For as far back as I can remember, comparisons have been made between Louisiana’s state capital city and Austin, Texas. In the 1960s the population of both cities was about the same.  Austin and Baton Rouge were the homes of both the centers of state government and the location of each state’s major university. Both cities were laid back and growing at an average southern pace.  So how do they rate today?

Austin has become one of the fastest growing cities in America.  The University of Texas is ranked as one of the top public universities in the nation with an endowment that rivals number one Harvard.  US News and World Report just released their national rankings as the best place in American to live. Their number one ranking?  Austin, Texas. And the icing on the cake came in the recent announcement that Apple will invest over one billion dollars on a new high-tech campus.  Apple will create in Austin 5000 new jobs that will increase to 15,000 employees with an average salary of $150,000. The Texas hub was also just named as on one of the top five places to retire in the U.S.