"So this is your first time in Texas," the shopkeeper said. "Is it what you expected?" My husband, Mark, and I looked at each other. We had bought into the Lone-Star stereotypes of Stetson-wearing cowboys, syrup-thick accents, and bigger-than-life personalities. I turned back to the shopkeeper and answered honestly, "Not at all."

Austin and San Antonio are geographically close, but they couldn't be more different. Austin, the state capital, has a very serious downtown district with not much besides the soaring capitol building. The farther you get from the center, however, the more you'll experience its appealing "Keep Austin Weird" personality with character-filled shops and galleries along South Congress (SoCo) Avenue, recently renovated 2nd Street District's cafes and boutiques, a plethora of parks with people and pets, and the famous bar-lined, live-music-loving 6th Street. Here, the best of city living is married to a strong environmental consciousness--as proof, fiercely urban Neiman Marcus and all-natural Whole Foods Market are both based in Austin.