Tips for International Travellers, from an Aussie’s View of Austin

[Dave Brown]

For those travelling from other countries into Austin, Mark Phillips from Sydney, Australia – NI’s Marketing Manager for Oceania and South Africa – gives his view of Austin...

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In the eyes of this Australian, “Work Hard, Play Hard” should be branded on all registration plates in Austin (especially on all those cool-looking trucks). Because that is definitely the way they role, as do the 3,000+ engineers, scientists, educators and journalists that flock to NIWeek each year from around the globe. And as a serial international guest, here are some things to know for your trip to Austin:

• Austin is an incredibly safe place – You will pick up on this shortly after arriving. Once the day’s conference proceedings wrap up, things do not stop there! Yes, it may be over 40 degrees Celsius every day during NIWeek (!!!), but 6th Street as a starting point for an evening out and about is simply irresistible. You never have to venture more than a couple of meters (a yard or so) to find some fellow NIWeekers, and the city doesn’t stop until 3am. When you’re finally done, walk home, and grab a slice of pizza on the way.

• Prepare to be blown away – This will be my fourth NIWeek, and every time I walk into the Austin Convention Centre for the opening keynotes on Day 1, I’m blown away by the size of this event and the enthused buzz in the air, and every year, NI outdo themselves with a seemingly endless list of new products, amazing demonstrations and incredibly innovative case studies from some of the world’s best. Once you break out from the keynote, it is always so hard to choose which summits, sessions or workshops to attend, but you will always be happy with your choices.

• Barton Springs Pool – If you have a spare couple of hours and you want to cool down, check this out. This is a semi-man made pool filled with natural, flowing spring water from one of Texas’ largest natural springs. Great atmosphere and beautiful, cold, fresh water. It’s only a five-minute drive from down-town Austin.

• Travel insurance – Keep your policy along with a basic outline of your cover with you. This can be very handy when hiring a car (or Segway!). Most places want to know that you are definitely covered, particularly if you don’t want to take out cover with them for your hire.

• San Marcos Factory Outlet Centre – This is seriously huge, with seriously good deals. Just under an hour from Austin, and a must for anyone travelling to NIWeek that doesn’t mind a nice looking bargain. I can’t speak for everywhere in the world, but these outlets are so much better than anything we have in Australia, by a long shot. The best thing is, once you get there you are almost in San Antonio, so make a day (or two) of it, go up to San Antonio, and enjoy a Corona-Rita somewhere down along the famous River Walk.

• The exhibition area at NIWeek – There really are some awesome product and application demos on the exhibition floor at NIWeek including some of the demos from the keynote stage. NI is known for its impressive demos and so the exhibition floor definitely won’t disappoint. Also, plenty of the demo stations are interactive, with NI Engineers and product specialists on-hand, so make the most of the experience.

• Drink margaritas and eat Tex-Mex – They have these taste sensations down to an art in Austin, and it is pretty hard to go wrong. The locals can always point you in the right direction and you will never have to look too far. Iron Cactus, Chuy’s and Shady Grove are just some of my favorites.

Austin is just such a cool place with so much personality, and that tends to rub off on the locals, and vise-versa.  And NIWeek, well it is an event like no other, providing education, networking, and motivation in abundance, and you’re guaranteed to make some great friends along the way. Enjoy!

>> Visit ni.com/niweek/attend_info for more NIWeek travel information.