4. Austin is Funny

Or so says local columnist Natalie Grigson, who is herself pretty funny. She recommends both Cap City Comedy Club and Esther’s Follies, the latter named after Esther Williams, swimming star of 1946’s Ziegfield Follies—so retro that only a handful of people now alive can tell you what it was. Standup fans can go next door to the Velveeta Room, Esther’s sister club.

Grigson also claims that Austin has the most improv per capita in the nation.