Smaller Live-and-Let-Live Communities in Texas?

[NPR Guy]

Originally Posted by jfre81

New Braunfels, San Marcos and the area between Austin and San Antonio is a possibility.

A friend of mine, who is gay, owns a house around there and he enjoys it, but he says values are going up and things are getting a bit expensive.

Hey, thanks for the reply to my post. Your friend is right about values going up. The hill country kind of defies logic of the current real estate downturn statewide. Nice small ranchettes that were $250,000 two years go have doubled in asking price. San Marcos area to New Brunfels is nice because of the university so it's definitely on the list. Thanks for the suggestion!

[NPR Guy]

Originally Posted by golfgod

The Marble Falls/Horseshoe Bay area is not nearly as expensive as Kerrville/Fredericksburg. It's kind of an odd collection of red and blue. Close enough to Austin for medical but we have an active local arts scene, community theatre etc.

golfgod

I'll have to check out Marble Falls. I love that area, but "assumed" it would be way too expensive given proximity to Austin. Looks like a virtual road trip Edom to Cameron to Marble Falls coming up next week. Sounds promising.

Thanks for the kindness of the time to post a suggestion. Regards, JD

[neddy]

I know its not the Hill country but I know lots of gays and lesbians that have retired from Dallas to the Lake O the Pines area if ya want to stay up in the East Texas area. Course I also know loads of folks have retired to the Kerrville area also. Another gay friend was talking just the other day about Cameron cause his folks are in Dallas and his partners mom is in Austin so they are trying to find a good spot and that was on his oh so short list.

[simmonscpa]

My partner and I have been together for almost 15 years, and we are both professionals living in the burbs of North Dallas. We are still a few years away from retirement (ages 50 and 40), but we are already looking in that direction.

We own a weekend home near Lake Texoma, near the TX/OK border outside a small town named Pottsboro. We enjoy it there because there are other gay couples nearby, with Denison and Sherman only 10 and 20 minutes away, respectively. While we have not officially named Pottsboro as our retirement community, it is certainly relaxing to sit on the deck and look over the treetops at the lake.

Property values are reasonable (you can still buy for under $100 a square foot), people are friendly and no one seems to care that we are not your typical heterosexual married couple. (In fact, at the last homeowners association meeting, one of the officers said "Get some of your friends to buy a place up here. Having gay neighbors does wonders for property values.")

Good luck in your search, and I hope you find the right place.

James

P. S.: Let me know if you want to look around and we will point you in the right direction.

[NPR Guy]

Originally Posted by simmonscpa

My partner and I have been together for almost 15 years, and we are both professionals living in the burbs of North Dallas. We are still a few years away from retirement (ages 50 and 40), but we are already looking in that direction.

We own a weekend home near Lake Texoma, near the TX/OK border outside a small town named Pottsboro. We enjoy it there because there are other gay couples nearby, with Denison and Sherman only 10 and 20 minutes away, respectively. While we have not officially named Pottsboro as our retirement community, it is certainly relaxing to sit on the deck and look over the treetops at the lake.

Property values are reasonable (you can still buy for under $100 a square foot), people are friendly and no one seems to care that we are not your typical heterosexual married couple. (In fact, at the last homeowners association meeting, one of the officers said "Get some of your friends to buy a place up here. Having gay neighbors does wonders for property values.")

Good luck in your search, and I hope you find the right place.

James

P. S.: Let me know if you want to look around and we will point you in the right direction.

Thank you, James. In my youth I enjoyed a few summer church camps on Lake Texoma, as well as Hot Springs and Kerrville. I certainly wouldn't mine the lake area, but my partner has vetoed anywhere north of Dallas, as I have vetoed anything close to Weatherford. We each have five more vetoes left. I will pass along your post, maybe we will take a run to the lake this spring. I appreciate the post, James. Best of luck to you both!

JD

[NPR Guy]

Originally Posted by neddy

I know its not the Hill country but I know lots of gays and lesbians that have retired from Dallas to the Lake O the Pines area if ya want to stay up in the East Texas area. Course I also know loads of folks have retired to the Kerrville area also. Another gay friend was talking just the other day about Cameron cause his folks are in Dallas and his partners mom is in Austin so they are trying to find a good spot and that was on his oh so short list.

Yeah, Neddy, we're looking forward to seeing Cameron. Neither of us have been there, so we're excited to see it. As for East Texas, we took a long drive out to Athens and Palestine today to check out property. The more we look in East Texas, the more we really want to concentrate closer to Austin and San Antonio.

Hope your friends find the perfect spot, too. Thanks again for the supportive post.