Moving to a lovely Texas state (Houston, Dallas: how much, buying a house, safe area)

[jexus]

Hello there, okay so we set our mind on moving to Texas and we need your advise on what city we should pick. Currently we are in Memphis, TN, a city called Bartlett, really nice and safe area comparing to the surroundings.
My husband does IT contractor jobs with government at the navy base, he prefers working at military bases vs regular IT jobs because he has secret clearance and it usually pays more so that's what we are looking for. I am pregnant with our second child and I am staying at home as of right now but I have more IT studying to do in the future so colleges/universities within the reach are a plus. We enjoy being 30 -40 minutes away from the big city so suburbs around a nice big city would work best.

We would like to go ahead and settle in Texas so we do plan on buying a house in $250 - $350k price range. We don't need it crazy big but nicer newer style is important. Maybe even brand new and in the good neighborhood.
We love good weather, warm, mild to no winter , preferably not too humid.
We love cooking so access to farmers markets, good choice of fresh fruits, veggies, seafood etc. would be ideal. My husband is American and I am originally from Ukraine so I wonder if Texas has those international local stores with European goods like Chicago and New York since you guys have so many different cultures mixed in?
We love parks,walks, lakes, would love attractions such as water parks etc. I would love to live close enough to the ocean, within few hours drive. We want it to be a safe area and have good schools. We d love a good church too.

Thank you ahead of time. I know its a lot of info here but I wanted to be specific so we can get to the point. I would love to hear what local people can say. Thanks!

[gguerra]

Austin and Dallas have the biggest and most varied IT and high-tech work environments in Texas however San Antonio has the largest military presence.

Austin and Dallas also have the higher housing and general cost of living as compared to San Antonio.

As for the climate, Dallas is the coldest although compared to some northern cities it is relatively mild.

They all have nice outdoor areas such as parks, lakes etc.

I am generalizing here but Houston has more of an oil based economy. It is the nation's 4th largest city and has many other industries as well.

In general the further you get from the Gulf of Mexico the less humid it will be.

You will get many more comments I am sure.

[metroxian]

Husband might to do well to investigate government job boards or other information through his workplace to which he might have access. Texas has hidden government contracts all over the state, most of which would be unheard of by posters here.

In consideration of location, if you're looking for Euro/international influence in cooking delicacies then you're likely to find suitable condiments closer to Houston and Dallas. The further southwest you get the more interests tend to southwestern influences... thus availability of product.

[jexus]

Thank you all very much!
Yes of course, my husband is not asking about jobs, he has access to some contracts and keeps looking around, so far his department has two locations in Texas - one in San Antonio and another just between Fort Worth and Dallas. There are some other departments all over the state. But, as I said, we are looking for a place to settle in hopefully for a long time so we are open into looking in other areas/cities and will make our decision based on everything including job opportunities. We probably shouldn't rely on just one company ( especially with military contracts being limited in time) and we want to be able to find another job easily without having to move far and sell the house.

Good to know about food, thanks!

Which city is the best for outdoors and has most fun things to do for a young family with kids?

[Westerntraveler]

Originally Posted by jexus

Thank you all very much!
Yes of course, my husband is not asking about jobs, he has access to some contracts and keeps looking around, so far his department has two locations in Texas - one in San Antonio and another just between Fort Worth and Dallas. There are some other departments all over the state. But, as I said, we are looking for a place to settle in hopefully for a long time so we are open into looking in other areas/cities and will make our decision based on everything including job opportunities. We probably shouldn't rely on just one company ( especially with military contracts being limited in time) and we want to be able to find another job easily without having to move far and sell the house.

Good to know about food, thanks!

Which city is the best for outdoors and has most fun things to do for a young family with kids?

San Antone has lots of fun things to do as a young family with kids.San Antone is about 2 hours from the coast.It gets humid there.There's not much outdoors stuff in the DFW area to do or at least none that interest me.There's lots of outdoors things to do in the Hill Country outside San Antone and Austin. Housing and cost of living in the Alamo City is not as high as many areas of the state such as Austin.

[jexus]

Originally Posted by Westerntraveler

San Antone has lots of fun things to do as a young family with kids.San Antone is about 2 hours from the coast.It gets humid there.There's not much outdoors stuff in the DFW area to do or at least none that interest me.There's lots of outdoors things to do in the Hill Country outside San Antone and Austin. Housing and cost of living in the Alamo City is not as high as many areas of the state such as Austin.

Sounds great! thanks

[Westerntraveler]

Originally Posted by jexus

Sounds great! thanks

anytime and good luck

[biscuitmom]

If you visit, just be sure not to call it San Antone.
The locals HATE that. As gracious and welcoming as they are, that's one thing they won't forgive.

[PedroMartinez]

Don't forget our big property taxes here in Texas.

Make sure you budget on those taxes constantly increasing.

I pay roughly $700 per month in property taxes alone, and I'm not in any mansion.

[jexus]

Originally Posted by PedroMartinez

Don't forget our big property taxes here in Texas.

Make sure you budget on those taxes constantly increasing.

I pay roughly $700 per month in property taxes alone, and I'm not in any mansion.

WOw how is it even possible? I`ve seen some $10k a year taxes but those were those crazy 1.5million - 2,000,000. Can anyone else tell me how much you pay in taxes per month? thanks