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Greetings! | |
We hope you enjoyed a great holiday season and a very happy New Year!
With only a few days of 2012 expired, we are excited for another successful year here at BartonPlace!
In this issue, we have included updates about our community as well as Austin news and events that you might find interesting.
Enjoy! |
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BartonPlace Update - Model Home Virtual Tours | |
We are excited to announce that the virtual tours of our model homes are now complete!
Enjoy and please let us know if you would like to schedule a private tour in person.
View 1B Model Home Virtual Tour
View 2A Model Home Virtual Tour
View 2F Model Home Virtual Tour
View 3E Model Home Virtual Tour
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Austin tops "Best City for 'Best City'" Lists | |
From www.austin.culturemap.com
 
Have you noticed how many "Best Cities For..." lists Austin has shown up on?
If there is a list created regarding cities, chances are Austin is on it. "Best city to date in," "Best city to retire in," 'Best city to find a job in," "Best city to find ten jobs in," "Best city to date a retiree with ten jobs in."
It's out of control! Not only does Austin make it on the lists, we're often number one. So why does Austin make all of these lists? Is the city that darn good or have journalists just stopped being creative? I, for one, think it's the former. Austin is paradise. (Except during the months of June, July and August. Then it's an insufferable underworld full of fire spat from the sky and bleeding earth.) Of all the places I've lived in and traveled to in America, I can honestly say that Austin is one of the best for almost everything: cost of living, quality of living, jobs, food, entertainment, dating and weather. Except for during Fire and Brimstone Season.
It was because of these lists that I moved to Austin. If you're from Austin, you probably don't want to hear that, but too bad. Don't worry, soon enough somewhere like Wilmington, NC or Detroit, MI will become the next hot spot and all the hipsters will head there. I, on the otherhand, have denounced hipsterdom and plan on staying in Austin for awhile. Maybe forever. However, if I could devise a way to create a self-enclosed mobile air cooling bubble suit in the months of June, July and August, then I would. What I'm trying to say is, IT'S UNBEARABLE IN THE SUMMER, PEOPLE! I'M SWEATING AS I TYPE THIS! But that's not the point of this conversation.
Are you ready to read about the buttload of lists Austin shows up on? Well, here we go.
If you are a young person, then there is no other place to live than Austin. Duh. Forbes named Austin #1 on America's Best Cities for Young People. Portfolio.com decided to jump on the band wagon and also name Austin #1 out of 67 Cities for Young Adults. 67 cities! Kiplinger named us #1 of the Best Cities for the Next Decade, and Forbes again named us the #1 Best City for Jobs.
The Daily Beast named us #5 in their Best City for College Grads list, Sperling named us the #1 Best City for Dating, and Forbes, again, named us the 8th Best City for Singles. Oh, and Forbes also thinks we're the #10 Best City for Young Professionals. Moral of the story: Twenty-somethings ought to live their lives according to what Forbes thinks.
Don't you feel forgotten, you mature silver foxes. CNN dubbed us the #9 Best Place to Retire To, and Military.com says we're the #3 Best City for Military Retirees. Golf.com named Austin the #1 City for Golfing, and though we're not the aboslute best, Forbes still thinks we're the 12th Best City for Shopping.
For you folks thinking of buying a house here, Austin was named #1 of the Best Bargain Cities by Yahoo Finance, and MSNBC says we're the #14 slot out of 100 Cities to Raise Your Family. CNN thinks we're just generally the #2 Best Big City to Live In , and Kiplinger thinks we're the 5th Smartest Place to Live. I guess we're a good city to work at home from because AOL's Daily Finance says we're #1 when it comes to America's 11 Best Cities for Telecommuters. Also, Forbes says we're the #4 place when it comes to Earning a Living.
Often named the Silicon Valley of Texas, Austin is also a leading city for technology. We're the #2 Most Innovative City according to, SURPRISE!, Forbes. Wired.com says we're the 4th Top Tech Town, Business Week think's we're the 8th Best City for Tech Jobs, and Men's Health says we're the 8th Most Socially Networked City - beating out cities like L.A. and N.Y. by a long shot.
We all know that Austin is a diverse city with a never-ending plethora of things to do for folks with different strokes. For you artsy fartsies, Travel + Leisure Magazine says we're the #3 Best Music City and Moviemaker says we're the #5 Best City to Live, Work, and Make Movies in. We're also a Growing Celebrity City according to CNBC. For you outdoorsy types, Outdoor Magazine says we're the #4 Best City for Outdoorsy Things and Bicycling.com thinks we're Nigel Tufnel's favorite number #11 when it comes to Bicycling Cities. Advocate says we're the #9 Gayest City, and Hispanic Magazine named us one of the Best American Cities for Hispanics. Oh yeah, and last but not least, Travel + Leisure says we're the #8 Best Beer City.
Only #8?
Find Out More
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Austin #1 in Real Estate Markets to watch 2012 | |
From www.trulia.com by Tara-Nicholle Nelson
Ah, the end of the year. Time to look back, contemplate on the high points and lessons learned over the year, and start to look forward to the next one.
And when it comes to looking forward in the real estate realm, it's most interesting to wonder: where will the market be bright in the coming year?
I posed precisely this question to one of the smartest real estate prognosticators I know, Trulia's Chief Economist, Jed Kolko. His answer was concise and provocative: "Smart cities are hot." I asked him to elaborate, and what he said was so interesting I thought I'd let you all in on the conversation that ensued. Here are 5 real estate markets that Jed says you should definitely keep your eye on in 2012.
"In 2012, the local housing markets that will enjoy rising prices, new construction or both, are those that start the year with stronger job growth and fewer empty homes holding back the market. Based on these factors, along with other leading indicators, here are my top five cities to watch:
1. and 2. Austin, TX, and Houston, TX. The bloom's not off the yellow rose of Texas. Steady job growth and a construction revival make Austin and Houston two of my five cities to watch. Texas isn't hung over from the housing boom like the other big states of the South and West, so there's little to hold back growth. Honorable mention to Fort Worth and San Antonio.
3. San Jose, CA. Wasn't California at the center of the foreclosure crisis? Didn't prices there fall more than everywhere else in the country? Yup. But there's no such thing as the California housing market: California is almost as diverse as the U.S. Even though prices plummeted and foreclosures skyrocketed in inland California, the coast is another world. San Jose's perennially tight housing market makes it faster to bounce back. The San Jose market -which includes most of Silicon Valley - has rapid job growth and the lowest vacancy rate in the country.
4. Suburbs of Boston, MA. This Cambridge-Newton-Framingham market just west of Boston has a strong jobs engine and, like most of New England, missed the worst of the housing bubble. Honorable mention goes to Worcester, one step further west, and Boston's northern suburbs around Peabody. These areas all benefit from offering more bang for the buck than crowded, expensive Boston: this is because most people looking to move
than where they live now.
5. Rochester, NY. That's my hometown, and knowing what's happened to Kodak and other pillars of the local economy, I was surprised when Rochester scored on the top 5 list. (I applied the same formula to all cities and did not have my thumb on the scale.) Prices - which fell little during the boom - are stable, and the economy has weathered blow after blow and is expanding.
What do these markets have in common? Three - Austin, San Jose, and the area west of Boston - are technology centers. In those three metros, as well as in Rochester, a center of high-skill manufacturing industries, education levels are well above the national average. As the recovery proceeds, smart cities are leading the way. During the housing boom, the go-go cities tended to be lower-skill, lower-education metros. But in 2012, smart is hot: it'll be the revenge of the nerds."
Find Out More
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Local Food + Drink News | |
Three Austin eateries make top 100 restaurants list
Three Austin restaurants have made a list of the best restaurants in the United States.
OpenTable announced that Congress, Uchi and Uchiko have made the Diners' Choice Awards for the top 100 best restaurants in the nation.
The list is based on feedback collected from OpenTable diners between December 2010 and November 2011.
Find out more
Elizabeth Street Cafe
South First Street is going to have a big 2012.
First came JMueller BBQ earlier this year on South Congress's little sister, and just in time to ring in the New Year, Larry McGuire - the chef behind Perla's and Lamberts Downtown Barbecue who is also taking over the upscale Jeffrey's in Clarksville - has opened the Elizabeth Street Cafe, a Vietnamese restaurant with a French twist in the space that used to house Bouldin Creek Coffeehouse, which relocated farther south on South First Street a year ago.
In coming months, the La Condesa team is also opening a Thai restaurant just across Elizabeth Street from McGuire's new restaurant, and former Trio chef Todd Duplechan will open the prix-fixe Lenoir just a few blocks south.
The space is as much a fusion of the two cultures as the food. (Earlier this year, I did a story on making your own bánh ḿ sandwiches at home and discovered that the sandwiches are a cultural remnant of the French occupation of Vietnam.) Quaint, small tables fill up the dining area underneath an awning outside, and diners can sit at a long bar with tall barstools while they sip on a Vietnamese coffee, made with Stumptown beans, and watch South First Street pass by.
The only sign of Bouldin Creek is the round cement tables in front of the restaurant, but that doesn't mean you can't get a cup of coffee and a breakfast sandwich. McGuire says they just added a breakfast menu with pastries, including croissants, savory menu items like beef pho with a poached egg, but the majority of the dishes coming out of the kitchen will be McGuire's interpretation of Vietnamese classics like bún, pho, bánh ḿ and appetizers such as spring rolls and fried shrimp and yam cakes.
The restaurant has a full bar, with French wines taking up most of the wine list. McGuire has thrown in a few bottles of sake to give the beverage menu an Asian flair and four punches that are meant to split between a few people.
Read Full Article
Elizabeth St. Cafe
1501 S. First St.
Austin, TX 78704
(512) 291-2881
Monday-Friday, 7am to Late
Saturday-Sunday, 8am to Late
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| Wine tasting classes - Tuesdays at House Wine | |
From www.housewineaustin.com
BartonPlace residents enjoy a 2 block bike ride or walk to this local establishment!
Come experience some new wines, expand your palate and explore some standout selections in a relaxed and interactive environment.
Every Tuesday evening Wine Experts, Kim Hastings, Boris Krouse, Keith Sennikoff, Kelli Frizzell, Rachel Wilson and other special guests will rotate through the house enlightening all with their knowledge and experience!
$15.00 ~ 5 Wines ~ Cheese ~ Instruction ~ 7:30pm
These tastings fill up fast so please call 512.658.7073 for reservations.
Find Out More
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Ballet Austin's Get Fit! 2012 | |
From www.austin360.org
Kick off the New Year with GetFit! 2012, a FREE fitness event that will feature a variety of Ballet Austin's BCS fitness and Pilates classes and courses.
Participants will also receive specials on future Ballet Austin's BCS classes and courses, along with food and drink samples and free health screenings from GetFit!
2012 partners Genesis Today and Kind® Bars and Scott & White Health Care.
GetFit! 2012 will also preview Zumba ® at 5:45 pm, new to Ballet Austin's BCS beginning in January.
Price: FREE
Phone: (512) 476-9151
Age Suitability:None Specified
View Detailed Schedule & Find out More
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Happy New Year! | |
Wishing everyone a great start to 2012 - let's make it a great year!
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We look forward to staying in close contact with you. Please remember to visit our website at www.BartonPlaceAustin.com to get up to date news and additional information.
Sincerely, |
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Audra W. Smith
BartonPlace Condominium
 
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