college station TX for retirement? (weather, moving, communities, state)

[marylee54]

We're looking at a piece of investment property we could buy and rent out now, with the idea in mind to retire there in about 5 years. Its located near the university, close enough to attract a staff or faculty member for a LT-lease, also, far away enough from hub of activities to provide a nice residence for a recently retired couple later.

So, how does college Station/Bryan rank as a place to retire to?

[HappyTexan]

LOL marylee54..I just responded to your other post about the "big" cities in Texas.
Hard to compare the likes of Dallas/Austin/San Antonio to Bryan/College Station but then again, you are in the process of figuring out what you want.

I'm near Austin now but plan to retire in about 2-3 years and will be moving about 45 minutes away from College Station to a more rural area. I'm powering down and looking to get away from the big cities but want to be close enough to amenities for when I want them.

College Station is your typical university type town but it does have the big amenities with big box stores. A&M is a good university system and while it doesn't get the attention UT does, it's a solid university and provides a good economy for the city. It was also ranked the most educated city in 2006 I believe.

Here's a link to the local paper:
The Eagle - Bryan/College Station, Texas | News, Weather, Business, and Aggie Sports

[triwing]

I disagree regarding A&M not getting as much attention as UT. In football, yes, but academically they are pretty much on the same page.

Personally, it really depends on what you want to do. I don't think the B/CS area would be the ideal place to retire; to me there isn't enough there to do. Besides, I wouldn't think living right next to the university would be an ideal place for retirement.

[sgbarron]

Have you considered looking into the GO TEXAN Certified Retirement Community Program? The website is www.RetireInTexas.org. Through the program, cities and counties interested in attracting retirees demonstrate to the Texas Department of Agriculture they can meet the needs and lifestyles of retirees to become designated and marketed by the State of Texas as a desirable retirement destination. They are also on Facebook, Retire In Texas, where they announce new communities as they are certified, have pictures of certified communities and post community information. Their website also has information regarding Texas such as veteran information and military bases; state taxes; a listing of various agencies that pertain to arts, culture, business development, higher education, health care, recreation, etc. Texas is a great place to retire! Forbes.com rated the Texas economy as the best in the country and has identified many cities in Texas as the best in the country for jobs.

[yellowsnow]

Interesting. I lived in TX for a long time and I've been to B/CS quite a few times. To each his own but I think it would be rather dull. I'm much more attracted to the Hill Country or Austin areas. Ever been to Round Rock?

[texdav]

Just remmeebr that A& M is about as conservative a unioversity has there is in texas. If that meets your liking; then go for it.

[triwing]

Interesting. I lived in TX for a long time and I've been to B/CS quite a few times. To each his own but I think it would be rather dull. I'm much more attracted to the Hill Country or Austin areas. Ever been to Round Rock?

My thoughts exactly (except the traffic in Round Rock is probably way too high for retirement). I lived in the Austin area/Hill Country before I went to school at A&M and honestly, outside of my friends at A&M, College Station and the Brazos Valley was very boring. There wasn't even that many scenic roads around there for motorcycle trips.

There's far more things to do within driving distance in the Hill Country.

[cdelena]

I have spent many many weekends in CS (son at A&M, used to race at TWS) and always found it a pleasant place to be except for the summer heat.

[AnotherBravesFan]

We wanted out of SoCal big city living, but weren't sure what size town or city would be best. Loved the university (DH wanted to return to college in retirement), but we felt that the location was a little too remote for us, scenery blah, and not enough things to do that we liked. We ended up in Huntsville, AL (population about 170,000) and now that I've been here a while, I do occasionally pine for somewhere a little bit bigger with more amenities. Looking back, we definitely would have been miserable in College Station. But for others more used to rural living, it might be fine.