Possible move to Temple, TX (Houston, Dallas: appointed, renter, loan)

[nikita0872]

I am being considering a job at the VA in Temple. I currently live in Madison, WI (not originally from here). It's way too cold and other than participating in some protests there is nothing to do here until the weather warms up for a whole 3 months. I've only been living here 5 months.
I heard Austin is a great city especially if you're single but with the gas prices so high I don't want a long commute. From what I am reading, is Temple really that boring of a place to live? I am not into the whole club scene but I do like to socialize and work out.
My other option is Florida but I will have to wait about 6 months for that.
Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

[Willsson]

Find a post by xraydude, in the Texas forum and private message him. He recently started with the VA and moved to Temple.

Temple is like living in a suburb of any city. It's a busy place, about an hour from Austin and a couple of hours from Dallas. And yeah, you'll enjoy the occasional trek to the Austin area.

[nikita0872]

Thank you for getting back to me so quickly!

[k_s]

As tofurkey said, it's very suburban, as is much of Bell County. You'll be able to find things to do in the area. Because of the city's location on I-35, it'll be easy to access other areas of the state. Many people make trips to Austin (about an hour away), but you'll also be ~2 hours from Dallas and San Antonio and ~3-4 hours from Houston.

[nikita0872]

Well I didn't accept the job- not because I didn't want to move to Texas. I was actually looking forward to it. Hopefully something will come up again soon! Thanks for all the information!

[deserthackberry]

Originally Posted by nikita0872

Well I didn't accept the job- not because I didn't want to move to Texas. I was actually looking forward to it. Hopefully something will come up again soon! Thanks for all the information!

I thought I'd like it here because I prefer small towns, but moving here has been a nightmare. I didn't have the time or money to find a place and move before I started work, but now my employer won't give me time off to move.

I expected friendly, straightforward people, but these people are mean drivers and arrogant and pushy in person.

I expected limited resources, but the main problem here is getting people to answer your calls, especially realtors. One called me after weeks of runaround and was disappointed to find I'd rented elsewhere. Apparently I was the second renter she'd lost that week. Small wonder.

I'd also expected limited radio, but again, instead of a lack of stations, there are too many interfering with each other. The only radio stations I can get clearly and continously are a Christian propaganda station that broadcasts creationist "documentaries", a rap station, a Mexican music station, and a country music station. Surprisingly, none of those interests me.

[Zembonez]

Originally Posted by deserthackberry

I thought I'd like it here because I prefer small towns, but moving here has been a nightmare. I didn't have the time or money to find a place and move before I started work, but now my employer won't give me time off to move.

I expected friendly, straightforward people, but these people are mean drivers and arrogant and pushy in person.

I expected limited resources, but the main problem here is getting people to answer your calls, especially realtors. One called me after weeks of runaround and was disappointed to find I'd rented elsewhere. Apparently I was the second renter she'd lost that week. Small wonder.

I'd also expected limited radio, but again, instead of a lack of stations, there are too many interfering with each other. The only radio stations I can get clearly and continously are a Christian propaganda station that broadcasts creationist "documentaries", a rap station, a Mexican music station, and a country music station. Surprisingly, none of those interests me.

Sounds like somebody moved in and brought an attitude. Texans don't respond kindly to attitudes.

Time off to move? You don't have days off and night off like every other working American? Mean drivers? Limited resources? Limited radio? Realtors that won't call you back? It's not 1950 here.

You must be doing something wrong. Where did you come from?

[Willsson]

I expected limited resources, but the main problem here is getting people to answer your calls, especially realtors.

I'd certainly agree with the part about getting people to return your calls. I had a problem getting an electrician to take an interest in doing some work. Before buying my house, I got a loan approval. They had to get one of their associate realtors to contact me because no realtor would call me back. And the loan company was in Ohio. I've since tried to get a realtor interested in listing the house... but no return call. The realtor that found this house for me drove 30 miles one way, about a half dozen times including to close the sale.

I've kind of given up on getting anything done and have about decided to move back to Dallas but thanks to political worms... I'll be losing money on the house.

[deserthackberry]

Originally Posted by Zembonez

Sounds like somebody moved in and brought an attitude. Texans don't respond kindly to attitudes.

Like I said, I came here expecting to like it. I loved San Antonio, but I'm starting to think it might be an oasis of normal. I've also lived in small towns before, but this isn't like any small town I've ever been to.

What I DON'T like here is the "this is my private planet" attitude. The only people I've ever met that come CLOSE to this nasty are Bratwurst Belt snowbirds, which makes me wonder if they've taken over here as well. Now THEY definitely have an attitude, but I've never seen even them enter the interstate at a crawl and then slow to a dead stop, at night, of all things. The guy behind me and I were lucky traffic was light that night, or we'd have been clobbered by a semi for sure. There didn't appear to be anything wrong with his car, and he didn't appear to be drunk. He just seemed to be miffed that we had the nerve to be behind him. Don't you find THAT kind of attitude just the least little bit egotistical, or is that just how you're raised?

[blkgiraffe]

Originally Posted by deserthackberry

Like I said, I came here expecting to like it. I loved San Antonio, but I'm starting to think it might be an oasis of normal. I've also lived in small towns before, but this isn't like any small town I've ever been to.

That's because Temple isn't a small town. It's not a suburb and doesn't act as a suburb [I don't get that comparison]. It sits in a relatively populated area [400k TO 600K+. Depending how you look at it], along I-35 and in the one of the fastest growing areas in the state.