Austin No. 2 On National List Of 'Best Places To Live'

AUSTIN, TX -- Austin has made yet another national list of the nation’s most livable cities, the latest one coming from U.S. News & World Report.

The magazine puts Austin in the second slot, just a notch below Denver, Colo. In its reckoning, U.S. News notes the city’s rich cultural history and abundance of recreational areas.

U.S. News makes much of the city's music-filled venues are noted, although the web-based publisher tempers that observation with a caution about the Austin’s high cost of living.

“Named the ‘Live Music Capital of the World,’ Austin has a plethora of music venues and local bands to entertain endless crowds,” the magazine notes. “However, musicians should think about finances before moving, as many say it's difficult to make a living in music here.”

That’s rather of an understatement. A recent report found that the city has lost more than 1,000 musician jobs in the last four years, as Patch previously reported.

That music exodus prompted Austin Mayor Steve Adler to produce a six-page plan to retain music industry jobs.

“Still, a number of well-established locales are regularly booked and host major musical acts,” U.S. news reports confidently, reporting from their Washington, D.C. base far from local ground level.

Despite the musician mass exit, the city notes that Austin lures many people every day.

“About 50 people move to Austin every day, drawn to the Texas capital city's music, outdoor spaces and cultural institutions.”

Wrong again.

The number of people moving to Austin each day is actually about 110, according to Austin demographer Ryan Robinson. Many of those move to Austin less to fulfill their musical dreams than to capitalize on the city’s burgeoning high-tech hub.

Software giant Oracle Corp. is the latest dramatic illustration of that sort of relocation, disclosing in late December of its plans to build a massive, 560,000-square-foot corporate campus on 27 acres of prime land Lady Bird Lake east of the central business district.

More often than not, such otherwise positive high-tech relocation also have the effect of resident displacement, as was the case of Oracle. In buying the land for its future campus, Oracle fueled the displacement of some 100 low-income families living in an existing apartment complex at the site.

But none of this is mentioned in the U.S. News report, the focus instead on more conceptual metrics related to overall city growth -- which is considerable and brisk.

For those left able to afford it: “The city is home to banner music festivals like Austin City Limits, a two-weekend-long fall event featuring major headliners and lesser-known acts, as well as South by Southwest, an annual set of film, interactive media and music festivals held in March,” the list compiler writes with palpable enthusiasm.

“Austin's newest music extravaganza, Fun Fun Fun Fest, founded in 2006, has become beloved as a pioneering festival of progressive music and comedy,” they add.

Rounding out the Top 5 cities are Fayetteville, Ark., Raleigh-Durham, N.C., and Colorado Springs, Colo.