Round Rock is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, in Williamson County (with a small part in Travis County), which is a part of the Greater Austin metropolitan area. Its population was 99,887 at the 2010 census. The city straddles the Balcones Escarpment, a fault line in which the areas roughly east of Interstate 35 are flat and characterized by having black, fertile soils of the Blackland Prairie, and the west side of the Escarpment, which consists mostly of hilly, karst-like terrain with little topsoil and higher elevations and which is part of the Texas Hill Country. Located about 20 miles (32 km) north of downtown Austin, Round Rock shares a common border with Austin at Texas State Highway 45. In August 2008, Money named Round Rock as the seventh-best American small city in which to live. Round Rock was the only Texas city to make the Top 10. In a CNN article dated July 1, 2009, Round Rock was listed as the second-fastest-growing city in the country, with a population growth of 8.2% in the preceding year.According to the 2008 ratings from the Texas Education Agency, the Round Rock Independent School District ranks among the best in the state. Of 42 schools within it, 12 were rated exemplary and 11 were recognized. Round Rock is perhaps best known as the international headquarters of Dell Technologies, which employs about 16,000 people at its Round Rock facilities. The presence of Dell along with other major employers, an economic development program, major retailers such as IKEA, a Premium Outlet Mall, and the mixed-use La Frontera center, have changed Round Rock from a sleepy bedroom community into its own self-contained "super suburb".

Cedar Park is a city and a major suburb of Austin in the state of Texas, approximately 16 miles (26 km) to the north-west of the center of Austin. According to the U.S. Census, the city's estimated population as of July 2019 was 79,462.

Georgetown is a city in and the county seat of Williamson County, Texas, United States, with a population of 47,400 at the 2010 census and a population of 79,604 at the 2019 census estimate. Georgetown is the 7th fastest growing city in the US as of May 14, 2019. It is 30 miles (48 km) north of Austin. Founded in 1875 from four existing colleges, the oldest of which had been founded 35 years earlier, Southwestern University is the oldest university in Texas. It is in Georgetown about one-half mile from the historic square. Georgetown has a notable range of Victorian commercial and residential architecture. In 1976, a local historic ordinance was passed to recognize and protect the significance of the historic central business district. In 1977, the Williamson County Courthouse Historical District, containing some 46 contributing structures, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Georgetown is also known as the "Red Poppy" Capital of Texas for the red poppy (Papaver rhoeas) wildflowers planted throughout the city. Georgetown's Red Poppy Festival, which attracts up to 30,000 visitors annually, is held in April each year on the historic square.

Years ago, when people talked about Austin, they would quickly mention the music. But that's just the beginning of what they're saying these days.