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Georgetown soars among most sought-after suburbs and more top stories

Georgetown historic town square, Austin suburb

Georgetown ranks on a national list of most sought-after suburbs.

Visit Georgetown, Texas/Facebook

Editor's note: The top Austin news of the week includes rankings of sought-after suburbs and best cities for coffee. Plus, a new state park could be in the works in the Texas Hill Country. Get the details on our most popular stories below, then check out this guide to weekend fun.

1. Georgetown shines as one of America’s most sought-after suburbs. Georgetown is soaring as one of the 30 most highly sought-after U.S. suburbs of 2025, according to a new national survey by moving services provider MoveBuddha.

2. UT Austin considers signing new Trump 'compact' for federal funding. The Trump administration is asking nine universities to sign a "compact" in exchange for preferential access to federal funding, and the University of Texas at Austin is one of those schools.

3. New Texas Hill Country wine app matches users with their perfect glass. A Texas wine industry advocacy group has uncorked its latest tool, a scientifically backed wine style selector that matches oenophiles with bottles they’re guaranteed to love.

A new scientifically backed tool takes the guesswork out of picking wines. Texas Hill Country Wineries

4. Austin brews up high ranking on list of best cities for coffee. A new ranking indicates we’re not only keeping Austin weird but keeping it caffeinated.

5. Texas eyes 54,000-acre Hill Country ranch for next state park purchase. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department staffers say they want to buy ranch land in the Hill Country and turn it into a state park. They're working to acquire the 54,000-acre Silver Lake Ranch, which is located around 150 miles west of San Antonio, between Rocksprings and Uvalde.

How To Give

Nonprofit registry helps Central Texans organize on Giving Tuesday

SAFE/Facebook

The SAFE Alliance, a highly regarded organization for survivors of domestic violence, accepts a donation from H-E-B this November.

As Austinites start compiling their holiday shopping lists, a "global generosity movement" asks them to consider donations in their calculations. Giving Tuesday will be held December 2, 2025, and the official Community Leader for the Central Texas region, I Live Here I Give Here (ILHIGH), will be ready to offer guidance via its giant, easy-to-understand nonprofit registry called Amplify Austin.

Giving Tuesday prompts folks to donate to nonprofits, fill food pantries, give blood, write thank-you cards to municipal workers, start a community project, and more. ILHIGH is best suited for financial donations and even organizes the Amplify Fund, which gathers donations in one big group and disburses them to more than 700 local nonprofits.

However, for those who prefer to donate time or talent — or who want to maximize their donation by selecting exactly who they give it to — Amplify Austin allows users to search nonprofits by keyword, sector, county, and if they are BIPOC-led. For example, if a user wanted to support a Black-led arts organization in Travis County, they could choose from seven results including the African American Book Festival and Texas Folklife. Another filter helps find organizations that are seeking volunteers.

To help users visualize how their money will help (and perhaps to help them motivate friends to join the cause), some organizations attach certain dollar amounts to certain goals: $25 to A New Start Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation pays for feeding equipment, while $50 buys enclosures and enrichment, and $100 achieves vet care.

The platform even handles donations to specific charities through the site. It allows up to 10 nonprofits in one transaction.

This is the ninth Giving Tuesday in a row for ILHIGH, and it's almost a normal day for the organization, which operates year-round. However, ILHIGH does help spread resources and promote the initiative on December 2. Plus, it tracks how much support Central Texans garner each year: in 2024, that was $251,790 via ILHIGH out of $64,724,692 in Central Texas overall, as reported by GivingTuesday HQ.

To use Amplify Austin, go to amplifyatx.org.

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