As a new feature here on the Entrepreneurs site, we're profiling great cities for entrepreneurs. First up, the tech hotbed of Austin, TX. Read on for why you might want to pay a visit to this teeming Southern city nicknamed "Silicon Hills." 

Home of Many Small Businesses

Forbes highlights Austin as a great city to start a business in, citing its rank as third "with respect to high-growth industries and businesses in the computer software and service industry.

San Diego and Denver are the only other cities with equally high concentrations of small businesses across a number of high-growth sectors."  

Notable Companies

Austin Startup List shows that many popular website are Austin-grown: jobs site Indeed.com, vacation rentals destinations Homeaway.com and wildly popular entertainment site thechive.com. 

South By Southwest

South By Southwest was once a small local music festival, but now it attracts hordes from across the nation for dedicated festivals focused on music, film and interactive. According to this report, SxSW as it called, contributed $315 million to Austin's economy, and it's also helping make Austin an epicenter for tech talent. 

Education

Much of Austin's creative energy is focused on its schools, including University of Texas at Austin, with a total student enrollment of over 50,000. UT Austin is also home to a number of business schools, including the highly regarded McCombs Business School. 

Incubators and Accelerators

If you live in Austin and think that an incubator is right for you, you have plenty of choice.

 The Capital Factory, TechStars Austin and DreamIt Ventures Austin are just a few of the heavy hitters in town, and there's also The Austin Technology Incubator which operates out of the University of Texas at Austin. 

Coworking is also quite popular in Austin, contributing to an even stronger sense of community among small and young companies. 

Quality of Life

Austin boasts a relatively low cost of living and great quality of life, with a large central lake and lots of outdoor activities. Plenty of municipal services round out the picture for businesses, and great restaurants, theaters and music venues are there for when you want to unwind. 

Please nominate YOUR city and you could be featured in a future article!

Do you live in a city that has great infrastructure for entrepreneurs? Great quality of life, friendly people, and a low cost of living? Then I want to hear from you! 

From the cities of the "Silicon Prairie" to the artisanal, homespun aesthetic of the Pacific Northwest, I want to hear from entrepreneurs nationwide. 

Some of the criteria we are looking for: 

• Low cost of living: the cost of rent and goods and services are low enough that the entrepreneur can carve out some time and resources to work on his or her own business. 
• Ample small business education: Does your city have free or low-cost classes for small businesses? How about accelerators? 
• Supportive business community: do business owners support each other well in your city? Are they are a great source of networking, new ideas and opportunities? 
• Civic support: does your city support entrepreneurship through tax breaks or even providing coworking space for entrepreneurs?
• Culture of innovation: Is their a culture of innovation in your community? Are folks excited and passionate about their businesses? 

If you have a city you'd like to nominate, please fill out this quick survey. Your pick may be featured in a future article here on the Entrepreneurs site! 

Nominate your city here>>