Love where you live • Whole Foods began in Austin in 1978, when 25-year-old college dropouts John Mackey and Rene Lawson Hardy borrowed $45,000 to open a small natural foods store. In 2017, Amazon paid $13.4 billion to acquire the upscale grocery chain. • Constructed from sunset red granite, the Texas State Capitol building in Austin is the largest state capitol in the United States. • With 200 live music venues and as many as 2,000 bands and performing artists, Austin is con

Love where you live Orange County has large sandy beaches and small cove beaches. You can enjoy sunbathing, walking on the piers, exploring tide pools and for the more adventurous there are surf breaks too. And of course, whatever you choose to do, you will be amazed by the rock arches. Here is our list of the 10 best beaches in Orange County: Laguna Beach Main Beach Victoria Beach Table Rock Beach Dana Point Harbor Beach (Baby Beach) Pearl Street Beach San Clemente State Bea

Love where you live Art & Culture Seattle has a fine art scene. Every weekend, numerous live theatre productions are performed all across Seattle including the 5th Avenue Theatre, that is sometimes used as a training ground for many new Broadway shows. The Seattle Symphony, the Pacific Northwest Ballet, and Seattle Opera are three of the longest performing arts centers in Seattle. You’ll also find unique experiences including dinner theatres like Teatro ZinZanni, The Triple

The region commonly known as “The Peninsula" (San Mateo County) is a string of suburbs and charming towns linked together by El Camino Real, the old "Royal Road." The coastal area is truly gorgeous and offers small town life, with easy access to big-city amenities. The Peninsula is filled with a number of shopping centers, plazas, and tree-lined main streets notable for their pleasant cafes, boutiques, restaurants, and neighborhood stores. The moderate year-round climate, ne

Love where you live You can’t talk about Austin without talking music. Its cutting-edge live music scene is legendary and it’s everywhere. Austin’s music history dates back to the 70’s and 80’s and came out of clubs that became home to a new, eclectic landscape, embracing country, rock, blues, punk, soul, and roots. Artists like Willie Nelson, Townes Van Zandt, and the Big Boys, (all patron saints of the movement), fed a growing club scene, that eventually led to the live m

Just south of the Beach Cities, and slightly north of Orange County, is Long Beach, also located on the Pacific. It is a city filled with diversity and atmosphere and is the second-largest city in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. (It’s also the third largest in Southern California behind LA and San Diego.) Long Beach is “a big city with a small-town vibe.” It’s also a multicultural place with a cosmopolitan feel, full of arts, culture, adventure, and sunshine. It gets its n

Some will say that camping is the official sport of Washington state, with jaw-dropping mountain views, serene forests, or beachfront sites. There is a campsite for everyone. Here is our list for the 10 best weekend camping trips near Seattle: Dash Point State Park Sol Duc Hot Springs Campground Staircase Campground Lake Wenatchee State Park Colonial Creek Campground Kalaloch Campground Deception Pass State Park Shi Shi Beach Cape Disappointment State Park Washington Park #

The South Bay or Beach Cities as it is commonly referred, is a coastal area of Los Angeles County, comprising Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, and Redondo Beach. It is located on the south end of the Santa Monica Bay, west and south of downtown Los Angeles, north of the Palos Verdes Peninsula on the Pacific. El Segundo and Torrance also share a strip of beach property in the South Bay, but are lesser known because they do not have a pier attraction. The South Bay is one of th

Whether you are looking for a wilderness hike, a picnic area near your home, or a natural place to celebrate a special event, Los Angeles offers many beautiful, vibrant garden environments and urban oases. Here are our top 10: Echo Park Lake http://westsidelosangeles.com/echo-park-lake-los-angeles.php Lake Hollywood Park http://westsidelosangeles.com/lake-hollywood-park-los-angeles.php Silver Lake Reservoir Silver Lake, http://westsidelosangeles.com/silver-lake-reservoir-los

• The land that is now the city of Seattle has been inhabited for at least 4,000 years. • Seattle was the first city in the US to play a Beatles song on the radio. • People in Seattle buy the most sunglasses per capita than any other U.S. city • More people bike to work in Seattle than in any other similar-sized city in the U.S. • Pike Place Market features the longest continuously operating farmer’s market in the US. • Seattle has nearly 500 houseboats, more than anywhere el

San Francisco’s wild landscapes are packed with hiking trails for all skill levels. They offer the perfect nature amusement without leaving the city. Enjoy amazing ocean or bay views, wander through coastal cliffs, or become dwarfed by the giant redwoods. 1 - Lands End Trail. https://www.nps.gov/goga/planyourvisit/landsend.htm Distance: 3.5 miles Difficulty: Moderate 2 - Fort Funston. https://www.parksconservancy.org/trails/fort-funston-trail Distance: 0.9 miles Difficulty:

The San Fernando Valley is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County north of downtown Los Angeles. It covers 260 square miles and is home to almost 2 million people. Two thirds of the Valley is part of the City of Los Angeles. The Valley is circled by mountains: The Santa Susana Mountains to the northwest, the Simi Hills to the west, the Santa Monica Mountains and Chalk Hills to the south, the Verdugo Mountains to the east, and the San Gabriel Mountains to the northeast.

With approximately 850,000 residents, North County is the largest suburban region of San Diego County. The region runs from Del Mar in the south (just north of the city of San Diego) to the top of the county at Camp Pendleton. Some of California’s prettiest beaches are located here, with many of the area's beaches and lagoons carrying protected status to preserve them for many years to come. With exploding growth over the last two decades, the trend is for residents to stay i

Seattle is perfect for the outdoorsy type given its proximity to so many activities like hiking, fishing, skiing, climbing, cycling, etc. It also happens to be home to Recreation Equipment Inc., better known as “REI.” If you’re moving to Seattle and don’t currently own any GoreTex clothing, it might be a good idea to look into it. • Take a hike! Washington State is home to 186 state parks and 3 national parks. The most impressive and well-known is Mount Rainier National Park

LA is entrepreneurial, eclectic, diverse and innovative. One in every six of its residents works in a creative industry. There are more artists, writers, filmmakers, actors, dancers and musicians living and working in Los Angeles than any other city at any time in history. ​3.9 million people live within the city limits and 18.7 million people reside in the L.A. Metro Area. LA’s economy as a city is larger than 46 of the 50 states in the U.S. LA is the home of Silicon Beach,

Whether you live in the area or visit, San Diego offers a ton of fun outdoor activities for the whole family. If your kids enjoy hiking, you’ll find loop trails with giant, eagle-shaped rocks as well as trails with canyons and ocean views. Some of the easier hikes in San Diego are even on stroller-friendly trails. Here is our list of the ten best Kid friendly easy Hikes in San Diego. 1- Crest Canyon https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/crest-canyon-trail-loop Addres

“There’s a freedom you begin to feel the closer you get to Austin, Texas” ~ Willie Nelson Quite honestly, there are few cities as vibrant, interesting and colorful as Austin. Located along the Colorado River in Central Texas and bordering the Hill Country region, Austin is the state capitol and home to the University of TexasLonghorns. It is widely known as the “Live Music Capital of the World” due in large part to the variety and vibrancy of its music scene. It is also famou

There are few cities in the world blessed with a more beautiful setting than Seattle. It is surrounded by rugged wilderness; to the west the Olympic Mountains, to the east the volcanoes and glaciers of the Cascade Range, and all around the brisk waters of the Northwest. Delightfully known as the “Emerald City”, Seattle got its nickname from its lush greenery. The city and surrounding areas are filled with greenery all year round echoing Washington State’s moniker as the Ever