Lifestyle

Can you name five stores in the Hill Country Galleria?

According to a recent survey, many of you that live in the Lake Travis area don’t know — or didn’t know — the retailers located in your own backyard.

In fact, when you were asked for a list of ten retailers you’d like to see in the Hill Country Galleria, three of the ten you named were already there.

You may have seen the article in Community Impact that highlighted some of the shopping habits of Lake Travis area residents. According to research conducted by the owners of Hill Country Galleria, consumers within a 30-minute drive of Bee Cave spent $222 million on food and beverage outside the area in 2014. That means you were probably shopping at Barton Creek Mall, Neiman Marcus Last Call and dining downtown.

But what you might not know is this translates to a revenue loss of more than $3 million to the city of Bee Cave.

Hmmm. So we spend money, but we don’t spend it here. Or at least we didn’t in 2014.

Will a $16m investment to improve the Hill Country Galleria change our spending habits?

[Read more…] about Hill Country Galleria Improvements Coming in 2016: H&M and Centralized Dining

If you’re newer to Austin and the surrounding areas, you’ve likely been bewildered by the hubbub over bad traffic and road clogs.

If you’ve joined us from a Golden State to the west, or hail from the compact New England microstates, you’ve no doubt been stumped by the local declaration of horrible, vehicular conditions.

As confused as you are, the traffic which seems to cause so much bother likely leaves you blissed. An Austin newbie, your work-day commute has gone from somewhere around 7 hours to just 1, all in the time it took to pack up a moving van and strap the kids to the top.

But as you have no doubt noticed (cause you’re a local now), everyone in the country followed suit and hightailed it to our lovely Texas too, and in a hurry.

With the Lake Travis area at the top of the list for best places to call home, congestion is fast-building. As such, it seems time to lay down some ground rules, general tips and all out annoyances. You know, for the newbies.

[Read more…] about There’s no Traffic in Austin. Just lots of Car Parties.

It may seem comical, but one topic we hear about consistently from you is WHY SO MANY MATTRESS STORES?!?

And why in the world are they so close together?

In Lakeway, there’s a Mattress Firm 1.6 miles away from another Mattress Firm. In the Lake Travis area, you can count nine mattress stores within a 3-mile radius. That’s a lot of shut-eye.

Perhaps it all makes sense. Yes, there are new homes and new residents and a growing community that needs its rest. We all sleep. In fact, the average person spends 25 years of their lifespan asleep! We obviously need mattresses.

[Read more…] about Unraveling the Mattress Store Mystery in Lake Travis

Lake Travis is 78% full today.

The Lake Travis water level is currently at 666.41 feet. And although it’s not by much … it’s better than the historical October average of 664.07.

The painful days of low lake levels hovering below 620 feet seem to be behind us for now. Sure, you still have to conserve water where you can and be smart about usage, but for the most part, life on the lake is happily buzzing once again.

In mid-May, wet weather delivered inches of rain in mere hours. Yes, lakes were filling up, but in exchange for the gift of rain from Mother Nature, disastrous flooding devastated homes, businesses, communities and even worse, lives were lost.

This past weekend you heard the familiar sound of raindrops pitter-pattering on your rooftop once again with cooler temps and flash flood warnings on the news.

If you ask the experts — meteorologists and climatologists — this weather is a direct result of El Niño and it’s gathering strength to bring a very cold and wet winter.

[Read more…] about What Does El Niño Mean for Lake Travis?

We appreciate it when you contact us about interesting stories unfolding in the Lake Travis area, and this one definitely fits the bill. Perhaps the bill you were waiting on for 20 minutes with cold queso on your table …

We’ve heard rumblings of poor service in some of our local establishments and we’re wondering if you’ve heard it too?

People who work in the service industry in the Lake Travis area are certainly skilled and friendly, but there seems to be a shortage of them.

Wait staff have too many tables, bartenders have too many drink orders, and some of our favorite go-to pizza places can’t deliver quickly because they don’t have enough help in the kitchen.

We know Lake Travis is amazing, which is why so many businesses want to be here. New growth attracts new residents and new residents bolster new business. It’s a cycle that makes sense.

Is our community in an awkward situation where new businesses have to sacrifice the customer experience because they can’t find enough people to adequately staff open positions? Positions that are necessary to run the business.

In a recent survey conducted by the Lake Travis Chamber of Commerce, 61% of respondents said they are having trouble hiring employees.

Let’s take a quick glance at local demographics to get a better understanding of why this could be happening.

[Read more…] about Help Wanted in Lake Travis: A Growing Shortage of Skilled Employees