Austin is the capital of US state Texas. It is part of the Travis County. According to US census data Austin has the population of approximately 750,000 which makes it fourth largest city in Texas and 16th in United States. The total population of the greater Austin metropolitan area is around 1.6 million which includes the suburbs also.

Austin economy is one of the fastest growing in the country by attracting venture capital investment in technology, medicine and healthcare industries which has earned it the nickname “Silicon hills”. This growing economy is supported for its skilled labor by the University of Texas located in Austin.

Austin is situated on the Colorado River, with three man-made (artificial) lakes wholly within the city limits: Lady Bird Lake, Lake Austin, and Lake Walter E. Long. Additionally, the foot of Lake Travis, including Mansfield Dam, is located within the city's limits. The city is also situated on the Balcones Fault, which, in much of Austin, runs roughly the same route as Loop 1 (Mopac Expressway). The eastern part of the city is flat, whereas the western part and western suburbs consist of scenic rolling hills on the edge of the Texas Hill Country. Because the hills to the west are primarily limestone rock with a thin covering of topsoil, portions of the city are frequently subjected to flash floods from the runoff caused by thunderstorms. To help control this runoff and to generate hydroelectric power, the Lower Colorado River Authority operates a series of dams that form the Texas Highland Lakes. The lakes also provide venues for boating, swimming, and other forms of recreation within several parks located on the lake shores.

Austin has a humid subtropical climate, characterized by hot summers and mild winters. On average, Austin receives 33.6 inches (853.4 mm) of rain per year, with most of the precipitation in the spring, and a secondary maximum in the fall. During springtime, severe thunderstorms sometimes occur, though tornadoes are rare in the city. Austin is usually at least partially sunny.

Austin is known as The Live Music Capital of the World, the city has a vibrant live music scene with more music venues per capita than any other U.S. city. Austin's music revolves around the many nightclubs on 6th Street and an annual film/music/multimedia festival known as South by Southwest. The city has a burgeoning circle of live performance theater venues such as: Zachary Scott Theatre Center, Vortex Repertory Company, Salvage Vanguard Theater, Arts on Real, Scottish Rite Children's Theater, Hyde Park Theatre, and Esther's Follies, a comedy and magic show.

The longest-running concert music program on American television, Austin City Limits, is videotaped on the University of Texas at Austin campus. Austin City Limits and Capital Sports & Entertainment run the Austin City Limits Music Festival, an annual music and art festival held at Zilker Park in Austin. The long-running outdoor musical, the Zilker Park Summer Musical, expects to celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2008. The Urban Music Festival is held during the Texas Relays weekend every April. Other annual events include Eeyore's Birthday Party, Spamarama, and the Austin Reggae Festival in April and Carnival in February. Halloween, St Patrick's Day, Independence Day, and Juneteenth (Emancipation Day) are all widely celebrated, in addition to two important Mexican holidays, May 5 (Cinco de Mayo) and September 16.

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Founded in 1841, Dallas is the third largest city of Texas and 9th in United States. It is home to 1.2 million residents that includes people in greater Dallas area that if formed by Dallas, Arlington, Carrollton and Fort Worth. Dallas has humid topographical climate with wild winter.

Dallas is considered one of the important economic engines of USA. Dallas economy relies primarily on banking, technology, telecommunication and energy sectors. Dallas vibrant economy has attracted many corporate icons to relocate their head quarters to this city that includes ATT, Commerce bank, American Airlines, JC Penny, Seven Eleven just to name few. The median income in Dallas was around US$ 37000 while for a family it was US$ 40,000 which is better than the national average.

Dallas is renowned for its barbecue, authentic Mexican, and Tex-Mex cuisine. Dallas culinary scene produced many food icons including the frozen margarita and the chain restaurants Chili's and Romano's Macaroni Grill. Zagat Survey named The French Room at the Hotel Adolphus in Downtown Dallas as the best hotel restaurant in the US. A number of nationally ranked steakhouses can be found in the Dallas area, including Bob's Steak & Chop House, currently ranked #3 according to the USDA Prime Steakhouses chart behind Ruth's Chris Times Square and Bones Atlanta.

The Arts District in the northern section of Downtown is home to several arts venues. Notable venues in the district include the Dallas Museum of Art, the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, The Trammell & Margaret Crow Collection of Asian Art, the Nasher Sculpture Center, The Dallas Contemporary, and The Dallas Children's Theatre. There are many venues under construction or planned including the Winspear Opera House and the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts. The Arts District is also home to Dallas Independent School District's Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. South of the Trinity River, the fledgling Bishop Arts District in Oak Cliff is home to a number of studio artists living in converted warehouses. Walls of buildings along alleyways and streets are painted with murals and the surrounding streets contain many eclectic restaurants and shops.

Dallas Cowboys enjoy considerable fan base among MLB teams. The success of Cowboys in recent years have made them one of the most valuable football teams in America with an estimated worth of around 1.5 billion dollars. Similarly Dallas basketball team Mavericks have consistently performed well in NBA playoffs.

The most notable event held in Dallas is the State Fair of Texas, which has been held annually at Fair Park since 1886 making it one of the oldest events in USA. The fair is a massive event, bringing in an estimated $350 million to the city's economy annually. Other festivals in the area include several Cinco de Mayo celebrations hosted by the city's large Mexican population, an Saint Patrick's Day parade along Lower Greenville Avenue, Juneteenth festivities, the Greek Food Festival of Dallas, and an annual Halloween parade on Cedar Springs Road. With the opening of Victory Park, WFAA Channel 8 has begun to host an annual New Year's Eve celebration in AT&T Plaza that the television station hopes will reminisce of celebrations in New York's Times Square.

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Founded in 1836, Houston is the largest city of State of Texas and fourth largest in all of USA with an estimated population of 2.2 million. The greater Houston, that includes Sugarland and Bay Town, is the 6th largest metroplex in USA with a total population of 5.6 million. Houston is also the seat of Harris county which is one of the largest counties in USA in terms of land size. Houston climate is considered subtropical with temperatures commonly seen in the 90s during summer months.

Houston is called the energy capital of the world because of the presence of large number of oil & gas companies including ExxonMobile, Chevron and Shell North America. The city faced considerable economic hardships during the oil crisis of 1973 and the economic crisis in 1987. In the decades of the 1990s the city administration decided to diversify the city economy by reducing its reliance on oil & gas sector. Since then the Houston economy has acquired a broad economic base with presence of retail, health care, energy, aeronautics and manufacturing companies. Houston has the proud distinction of home to more Fortune 500 companies behind New York. The Port of Houston ranks first in the United States in international waterborne tonnage handled and second in total cargo tonnage handled. The city has a multicultural population with a large and growing international community.

 Houston Theater District is located downtown and is home to nine major performing arts organizations and six performance halls. It is the second-largest concentration of theater seats in a downtown area in the United States. Houston has a permanent, professional, resident companies in all major performing arts disciplines: opera (Houston Grand Opera), ballet (Houston Ballet), music (Houston Symphony Orchestra), and theater (The Alley Theatre). Houston attracts many touring Broadway acts, concerts, shows, and exhibitions for a variety of interests.

Houston is home to the largest and longest running annual Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, held over 20 days from late February to early March. Another large celebration is the annual night-time Houston Pride Parade, held at the end of June. Houston holds the Bayou City Art Festival, which is considered to be one of the top five art festivals in the United States.

The Museum District has many popular cultural institutions and exhibits, which attract more than 7 million visitors a year. Notable facilities located in the district include The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Museum of Natural Science, the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, and the Houston Zoo. One of the major attractions of Houston City is Space Center Houston which is the official visitors’ center of NASA's Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center. Here one will find many interactive exhibits including moon rocks, a shuttle simulator, and presentations about the history of NASA's manned space flight program.

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