Austin's certainly not as lush and beautiful as Northern California, but it's definitely not "dreary and worn looking". Yes, it gets very hot in the summer, but the rest of the year the weather is fantastic.

> but it's definitely not "dreary and worn looking"

Not so true this summer...

http://inapcache.boston.com/universal/site_graphics/blogs/bi...

(I live in Austin.)

It's kinda dreary and worn looking. :)

The Hill Country is nice tho.