So torn between Hill Country and Panhandle (Austin, Amarillo: rental, brokers)

[NOTAM]

Just when I have my mind set on Lampasas/Gatesville area, and to work in Gatesville and/or Ft Hood..........more opportunities present themselves in Amarillo area, and girlfriend even willing to let me stay with her until I find a rental (fellow nurse).
I like both areas...thats the problem. I want a rural country life, cowboy lifestyle.......
Pros for Ft Hood area for me are the army post-i am used to being near a base/post, and the military life. hill country being centralized location. mom possibly investing in property in Horseshoe Bay near Austin.
Pros for Panhandle-low humidity, less skeeters, less rain (i like dry desert), more wind, more wide open space, more cowboys.
it sucks to have so many job opportunities that the sky is endless. but i dont want to move again after this next move. i want to settle down, buy a house and land, and be done with it. i need a tax shelter.
any feedback?

[TexasNick]

Bellestaroftexas,
At least you have the FREEDOM to move to where you want. Everytime I look for land or a place to settle down, I always get this little sense of gratitude that I am able to do this. Sometimes I wonder if it's the journey that is making me happy, rather than the destination. I think you should appreciate the fact that you DO have so many job opportunities! Do you know how many people would love to be in your shoes? People have always looked to Texas as a chance of starting over. Remember what Crockett said, "To hell with you all, i'm going to Texas!".

Nonethless, I think you just answered your own question. You mentioned that you were interested in rural country life, a cowboy lifestyle, wide open spaces, minimal rain, low numbers of skeers, low humidity, etc. Well, I believe this is the motto for the Panhandle region of Texas.

Right now it's humid as h*ll in the hill country (I just got back from the northern hill country area), tons of mosquitos, lots of rain, etc. The Panhandle region is hugely undervalued (according to land brokers) and it's only a matter of time before the influx of people moving to the hill country start looking at that region. Also, I don't see the rural lifestyle changing anytime soon, especially when we have so many people from the Midwest moving there. It is mostly farmers and Canadians moving there because it's just cheaper and the people are better! Okay, I'm just a little biased here

I think the Panhandle area is for you based on your past discussions. I have not lived there, but I've visited the area and liked it. I think this is the stereotypical Texas you so often see in movies, something that strangely, you can't find in the rest of the Texas with the exception of parts of West Texas and some regions of the Hill Country.

I definitely know that deep south Texas is not for you

[NOTAM]

thanks TexasNick..yes i do appreciate that i have such a portable career with limitless opportunities, wont be without work even in the tundra of Alaska. and yes, deep South Texas is definitely not a good fit by any sense of the imagination.
i know for sure that i want to buy a small parcel of land, maybe 5 acres, with a house, after a year of renting. i wonder how much cheaper the towns outside of Amarillo (Fritch, Panhandle, Claude, Wildorado etc) are compared to lets say Lampasas, Gatesville areas. if it is SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper, then i need to take a serious look in the next two months.
and a big plus is i have a very good friend up in Amarillo, which makes for a good support system for me.
sometimes, though i am happy that i have so many options, it does make it more confusing....i just want to make sure i make the right decision this time.
any more feedback is welcome. thanks!

[teatime]

bellestar,
I think that once you start looking at properties and specific towns, "home" will become apparent to you! I wish you all of the best!

Julie

[neddy]

Belle,
I somehow have a feeling that the panhandle is for you. I know the hill country is pretty and all that but I get the sense that the panhandle is a better fit plus you have your friend there which as people get older is a big plus! When are you out of your contract?

[KewGee]

Hey bellestar,

I thought you might appreciate a quote from Elwin Brooks White who wrote Charlotte's Web. That was my favorite book in elementary school and still one of my favorites even at my age now. I know you love the rural areas and so do I and when a friend sent the following to me via email, I thought of you and TexasNick too.

He was a writer for many years for the New Yorker magazine. He later moved with his wife to a farmhouse in Maine. E.B. White wrote, "Just to live in the country is a full-time job. You don't have to do anything. The idle pursuit of making a living is pushed to one side, where it belongs, in favor of living itself, a task of such immediacy, variety, beauty, and excitement that one is powerless to resist its wild embrace."

[TexasNick]

Oooh Kewgee green rep for you Thanks that is great.

[NOTAM]

KewGee-wonderful quote! i will have to write that one down! thanks so much!

[Turnerliryc]

The Hill country is beautiful in it's own right but the panhandle sounds more like what you're looking for. As for land good luck finding anything cheap in the Lampasas area. We have our family reunion at Lake Buchannon and I have looked into land in the surrounding area, the panhandle is much cheaper. As for buying acreage you might want to check with the county to see what their platting requirements are. In some cases it might be cheaper to buy more land then it would be to get a plat filed.