hmmm, Tx or Az ?? (Abilene, Midland: best towns, real estate, how much)

[ArizonaRanch]

Hi everyone!

I'm new here & found this forum by doing some research on states.

We are discussing moving to Arizona - but I've always wanted to relocate to Texas! We are in NJ now. I am born/raised in Jersey, he is from the midwest originally. Anyways, I want to go to Tx, he wants Az, so we're doing research to see which would be more "us".

Im hoping you can help with my questions.....so when we plan out a trip to the state (we're planning on visiting both Az & Tx) to see, we at least can have an idea of what areas we'd possibly like:

-We're looking to move on around 75+ acreas, mostly for horses/cattle/some other livestock.
-Within a small, rural farming community.
-Within a 45-60 minute drive to stores/work/doctors, etc.
-We don't have kids yet, but would possibly like the schools to have FFA and/or rodeo clubs.
-We want to avoid snow (all together if possible! Otherwise just a "dusting" that melts quickly - no more shoveling for us!)
-We don't mind the heat (we hate the cold weather)

Any ideas would be really appreciated! Thanks in advance

[Trainwreck20]

Either place will meet those requirements. What will separate the two is the big question. How much are you looking to spend? In TX, 75 acres can go from dirt cheap to right pricey, even while being very rural. I would love to own 75 acres north of Fredericksburg, TX, but I haven't go the half a million it would probably cost to get grazing land there. On the other hand, you can get 75 acres for a fraction of that cost in the Valley or further up in the panhandle (although some snow comes into the picture up there).

[Sonic]

How much are you willing to spend for 75 acres? Before answering, I can almost guarantee that real estate will cost you much less in Texas.

[ArizonaRanch]

I think probably at, or under 500,000 would be about all we can handle for land and a house. We have no problem moving into a house that needs a lot of work, as we eventually plan to tear down & rebuild a house anyway.

[JamesAbilene]

75 acres around Abilene, San Angelo, Midland, or Odessa would meet your price requirements with almost no snow. The land is not the best, and water could be an issue. Search, and you will find what you want. This area is not as hot as Southern Arizona.

[JamesAbilene]

By the way, FFA exists in every rural farming community in this area. You would be hard pressed to find a school without an FFA program.

[case44]

Come on. You know you want to.

[NOTAM]

look into areas on the outskirts of the Hill Country...
check out Gatesville, Crawford (hey if it is good enough for GWB!), Hamilton, Goldthwaite, San Saba

or areas like Colorado City, Snyder

[NancyUCTexas]

Stephenville and the surrounding smaller towns within a 25 mile radius (Hico, Dublin, DeLeon, Bluffdale, Tolar, Morgan Mill, etc.) meets all of your needs. Grass and water is more plentiful for livestock, that's why many Arizonians are moving here. 500k can get you a nice house and approx. 50-100 acres. Stephenville was voted one of the top 10 best towns in America, is the Cowboy Capital of the World (one of many, I'm sure), Harris Methodist Hospital, major retailers, pop. approx. 10,000, Tarleton State University (top Ag school), high school rodeo, FFA, 4-H, Lone Star Arena. Many PRCA and PBR "legends" call the area home. 1 1/2 hr. to DFW Metroplex, Will Rogers Coliseum, historic Ft. Worth Stockyards and Cowtown Coliseum and on and on.

[vantexan]

If you decide to check out AZ be sure to visit Cochise County. Sierra Vista has about everything you could want and Tucson is just up the road. The county's elevation makes it more pleasant in the summer, and winters are pretty mild. What you won't get in much of AZ most of the time is severe weather events. Weird things can happen, but generally you'll never worry about tornadoes, hurricanes, boiling hot humidity, baseball size hail. Those are real possibilities every year in much of Texas.