Price Fallin stares out of the window of his office at the beige dome of the Texas State Capitol Building. The view is the only hint that this budding tech entrepreneur is in Austin, Texas and not New York or San Francisco.
Exposed cinder blocks and metal vents surround Mr Fallin, whose company, TeleVet, operates from a hip communal work space in downtown Austin.
Whiteboards with furiously scribbled notes, slick computer screens and casually dressed colleagues give off a very California-esque start-up vibe.
But Mr Fallin chose not to travel to Silicon Valley to pursue his dreams. Instead, the Oklahoma City native moved 600 kilometres south to Austin, one of the fastest growing cities in the US and one that is vying for the title of America’s tech capital.
“One of the reasons we came to Austin in particular was this is a very, very pet-friendly city,” said Mr Fallin, whose company helps veterinary clinics to automate their services. “It's a tech city as well, so that's a great combination for us.”
Austin is on a winding stretch of the Colorado River, which provides a playground and a natural and easy escape from the summer heat, which can exceed 38ºC.
On a blistering June day, hundreds of paddle boarders drift aimlessly down the river, floating past immaculate glass towers owned by some of the largest companies in the world, including Google and Indeed.
Access to the outdoors was a major selling point for Mr Fallin, whose company has grown from six employees in March 2020 to more than 60.
“There's a tonne of stuff to do outdoors, which is probably the thing I'm most attracted to,” Mr Fallin told The National. “There's a lot of green trails, there's the natural pools, there's places to go out and just enjoy.”
But it’s also full of skilled, tech-oriented people and perhaps, most importantly, offers access to serious money.
In 2021, venture capital funding helped fuel 387 deals worth a city record $4.9 billion, according to Pitchbook.
“Especially when you're having investors look at different start-ups here in Austin, they see it as a great spot to do a start-up versus doing something in a different city that's a little bit smaller,” he said.
Few cities in America weathered the Covid-19 pandemic better than Austin. Its population increased more than 2 per cent in 2021 and has nearly doubled since the new millennium.
But more important than population, are jobs. By July 2021, the city had already recouped 97 per cent of jobs lost during the pandemic, according to the Austin Chamber of Commerce and the city currently has more than 90,000 job openings, which is more than the local population seeking new employment.
“That's largely because of the diversity of our employer base,” said Bryce Bencivengo, director of public relations at the Austin Chamber of Commerce. “I think we do get a lot of publicity for tech and there's a tonne of tech here, but there's also government, advanced manufacturing, even the automotive industry made huge gains.”
Midway through the pandemic, Tesla, Elon Musk's electric car company, shifted its headquarters from Palo Alto, California, to Austin. It was not the only large company to seek the conservative state’s generous tax incentives.
Oracle, the world’s third-largest software company, opened up a sprawling new site on the city’s outskirts.
Mr Musk cited Austin’s relative affordability compared with San Francisco as a major factor in his decision making.
"It’s tough for people to afford houses and a lot of people have to come in from far away," he said during the company’s annual stockholders meeting in October 2021. "Here in Austin, our factory’s like five minutes from the airport, 15 minutes from downtown, and we’re going to create an ecological paradise here because we’re right on the Colorado River."
Indeed, relative affordability has long been one of Austin’s biggest selling points. According to the realtor site Redfin.com the median house price in Austin is $630,000, which is up significantly from pre-pandemic prices that hovered around $400,000. But it's markedly lower than San Francisco, which has an average house price of $1.52 million.
“In recent history, Austin was very affordable and still is affordable compared with the coasts of the United States,” Mr Bencivengo said.
But as house prices rise, some in the community worry, long-time residents may be pushed out.
“We had just an astonishingly rapid increase, the median house price in Austin went up by roughly $200,000 during the pandemic,” said Jake Wegmann, a professor in the school of architecture at the University of Texas, Austin, whose research focuses on housing, real estate and urban planning.
The city’s unofficial motto is “Keep Austin Weird”, an homage to its artistic and spunky history. The city is a liberal bastion in a deeply conservative state. Its left-leaning politics fuel an open, diverse city with a bustling music scene and expansive restaurant list.
But as the city expands, it’s wrestling with how to retain the spirit and affordability that has made it such a coveted place to live.
“We have to play both defence and offence to get out of this,” Mr Wegmann told The National. “The government putting more money into housing is like playing defence, to help people who can't thrive under the current system. But you also have to play offence because if you're not expanding the overall housing supply, then people are fighting over table scraps.”
It’s not just house prices. Rent has ballooned in recent years. According to rent.com, rents for one-bedroom homes in Austin more than doubled in the past year, more than any other city in the country.
“We've been looking at various ways to confront that,” said Kathie Tovo, an outgoing Austin City councillor. “Building on city-owned land is one, making sure that we're investing in affordable housing, both city sponsored housing, but also that of our non-profits, the city has, has had multiple successful bond programmes, where Austin residents have agreed to tax themselves to create housing for their neighbours.”
Ms Tovo acknowledges the city is in a tough position. “There are no easy solutions to fighting land costs,” she told The National.
She said Austin’s ability to provide “inclusionary” housing for those in need is hampered by Texas’s conservative nature and policies, which preclude some of the necessary strategies to prevent displacement.
While the city explores ways to stay affordable it continues to grow and attract new residents, the question now is, can it retain its “weird” spirit that has made it so popular.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, first leg
Liverpool v Roma
When: April 24, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Anfield, Liverpool
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
Dengue%20fever%20symptoms
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BELGIUM%20SQUAD
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UAE%20FIXTURES
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How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
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New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Liverpool's all-time goalscorers
Ian Rush 346
Roger Hunt 285
Mohamed Salah 250
Gordon Hodgson 241
Billy Liddell 228
INDIA SQUAD
Virat Kohli (capt), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Vijay Shankar, MS Dhoni (wk), Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami
ACC 2019: The winners in full
Best Actress Maha Alemi, Sofia
Best Actor Mohamed Dhrif, Weldi
Best Screenplay Meryem Benm’Barek, Sofia
Best Documentary Of Fathers and Sons by Talal Derki
Best Film Yomeddine by Abu Bakr Shawky
Best Director Nadine Labaki, Capernaum
The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
AUSTRALIA SQUAD
Steve Smith (capt), David Warner, Cameron Bancroft, Jackson Bird, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine, Chadd Sayers, Mitchell Starc.
How to tell if your child is being bullied at school
Sudden change in behaviour or displays higher levels of stress or anxiety
Shows signs of depression or isolation
Ability to sleep well diminishes
Academic performance begins to deteriorate
Changes in eating habits
Struggles to concentrate
Refuses to go to school
Behaviour changes and is aggressive towards siblings
Begins to use language they do not normally use
Top tips
Create and maintain a strong bond between yourself and your child, through sensitivity, responsiveness, touch, talk and play. “The bond you have with your kids is the blueprint for the relationships they will have later on in life,” says Dr Sarah Rasmi, a psychologist.
Set a good example. Practise what you preach, so if you want to raise kind children, they need to see you being kind and hear you explaining to them what kindness is. So, “narrate your behaviour”.
Praise the positive rather than focusing on the negative. Catch them when they’re being good and acknowledge it.
Show empathy towards your child’s needs as well as your own. Take care of yourself so that you can be calm, loving and respectful, rather than angry and frustrated.
Be open to communication, goal-setting and problem-solving, says Dr Thoraiya Kanafani. “It is important to recognise that there is a fine line between positive parenting and becoming parents who overanalyse their children and provide more emotional context than what is in the child’s emotional development to understand.”
RESULT
Manchester City 5 Swansea City 0
Man City: D Silva (12'), Sterling (16'), De Bruyne (54' ), B Silva (64' minutes), Jesus (88')
Barcelona 3
Messi (27’, 32’, 87’)
Leganes 1
El Zhar (68’)
Bookshops: A Reader's History by Jorge Carrión (translated from the Spanish by Peter Bush),
Biblioasis
More coverage from the Future Forum
The Vile
Starring: Bdoor Mohammad, Jasem Alkharraz, Iman Tarik, Sarah Taibah
Director: Majid Al Ansari
Rating: 4/5
FROM%20THE%20ASHES
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Smart words at Make Smart Cool
Make Smart Cool is not your usual festival. Dubbed “edutainment” by organisers Najahi Events, Make Smart Cool aims to inspire its youthful target audience through a mix of interactive presentation by social media influencers and a concert finale featuring Example with DJ Wire. Here are some of the speakers sharing their inspiration and experiences on the night.
Prince Ea
With his social media videos accumulating more half a billion views, the American motivational speaker is hot on the college circuit in the US, with talks that focus on the many ways to generate passion and motivation when it comes to learning.
Khalid Al Ameri
The Emirati columnist and presenter is much loved by local youth, with writings and presentations about education, entrepreneurship and family balance. His lectures on career and personal development are sought after by the education and business sector.
Ben Ouattara
Born to an Ivorian father and German mother, the Dubai-based fitness instructor and motivational speaker is all about conquering fears and insecurities. His talk focuses on the need to gain emotional and physical fitness when facing life’s challenges. As well managing his film production company, Ouattara is one of the official ambassadors of Dubai Expo2020.
RACE CARD
5pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (Turf) 2,200m
5.30pm: Khor Al Baghal – Conditions (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m
6pm: Khor Faridah – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m
6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 (T) 1,400m
7pm: Abu Dhabi Colts Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 (T) 1,400m
7.30pm: Khor Laffam – Handicap (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 2,200m
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
The specs: 2018 Chevrolet Trailblazer
Price, base / as tested Dh99,000 / Dh132,000
Engine 3.6L V6
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power 275hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 350Nm @ 3,700rpm
Fuel economy combined 12.2L / 100km
The specs: 2018 Nissan Altima
Price, base / as tested: Dh78,000 / Dh97,650
Engine: 2.5-litre in-line four-cylinder
Power: 182hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 244Nm @ 4,000rpm
Transmission: Continuously variable tranmission
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.6L / 100km
