Quote:
Originally Posted by miamiblue
Did I miss where you named the city you are describing? It sounds like the type of place many who come to this forum would be interested in (I am being sincere, by the way). Although, I hope that not all outsiders are viewed as snobs just because they are outsiders. 
I don't know anything about TX tax structure, but I did live my entire life prior to moving to Raleigh in a place that seems to have a similar tax structure. How are the state and local governments? Are you happy with the way things are run and funded? The state that I lived in also had no income tax and no personal property tax, the sales tax was 7%, but property tax was also high. All that gave us mediocre schools, no worthwhile public transit, mediocre roads (leading to massive traffic problems), etc. There was never enough funding to make anything really decent. Now that property values have gone up, the property tax issue is at a roaring boil, and those with homestead exemption are going to be screwed by upcoming legislation options designed to ease the property taxes for mostly those without exemption (to help keep growth high and the real estate market intact). Something had to give, and now it's not looking pretty for people like my parents who have owned their home for 30+ years. So I'm just wondering how other states are handling this and making things work. |
Actually, I purposely didn't mention the name of my town, as we are growing fast enough without encouraging more influx, although you can probably figure it out from contextual clues contained herein. I think what is happening here is similar to what happens everywhere that's recognized as a nice place to live. It happened to Austin and Raleigh about twenty years ago. The cycle goes something like this: a town is recognized as being a great place to live, everyone flocks to it, and it becomes crowded, congested, overpriced, constantly under construction, etc. We are headed there, but I don't want to help speed the process along!
As far as outsiders coming to the area, they are generally treated quite well. In my experience, this is a very friendly and polite community. It is a college town with a large university, and we get new people here every semester from around the state, nation, and world. My wife and I work routinely with students and faculy from Argentina, Brazil, Serbia, Nigeria, Russia, India, Turkey, China, and Germany (just to name a few). Almost everyone, especially international students, love it. I frequently ask our international students about their experiences in the community, and get almost universal positive feedback. Many students don't want to leave at the end of their studies, and many tell me how much they would like to come back after leaving. It seems a little unfair because this is the first taste of the U.S. many international students get, and they are disappointed when other places they travel to for internships and such are not as welcoming. One other note about treatment of outsiders: we had a fairly large number of Katrina evacuees through here, and more than a few decided to stay and make it home because they were so well received.
As for level of satisfaction with our local government, I don't have much to complain about. My biggest complaint is that they haven't restrained growth as much as I would like, but that's just me. Our police force is almost too efficient (not enough real crime, so you'd better obey the speed limits), our schools are very good and some are highly rated award winners. The school facilities seem very nice, with new schools being built with regularity, and no kids (that I'm aware of) are in mobile classrooms. This is where we see a tangible payoff for our tax investment as a big chunk of property taxes are earmarked for LOCAL schools. Also, we have a very educated population in general (lots of professors and physicians) which generally translates into higher expectations of the school system. This also yields pleasant daily interactions because, for example, the aerospace engineering major behind the counter at McDonald's will very likely give correct change.
The only thing I can think of that is noticeably lacking is public transportation (although there is a bus system). Public transportation has been slow to take hold because this is still a fairly compact town and the roads are very good (and being expanded). Average commute time is 12.8 minutes. Our public utilities (water, sewer, gas, electricity, garbage removal) seem very good to me and, although they are not the cheapest in the nation, are not as expensive as we experienced in Raleigh. We have a local airport served by two major airlines that will get you to Dallas-Fort Worth or Houston in about half an hour for connecting national and international flights.
I think historically the biggest complaints I have heard about our town, and generally from folks who have moved from bigger places, is that there isn't as much to do as in some cities. This is true to a degree, but is changing with growth. If there's something you are looking for that you can't find locally, we are located within relatively easy driving distance of Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio, and frankly, if you can't find it among those big cities, it probably doesn't exist. Also, our summers are very hot and humid, probably about 10 degrees warmer than Raleigh on any given summer day, but everything is air conditioned, and our mild winters are the payoff (no snow - ever).
One final note: you mentioned rising housing prices. We are currently (at least as of last year) identified as the single most undervalued housing market in the nation (24% undervalued). This means you can get a whole lot of house for relatively little money compared to almost anywhere else in the nation. The good news for anyone who buys here is that in all likelihood (especially in view of our current growth), that this will start to correct itself upward over the next few years just like the overheated markets have started to correct downward. Thus, you can buy a lot of house for little money, then watch it appreciate while big portions of the nation experience a downturn.
Bottom line: heaven, no; utopia, no; pretty darned nice place to live, yes.
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07-24-2007, 05:24 PM
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