“Austin: It’s what the rest of the country had in mind” was a short-lived slogan for the city of Austin, created by the Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau in 1990. As one writer (below) thought of the slogan—“had in mind” for what?
   
Austin has several slogans, from the official “Live Music Capital of the World” to the unofficial “Keep Austin Weird.”
 
 
Wikipedia: Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Travis County. Situated in Central Texas, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 16th-largest in the United States of America, as well as the third fastest growing large city in the nation from 2000 to 2006. As of the 2007 U.S. Census estimate, Austin has a population of 743,074. The city is the cultural and economic center of the Greater Austin metropolitan area with a population of about 1.6 million people.
 
The area was settled in the 1830s on the banks of the Colorado River by white settlers, who named the village Waterloo. In 1839, Waterloo was chosen to become the capital of the newly independent Republic of Texas. The city was renamed Austin, after Stephen F. Austin. The city grew throughout the 19th century and became a center for government and education with the construction of the Texas State Capitol and the University of Texas. After a lull in growth from the Depression, Austin resumed its development into a major city and emerged as a center for technology and business. Today, Austin is home to many companies, hi-tech or otherwise, including three Fortune 500 listed corporations.
 
Austin was selected as the No. 1 Best Big City in “Best Places to Live” by Money magazine in 2006, and the “Greenest City in America” by MSN. Also, according to CNN Headline News and travel and leisure Austin ranks #2 on the list of cities with the best people referring to the personalities and attributes of the citizens. Austin was also voted America’s #1 College Town by the Travel Channel. Austin was ranked the 5th safest city in part because annually, there are fewer than 3 people murdered per 100,000 people.
 
Residents of Austin are known as “Austinites,” and include a diverse mix of university professors, students, politicians, lobbyists, musicians, state employees, high-tech workers, blue-collar workers, and white-collar workers. The main campus of the University of Texas is located in Austin. The city is home to enough large sites of major technology corporations to have earned it the nickname “Silicon Hills.” Austin’s official slogan promotes the city as “The Live Music Capital of the World”, a reference to its status as home to many musicians and music venues. In recent years, many Austinites have also adopted the unofficial slogan “Keep Austin Weird”; this refers partly to the eclectic and progressive lifestyle of many Austin residents, but is also the slogan for a campaign to preserve smaller local businesses and resist excessive commercialization.
 
Austin (TX) American-Statesman
Austin - the place where mottos are a dime a dozen
Author: John Kelso AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN
Date: August 16, 1990
Publication: Austin American-Statesman
Page Number: A18
Every city convention and visitors bureau needs a snappy motto, because let’s face it: Not even the Mystic Pooh-bahs of the Nile would convene in some no-account burg that doesn’t have a proper slogan. With that in mind, the folks over at the Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau have come up with a new motto.
 
Austin. What the rest of the country had in mind.
 
24 March 1993, Austin (TX) American-Statesman, “Towns use a turn of phrase in hopes of turning a buck” by Mike Kelley, pg. A20:
A couple of years ago, they were using “Austin: It’s What the Rest of the Country Had in Mind.” I’m glad they gave up on that one, because it sort of begs the question “...for what?” An atomic testing ground, maybe?