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<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Mist</span></p><p class="caption">Mist co-founders Sujai Hajela and Bob Friday</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li>Juniper Networks is buying a startup called Mist Systems for $405 million - less than three years after Mist launched its first product.</li><li>Mist makes what it calls the first artificially intelligent WiFi system for businesses. </li><li>Juniper is paying big bucks for Mist, but it gains a lot for the money: Mist was founded by two executives that helped build Cisco into a giant in the WiFi industry.</li></ul><p>Juniper Networks on Monday announced that it plans to <a href="https://www.mist.com/juniper/">buy Mist Systems</a> for $405 million.</p><p>Mist makes what it calls the first artificial intelligence-driven WiFi. Its flagship product delivers WiFi using high performance WiFi hardware, along with a cloud service.</p><p>The access points include some patented tech that helps the wireless network perform reliably. But it's the cloud service that makes Mist different. This service can analyze the network and do things like troubleshoot any problems with the help of an AI assistant named Maven.</p><p>It can also deliver location-aware apps, such that a business can grant access to apps or websites when the user is in the right place at the right time. For instance, when a traveler walks through the doors and arrives at the hotel's reception area, the WiFi can automatically pop up everything they need to check in.</p><h2>Mist's founders helped Cisco rule a market</h2><p>Mist was founded in 2014, and launched its first product in the summer of 2016. </p><p>Its claim to fame was that its founders, Sujai Hajela and Bob Friday, were some of the people that helped Juniper's oldest rival Cisco become a Wi-Fi networking powerhouse.</p><p><em><strong>Read: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-vmware-partnership-wont-make-amazon-happy-2019-2">Microsoft and VMware are working on a partnership that won't make Amazon happy</a></strong></em></p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Mist</span></p><p class="caption">Mist co-founders Sujai Hajela and Bob Friday</p></div><p></p></div></div>T<span>hey led groups that built Cisco's internal WiFi products - were also  responsible for one of Cisco's bigger acquisitions, buying business WiFi company </span><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-cisco-bought-meraki-for-12-billion-2012-11">Meraki for $1.2 billion in 2012.</a></p><p>Meraki's subscription-based service has since become t<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cisco-ceo-joke-about-merakify-says-a-lot-2018-2">he model upon which Cisco is remaking</a> itself, with a new focus on subscription-based cloud services. </p><p>At Cisco, the two execs knew they wanted to go out on their own and build a new kind of wireless network designed from the ground up with mobile devices in mind. But the key inspiration for the company came from Hajela's daughter, the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/former-cisco-execs-reinvent-mobile-networks-2016-6">founders told Business Insider back in 2016</a>.</p><p>In 2014, before they tried to drum up a Series A venture capital investment, Hajela told his daughter about his newfangled Wi-Fi product idea, he said at the time. She told him, "Dad, that's too technical." She told him she just wanted a network that put whatever information she needed about wherever she was at her fingertips.</p><p>That idea, coupled with their backgrounds, helped them raised about $14 million in a Series A from Norwest and Lightspeed, on top of about a $500,000 seed round raised from Lightspeed. By the time they launched their product, they had 20 potential customers trying out their new take on WiFi.</p><p>Between 2016 and today they gained more customers including big names like Ikea, Okta, Raleys, PetSmart, Stanford and Juniper Networks. Their customers include two among the <span>Fortune 10, seven of the top 40 retailers, a major facility at a large US healthcare system, a mobile carrier, and an airline.</span></p><p>Mist also raised $88 million, according to <a href="https://my.pitchbook.com/profile/160940-08/company/profile#comparisons">PitchBook, </a>and was valued at at $246 million valuation as of their last raise in 2018. Investors included Mist's alma mater, Cisco Systems - meaning Cisco had to be aware and keeping an eye on Mist.</p><p>That also means that Juniper is paying a premium for Mist Systems of nearly $160 million more than its year-ago valuation. No doubt Juniper is hoping that Mist will be for it what Meraki was for Cisco: a way to sell more cloud services, with a business model built around recurring cloud subscription revenue.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-tesla-roadster-space-spacex-orbit-2019-2">Elon Musk sent a $100K Tesla Roadster to space a year ago. It has now traveled farther than any other car in history.</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

Three years after launching their first product, these former Cisco execs have sold their startup to Juniper for $405 million

Targeting more sales in a span of two years, Chinese telecom gear maker <keyword id="110306" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Huawei-Technologies">Huawei Technologies</keyword> would manufactures its enterprise products at its Chennai plant. The company's India enterprise business revenue increased almost by 50% during the last financial year, thus it eyes a 10-fold jump in the revenue by March 2017.<br />
 <br />
"We expect revenues to reach $300 million in the next two years. Once we hit the $100-million mark, we would start manufacturing enterprise products in India itself," Kent Tang Kai, sales director-north region, Enterprise Business Department, Huawei, told the Economic Times.<br />
 <br />
Presently, the Chennai facility is being used to make telecom network equipment for the Indian market.<br />
 <br />
Kai said the company's business revenue grew 48% during the last financial year to $30 million in India. Its overall revenue from the South Asian nation stood at $1 billion, and the company expects to double its overall revenue to $2 billion by 2016-17.<br />
 <br />
Moreover, Huawei is targeting internet service providers/telcos, energy, transportation, media, BFSI, and education verticals for its enterprise solutions and services in India.<br />
 <br /> It has around 30 enterprise customers in India, including DEN Networks, Hathway, QTel, <keyword id="6377547" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Adidas">Adidas</keyword>, Taj Hotel, <keyword id="35140" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="BSE">BSE</keyword> and <keyword id="94550" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Tata-Sky">Tata Sky</keyword>, and competes with the likes of Cisco, Juniper, EMC and <keyword id="6367983" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="HP">HP</keyword>.<br />
 <br />
Huawei, through its enterprise division, is also targeting the country's 100 Smart Cities and Digital India projects, and is currently in talks with state and central governments along with private companies for tie-ups. <br />
<br />
(Image: Reuters) <br />

Huawei on expansion mode! May make enterprise products at Chennai

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Some young professionals say they're moving to communities to enjoy outdoor activities like golf and yoga.</li><li>They said the pandemic helped them value outdoor space and leisure time — akin to living like retirees.</li></ul><p>Each generation follows a similar journey: Rent in a city when you're young, move to the suburbs once you're ready to settle down and have children, and, eventually, retire in a well-maintained community. But some millennials and Gen Zers are choosing to fast forward to retirement-style living.</p><p>Most retirement communities offer activities to keep residents active — yoga, golf, and water aerobics, to name a few — and younger generations don't want to wait to enjoy those perks. Pandemic-mandated lockdowns also helped popularize outdoor activities like golf and<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/pickleball-average-age-popular-millenial-need-courts-fill-demand-report-2023-8"> pickleball</a>.</p><p>A few real-estate developers noted this preference for more vibrant and relaxed living spaces, adding resort-style amenities to their new apartment buildings and gated communities.</p><p>Take Brandon and Chelsea Lehmann, a young couple working in the electrical distribution industry. In 2019, they moved from the Bay Area to Bend, Oregon, a city three hours south of Portland known for its robust outdoor scene.</p><p>In 2023, they bought a lot to build a new home in Juniper Reserve, a members-only wellness resort in Bend with two 18-hole golf courses — one designed by retired pro player Jack Nicklaus — and a spa.</p><div type="image" title="The sun setting over a golf course in Oregon." height="1875" width="2500" msid="112063014" hostid="261" sizebytes="311296"></div><p>Residents of Juniper Reserve, which has more than 20 homes for sale ranging from $1.2 million to $3.5 million as of July 2024, also enjoy luxuries such as on-site casual dining restaurants and weekly "wellness programming."</p><p>They said their nearly 3,000-square-foot house — off the eighth-hole pond of one of the golf courses — will be finished in the next two years. The lot cost them $246,000, including a one-time membership fee of $115,000, which they can pay monthly at $1,200.</p><p>A membership allows the couple to take advantage of all there is to do even before their house is complete. After work and on weekends, Brandon, 29, told Business Insider, they golf and do yoga.</p><p>Chelsea, 28, said that while they're not the only young couple living in Juniper Reserve, most of their neighbors are in their 50s or 60s.</p><p>"Our neighbors, and the people we would be spending the most time around, would definitely be in the retirement age or semi-retirement," she told BI.</p><div type="image" title="A selfie with a man and a woman in a cornfield." height="2225" width="1649" msid="112063016" hostid="261" sizebytes="432506"></div><p>The Lehmans have embraced the opportunity to bond with their older neighbors, creating a multi-generational community.</p><p>"They do want some younger, fresher blood in there, and I think it's just been great for everyone," Chelsea said.</p><p>"It's not just retirement-age people that like all the amenities — us young people like to be taken care of, too," she added.</p><h2 id="ef563b90-3687-4a0d-a6a9-c5064a78883b">Having a golf course close to home is an attraction for some young people</h2><p>Millennials are keeping the lights on at some golf-course companies, said Keith Poliakoff, a managing partner at a Florida law firm, Government Law Group, that has several golf-design firms as clients.</p><p>"When COVID happened, there was almost an overnight change that could be recognized as far as interest in golf occurred," Poliakoff told BI.</p><p>"We saw a huge uptick in the younger population that were looking to do a sport and to have something to do so that they were not cooped up in their homes the entire time," he added.</p><p>The <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ngf.org/">National Golf Foundation (NGF)</a> told Business Insider in an email that the 30 to 39 age group has the second-highest participation in the sport, with nearly 4.4 million golfers. Meanwhile, the 18 to 34 age group is the largest, with 6.3 million golfers. NGF estimated both age groups have added roughly 200,000 golfers each since 2019.</p><p>Kevin McDonald, a 44-year-old "cusper" (or a Gen Xer who sits right outside being a millennial), describes himself as a huge golfer.</p><p>In 2022, he and his wife, Kristie, 38, bought a property at <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.hualalairesort.com/">Hualālai Resort</a> on the Big Island of Hawaii after living just outside Toronto for most of their lives. The resort, which has a few homes starting at $7 million and condos starting at $2.5 million, has two golf courses, a spa, and on-site shopping and dining.</p><div type="image" title="A golf course and clubhouse in Hawaii." height="692" width="1021" msid="112063017" hostid="261" sizebytes="147860"></div><p>Their house started as a secondary home, but golf and other activities have them living in Hawaii for around five months out of the year with the hopes of living there full-time soon. The McDonalds said they wanted a home to suit their active lifestyles.</p><p>"We have so many friends who work until they're 65 and 70 — some choose to, and some have to," Kevin<strong><em> </em></strong>told BI. "But then you might not be young enough or active enough to take advantage of all those things like golf and tennis."</p><p>They don't mind that only a handful of other homeowners they've met or seen are their age.</p><p>"Everyone we talked to says we are the youngest couple at the property," Kevin said.</p><h2 id="ab49e6e4-507d-4914-bcce-f56d66dc0f64">Real estate developers are responding to young people's shifting preferences</h2><p>Some young people even live in places better known for welcoming retirees.</p><p>St. Petersburg, Florida, for example, is evolving to suit younger residents, said Nick Pantuliano, the head of development at <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://ptmpartners.com/">real-estate firm PTM Partners</a>. The firm mainly builds commercial and residential spaces in lower-income areas of Florida and beyond.</p><p>"St. Pete was regarded as a retirement community not that long ago," Pantuliano said. "My first introduction to St. Pete was <a target="_blank" href="https://ilovetheburg.com/st-pete-shuffle-100th-anniversary-party/">the movie 'Cocoon</a>.' All the shuffleboard scenes were filmed there. Now it's not older folks playing shuffleboard; it's all younger people playing."</p><div type="image" title="Renderings of an outdoor promenade." height="1406" width="2500" msid="112063020" hostid="261" sizebytes="458312"></div><p>Now PTM is intentionally planning projects that cater to younger audiences, Pantuliano added.</p><p>Plans for PTM's Edge Collective, a mixed-use development in downtown St. Petersburg, include a Moxy hotel<strong> </strong>with a rooftop pool and restaurant, a 7,000-square-foot communal garden, and 3,400 square feet dedicated to "health-focused retail," including the boutique fitness studio Solidcore.</p><p>"Doing outdoor in a creative way — so that you're never too far away from fresh air or some sunlight or some energy — is really important to us when we try to approach programming these projects," Pantuliano said.</p><p>Having intentional outdoor amenities seems to be paying off in places like Juniper Reserve. For Chelsea, a golf course community's "selling point" was simply the ability to enjoy nature.</p><p>"I could go either way on living on a golf course — it didn't really matter to me," she added. "But the idea that when the golf course is closed, then you have this great big space between you and your neighbors. It's empty, it's dark, and it's also pretty to look at. It's like living on parkland."</p>

Some millennials are moving into neighborhoods with built-in golf and yoga that let them live like carefree retirees

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Jón Óskar Árnason was looking for a new hobby after he and his wife got divorced.</li><li>The former Michelin-starred chef, based in Sweden, transformed his daughter's old bedroom into a makeshift distillery.</li></ul><p>Everything was on track when it came to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.instagram.com/illhaveoneofeach/">Jón Óskar Árnason's</a> culinary career — until it wasn't.</p><p>Born and raised in Iceland, Árnason partnered with his then-wife Sarah to open a bistro<strong> </strong>named <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.bryggargatan.se/">Bryggargartan</a> in her Swedish hometown in 2004. Five years later, they relocated to Skellefteå, a town 480 miles north of Stockholm with a population of under 80,000 people.</p><p>Skellefteå, part of Swedish Lapland, has become known as the "kitchen pantry" of Scandinavia following the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/moving-living-sweden-canada-surprising-differences-2023-5#sustainable-and-seasonal-eating-is-valued-but-dont-ask-a-swede-about-their-secret-mushroom-spot-5">New Nordic culinary movement</a>. It's where many Michelin-star chefs forage, hunt, and catch their own ingredients — including grouse, arctic char, and cloudberries — for their restaurants. Árnason is one of those chefs.</p><p>"Our focus was on bringing top-level gastronomy to a region that had been in a gastronomical standstill for decades," Árnason told Business Insider.</p><p>Árnason said he had always felt in control of his career, but when the pandemic hit, he found himself at a crossroads. After almost twenty years of marriage, he and his wife were going through a divorce, and his daughter Judith had moved out — she was starting a career as a sommelier. Árnason found himself wanting more.</p><div type="image" title="Man holding bucket and foraging for gin ingredients in Sweden." height="4000" width="6000" msid="113007411" hostid="261" sizebytes="1107124"></div><h2 id="412c2f60-25ac-4cf9-ab1d-5a2639cf7d54">His divorce led to a new hobby</h2><p>Árnason, now 46, had considered selling the restaurant, but when the pandemic hit, he said no buyers were interested in buying it, so he has continued running it with his ex-wife.</p><p>But he still wanted to find another channel for his creativity.</p><p>He found inspiration four years ago while sitting in his seaside house overlooking the Baltic Sea. He wanted to know what the nature around him would taste like when distilled with alcohol.</p><p>"The hours of sunshine and the northern climate must affect the taste, I thought to myself," said Árnason. "Surely, our Swedish water can make an exceptional gin that can be served neat and not always as a cocktail."</p><p>Rather than using dried juniper, cloves, and peppercorns sourced from Asia to make a typical London Dry, Árnason started handpicking his own berries, herbs, and roots like fallow deer and cloudberries — ingredients that flower and are in full bloom in Swedish Lapland, depending on the season.</p><p>Árnason said he doesn't dry his ingredients out — he puts them in fresh, making the spirit drinkable both straight and with a mixer. In contrast, popular gin brands like Hendricks and Tanqueray use dry botanicals or essences to achieve their flavors.</p><p>"I want to work with what nature gives me and create something so clean it can be enjoyed neat," Árnason says.</p><div type="image" title="Home in Skellefteå, Sweden with gin ingredients on display in the front lawn." height="1365" width="2048" msid="113007412" hostid="261" sizebytes="303210"></div><h2 id="02249372-3cbb-481d-8032-1582e4a467bf">A new hobby led to a new career</h2><p>After converting Judith's bedroom into a makeshift distillery, production slowly became more than a hobby. It became a business.</p><p>This is what eventually led to the start of Ógin, which means "not a gin," in Icelandic.</p><p>Árnason teamed up with creative director and designer Jakob Nylund. "Together, we mapped out the plan to make Ógin a high-end spirit company focused on products for the best restaurants in the world," he said.</p><p>Árnason financed his first prototype through funds from pre-paid orders. He reached out to people who he had met during his years as a chef. "A lot of the early investment was my own money and time. I also managed to claim a small amount from an agricultural fund financed by the European Union, but to be honest, the biggest investment has been the time spent by both Jakob and myself," he said.</p><p>"We also had support from my bank very early on in the project, which surprisingly believed in us," he said. Árnason did not share the bank loan details with BI.</p><p>It was two years later, when the Swedish investor Konrad Bergström joined, that they gained more financial freedom. "A guest of my restaurant turned friend, joined us as a partner — this made us more economically sustainable," Árnason said. Bergström<strong> </strong>is a Swedish serial entrepreneur, perhaps best known for starting <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/x-shore-tesla-of-the-seas-build-new-electric-boat-2022-8">X Shore, a company that claims to be the "Tesla of the Seas.'</a></p><div type="image" title="Gin cocktail shot from above with fresh ingredients on top." height="3666" width="5499" msid="113007415" hostid="261" sizebytes="485248"></div><p>Today, the bottles of Ógin <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.ogindistillery.com/our-products">listed on the brand's website</a> range in price from 751 to 1,688 Swedish Kronasells, or $74 to $165.</p><p>Árnason is not the first chef to dabble in the spirits world. Chefs behind Michelin-starred restaurants like <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.le-gavroche.co.uk/eshop/p/le-gavroche-gin">Michael Roux Junior</a> and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2024/07/chef-alex-dilling-launches-gin/#:~:text=Alex%20Dilling%2C%20the%20chef%20behind,available%20in%20a%20mini%20size.">Alex Dilling</a>, along with celebrity TV presenter <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.santospirits.com/">Guy Fieri</a>, have also launched their own spirits.</p><p>The global gin market has been on the rise and is projected to increase by $7.36 billion between 2023 and 2028, according to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.technavio.com/report/gin-market-industry-analysis#:~:text=The%20Gin%20market%20size%20is,%247305.78%20million%20in%202024%2D2028%20.">Technavio</a>, a market research company.</p><h2 id="eec27833-0b76-4945-809f-5724f1f6af6d">Dividing the passion</h2><p>At the beginning of his project, the chef bottled 70 liters of gin. Now, he produces approximately 10,000 liters per season<strong><em> </em></strong>and makes both gin and vodka. All his clients are Michelin-starred restaurants, and that's how he intends to keep it.</p><p>"I'm not going to sell to every restaurant or to the supermarkets in Europe," he said,<strong> </strong>adding that he wants to open the client base up to high-end hotels and top bars.</p><p>The chef still runs the restaurant with his ex-wife, splitting his time between that and his new company. The workload for the brand varies depending on the season.</p><p>Árnason says they've achieved profitability but declined to provide specifics. "It's still small, and it will probably be a few years before I make more from Ógin than from Bryggargatan," he said.</p><p>While Ógin is growing, Árnason says he's not in a hurry: "This is about building a brand that stands for the highest quality and no compromises."</p>

A former Michelin-starred chef was looking for a new hobby after his divorce. He started a gin business in his daughter's old bedroom.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Sarah J. Maas' latest book, "House of Flame and Shadow," was published on Tuesday.</li><li>Her fan base has become massive thanks to social media. </li></ul><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/i-went-to-the-ripped-bodice-romance-only-bookstore-nyc-2023-8">The Ripped Bodice</a> in Brooklyn, New York, teemed with excitement on Monday night. Groups of women (and a handful of men) squeezed by each other through the store's colorful aisles, carrying drink pouches filled with specialty cocktails like the "Juniper Fizz" and "Synth." Some shopped for novelty products, including a "Shadow Daddy" candle and stickers with the phrase "Through love, all is possible" on them. A handful of people dressed in tiaras and pointed ears posed for photos in front of bookshelves.</p><p>But as they chatted and shopped, every person in the room had one thing on their mind: the new copies of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sarah-j-maas-throne-of-glass-reading-order-2023-8">Sarah J. Maas'</a> much-awaited book "House of Flame and Shadow" sitting in neat rows behind the cash register, ready to be distributed at midnight.</p><div type="image" title="A side-by-side of a candle called &quot;Shadow Daddy&quot; and a chalk board with drink names on it." height="1080" width="1440" msid="107388218" hostid="261" sizebytes="197118"></div><p>The Ripped Bodice hosted one of three midnight release parties in New York in honor of the book, harkening back to the events stores held for "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nostalgia-key-to-happiness-creativity-innovation-future-change-progress-2024-1">Harry Potter</a>" and "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/twilight-movies-interesting-details-you-never-got-and-fun-facts">Twilight</a>" releases in the early 2000s.</p><p>As one of the most popular authors publishing today, it's no surprise readers wanted to celebrate Maas' latest book in person. But this release was even more special for fans, as "House of Flame and Shadow" brings to life a long-awaited crossover between "Crescent City" and her beloved "A Court of Thorns and Roses" series.</p><p>One trio at the event — each dressed to honor one of three protagonists from Maas' series — had traveled from Connecticut and Florida to be in New York so they could celebrate at the release party. They planned to spend the night and wee hours of the morning reading together in a hotel room.</p><div type="image" title="Three women wearing tiaras and colorful dresses in a bookstore." height="1500" width="2000" msid="107388220" hostid="261" sizebytes="352432"></div><p>As the group chatted about their excitement for the next book, they repeatedly brought up the friendships they had found through Maas' works, with one even calling it a "sisterhood." It became clear that not only has Maas become a once-in-a-generation author, but her fandom is also a full-fledged community.</p><h2>The 'Maasiverse'</h2><p>Like many fantasy and romance authors, Maas dabbled in self-publishing her works before Bloomsbury released her first novel, "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sarah-j-maas-throne-of-glass-reading-order-2023-8">Throne of Glass</a>," in 2012.</p><p>Mass went on to publish eight books in the series about a teenage assassin through 2018, and she started writing her second series, "A Court of Thorns and Roses," before it was even finished, weaving another fictional world for her growing readership.</p><div type="image" title="A side-by-side of &quot;The Assassin's Blade&quot; and &quot;A Court of Thorns and Roses&quot; by Sarah J. Maas." height="1080" width="1440" msid="107388221" hostid="261" sizebytes="99626"></div><p>The first "ACOTAR," which follows Feyre Archeron, a human pulled into a cursed fae land, was published in 2015. There have been five books in the series, including one novella, and Maas <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sarah-j-maas-confirmed-working-on-next-acotar-book-2023-9">confirmed she's working on the next installment</a>.</p><p>And in 2020, Maas released the first book in her third series, "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sarah-j-maas-crescent-city-character-guide-2024-1">Crescent City</a>." The third book in the series about half-fae Bryce Quinlan came out on Tuesday, ending two years of anticipation for the story to continue.</p><p>While most of Maas' books are filled with shocking moments, many fans would likely agree no plot twist was quite as gasp-worthy as the final few pages of the second "Crescent City" book, "House of Sky and Breath," which confirmed readers' suspicions that the author was creating a Marvel-esque multiverse — or "Maasiverse," as fans call it — with her books.</p><p>The cliffhanger ending served as a thrilling plot device <em>and</em> a genius way for Maas to gain even more popularity, as readers who started with "Crescent City" realized they'd need to revisit all the author's previous works to fully understand the world she's building.</p><h2>Maas helped make 'romantasy' mainstream</h2><p>Maas' works are often categorized as "romantasy," as they combine tropes of romance books — as well as plenty of sex scenes — with the magical elements you expect to find in a fantasy series.</p><p>Works like Stephanie Meyer's "Twilight" and Cassandra Clare's "Mortal Instruments" series offered young-adult takes on the genre throughout the 2010s to much fanfare.</p><p>But Maas tapped into adult readers' desire for more mature content, which has led some naysayers on social media to write off her work as "faerie porn," despite other fantasy series like "Game of Thrones" including depictions of intimacy as well.</p><p>Skeptics aside, readers were clearly hungry for Maas' works. According to her <a target="_blank" href="https://sarahjmaas.com/about/">website</a>, her books have sold over 38 million copies worldwide in English alone, and her works have been distributed in 38 languages. Each of her series is a New York Times bestseller; videos related to "acotar" have over 2 billion views on TikTok; and Maas has won over a dozen Goodreads Choice Awards, including best fantasy book in 2020, 2021, and 2022.</p><p>Bloomsbury <a target="_blank" href="https://www.reuters.com/business/harry-potter-publisher-bloomsbury-forecasts-annual-profit-ahead-estimates-2023-12-07/">told Reuters</a> in December 2023 that it predicted its annual profit and revenue would surpass its expectations for the year, primarily because of its sales of fantasy works like Maas' series. The publisher also announced in January that it would release <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sarah-j-maas-crescent-city-acotar-release-details-2023-9">six more Maas books</a> after "House of Flame and Shadow."</p><div type="image" title="A bookshelf with Sarah J. Maas books on it." height="1500" width="2000" msid="107388222" hostid="261" sizebytes="258246"></div><p>Increased demand for romantasy books in the industry has followed Maas' ever-rising success, shifting the landscape of adult publishing. Publishers are prioritizing romantasy, with Entangled creating Red Tower, an imprint focused on sci-fi and fantasy romance books in 2022. Tor also debuted its own romance imprint, Bramble, in September 2023, as <a target="_blank" href="https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/new-titles/adult-announcements/article/93647-how-tiktok-has-transformed-romance-publishing.html">Publisher's Weekly</a> reported.</p><p>The investment also seems to be working. Red Tower published Rebecca Yarros' "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fourth-wing-details-you-missed-rebecca-yarros-empyrean-series-2023-12">Fourth Wing</a>" and its sequel "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fourth-wing-sequel-iron-flame-release-misprints-2023-11">Iron Flame</a>" in 2023, and both dominated <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/books/best-sellers/">The New York Times bestseller list</a> throughout the year; the former had been on the list for 37 weeks as of Saturday. Likewise, Bramble hit The New York Times bestseller list with Carissa Broadbent's "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/C0z5QbGrTkV/">The Serpent and the Wings of Night</a>" and Jennifer L. Armentrout's "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CxbbiMALBPa/">Fall of Ruin and Wrath</a>" last year.</p><p>The connection between readers' hunger for romantasy books and Maas' rise to fame is hard to miss, particularly when you look at how BookTok has helped to grow her audience organically.</p><h2>The author's readership boomed in part thanks to TikTok</h2><p>Despite her blockbuster success, Maas typically chats with other writers through live chats or shares sporadic updates on her Instagram instead of sitting for traditional interviews.</p><p>But an organic community of Maas readers formed on social media recently, making her even more widely loved. Maas' books have been popular since 2012, but <a target="_blank" href="https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/financial-reporting/article/89614-bloomsbury-has-a-record-year.html">Publisher's Weekly reported</a> that sales of her new titles and backlist increased 86% in the 2022 fiscal year amid <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tiktok-got-more-traffic-than-google-in-2021-ranking-2021-12">TikTok's massive growth</a>.</p><p>Many of Maas' superfans found her books by stumbling across them on TikTok in 2020 or 2021, as was the case for Rosie Dent, 28.</p><p>"It felt like going back to my roots," Dent, known as <a target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@acourtofthornsandrosie?lang=en">@acourtofthornsandrosie</a> on TikTok, said of diving into Maas' works after starting with "House of Earth and Blood" in 2020. She loved fantasy as a kid but spent her early 20s reading contemporary fiction.</p><p>"I started reading her entire back catalog and just fell in love with everything," Dent added.</p><p>Similarly, Lili, 27, who goes by <a target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@ahappyhermit?lang=en">@ahappyhermit </a>on social media, had been reading fan fiction almost exclusively before she gave "ACOTAR" a try at the beginning of 2020 after seeing it on TikTok.</p><p>"I did not sleep," she said of how consumed she became by the novels. "I have this really particular memory of having my phone propped up in front of me as I was doing the dishes reading 'A Court of Wings and Ruin,' and I would stop doing the dishes, take my gloves off, click the next page, put my gloves back on, and continue reading."</p><p>Now, those readers who discovered Maas on BookTok have helped to create a bustling online community centered on her work.</p><p>In the Maas TikTok world, spoiler warnings are taken seriously, and the author is almost always referred to as SJM. Some BookTokers post videos <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sarah-j-maas-halloween-costumes-acotar-throne-of-glass-2023-10">cosplaying as Maas characters</a>; others share their reactions to sections of her books (looking at you, chapter 54 of "A Court of Mist and Fury").</p><p>Dent and Lili fall into one of the most involved sections of Maas' fandom: the theorizers. The pair, who are good friends thanks to BookTok, post videos breaking down the smallest details of Maas' works.</p> <p>They use heavily annotated texts to keep track of their findings, and Lili even whips out a whiteboard and spatula on occasion to help fellow readers follow her down a rabbit hole.</p><p>Dent and Lili told BI they don't care if their theories are right or wrong. They share them because they're able to connect to people over something they love.</p> <p>"I had no one to talk about these books with, and now I have all of these people listening to me rant about this very niche thing that's going on that I care so much about," Dent said.</p><p>"I really do feel like it's like a FaceTime with friends," Lili said of her videos. "I'm just so excited that I call my best friend and go on for 30 minutes on my hyper-fixation."</p><p>Other BookTokers turned their love of Maas' works into full-time jobs, selling apparel inspired by the author's works through companies like <a target="_blank" href="https://houseofjupitershop.com/">House of Jupiter </a>and <a target="_blank" href="https://shopmcstudios.com/">M.C. Studios</a>. House of Jupiter's founder, Jaclyn Wooten, 35, told BI that Maas' books even inspired her to open a romance bookstore, <a target="_blank" href="https://theblushbookstore.com/">Blush Bookstore,</a> and found the event company <a target="_blank" href="https://www.instagram.com/bookishevents/">Bookish Events</a>.</p> <p>"You don't think picking up a book would change not just my life but my partner's too," Wooten said. "He now works with me full-time, and we have a couple of employees."</p><p>Likewise, M.C. Studios founder Molly Werts, 26, runs her shop full-time and met her roommate because they connected over one of Maas' books.</p> <p>"I think that that's kind of invaluable almost because how do you make friends these days? I don't even know as an adult," she said. "It's so hard, and I really think that community is another reason it's doing so well."</p><h2>Maas' success proves romantasy is here to stay</h2><p>When the clock finally struck midnight, there were cheers at The Ripped Bodice as readers eagerly moved toward the books waiting for them at the front and back of the store. When a reader wearing pointed ears screamed "Light it up," a phrase packed with meaning in "Crescent City," nearly the whole store joined in.</p><p>People posed with their books outside the store before running off to start their marathon reading sessions, desperate to discover how Maas would continue her tale. Many told BI they took Tuesday off of work to read without interruption.</p><div type="image" title="The &quot;Crescent City&quot; series by Sarah J. Maas." height="1442" width="1922" msid="107388223" hostid="261" sizebytes="244090"></div><p>Whether you're attending a Maas-themed event, scrolling on TikTok, or even just asking your friends what they've read lately, the author seems to be everywhere.</p><p>It's not an illusion, as romance continues to boom overall. According to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/bookselling/article/92735-book-sales-continue-to-slow-down-in-first-half-of-2023.html">Publisher's Weekly</a>, sales of romance titles grew 52.4% from 2021 to 2022. The outlet also reported that <a target="_blank" href="https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/bookselling/article/92735-book-sales-continue-to-slow-down-in-first-half-of-2023.html">romance books grew faster than</a> other genres in the first half of 2023. In addition, 82% of romance readers are women, according to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.rwa.org/Online/Romance_Genre/About_Romance_Genre.aspx">Romance Writers of America</a>.</p><p>"As women have grown into adults and now have adult money, and we can spend adult money on adult things, we are a force to be reckoned with," Lili said. "They have to cater to us now because we have the money to make them cater to us."</p><p>"Romance readers always got a bad rap," Dent added. "But now I think everyone is a bit more honest about the things that they like."</p><p>And on Tuesday, millions of people worldwide made it clear that they like Maas' fictional worlds.  </p>

Inside the rise of Sarah J. Maas, the best-selling author who's taking the 'romantasy' genre to the next level

<ul class="summary-list"><li>I traveled to Banff — <keyword id="6356687" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="canada" source="Orion">Canada</keyword>'s most-visited <keyword id="11985725" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="national-park" source="Orion">national park</keyword> — for the first time and loved it. </li><li>Located in the Rockies, it's a popular destination for skiers and hikers from all over. </li></ul><p>Located in the Rocky Mountains, Banff is Canada's most-visited <a href="https://www.insider.com/national-parks-around-the-world-2018-7">national park</a>. Between the soaring peaks, ski resorts, epic glaciers, and abundance of wildlife, it's easy to see why.</p><p>With numerous resorts like Lake Louise and Sunshine Village, the destination is <a href="https://www.insider.com/most-popular-cold-weather-destinations-2018-3">popular for skiing and snowboarding in the winter</a>, though visitors from all over <keyword id="11896628" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="travel" source="Orion">travel</keyword> to the park year-round.</p><p>I had never been to Banff or the Rockies, so I was really excited to travel to Alberta, Canada, and check out this national park. </p><p>After just one visit, I'm already dreaming of the day I can return. </p><h2>I drove in from the nearby city of Calgary, which has the closest international airport to the park</h2><div type="image" title="A view of the town of Banff from the top of a mountain, with lots of trees and snow" height="3024" width="4032" msid="91263217" hostid="261"></div><p>After landing in Calgary, a short hour-and-a-half drive took me from the flat plains surrounding the Alberta city into the towering front ranges of the Rockies.</p><p>Upon entering the mountains, I was instantly blown away. Even from the car window, it was clear just how truly beautiful they were.</p><p>The Canadian stretch of the Rockies has more than 50 peaks that top out at over 11,000 feet, creating a stunning skyline that rivals anything <a href="https://www.insider.com/things-a-canadian-misses-about-new-york-city-2021-10">New York City has to offer</a>.</p><h2><strong>Banff has a surprising number of excellent restaurants </strong></h2><p><strong></strong></p><div type="image" title="Inside of Sky Bistro in Banff with tables and mountain views" height="3024" width="4032" msid="91263221" hostid="261"></div><p>Fantastic dining is another popular draw to Banff. This was a huge change from what I'm used to in <a href="https://www.insider.com/best-state-parks-to-visit-across-america">America's national parks</a>, where you normally pack your own meals for picnics or eat at food stalls. </p><p>My favorite restaurant in Banff was Sky Bistro, which is located at the top of Sulphur Mountain. It serves dishes crafted from local Alberta ingredients, like duck wings, fried mushroom poutine, root-vegetable salad with local cheese, and more.</p><div type="image" title="Bison meal on wood table at Sky Bistro in Banff" height="2205" width="2940" msid="91263225" hostid="261"></div><p>To get there, I ascended the 8,000-foot mountain on the famous Banff Gondola, which takes visitors to the peak in eight minutes. There's also a trail leading to the top that can be hiked in about two hours.</p><p>The restaurant provided stunning, sweeping views of the mountains and the town of Banff, which locals call "the townsite" to differentiate it from the national park it's located within.</p><p>Paired with the <a href="https://www.insider.com/to-go-meal-from-a-michelin-star-restaurant-reviewed-photos-2022-1">excellent food</a>, this dining experience was one of the highlights of my trip. </p><h2><strong><keyword id="11913703" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="hiking" source="Orion">Hiking</keyword> is one of the most popular activities in <keyword id="13791352" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="banff-national-park" source="Orion">Banff National Park</keyword></strong></h2><p><strong></strong></p><div type="image" title="The writer at the top of a mountain, with the view in the background" height="3024" width="4032" msid="91263228" hostid="261"></div><p>Even though skiing is big in the winter, hiking is arguably a more popular activity. Many locals even told me that the park's high season is during the summer because of this.</p><p>I did a lot of <a href="https://www.insider.com/best-fall-hikes-in-the-us-2018-10">hiking up mountains</a>, along frozen rivers, and through dense pine forests. </p><p>Though I was really glad I brought two pairs of boots for the trip. Everything was snowy and icy, as there are policies that restrict how much rock salt can be dumped onto the roads, sidewalks, and trails since it's <a href="https://www.thedodo.com/close-to-home/dogs-salt-road">bad for animals' paws</a>. </p><div type="image" title="The writer's brown hiking shoes, with microspikes, in the snow" height="3024" width="4032" msid="91263230" hostid="261"></div><p>I was outfitted with MICROspikes, little chains that wrap around your boots for better stability when stepping on ice and packed snow.</p><p>Virtually every hotel, resort, and rental shop in the park had some, so they were easy to come by. They came in handy when hiking steep slopes that were almost completely iced over.</p><p>That said, I actually <a href="https://www.insider.com/hiking-trails-worth-traveling-for-2018-3">enjoyed hiking</a> in the snow.</p><p>One of my favorite hikes was Sacred Buffalo Guardian Mountain — formally named Tunnel Mountain. I got stunning views of nearby Mount Rundle, the town below, and the sprawling mountains in the distance.</p><p>It's considered one of Banff's smaller peaks, but it's great for a leisurely afternoon hike since it has well-traversed trails and conveniently sits just outside of the townsite.</p><h2><strong>Snowshoeing was a great way to explore the forest i</strong><strong>n areas where the snow was deep</strong></h2><p><strong></strong></p><div type="image" title="A snowy portion of the forest with snow-covered pine trees" height="2274" width="3024" msid="91263233" hostid="261"></div><p>I love traveling somewhere that's accessible and friendly, and Banff is just that.</p><p>It was easy to rent equipment almost anywhere, and the guided tours and classes were offered by helpful, friendly professionals who never made me feel like I didn't know what I was doing.</p><p>I snowshoed along Mount Fairview and got a look at the famed Lake Louise, which is one of the most-photographed destinations in Banff because of its <a href="https://www.insider.com/alaska-interesting-things-about-going-first-time-photos-2022-3">stunning surroundings</a> and turquoise-colored water enhanced by the rock-flour sediment.</p><p>Lake Louise is surrounded on three sides by mountains, and the massive Victoria Glacier forms the lake's backdrop, towering over 11,000-feet high.</p><p>I had never seen a real glacier before, so it was awe-inspiring and surreal.</p><h2>I also took advantage of the cold weather and ice-skated on the frozen lake</h2><div type="image" title="The writer ice skating on a lake withe pine trees and mountains in the background" height="2274" width="3024" msid="91263235" hostid="261"></div><p>I made sure to head back to Lake Louise and get out on the ice.</p><p>From what I learned, ice-skating on a frozen lake is a <a href="https://www.insider.com/popular-american-traditions-that-are-canadian-2018-7">Canadian tradition</a> dating back hundreds of years to when the Iroquois would tie animal bones to their shoes to create homemade skates. </p><p>Lake Louise is frozen for much of the year, so it made for an excellent spot for ice-skating.</p><p>It had cracks and dips you wouldn't find on a groomed skating rink, but that was part of the excitement. It was more wild, adventurous, and thrilling.</p><h2>Being in <keyword id="11918130" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="nature" source="Orion">nature</keyword> was a healing experience</h2><div type="image" title="View of a half-frozen river in Banff with trees and mountains in the background" height="2274" width="3024" msid="91263238" hostid="261"></div><p>I'm originally from Ohio and now live in <a href="https://www.insider.com/the-restaurants-chefs-eat-at-in-nyc-2019-4">New York</a>, so I'm no stranger to snow, but this was different. With an entire foot of snow resting on the limbs of pine trees, the forest landscapes looked like a scene from a Thomas Kinkade painting.</p><p>Nature is big, dramatic, and unbelievably pristine, and I believe this is the true power of national parks.</p><p>But the practice of using nature to heal is nothing new. Emerging <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/forest-bathing-nature-walk-health">in 1980s Japan</a> as a restorative practice, forest bathing — or shinrin-yoku — is a popular activity in Banff. There are guided experiences at hotels and independent excursions.</p><div type="image" title="Tea set up on a blue blanket in the snow in Banff" height="3024" width="4032" msid="91263241" hostid="261"></div><p>My forest-bathing journey took place along the Spray River, which was still flowing despite its frozen surroundings.</p><p>Our guide taught us to use our senses to <a href="https://www.insider.com/why-i-meditate-every-day-2018-4">be fully present</a> and allow our bodies to embrace the world around us. I noticed the smell of pine trees, the sounds of the running river, and the crisp feeling of winter air on my nose.</p><p>We were even given time to walk off on our own for a few minutes of silent reflection.</p><p>While we were gone, our guide made a pot of foraged tea using ingredients he had just picked from the woods, including juniper berries, pine needles, and lichen. It was delicious, with a woody, herbal taste, and made for a perfect ending to my outdoor excursion.</p>

I visited the most popular national park in Canada for the first time. Here's what it was really like.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Brett Alder moved to Austin, Texas, for work and regrets the choice. </li><li>He says there are negatives like pricey utilities, oppressive heat, and a lack of public space.</li></ul><p>A lot of people, including myself, move from California to Austin because of the hype and the perception that California and Austin are reasonably comparable in lifestyle. My family and I found that to be far from the case.</p><p>Here's what we learned, or 10 reasons that Austin is not the "California of Texas." But first, what <strong>does</strong> Austin have in common with California?</p><h2>Austin, like California, is not affordable.</h2><p>The thing that California and Austin definitely have in common is that they're both very expensive. Austin is not cheap. Let the words sink in. Austin is not cheap; it's actually quite expensive.</p><p>We moved from San Diego in 2015 (owning a 2,000-square-foot house on a one-third acre) looking for a boost in lifestyle. If you're looking for great schools, the southwest and northwest sectors of Austin are the main options. The only caveat is that NW Austin (Travis County) is some of the most expensive real estate in Texas.</p><p>So we bought a 4,000-square-foot house in Bee Cave (an affluent suburb of Austin) with "great schools." We heard Austin was extremely hot so we got a place with a pool. When you look at a <a href="http://metrocosm.com/3d-map-us-real-estate/" target="_blank" title="metrocosm.com" rel="noopener nofollow">3D affordability map</a>, these are the factors we discovered people are not taking into account:</p><ul><li><strong>Taxes:</strong> We all know property taxes are high in Texas. They actually weren't that bad for us and ranged from 2% to 3% depending on the neighborhood. We bought a home at 2.1% and, with the homestead exception, were paying at 1.79% (vs. 1.25% in California). Don't buy at 3%; you won't be able to sell and your house won't appreciate.</li><li><strong>Power:</strong> Energy is incredibly expensive. You want a big house, and they're so cheap, but then it costs a fortune to heat and cool. We were paying $400 per month during the summer and winter and we were uncomfortable (our thermostat was set to 79 degrees F in the summer, and 65 degrees F in the winter). To be comfortable would have cost us $700 to $1,000 per month.</li><li><strong>Water:</strong> Water is also shockingly expensive. In NW Austin they pump water from Lake Travis, which is only a few miles away, but that doesn't stop greedy water collectives from shaking you down. We paid $89 per month just for the privilege of being connected to city water (using 0 gallons). And they just <a href="http://www.wtcpua.org/p/2016%2008%2018%20Board%20Presentation_%20Rate%20STudy090716.pdf" target="_blank" title="www.wtcpua.org" rel="noopener nofollow">jacked that base rate to $97</a>. We had a well for landscape watering, but otherwise our water bill for a young family, watering about 10,000 square feet of grass would have easily been $300 to $400 per month. New sod? Try $1,200 per month, for water. Our water in San Diego (and now San Jose) was cheaper, during a drought, and we got it from like two states away.</li><li><strong>Services:</strong> We thought living in Texas, stuff would be cheap, but with so many people moving to Austin, the service industry is in red hot demand. Expensive pool maintenance, expensive landscaping services, expensive home repairs, expensive dining and movies.</li><li><strong>Travel:</strong> For reasons described below, most anyone who can leaves Austin for a month or two during the summer to escape the heat. That's expensive since to get anywhere interesting involves flying and hotel stays. Budget another several thousand dollars per year.</li><li><strong>Weather:</strong> Texas weather is hard on houses. Hail storms will ruin your roof, torrential rain and scorpions will get inside. We spent tens of thousands on unexpected home repairs and remediation, and talking to other people, it wasn't uncommon.</li><li><strong>Finally — key point — lifestyle:</strong> Although we doubled the size of our house (and kitchen and yard), we felt more cramped and cooped up in Austin than San Diego or San Jose due to the bad weather and lack of public spaces. A 2,000-square-foot house with a yard in Austin is cheap compared to the same house in San Diego, but offers nowhere close to the same lifestyle because your yard in San Diego is living space and in Austin it's not.</li></ul><h2>1. The weather</h2><p>Sure, you've heard it's hot and humid, but how bad could it be? It's just weather, right?</p><p>Wrong. First of all, Austin is wet, <a href="http://www.usclimatedata.com/climate/austin/texas/united-states/ustx2742" target="_blank" title="www.usclimatedata.com" rel="noopener nofollow">getting almost 90%</a> as much rain as Portland, Oregon. That sounds great, and the greenery looks great, but it comes at a cost. Expect all of the problems that come with a wet climate: mold, allergies, mosquitoes, and water penetration. And the rain comes in a handful of days, often pouring inches in a single night. More on that later.</p><p>Humidity is great for your skin, but causes food to spoil fast, towels to get mildewy and drastically limits the temperature range where you feel comfortable. For me, 32 degrees in high deserts like Nevada or Utah is not that bad, just chipper. Fifty degrees in Austin is butt cold, not cozy, snuggle up cold, but annoyingly cold.</p><p>And Austin is hot. It's not California hot; it's Texas hot. California heat is weak by comparison. In much of California the temperature cools down at night. You can open windows, breathe fresh air, and drastically limit your utility bill. In Austin, it would only get down to a smothering 80 degrees at night during the summer. This means your AC will be running all day and all night. Evening walks are less than refreshing when it's 11 p.m. and you're sweating. It's hard to describe how oppressive it is.</p><p>Although we had a huge yard and our own half basketball court, we really only felt like going outside about three to four months of the year. The rest of the time it was too windy, too hot/cold, too mosquito/horse fly/fire ant ridden or pouring. Often the kids would go outside anyway and come back with heat rashes and bug bites.</p><p>Compare this to San Jose or San Diego where you can enjoy being outside pretty much every day (at least during some part of the day).</p><h2>2. No public land</h2><p>Think about public land much? Yeah, me neither. On the West Coast, we take public land for granted. Soaring Sierra Nevadas, sandy beaches, public space canyons, and even trails along creeks are standard fare in the West — not to mention Yosemite. Not so in Texas.</p><p>Because of Texas' history and lack of natural barriers (mountains, oceans) to settlement, most all of the land around is private and flat or rolling hills. Yes, there is a lot of land in Texas, but it all has barbed wire fences and no trespassing signs on it. Even creeks are parceled up as private property.</p><p>So even though Austin is supposed to be outdoorsy, there are very few places to go, and because there is a very limited number of public spaces serving such a large population, good luck getting in.</p><p>One example, we drove 90 minutes to visit <a href="http://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/enchanted-rock" target="_blank" title="tpwd.texas.gov" rel="noopener nofollow">Enchanted Rock</a>, a granite rock outcropping that would largely go unnoticed on the West Coast. We visited on a Saturday and met a three-mile-long line of cars waiting to get in. Running out of gas, we grabbed lunch at a nearby town and tried again later. No dice, the parking lot was full and closed.</p><p>We've now christened the site Disenchanted Rock: three hours of driving and no hiking. What's even more annoying is when you consider how much land is in Texas and the state didn't build a big enough parking lot. We confirmed it was very common not to be able to get into other public attractions on weekends and holidays.</p><p>Even our neighborhood creek was divvied up as private property. So much for the kids exploring and catching crayfish.</p><h2>3. Nowhere to go</h2><p>Aside from the fact that everything is private, where are you going to go, anyway? There are no snowy mountains, no raging rivers, and no soaring arches. If you live in Austin, things don't change much in a huge seven-hour-drive radius. Since we love the outdoors — exploring, climbing, rafting — Austin was not our cup of tea.</p><h2>4. Dishonesty</h2><p>Think about integrity much? I didn't. I've worked with hundreds of companies and thousands of people in California. Sure, there are bad apples, but by and large integrity is a default way to treat people here. It's not even something we talk about. Not so in Austin.</p><p>First it was the people we bought the home from. They lied about the cause of a leak, failed to disclose well water quality issues that made us sick, lied about how much stuff cost to repair, etc. But it didn't stop there.</p><p>We hired a guy with a five-star rating on Yelp to pull up flooded carpet who completely and very obviously busted our closet doors while removing them and never said a word about the damage. Or whose carpet cleaner made a foot long burn mark upstairs and left without a word. Or the mover (also five stars on Yelp) we hired who offered to help sell our leather sectional and $600 ping pong table and split the proceeds with us.</p><p>We never heard back from him. We're not holding our breath.</p><p>Talking around we realized that our experience wasn't exceptional. People are used to it there and know to do extra due diligence — more inspections, more testing, more distrust. But for us coming from California, it was a big shock and disappointment, not to mention financial setback.</p><h2>5. Yelp</h2><p>Yes, there is good food in Austin, but you can't trust Yelp to find it because it doesn't work in Austin.</p><p>We drove 40 minutes for good Southern Indian food at a four-and-a-half-star rated establishment. It was one of the worst service experiences of my life. Notice the tear drop stains on this post? In general you couldn't trust Yelp as much, which was so disconcerting, especially for a new person.</p><h2>6. Rudeness</h2><p>I'll probably take the most heat for this one, but Austinites are rude. We met some amazing people in Austin (like my work colleagues and church congregation) and even bumped into <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/matthew-mcconaughey-career-advice-going-to-film-school-new-book-2020-10">Matthew McConaughey</a> at our kid's flag football game. There are some very wonderful, friendly people, but we also met more than our share of the others.</p><p>Exhibit A was the dad (also at a kids' flag football league) wearing the "Don't move to Austin" T-shirt, a play on "Don't mess with Texas." Let me get this straight: I uprooted my family, moved across four states, and that's the welcome I get? And the worst part of it all is that it's not even funny. There's a bumper sticker in the West: "Montana sucks. Tell your friends!" Same message, but with some humor.</p><p>And then there are the native Texans, usually older, who stick pretty closely to the stereotypes. I've never been told so often what to do and what not to do, and the delivery is in a "this is just the way it's done" tone that is completely oblivious to any other viewpoints on the matter.</p><p>Our friends from Tennessee also confirmed that Austin does not conform to the notion of Southern hospitality, but I will say that most younger Texans were really cool.</p><p>Austin drivers are also terrible, I mean, reptilian brain terrible. They don't yield to pedestrians on crosswalks unless forced, will inexplicably tailgate and illegally pass you on a double yellow just to drive 30 feet in front of you for the next 10 minutes on open roads, and they may be conservative, but not with their horns. I drive all over the country and hands down, Austin has the worst and most inexplicable driving I've experienced.</p><p>The service is also generally awful. Doesn't matter if it's a rental car company, a restaurant, you name it. We found a few exceptional waiters and hosts, but Austin is generally the worst service I've experienced nationwide. I mean, you're at the Austin airport with two pieces of luggage and you just ordered six items. They don't even ask if you want a bag, you have to initiate the request, and even then they just hand you the bag.</p><h2>7. Not quite a conservative Utopia</h2><p>If you ask people from other parts of Texas, they'll say that Austin is not representative (<a href="http://civicanalytics.com/migration-matters-is-california-ruining-austin/" target="_blank" title="civicanalytics.com" rel="noopener nofollow">despite that most people moving to Austin are from Texas</a>) of all of Texas. That is probably true, but here are a number of messed up things about Travis County/NW Austin:</p><ul><li>A lot of the newer developments are built on converted ranch land, which may be distant from other developments. Despite the fact that <a href="https://stateimpact.npr.org/texas/tag/natural-gas-production-in-texas/" target="_blank" title="stateimpact.npr.org" rel="noopener nofollow">Texas leads the nation in natural gas production</a>, they don't mandate that modern utilities be run to these new developments. In one affluent neighborhood, Belterra, the residents are suing the developer <a href="http://kxan.com/2015/03/30/community-continues-fight-against-gas-company-lawmaker-proposes-changes/" target="_blank" title="kxan.com" rel="noopener nofollow">for signing a 30 year, auto-renewing contract for captured propane</a> that leaves residents with $600 per month heating bills in the winter. Is this a sick joke? Greed run amok.</li><li>There's also little public school choice. In California there are charter schools, two day schools, public schools, cash/combo charter school/home schooling, you name it. In west Austin, just public schools. Don't know why, but I heard that the high school football industrial complex opposed charter schools.</li><li>And then there's water, again. Austin will literally have water restrictions in place while it's flooding. "Can't you just take some of the water from here and … never mind." And your Texan neighbors will call you out for having a green lawn, even if you water from a well, which is a possibility they can't quite seem to imagine.</li></ul><h2>8. Monoculture</h2><p>I love getting to know people from other cultures. In California we've had Vietnamese neighbors, Iranian neighbors, Filipinos, Palestinians, you name it. We love it.</p><p>In parts of Texas it's not just a monoculture, but a monoculture that doesn't seem to be aware of its own blandness. Think about it: Are you ready to have your son judged based on his suitability for a future career in football? Are you ready to network by attending the local high school football game with the guys? Because that's a thing in Texas.</p><p>And it's not just that. The lack of openness to diverse ideas leaves you with the feeling that you traveled 15 years back in time technologically moving there. <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2016/05/08/uber-lyft-halt-austin-service-after-losing-vote/84119554/" target="_blank" title="www.usatoday.com" rel="noopener nofollow">They voted out Uber and Lyft</a> and think that's not a big deal because — wait for it — they have a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/what-happened-to-austin-texas-when-uber-and-lyft-left-town-2016-6" target="_blank" title="www.businessinsider.com" rel="noopener nofollow">ride-sharing Facebook group</a>. Yeah, that should be great for out-of-town visitors.</p><p>They also don't have a lot of the options we enjoyed in San Diego like "game-only soccer leagues" for kids. The car washes were lame. You just couldn't trust things to be as well thought-out and executed as in California.</p><h2>9. Punitive, militaristic schools and sports</h2><p>We had three kids in the local elementary school, rated 9 out of 10. For sure, some of the teachers were excellent and very caring, but the school was run like a micromanaged military academy.</p><p>Our kids complained most about the PE and music teachers. (Aren't they supposed to be the fun ones?) We heard stories about kids running laps or missing recess just because they didn't sit "criss-cross applesauce." Who thought of taking away recess? And it seemed the more ignorant the coach or teacher, the more he insisted on being addressed as "Y'Sir" — which is still the norm, even in Austin.</p><p>There was a massive emphasis on conformity that was good for teachers, bad for kids. I went to read to my kindergartner's class and felt like I'd landed in a dictatorship. They had aides making sure all of the kindergartners faced forward while marching in line to the cafeteria. Kindergartners.</p><p>We withdrew our children. Our school may have been particularly bad, but it's something to look out for.</p><h2>10. Cedar allergies</h2><p>There's a good chance you'll be sick the whole first year in Austin being exposed to a new set of pathogens. We were, and it's not uncommon.</p><p>Then we heard that after a few years it is also common to develop cedar allergies, if you don't already have them.</p><p>They're so bad that we knew at least two professionals going through subcutaneous immunotherapy (shots over a period of years) because their allergies were ruining their lives. Allergy treatment centers are very common. There are really only two types of trees in Austin, cedar (really juniper) and oak, so no getting away from the cedar.</p><h2>11. (I couldn't stop at 10) Big luxury home obsession</h2><p>I'm guessing because of the lack of public land, terrible weather, etc., that Austinites get really into their houses. We saw some unbelievably ornate homes — castle-esque.</p><p>And there's pressure to keep your house immaculate. You can buy a home that is really nice by California standards (updated kitchen, crown moldings) only to find that everyone else's house is much nicer than yours, which we didn't care about until we found that no one wanted to buy our less-than-luxurious home.</p><h2>Moral of the story</h2><p>It would take a lot of money to buy a "California-like" lifestyle in Austin. If you're moving to Austin, make sure it's because of the things that it offers (downtown lifestyle, BBQ, football, live music, nice houses, professional opportunity) and that you won't miss the things you're leaving behind (good weather, public spaces, etc.).</p><p>It was an expensive mistake, but my family and I now see California in a completely new light. We feel very fortunate to be living in the Bay Area.</p><p>You're welcome.</p><p><em>Brett Alder is a sales executive working in the semiconductor industry based out of San Jose, CA.</em></p><p><em>This post was originally written in 2016 and published on <a href="https://www.quora.com/Has-anyone-moved-from-the-Bay-Area-to-Austin-What-were-your-reasons-What-would-you-advise-anyone-looking-to-make-the-move-to-consider-before-making-a-decision/answer/Brett-Alder?ch=10&amp;share=a7d9612f&amp;srid=XxIvD" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Quora</a> by <a href="https://www.quora.com/profile/Brett-Alder">Brett Alder</a>.</em></p>

I moved my family from California to Austin, Texas, and regretted it. Here are 10 things to consider before making an expensive mistake.

How small-town Maine embraced a family that fled the Taliban

<p><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">Roughly 99.9 percent of the reason you use cologne is to impress women, so why rely on your nose alone? We asked three smart (and funny!) women to smell six new colognes and separate the good from the bad.</span></p>
<p><strong><div class="KonaFilter image-container"><div class="image"></div><p></p></div></strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">The panel, from left to right, is fashion director Caroline Issa of London's Tank magazine, Victoria's Secret model Shanina Shaik, and comedian Nikki Glaser.</span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> Here's what they thought about these scents compared to GQ staff.</span></p>
<h2><strong>Lacoste L!VE</strong></h2>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div><p></p></div></div></p>
<p><strong>WHAT WE THINK:</strong> Lime with a bit of woodsy smoke. Sounds like a great gin drink, actually.<br><strong>WHAT WOMEN THINK:</strong> Lacoste was a lady-killer. "I'd follow a man wearing this," said Issa. Shaik saw "a guy in a Hugo Boss suit," and Glaser said, "It smells like a guy who trims his ball hair." (Hint: That's a good thing.)</br></p>
<p><em>$69, 3.3 oz., available at <a href="http://shop.lacoste.com/">lacoste.com</a></em></p>
<h2><strong>Pharrell Williams Girl By Comme Des Garcons</strong></h2>
<p><strong><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div><p></p></div></div><br /></strong></p>
<p><strong>WHAT WE THINK:</strong> Don't worry-this floral, cedary smell is for boys, too. (We swear.)<br><strong>WHAT WOMEN THINK:</strong> This one scored a 1 out of 3. It reminded Glaser of "the lobby bathroom in an expensive hotel." Issa, however, found it "light and insubstantial." Shaik was more to the point: <em>"No bueno."</em></br></p>
<p><em>$135, 3.3 oz., available at <a href="http://www.doverstreetmarket.com/">doverstreetmarket.com</a></em></p>
<p><strong style="font-size: 1.5em; color: #000000;">Masculin Pluriel By Maison Francis Kurkdjian</strong></p>
<p><strong><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div><p></p></div></div></strong></p>
<p><strong>WHAT WE THINK:</strong> We can't pronounce it, but we know a spicy, manly scent when we smell it.<br><strong>WHAT WOMEN THINK:</strong> "This is for a pretentious dad," said Glaser. The other two gals were all for going Continental. It reminded Shaik of "summer on a rooftop," while Issa pictured "a Frenchman who takes care of himself."</br></p>
<p><em>$185, 2.4 oz., available at <a href="http://www.neimanmarcus.com/">neimanmarcus.com</a></em></p>
<p><strong>RELATED: <strong><a href="http://www.gq.com/style/how-to/201409/fall-fashion-layering?mbid=synd_bizinsider">5 New Rules of Fall Layering</a></strong></strong></p>
<h2><strong>Michael Kors For Men</strong></h2>
<p><strong><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div><p></p></div></div></strong></p>
<p><strong>WHAT WE THINK:</strong> If you look up "cologne" in the dictionary, it sprays you with Kors's newest men's scent, a bergamot-and-musk blend.<br><strong>WHAT WOMEN THINK:</strong> Issa caught a sweet undertone she dubbed a "subtle Popsicle scent," while Shaik whiffed manliness, saying, "It's like an aftershave on a guy from the 1960s." And Glaser? "It smells like an expensive baby."</br></p>
<p><em>$78, 4 oz., available at <a href="http://www.michaelkors.com/">michaelkors.com</a></em></p>
<h2><strong>Luna Rossa Extreme By Prada</strong></h2>
<p><strong><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div><p></p></div></div></strong></p>
<p><strong>WHAT WE THINK:</strong> A classic sweet-spicy mix with a few twists: bergamot (as in Earl Grey tea), juniper (as in gin), leather (as in leather).<br><strong>WHAT WOMEN THINK:</strong> "Smells like a tropical air freshener," said Glaser. Issa dug its dirtier qualities-"Like a guy who rolled around in the earth"-and Shaik got a whiff of Florida, saying, "It's like a sexy man on Miami Beach."</br></p>
<p><em>$86, 3.4 oz. available at <a href="http://www.macys.com/">macys.com</a></em></p>
<h2><strong>Invictus By Paco Rabanne</strong></h2>
<p><strong><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div><p></p></div></div><br /></strong></p>
<p><strong>WHAT WE THINK:</strong> A patchouli-and-grapefruit blend sounds like Stevie Nicks's lunch. Here, it makes for a sporty, lightweight scent.<br><strong>WHAT WOMEN THINK:</strong> The sweetness got to Issa, who said, "It smells like cotton candy and little girls." Glaser found it homey, saying, "It smells like fresh sheets," and Shaik found her number one: "Definitely my favorite."</br></p>
<p><em>$82, 3.4 oz. available at <a href="http://www.macys.com/">macys.com</a></em></p>
<p><em> </em><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;"> </strong></p>
<h3><strong>More From GQ:</strong></h3>
<p><a href="http://www.gq.com/style/gq-100/201204/michael-williams-a-continuous-lean-pockets-accessories?mbid=synd_bizinsider"><strong>9 Things Every Man Should Have in His Pocket</strong>s</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.gq.com/life/lists/201402/gym-routines-for-men?mbid=synd_bizinsider#slide=1"><strong>The Focused Man's Guide to the Gym</strong></a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.gq.com/style/style-manual/201204/suits-guide-tailoring-fit?mbid=synd_bizinsider#slide=1"><strong>The Ultimate Guide to a Perfect Fitting Suit</strong></a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.gq.com/blogs/the-feed/2014/04/how-to-eat-healthy-cheap.html?mbid=synd_bizinsider"><strong>Eat Healthy All Week for Just $6</strong></a></p>

You Searched For "juniper hotels" and got 10 results

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Some millennials are moving into neighborhoods with built-in golf and yoga that let them live like carefree retirees

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A former Michelin-starred chef was looking for a new hobby after his divorce. He started a gin business in his daughter's old bedroom.

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