Moved to Austin

We recently moved to Austin - a.k.a. the capital of the lone star state Texas and Silicon Hills (due to its growing tech worker population). It is also touted as the #1 place to live in the US these days.

Things we love so far about our move here are:

1. Warm place - it gets pretty hot during summer but coming from eastern part of India we have already seen such heat in summers and it did not feel any different.
2. Warm people - one can feel the warmth and genteelness of locals when communicating with them. 
3. Small town feel - things are newer but spread out so it is common to see large tracts of open spaces with trees and shrubs.
4. Open spaces and greenery 
5. Lakes and hills - there are lakes and on western part of Austin there are hills too. 
6. Mostly newer buildings - in general most constructions seem relatively new.
7. Far less crowded than Silicon Valley - less number of people in general but population is growing here as more people move from other more expensive parts of US to Austin.
8. Far less traffic on road than Bay Area
9. Most major tech employers present - though the number of positions open in those employers may be a fraction of their offices in Silicon Valley yet many of the big companies of the Bay Area have a significant presence in terms of the number of employees they have here.
10. Lower cost of living - a gallon of gas is $1 cheaper, no state tax, no sales tax and things in general cost less. 
11. Lower housing cost - it is higher than many other cities in Texas but still way lower compared to Bay Area.
12. New construction homes - we can still find plenty new homes at close proximity to work places and good schools (though they are typically higher priced and price reduces as we move further away from where most jobs are).
13. Excellent schools - schools get 1% of the 2+% property tax so they get good funding i think. Most schools seem to have newer campuses - at least the ones we saw did.

We got an apartment in the north eastern part of Austin bordering Round Rock city. The Round Rock ISD is 21st largest school district in Texas and has some very good schools. This part of Austin has all amenities (classes for kids, restaurants, cinemas etc) available at a short distance so it is quite convenient for families. Also this part of Austin is where most of the major employers have their offices, apart from downtown area of Austin. There is metro train that makes the commute to downtown convenient. 

We are yet to explore the city and all that it has to offer but from what we saw thus far we have found no reason to regret though we still miss our friends and our San Jose home in the Bay Area.