We’re pumped up

Austin sprints onto new ranking of country's healthiest cities

Austin is the healthiest city in Texas. Photo courtesy of Together We Run

As we prepare to welcome Austin Marathon participants on February 16, the city itself has already run away with an important accolade.

A study released February 10 by personal finance website WalletHub puts Austin in 11th place among the country’s healthiest cities and first place in Texas. Austin held the same positions (No. 11 and No. 1 in Texas) in WalletHub’s 2019 study of the healthiest cities in the U.S.

To determine which regions prioritize residents’ well-being, WalletHub compared 174 of the most populated U.S. cities across 43 key indicators of good health. The data ranges from cost of medical visits to fruit and vegetable consumption to fitness clubs per capita.

Austin scores highest in the green space (No. 13), fitness (No. 15), and food (No. 16) categories of the study. More specifically, Austin appears at No. 3 for most healthy restaurants per capita and No. 5 for most running trails per capita.

However, the Capital City lands at No. 40 in the health care category.

Despite this, the the City of Austin says, “Austin is a relatively healthy city."

"Austin/Travis County has trended better than Texas and the nation on key health outcomes including obesity, smoking, physical activity, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes,” the city continues. “While this is reassuring, we continue to see disparities along racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic lines within these same health outcomes.”

Austin ranks even higher in a recent study of the country’s healthiest cities by Mindbody, a provider of wellness technology. Among the 50 biggest cities, Austin claims the No. 5 spot, behind Miami, Atlanta, San Francisco, and Denver.

Ranking above Austin in the WalletHub study are: San Francisco (No. 1); Seattle (No. 2); San Diego (No. 3); Portland, Oregon (No. 4); Washington, D.C. (No. 5); New York City (No. 6); Denver (No. 7); Irvine, California (No. 8); Scottsdale, Arizona (No. 9); and Chicago (No. 10).

As for the rest of the state, however, Texas cities didn't perform well overall:

Plano, No. 40. Among all of the cities, Plano ranks fifth for low cost of medical visits.
Houston, No. 82. Among all of the cities, Houston ranks 173rd for mental health counselors per capita.
Dallas, No. 92.
San Antonio, No. 103.
Fort Worth, No. 117.
Arlington, No. 135.
Irving, No. 136.
Grand Prairie, No. 137.
Garland, No. 141.

The Rio Grande Valley city of Brownsville ranked last, at No. 174.

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Gather the Girls

Friend-making app for women makes U.S. debut in Austin

Les Amis brings users together for events and mentorship. Photo by Katy Anne on Unsplash

Women looking for other women to befriend have had to get creative with existing social media that isn't built for it. But an app from Barcelona will start making connections for Austinites on April 24. Called Les Amis, the app is making its U.S. debut in Austin.

Les Amis helps women connect over specific interests, first in their profiles and then in the events they meet up at. This could avoid some of the common pitfalls of trying to make friends: making flimsy connections out of convenience, never committing to plans, or falling out of touch on broader social media.

Profiles allow users to express interests, career aspirations, and things they can teach to other women, adding an element of possible mentorship. An algorithm connects users with each other, and as in any matchmaking app, users can talk from there and make plans.

Once they're ready to commit, users can book an experience through the app, which are largely centered around learning something new. Possible activities include pottery, painting, an afternoon tea service, yoga, local tours, and more. If they meet other people they'd like to connect with at the event, they can add each other as contacts in the app and use it to stay in touch.

All that organization does come at a cost: an Austin-based membership costs $50 a month (or $135 dollars for three months). Each month, members receive 16 credits, which Le Amis' FAQ says are "sufficient to book one event." Depending on the event, members can sometimes bring along a plus-one who doesn't have a membership.

According to a press release, founder Anna Bilych spent time as a young professional hopping between cities and countries as part of working with PayPal. She's experienced the frustration of having to start over and make friends again and again, finally landing on this idea for organizing events.

The app is now active in eight cities including Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin, Milan, and Stockholm. Although Austin is the first U.S. city on the list, Les Amis plans to launch in five other American cities by the end of 2025. Members get to use the app anywhere it's active.

Users must apply and be accepted to use the app. The application form collects information like name, social media and professional profiles, and birthday. Founding members will not pay a registration fee.

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