Hill Country Home (Houston, Tyler, New Braunfels: real estate, rentals, houses)

[chatfie]

My husband and I have traveled full-time in an RV all over the US during the last four years and are looking for the perfect place to land. One place I love is Tyler but we don't want to be that far north because of the weather. So my question is this... Is there a small town (smaller than Tyler) in the Hill Country that has anything like the Azalea District neighborhoods? I'm not talking about tours or even the flowering shrubs as much as the historic homes. Some small, some large, but several blocks of them not just a street or two. We're headed to the Hill Country now and want to explore!

[ChristieP]

Fredericksburg!

[KathrynAragon]

Sorry, but Fredericksburg doesn't have neighborhoods similar to Tyler's Azalea district. OP, I don't know what your financial situation is, but another negative about Fredericksburg (and the Hill Country in general) regarding real estate is that you will pay a LOT more for a home similar to Azalea District homes in Tyler.

There's not a vast difference in temperatures between the Tyler area and the Hill Country area, though there is a difference in the humidity levels.

[hound 109]

Originally Posted by chatfie

My husband and I have traveled full-time in an RV all over the US during the last four years and are looking for the perfect place to land. One place I love is Tyler but we don't want to be that far north because of the weather. So my question is this... Is there a small town (smaller than Tyler) in the Hill Country that has anything like the Azalea District neighborhoods? I'm not talking about tours or even the flowering shrubs as much as the historic homes. Some small, some large, but several blocks of them not just a street or two. We're headed to the Hill Country now and want to explore!

- Why the "Hill Country"?
- Are you buying, renting or parking your RV? (What's your budget?)
- Are you looking for nice towns with green, lush, shrubbery where Azaleas will thrive (like Tyler), or are you looking for cute, smaller, towns with historic districts (but dryer & without Azaleas).

As mentioned, Tyler is not like the HC. If looking in Central Texas (without the humidity of the Azalea dominated towns), I'd look at Georgetown, Bastrop, New Braunfels, Fburg, Mason, Lampasas, Kerrville, Seguin, possibly Boerne & Lockhart.

Not in the Hill Country (further east), but might have your Historic Homes (& possibly an Azalea or two), I'd look at La Grange, Columbus, Halletsville, Gonzales, Goliad & Seguin.

Note: All the towns I list are County Seats, & are pretty & historic towns. All are smaller than Tyler and not as "touristy" as Fburg. There's a website called Texas Courthouses (or Texas Escapes or something similar) that has lots of pics of the courthouses and the historic districts of all the towns listed.

[StealthRabbit]

I keep my azaleas in PNW, they love it there, and I love the Hill Country during the 280 days/ yr of drizzle in my WA Azalea territory. I do have several azaleas at my HC TX homes, but they have a short blooming season.

HC has a benefit over Tyler... Far less risk of tornadoes, AND less humidity. Closer to 'countryside' !

[TexasHorseLady]

Georgetown. San Marcos has some. Bastrop, Smithville, Taylor and Elgin to the east (and more likely to be able to grow Azaleas due to soil).

[chatfie]

Originally Posted by hound 109

- Why the "Hill Country"?
- Are you buying, renting or parking your RV? (What's your budget?)
- Are you looking for nice towns with green, lush, shrubbery where Azaleas will thrive (like Tyler), or are you looking for cute, smaller, towns with historic districts (but dryer & without Azaleas).

As mentioned, Tyler is not like the HC. If looking in Central Texas (without the humidity of the Azalea dominated towns), I'd look at Georgetown, Bastrop, New Braunfels, Fburg, Mason, Lampasas, Kerrville, Seguin, possibly Boerne & Lockhart.

Not in the Hill Country (further east), but might have your Historic Homes (& possibly an Azalea or two), I'd look at La Grange, Columbus, Halletsville, Gonzales, Goliad & Seguin.

Note: All the towns I list are County Seats, & are pretty & historic towns. All are smaller than Tyler and not as "touristy" as Fburg. There's a website called Texas Courthouses (or Texas Escapes or something similar) that has lots of pics of the courthouses and the historic districts of all the towns listed.

Thanks for this information. In answer to your questions - The small towns in the Hill Country have always appealed to me in part because of the surrounding hills, rivers, and Live Oak Trees. And I want to be in Central Texas for the weather, someone mentioned fewer chances of Tornados, less humidity, etc. And we will be buying a place. I'm pretty sure we can afford a pretty decent home on our budget of no more than 275K. We will continue to travel for part of each year too at least for several years. I am definately looking for the cute, small towns rather than the lush shrubbery but I will want to be able to have a landscaped yard not just a dry grass field.


I appreciate your list of towns and I will research them all. Thanks

[KathrynAragon]

Originally Posted by StealthRabbit

I keep my azaleas in PNW, they love it there, and I love the Hill Country during the 280 days/ yr of drizzle in my WA Azalea territory. I do have several azaleas at my HC TX homes, but they have a short blooming season.

HC has a benefit over Tyler... Far less risk of tornadoes, AND less humidity. Closer to 'countryside' !

Humidity bothers some people more than others and is pretty subjective. For instance, I'm from New Orleans originally and East Texas feels downright dry to me most of the time! And humidity is great for the skin.

Also I've lived in East Texas for over twenty years and never been "victimized" by a tornado. Believe me, we take many more risks with our lives when we drive to work or out to eat.

I'm not going to nit pick or make negative comments about other areas of our great state, but I will say this - water in East Texas is plentiful and that's a good thing. We also have plenty of countryside too.

[Mark Senior]

Originally Posted by chatfie

Thanks for this information. In answer to your questions - The small towns in the Hill Country have always appealed to me in part because of the surrounding hills, rivers, and Live Oak Trees. And I want to be in Central Texas for the weather, someone mentioned fewer chances of Tornados, less humidity, etc. And we will be buying a place. I'm pretty sure we can afford a pretty decent home on our budget of no more than 275K. We will continue to travel for part of each year too at least for several years. I am definately looking for the cute, small towns rather than the lush shrubbery but I will want to be able to have a landscaped yard not just a dry grass field.


I appreciate your list of towns and I will research them all. Thanks

You will get more "Hill Country" VOTES on here, over Tyler, lets us know how you come out. But don't forget being very near, not far, from the BETTER Medical centers is often very important, as well as the other amenities offered by a somewhat larger place.

It very different to hear someone on here say Tyler is TOO Large, we usually get, Tyler is TOO Small, and compare Tyler to Houston, DFW, and the large metros. Of course I spent 25 years in Houston, now, that is TOO large, lol. Just keep Tyler in the back of your mind. But just be happy satisfied wherever you wind up going. Best of luck to you.

[StealthRabbit]

Kerrville works for me in retirement due to being 'central' to several nice towns, and is 'retiree focused'. It has colleges, YMCA, varied shopping, non-ethnic centric (minimal German influence), decent medical, and stable economy. Also nice nature center and river park. Near much recreation. I keep several rentals there, including my main home that is rented for an additional $1500/ month cash flow. I live for free on the property in a cabin and have large shops (3) with RV hookups, laundry, showers for friends to stay LT. We have a seperate driveway and are out of site of main home. 7 min from town, 5 min to excellent rural motorcycle riding and fishing... I get plenty of water; 40" / yr, and underground 20,000 g rainwater tank will provide enough if my pond and strong well ever go dry. (Unlikely)

Kerrville is not cute. Nearby Comfort, TX is pretty cute, and fairly reasonable. Fredricksburg and Boerne are more expensive, but are nice. (Bit too trendy / expensive / desireable for me... I grew up on a ranch in a colorado tourist town). Bandera is a bit too 'cowboy' & far from shopping (lumber, auto parts, hardware, plumbing...). Your choices / desires are probably different. That is good! I have an organization / camp / school in Comfort where I do a lot of volunteer work. (Just finished a 2 month 'winter' project in their Australia facility, and headed to Romania now.)

I would look seriously at Comfort, TX.

I also looked at Wimberly, and Fishers Corner, & Sisterdale (cuz I fly for travel several times per yr, sometimes weekly). It is really nice to have both AUS and SAT to choose from (pricing and timing). It is also nice to be nearer AUS and SAT for shopping Habitat ReStore for me.

Humidity is not a problem for me, cuz I am at my rented PNW rural home with same amenities from July through Sept. (shop, RV, and free living space for me). 50F sleeping nights in summer suit me just fine. Gardening in PNW is a breeze. (Kerrville gardening is not bad either)

I keep a 50 mpg car ($100 investment) that runs on free cooking oil at each home (and in Colorado). A few $500 vintage motorcycles live in all three places too.

SWA flies me with FREE coolers of Salmon, and fresh berries to TX, and FREE coolers of brisket to WA. For under $200, at least 3x per yr.

I am sure you can find your spot in HC TX. . Mine (all rural on acreage with view and RV hookups / storage) have all been purchased for under $200k, most for under $120k.