Everything you need to know as an Austin newcomer

Welcome to Austin.

State of play: Maybe you're among the 180-odd people who move here daily, most likely from another part of Texas or one of the coasts.

Or perhaps you graduated from Austin High School decades ago, stuck around to attend the University of Texas on the five-year plan, and now find yourself stunned by how much the 1935 bungalow you bought off Guadalupe 20 years ago is worth.

Either way: Howdy!

The big picture: The fact is, Austin has always been a fast-growing outpost, with the greater metro doubling in population every couple decades since at least the 1960s.

Between the lines: What's shifted is our city's character.

• Previously described in some circles as "The Velvet Rut" — a place where you could happily lose ambition — Austin now may as well be described as "The Digital Springboard," a spot where entrepreneurs sketch out — to the squeaks of marker on a whiteboard — how their startup is bound to be the next $1 billion unicorn.

The bottom line: Now that you're here, let's go get a margarita.

What to know

Once known as Waterloo, Austin is a college town, a tech town, a music town and, of course, a capital town. We've got tips on neighborhoods, trivia and the first things you should read and watch when you get here.

What to do

Your first stops in Austin might be obvious, but you can't miss these.

What to eat and drink

You'll find no shortage of good food in Austin, but we’ve rounded up the bites you shouldn’t miss when you first arrive.