The Greater Austin area ranks high on the livability scale, which is why Austin frequently ranks high on national lists of Best Cities. In 2003, for example, Austin came in fourth on Travel & Leisure's list of best loved cities, first on Forbes' list of Best Cities for Singles, and third on Hispanic Magazine's list of Best Cities for Hispanics. In 2002, it was in the Money Magazine's Top 10 list of Best Places to Live. Lots of reasons are given, usually including a cosmopolitan atmosphere without big city hassle, great scenery and recreational opportunities, a reasonable cost of living, and a great music and cultural scene.

The population of the City of Austin is about 656,00, though the entire metropolitan area is about 1,250,000. The climate is temperate, with 300 days of sunshine annually. Average temperatures range from 42 to 62 degrees in winter and 75 to 95 degrees in the summer. Average rainfall is 32.49 inches. Snowfall is rare. Real rare. And if you'd like to know what the temperature is in Austin at this very moment, you find that at the bottom of this page.
Tech Notes: City photography, for me, requires light and inobtrusive gear. Not only because of the haulage factor, but even more important, I'm just not comfortable sticking a camera in a stranger's face. The converse is also true. For me, that usually means my D100 (which is getting a tad long in the tooth but still happens on the bacon side of things more often than not) and a smallish zoom, most often my AF-S Nikkor 24-85 (G). I rarely use a flash unannounced and always ask when possible. One more thing: if a stranger is sticking his camera in my face, he or she is probably getting paid to do so.
Copyright 2004
By Fredy Argir
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