Why Austin?

Our 2 Barrels Austin is our second hub. It’s pretty weird, but Spokane WA is our tech headquarters, but we do own our Austin building and have had a small but effective team in Austin and we’d like to grow it. Whether that’s working onsite or working wherever, we hope you’ll find our Austin hub a welcoming place to call your work home, or at least a place that the air conditioner stays on reliably and in a part of town that isn’t insane to get to — check!

As everyone in the world seems to want to move to Austin right now, we wrote a page here to try to help some of you from out of town understand the advantages of living and working here versus other options you may have. Here in Austin, the city has a lot to offer for everyone—the artsy, the outdoorsy, the family-focused and those just ready to party the night away.

Live Music Capital of the World

You ever wonder what life would be like with a soundtrack? With live music everywhere in Austin, a soundtrack to your life is almost unavoidable. Walking down the street, you’ll hear garage bands tinkering and squeeze around marching bands practicing. Pop into a coffee shop, bar or restaurant and you’re suddenly an audience member for a show you didn’t even know was happening.

And all that is outside the revolving door of festivals like SXSW and Austin City Limits or the stadium concerts for artists like The Rolling Stones or The Weeknd. Whether you just like to see a show now and then, are looking for bandmates or stage time, or just want to find more people out supporting the weird niche genre you love, Austin provides.

Head Outdoors

Our office has a lot of runners. Most of us don’t do marathons, but we could if really wanted to. In late February, runners from all over come to downtown Austin for the annual Austin Marathon. Meanwhile, there’s probably a 5K to celebrate or support something just about every weekend.

If an endurance race seems like overkill, we don’t even have to leave downtown to kayak or paddleboard Lady Bird Lake. And the Barton Creek Greenbelt has miles of trails for hiking, biking, rockclimbing or just soaking in the nature (and getting a break from the city). And with many more sunny days than not, most of us take advantage of fair-weather activities nearly year-round.

Festivals, Festivals, Festivals

Austin takes everything we love (or even just kind of like a little bit) and turns it into an over-the-top festival.

For Kids AND Kids at Heart

While Austin might come across as a sort of Neverland full of Peter Pans who never want to grow up, it’s not just a party town. Okay, it’s not exactly a quiet suburb either, but it’s reasonably family-friendly. Austin’s regularly ranked as one of the safest large cities in the US (and the cost of living is below the national average). Our local Eanes Independent School District is also ranked as the number one district in all of Texas.

When it comes to all things educational, the whole city is dotted with museums. Loads of history and art museums. The Austin Nature & Science Center. And of course, a music museum. Parks are everywhere as well. And while most cities have a crowded municipal pool, we have Barton Springs, a THREE-ACRE pool where you can swim outdoors year round.

Eat Your Heart Out

One of the advantages of living in a tourist haven like Austin is all the food. Top chefs set up shop, local eateries compete to become the next “it” place—and we reap the benefits. With everyone trying to out-concoct each other, there’s always something new to try. And with all the festivals, it makes sense that we have loads and loads of food trucks, serving up everything from kimchi fries to strawberry lemonade cupcakes.

And yeah, there’s plenty of food festivals too (seriously, everything here becomes a festival eventually). There’s Rodeo Austin’s BBQ Cook Off and the Austin Chronicle Hot Sauce Festival. Beyond the more typical southern fare, we also have the annual Mediterranean Festival—if you’ve never tried Arabic coffee, you’re in for a treat.

We Got Wild Life AND Wildlife

Okay, so we don’t have a cool cryptid claim-to-fame like our buds up in Spokane (who said they’d let us know if they ever spot Sasquatch). But if you slip under a local bridge, you might stumble upon different creatures of the night. No, not drunken concert goers—well, not just drunken concertgoers—but over a MILLION bats. Much like most Austinites, the bats go out to enjoy the nightlife, so an Austin sunset often has that nice Halloween vibe.

To celebrate Austin cosplaying as Gotham, we do what we always do here—put on a festival. At the Bat Festival in late summer, you can dress up for the costume contest and watch as a cloud of bats burst out from under the Congress Avenue Bridge.

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All this is just the tip of the iceberg—there’s also Austin’s thriving comedy scene, the junk cathedral, all the murals, the park with all the peacocks, and so much more. But some of it you just have to experience yourself. We hope you do.