With rolling hills, a chain of lakes 150 miles long, 300 days of sunshine and an arts and entertainment scene so energetic it is hailed as the "Live Music Capital of the World," it's easy to see why Austin's population has doubled every 20 years in the past century.

Austin is the seat of state government, an educational Mecca with seven area universities, including The University of Texas at Austin - one of the largest universities in the nation and one of the world's leading research universities.

Austin offers a strong, diversified economy. The technology sector is powerful, firmly rooted in electronics and semiconductors and peripherals and software. Film and music make the city buzz with creativity. Other industries, such as biosciences and multimedia are poised for expansion.

With a combination of real estate, infrastructure, a diverse, skilled and highly educated workforce and unique features such as the world's largest urban colony of Mexican free-tailed bats, growth in the greater Austin region has been extraordinary.