Big City Bargains

Austin shines on new report of America's fastest-growing yet affordable cities

Roadhouse Relics Greetings from Austin postcard mural

Austin offers serious big-city value.

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Out of curiosity, if for no other reason, we like to know whether the area where we live — or where we want to live — is one of the fastest-growing. Population growth signals that a region is a desirable spot, including the availability of both jobs and affordable housing.

It’s the housing affordability factor, of course, that helps drive many people’s decisions about buying a house in a metro area or even relocating there. And when it comes to the mashup of population growth and housing affordability, Austin shines — at least according to a new report from personal finance website NerdWallet.

Among the 10 U.S. metro areas that gained the most residents from mid-2016 to mid-2017, Austin ranks No. 5. According to NerdWallet, the median home price is $330,200 and median household income is $71,000. From 2016 to 2017, the Austin area gained 55,269 residents.

“The Texas capital had the fourth-highest house prices among the fastest-growing metro areas and third-highest household income,” says NerdWallet, which based its report on data from the U.S. Census Bureau, National Association of Realtors, and NerdWallet.

Elsewhere in Texas, Houston ranks second for housing affordability, just behind Atlanta in the top spot. The report shows the Houston area with a median home price of $244,400 and median household income of $61,708. From 2016 to 2017, the Houston area added 94,417 residents.

“Houston’s affordability comes courtesy of having this list’s third-lowest house prices and sixth-highest household income,” NerdWallet says.

Dallas-Fort Worth ranks third for housing affordability among the 10 fastest-growing metros, just two notches above Austin. According to NerdWallet, the region offers a median home price of $268,200 with median household income of $63,812. DFW’s population swelled by 146,238 from 2016 to 2017.

“The Metroplex had the fourth-highest income on the list and the fourth-lowest house prices, making it third most affordable. It was the fastest-growing metro,” NerdWallet says.

Top Chef

Austin Top Chef winner debuts new National Geographic series during SXSW

Courtesy National Geographic

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Austin is proud to claim chef Kristen Kish as our own, but the Top Chef winner has always had a global mindset. She first earned her chops in French and Italian cuisine at Boston's acclaimed Menton restaurant, infusing those influences into the menu at Arlo Grey with a pioneering curiosity and adventurous spirit. Now, she's bringing that explorer's mindset to a new National Geographic series, debuting Tuesday, March 21.

Available on Disney+, Restaurants at the End of the World is a docuseries in which Kish travels to off-the-beaten-path pockets of the planet. The four-part series follows Kish as she searches for the secret ingredients – people, places, culture and traditions – within the world’s most remote restaurants in Boquete, Panama; Svalbard, Norway; North Haven Island, Maine; and Paraty, Brazil.

A lucky selection of South by Southwest (SXSW) attendees got a sneak peek of the series at a special dinner on Tuesday, March 14. The event took place inside Arlo Grey at the Line Hotel, where Kish mingled with guests and introduced clips from the upcoming series. A family-style dinner featured dishes inspired by different episodes of the series, from Maine-inspired Parker House rolls to Arctic char and strawberry semifreddo.

"This series is all about shared experiences and trading stories," Kish said, introducing the evening's menu. "So, when putting this menu together, I realized there are a lot of similarities. When I think back to all the places I went and new things I learned, there are so many familiar flavors to every bite that can bring you right back home into your own story."

The menu celebrated each location in the upcoming series, often in the same course: Parker House Rolls (with delicious whipped brown butter) were a nod to her New England episode ("Maine Island Barn Supper,"), paired with a scallop crudo commemoration of her time in Brazil ("Brazil’s Floating Feast,"). Meanwhile, the main course gave guests a glimpse of the great lengths Norwegian fishermen go to when harvesting Arctic char, accompanied by a clip of Kish's adventures with local purveyors in Svalbard, Norway.

The aim of both the dinner and the upcoming series is to showcase the tenacity it takes to run restaurants in such remote places. Each episode follows Kish behind the scenes with local purveyors, farmers, herders, kitchen crew, managers, and head chefs to hear their stories. She invites viewers along with her in the hunt for the best and freshest ingredients, unearthing the culture and heart behind global cuisine and showcasing the balancing act required to bring unique food to the table around the world.

“Food has an unparalleled power to bring us together and teach us about one another and the world around us, and we see that firsthand by going to restaurants in the world’s most remote areas,” says Chef Kish via release. “Filming this series with National Geographic was an adventure of a lifetime that taught me so much about an industry I’ve been steeped in my whole life. I can’t wait for viewers to come along on the journey with us and experience these dishes at restaurants most never even knew existed.”

The first episode of Restaurants around the World will be available on March 21 at 9 pm CST.

Courtesy National Geographic

Top Chef winner Kristen Kish has a new National Geographic show debuting on March 21.