Texas Uni at Austin top 10 by Broomy

1. College Town. Two words says it all - think of a city where 90% of the people are under 25 and what do you get? A massive 24-hour party! The whole city is based around the university so if you're a student, you're totally hooked up.

2. SXSW. South by Southwest, the largest live music festival on Earth. Austin is apparantly the Live Music Capitol of the world, so whatever you're into, there's something for you. Where else can you see Elijah Wood playing a Game Boy in a bar by himself?!

3. Posse East. The central drinking/meeting/homework/greasy burger point for the majority of the student community. It doesn't get any better than this place, what with $6(£4) beer pitchers, great music and no attitude.

4. Austin. Texas, as some of you might know, is one of the most conservative states in the country, considering how backwards this place is anyway, you've basically got yourself a big redneck antfarm. Austin is like Texas' rebellious teenager - everything that Texas stands for, Austin is against. Protests galore, hippie hollow (nudist beach), not to mention real the hippies themselves. Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix used to hang out here all the time...So you can imagine.

5. 54,000 students. Need I say more? It's not difficult to make friends, no matter how weird you are. Campus activities galore from Longhorn Offroad Racing Club to cross-stitching clubs, we have it all - if something's missing, it's up to you to put it there. Yet, even with this many students, the university manages to create a small community feeling, it's truly the best of both worlds.

6. Shiner Bock. Brewed in Shiner, Texas, this is some of the best damn beer I've ever had.

7. Shiny, Happy People. It's bizarre, everywhere you look, everyone's having the best day of their life - at least it seems that way. Even the panhandlers seem to be having a nonstop party.

8. Tex-Mex food. The perfect blend of Texas' easygoing nature and Mexican spice means the best dinner you're going to find. And usually for under $10(£6). If you're over here go to Trudy's.

9. Weather. It doesn't get much better than here. Not too humid, not too hot, not too cold, and a whole bunch of fun. Last month we had one of the hottest days on record. The next day there was snow on the ground and it was the coldest days in five years. Who wants predictability?

10. Disc Golf. I've never seen this awesome sport anywhere else in the world. think about playing golf with 15 friends, but with frisbees instead of golf balls and a cooler instead of a caddy. Nice.

10b. (Please, Please, Please!) The Guadalupe River. Imagine... A totally hot day, floating down a shallow river in tubes tied to your friends in similar tubes with a cooler in its own tube, for about 3 hours. Sound like bliss? It is.