music, Film and Interactive Conferences which take place during Spring break.

	A sample of life in Austin

	Fun all around, all year round!


	Moving business is on the growth (Photo courtesy Thuy Nguyen)	Hook 'em horns! (Photo courtesy Tiendung Le)