I want to start a new life in Texas, help me! (Houston: countertops, homes)

[case44]

If you plan on living in North Texas, but away from the Dallas-Fort Worth area, you may want to try areas between the Sherman-Denison area and Gainesville. The suburban growth from Dallas has not hit those areas, so you might be able to find what you're looking for and still be able to start that ice cream business that you've been wanting to do.

[ButterfliesAreHalfPrice]

NO NO NO No East Texas, no offense, you want WEST Texas.

LUBBOCK or MIDLAND. MAYBE San Angelo, it trails the first 2 though, but it is the only one I'm mentioning w/water. West Texas ain't got no water areas.

Midland got Trace Engines now (aircraft), we got the college with a lot of aviation, we got SW fly in here a lot. LUBBOCK has more, though, but not the engine place.

Be sure to put a piano in your ice-cream place!!!

[HookEm']

I agree with McKinney, it is a very nice City with a great downtown (they are updating now). You might also look at Waxahachie it is just South of Dallas, it also has a great Downtown/historical District

[mtalatala]

Have you looked into the North Tarrant County and South Denton? There are cities outside of Dallas/Forth Worth which have good school districts and very much family oriented communities (meaning good for ice cream shops). A couple of people I know work with Bell Helicopter so it should be close by. Depending on your budget, consider, Colleyville, Southlake, Keller, Grapevine, Flower Mound, Trophy Club and surrounding areas.

[GTT1234]

Thank you for the responses.

We have looked into all of the options suggested. We like the Denison, Sherman, Pottsboro area, but have been reading bad things about the water supply.

Another thought is property taxes. This issue along with the TTC, vehicle smog checks, and general overbearing state government upon its citizens are causing us to look at other states instead.

I called a realtor who lives near Sherman. She stated that her property taxes have doubled this year, yet the value of her house has not increase more than 5 %. The odd thing is that she didn't really question the tax assessor's office about it. I would think that most Texans would be more atuned to personal rights, liberty, and fighting to keep them. However, perhaps this is just a stereotype or my assumption.

How could this be that her taxes doubled? Is this continuing trend in order to fund the TTC? Where is this $ going and will it continue. IF so, I may not be able to afford starting a small ice cream shop business. I will have to do more research to see if we can take our dream to Texas.

[Stufrogg]

GTT 1234,

FYI - McKinney is not rural anymore, it is growing thriving suburb.

If I were you I would seriously look into Georgetown, TX. Georgetown, was ranked #1 in the nation in the best place to launch a small business. There are few big boxes here but not many, and the townspeople and local politicians are pretty resistant to it. The downtown area square is pretty charming, and this is a growing community. There is a small methodist university here called Southwestern. It is only about 10 minutes from Round Rock, and 20-30 to Austin. Plenty of jobs to choose from for you.

As a real estate agent I can tell you that Austin / Central Texas area has the best economy in Texas. Georgetown is right in the heart of the Bible Belt. You have all the big denominations to choose from. Folks here are very conservative compared to Austin. In fact the slogan here is "Keep Georgetown Normal: support small businesses" As opposed to Austin's "Keep Austin Weird: support small businesses.

In Georgetown you will see no snow or ice (except for the rare occasion)

Georgetown is right in the hear of Texas, 2 hours from DFW, 2.5 hours from Houston, and 1.5 hours to San Antonio.

Most of the small towns you mentioned out in west texas such as graham and vernon, are very rural. Most of those West Texas towns are shrinking I would stay away from them if you want a thriving business and a job. Wichita Falls is shrinking too. I grew up in the heart of West Texas so I know.

I know you said you weren't interested in West Texas, but some of the towns you mentioned are West Texas. Pretty much anything West of Fort Worth is considered West Texas.

Abilene may be a good choice for you. It is a small city and a college town around 100,000. There are three christian universities there (ACU: Church of Christ, Hardin-Simmons: Baptist, and McMurray: Methodist) and there is basically a chruch on every corner. I lived there for one semester in college, and I can attest that there really is a church on every corner! There is probably a big network of home schoolers there, and the Wylie school district is among the best in the state as far as public schools go. I believe there is also a University Model Christian School there as well. Abilene is a very conservative non-party college town. Seems like a great place to raise kids in christian environment.

In Abilene, you may see snow or ice a couple of times a year, but it will only last a day or two. I prefer the dryer climate as opposed to where I live now, in Georgetown. It is sweltering hot here, but in Abilene the low humidity makes it tolerable.

I grew up in Lubbock and have lived in Austin area for 7 years. I've lived in Texas all my life. (30 years) I've been to every nook and cranny in the state.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Tim Stewart

[Stufrogg]

I grew up in Lubbock. I would stay away from raising your kids there, if you are trying to raise them in a Christian environment. My dad was a minister and had good intentions, but the pull of the party environment is strong there. It is a big party college town.

However, there are plenty of good people there, and it is very conservative in values, but it does have darker side, and for kids growing up, it can be a little scary for the parents. Lubbock has the highest teen pregnancy rate in the USA.

Doesn't sound like your kind of town.

As far as property taxes goes, it would be insane not to protest your taxes, based on the example above. There are some loop holes that you can use to really hose your county govt. and keep your taxes low.

Let me know if you have anymore questions.

When are you moving?

Tim Stewart

[Stufrogg]

GTT1234,

the more I read your post, the more I would really look into Abilene.

As far as air quality goes: Georgetown, Central Texas and North Texas have very high allergies. Particularly Cedar Fever. I never experienced any allergies in Abilene or West Texas. Although Georgetown has a lake, it is small. There are a few other lakes in the area. However, Abilene is close to several big Lakes, and since the popluation is less dense there, they remain pretty uncrowded.

Also the air quality is great there. Low allergies and basically no air pollution.

I would strongly recommend Abeline. I think Abilene is your spot!!

Don't worry about the market in Abilene. There is always room for one more ice cream shop. If you are competitive, and you have a good location, and you stick with it, you will make it work.

Plus, you never know what God's plan is for your life. Right?

Also, you might look into a Bahama Bucks franchise. This is a big money maker in West Texas. I don't know if Abilene has them yet or not. I almost bought one in Round Rock.

[GTT1234]

Thanks for your the help Stufrogg. Its good to have someone with your type of experience on the forum.

Maybe your right about Abilene. The more i ask about Eastern Texas the more mosquito bites i get. The lower humidity and a little breeze is for me (and my family).

As far as weather, maybe you and others can share what its like in the Abilene area.
I asked similar questions in another thread but not about Abilene.

I would like to know exactly what the summer is like in Jones, Taylor, Shackelford, and Callahan counties.

How hot does it REALLY get? and during what times of the day?

How does the humidity REALLY feel? I know that the city-data weather information is very general and not always accurate.

Do you always have your A/C on during the day? Or will a box fan usually do?

Is there usually a breeze?

[Cowboybootnut]

If you want to grow a large garden, I would suggest somewhere in East Texas, it has some of the best soil and can grow anything. I don't know what your aviation profession is, so you may need to be near Shreveport, La, Tyler, or Longview to have a decent airport.