Austin (Texas) - Trendspotting

I'm trying to do a better job of keeping an eye out for trends as well as connect the dots with so much information out there.  Last week I noticed three interesting articles about Austin, Texas.  Although I have not been to Austin, I have heard generally positive things. What is interesting about these stories is not so much what they solely indicate about Austin, but also about shifting trends in the United States.  There is not doubt that California, our nation's largest state and New York State, home to our nation's largest city both face a wide range of problems (not that they are the only states).  Even the great growth story of Florida has come to halt.  Meanwhile, Texas seems to be on the rise; The Economist actually published a very good special section about Texas in July.  Overall, the outlook was positive.  By the way, while California and NY both have state taxes above 10%, Texas has no state income tax.


Austin ranked #1 for the top Cities for Job Growth, 2010.  The report was by the Milken Institute:


"1. Austin-Round Rock, Texas (pop. 1,653,000) 
Last year's rank: 4   Job growth: 0.32%
Due to its well-prepared grads of top research institutions and its entrepreneurial spirit as evidenced by the high rate of self-employed workers, Austin has been cooking up a hot economy in recent years. It has been recruiting a lot of technology companies, due to low business costs in the area. Plus, Austin is positioning itself well in the clean tech industry, giving it an excellent outlook for the foreseeable future." 

Austin ranked #5 for Top Cities for retirement.  This report is by Retirement Weekly/Marketwatch.com
"5. Austin, Texas. Austin is becoming a popular retirement community for a variety of reasons, according to TopRetirements.com. The University of Texas and its array of cultural and other activities is perhaps the biggest draw for Austin; its cosmopolitan and high-tech, quirky soul is another reason. Plus, it has a relatively low cost of living, said Brady. On the downside, the summers are hot and humid and the city might be too big and fast-paced for those seeking peace and quiet."

Texas offers Facebook $1.4 million to woo Facebook office.  
"The state of Texas is offering Facebook Inc. $1.4 million from a business development fund to locate a new 200-employee sales and operations office in Austin.  Austin is one of several cities Facebook is considering for the office, which would be the social networking giant's first major office expansion outside of its headquarters in Palo Alto. Facebook has not revealed other cities in the running, but noted Austin offers a deep pool of technology workers."

While Austin is not one of the largest cities in the U.S. (it's #15) and it's job growth is not astronomical, it is actually growing - and people go where the jobs are.  Furthermore, attracting retirees and companies is good for numerous reasons - for one, both pay taxes and yet do not have children in school.  As for Texas, it has three of the top ten largest cities in America (Houston, San Antonio, Dallas). Click here for full list.