When I lived in Austin, Texas for a year, I was reminded of an article that George Orwell once wrote for this very newspaper about his favourite London pub, The Moon Under Water. It was hidden away on a quiet side street (though two minutes from a bus stop), full of regulars but always quiet enough to talk, and furnished with an excellent snack counter. The interiors were all wood, with roaring fires in winter and a foliage-filled beer garden for warmer days. The small catch, he reveals at the end, is that the pub does not exist.
To me, Austin is the real-life Moon Under Water of cities. It has eye-rollingly good restaurants, a lively music scene, laidback locals and a balmy climate in spring and autumn. Unlike most American cities it is eminently walkable and small enough to cycle from one end to the other, but big enough to be vibrant and diverse. In the summer, locals cool off in a three-acre, spring-fed natural swimming pool.
