HOOKED ON AUSTIN

LIVE MUSIC, TEX-MEX, AND SELF-PROCLAIMED WEIRDNESS HAVE LONG MADE AUSTIN THE ULTIMATE GOOD-TIME TOWN. TODAY, IT HAS BECOME ONE OF THE FASTEST-GROWING PLACES IN THE COUNTRY. HERE, FOUR VIEWS OF TEXAS' CAPITAL CITY

- KAITLYN YARBOROUGH

WARM WELCOME

Buc-ee's-Texas' I was polishing off a brisket sandwich from native gas station and snack emporium when the skyline finally rolled into view after I'd spent two days trekking across the South from Georgia to my new home. It was late July, and the heat made everything in the distance appear to dance. "Ten years ago, none of those high-rises were there," deep-rooted Austinites have told me with a hint of...not quite bitterness but perhaps wistful nostalgia. For many decades, the tallest building in Austin was the state capitol, which stretches 14 feet higher than the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. Texas has never really shied away from making a rousing statement.

Austin isn't a slow-burn kind of place. It hits the senses immediately with its musicians and cosmic cowboys, flashing neon and brightly colored murals, tacos and barbecue, and quite the rebellious streak. What was once a sleepy hippie town welcomed the birth of an underground live-music scene in the 1970s with future legends like Willie Nelson at the helm. It's changed a lot since then, becoming an unexpected tech hub as well as one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States, spurred by a steady stream of newcomers arriving over the past decade. I can't blame them because I'm one of them.