Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Which do you think best match our interest in regards to: Hiking area's - AUSTIN
Proximity to camping area's - AUSTIN
Best area for Mexican/Thai/BBQ food - Mexican: SA Thai: HOUSTON BBQ: Austin
Most opportunities for higher education opportunities - In no particular order: AUSTIN, HOUSTON, DALLAS
Proximity to swimming holes/beaches - Swimming Holes: AUSTIN Beaches: HOUSTON, (GALVESTON), or SA, (CORPUS CHRISTI)
Lowest rental prices and cheaper cost of living - SAN ANTONIO, (CHEAPEST) then HOUSTON, (SECOND CHEAPEST)
Less prone to extreme weather (High Dry Heat is okay) - AUSTIN/ SA OR DFW, although DFW has more snow/ ice and are more prone to tornadoes and severe weather than Austin/ SA
Where joint income of $100,000 to start would go far - A $100,000 household income should earn you a comfortable living in any large city in TX. However, with that said, your money will go the farthest in San Antonio first, then Houston, then Ft. Worth, Dallas, and lastly, Austin.
I think overall, you have to decide what would be best for you. Austin seems to meet most, if not all of your criteria. However, the COL is higher there than anywhere else in TX and the traffic is horrendous. With that said, I think SA or Austin would suit you best as far as all of the outdoor activities you seem to enjoy and seek. Corpus Christi's North Padre Island is only a two hour drive from SA and three hours from Austin. There are countless outdoor activities to do in and around Austin, and in the areas surrounding SA, although you would be traveling a bit more compared to Austin. Austin and SA have the most moderate weather in TX with a lower humidity than Houston, less prone to flooding, (although both cities are still prone near rivers and creeks), both are not largely affected by hurricanes, tornadoes are rare, and snow/ ice storms are rare. There are numerous lakes, rivers, water holes in and around Austin, and surrounding SA. You will get a lot of house for your money, (200k or less), in SA, Ft. Worth, Houston, and greater Dallas. Austin... not so much, unless you are in the suburbs.
Overall, I would focus more on SA and Austin, based off of your criteria. With that said, all TX cities are great. Houston and Dallas are HUGE and both are international cities with great diversity and have a lot to offer. I don't think you would be unhappy anywhere. If climate is major for you, the cities can be categorized as followed:
Bayou/ Swamp Forest - Houston Great Plains - Dallas/ Ft. Worth Highland/ Hill Country - Austin and the north and west sides of San Antonio.
Wife and I are looking at a possible move out to Texas.
Which do you think best match our interest in regards to: Hiking area's
Proximity to camping area's
Best area for Mexican/Thai/BBQ food
Most opportunities for higher education opportunities
Proximity to swimming holes/beaches
Lowest rental prices and cheaper cost of living
Less prone to extreme weather (High Dry Heat is okay)
Where joint income of $100,000 to start would go far
Appreciate the feedback.
Your list automatically excludes Houston since you don't want to be anywhere that's prone to natural disaster. Obviously the closest city that matches most of the list would be Austin. You have access to our beaches within a 3-4 hour drive from the Austin area, but keep in mind that TX beaches aren't as beautiful as the ones you would find in FL or CA. Austin definitely meets the criteria for the food scene you're looking for though. As many people have already said, the COL there is way higher than anywhere else in the state.
I would not consider Houston or DFW with your criteria.
With the exception of higher education, Houston actually satisfies all the criteria. Dallas also satisfies a good bulk. Really depends on how you look at it though.
Beaches
Texas beaches are better the further south you go. California's beaches are better in the sense of having more scenic topography/rich development along the coast ... but they actually aren't as good as South Texas regarding sand quality and water blueness. Florida's beaches typically get the edge as they have much whiter sands.
Extreme Weather
The area that has it best in regards to avoiding this depends on how you are looking at it. Houston is the least extreme in terms of having the lowest range and variability in its climate. But in terms of natural disasters like hurricanes, Houston certainly wouldn't be good, though it would be a matter of picking your poison as the other Texas cities have more risk of other kinds of disasters (drought, ice storms, supercells/tornadoes, etc).
Cuisine
San Antonio's Mexican population, contrary to popular belief, isn't really international: the Mexicans there tend to be Tejanos that have lived in Texas for multiple generations. Houston and Dallas have more international Mexicans, and are more international overall. Thus, expect San Antonio to have the best Tex-Mex, while Houston and Dallas have the better true Mexican and Thai cuisine. Austin is king for BBQ.
Hiking/Camping
Either Austin/San Antonio or Houston. The former two due to more rugged topography, while the latter has access to the highest quality forest cover in the state.
Higher Education
The reason Austin ranks well here is because of the size and prestige of UT Austin, which affords maximal resources. Universities in other Texas cities lack either the size (i.e. Rice), or the prestige (i.e. UH, UTSA, UTD, etc)
Cool appreciate the feedback. Austin rentals weren't two steep compared to CT. Did find nice $900-$1200 1 to 2 1bdrm apartments. There was more in San Antonio, but good number in. Austin.
Wife and I feel more to do in Austin, but feel dollars would stretch more in San Antonio.
4 seasons is okay in our books.
With being near the refineries is gas usually cheap in Texas? About $2.50 to $2.60 in our State for Regular gas.
Don't discount Houston either. As someone who lives on the CT/MA border and works in Hartford.. and used to live in the Houston area.. we loved it there. Instead of looking at the cities, its better to look at the suburbs of these cities. Your $100k income would not give you a great life in the city centers of any of them.
Look at The Woodlands, Sugar Land, and Katy for example in Houston. We lived in The Woodlands and loved it.. lots of people from the Northeast there too. It has been a sad comparison living in New England compared to the amenities we had in TX. We keep considering returning back to Texas, leaving our extended family again.
I noticed you mentioned Thai food.. Houston and Dallas have some large Asian populations in them which will generally give you more in the way of restaurants and stores related to that region.
San Antonio is nice too, but has a very different feel from the two bigger cities. Its more laid back and much greener than you can imagine coming from up north(I know we were surprised). My wife and I never took well to Austin.. just wasn't our thing.
If we were to move back it would be to Houston or San Antonio.
Pushing wife for Houston. Since its a big medical city and Houston area is huge in regards to social service work.
Wife is still afraid of flooding.
Leaning towards San Antonio for Texas and Tampa in Florida right now.
Researching Texas the thing that I found astonishing was I could make $5 less an hour and still end up making more a year in Texas.
How bad are property taxes in Texas?
So our State has low property tax high home owner cost, high property tax low home owner cost, or low property tax low property cost. The catch with all 3 is the higher home value are in more condensed areas of the State near lots of jobs and amenities. The lower home and lower property tax are in areas with less job opportunities and more rural areas. Then certain cities offer high taxes low property taxes. You could end up paying $10K on a $150K house in a City here.
Pushing wife for Houston. Since its a big medical city and Houston area is huge in regards to social service work.
Wife is still afraid of flooding.
Leaning towards San Antonio for Texas and Tampa in Florida right now.
Researching Texas the thing that I found astonishing was I could make $5 less an hour and still end up making more a year in Texas.
How bad are property taxes in Texas?
So our State has low property tax high home owner cost, high property tax low home owner cost, or low property tax low property cost. The catch with all 3 is the higher home value are in more condensed areas of the State near lots of jobs and amenities. The lower home and lower property tax are in areas with less job opportunities and more rural areas. Then certain cities offer high taxes low property taxes. You could end up paying $10K on a $150K house in a City here.
Is Texas property tax something similiar?
Property taxes are partially based on the age of the development. The Property taxes are made up of several pieces, the largest of which is the tax for the local ISD(School system). Newer developments will have MUD taxes, which pay for the roads, sewers, and common areas in the development. In theory, over time these MUD taxes go away as the bonds are paid off.
In general it seems like the Houston area has the highest Property taxes.. usually running from low 2% range up to mid-high 3% range. For example in Houston, take one of the older parts of The Woodlands, like Alden Bridge, and your tax rate is 2.3684%. Now wander out to Cypress and go to Bridgeland and your tax rate is 3.6407% since they have 2 MUD's to pay off. It is more complicated than this as you are eligible for a homestead exemption.. which could be a subject in itself. In Harris county this exemption can be huge too.. which reduces the amount of appraised value you are taxed on.
Dallas areas taxes tend to be in the low 2%'s... San Antonio is similar. I do not have enough data on Austin to speak on it.
When it comes to floods in Houston, just make sure you research where it flooded and avoid those places. There are plenty of nice areas that managed the water just fine. My old house in Tomball, just outside The Woodlands, did not get any water in the houses per our friends still there. Then there are communities like Kingwood that mostly flooded because of Lake Conroe releasing water.. not from the rainfall itself.
Medical jobs are plentiful in Houston for sure. I know people who moved from Massachusetts to Houston just to advance their medical career and then went back up north. They managed to go from regular nurse to Nurse Practitioner almost for free because they needed people so bad and were willing to pay for her education.
Since I have been looking down south to escape Western Mass and CT myself, I have looked a lot at Florida. If you tour Texas before you see Florida, you will be very disappointed in Florida unless you simply want the beach too much. Texas is just a whole different level of development in the big cities.
Appreciate the insight. That's the big reason for the move out side of high cost of living. Our State is shutting down and consolidating nursing programs. Higher Education cost are rising as the State faces a budget cost. Requirements for education for health care jobs is become to rigid.
Where we can go to Texas say San Antonio work on achieving an LPN degree $25,000 less than CT. As an LPN would make as much as I do now in CT in Texas and have options for jobs as I want to work in corrections for a little. Also when I do want to advance they have 7 LPN to BSN programs in Texas. Then once I get my BSN can look into Army Reserves in the area. The opportunities are abound.
Same for the Wife who has applied several times to RN school but ultimately went the LPN route. She's giving the RN route one more shot and find out in April if she gets in or not. If not we look to move.
For my wife may be a bit easier to find work. Found jobs at the County level, but a lot are mandated to work extra can interfere with going back to school. I want to get the LPN first. Trying not to take a huge cut in pay; nothing under $15 an hour right now making $22 an hour. At $15 an hour would make the same in CT after taxes taken out if my current check.
Do appreciate the insight so far. Do think SA be great place to start in Texas and as we progress with our education could afford to move around a little. Have yet looked at the DFW area but will look see the jobs and research rentals see if it works out. Don't want to rule DFW out yet.
Appreciate the insight. That's the big reason for the move out side of high cost of living. Our State is shutting down and consolidating nursing programs. Higher Education cost are rising as the State faces a budget cost. Requirements for education for health care jobs is become to rigid.
Where we can go to Texas say San Antonio work on achieving an LPN degree $25,000 less than CT. As an LPN would make as much as I do now in CT in Texas and have options for jobs as I want to work in corrections for a little. Also when I do want to advance they have 7 LPN to BSN programs in Texas. Then once I get my BSN can look into Army Reserves in the area. The opportunities are abound.
Same for the Wife who has applied several times to RN school but ultimately went the LPN route. She's giving the RN route one more shot and find out in April if she gets in or not. If not we look to move.
For my wife may be a bit easier to find work. Found jobs at the County level, but a lot are mandated to work extra can interfere with going back to school. I want to get the LPN first. Trying not to take a huge cut in pay; nothing under $15 an hour right now making $22 an hour. At $15 an hour would make the same in CT after taxes taken out if my current check.
Do appreciate the insight so far. Do think SA be great place to start in Texas and as we progress with our education could afford to move around a little. Have yet looked at the DFW area but will look see the jobs and research rentals see if it works out. Don't want to rule DFW out yet.
Glassdoor says that an LPN should make on average:
San Antonio - $41k
Houston - $47k
Dallas - $47k
Hartford - $53k
Of course these are averages.
The difference there is close enough to the difference in cost of living that they might as well be equal. Generally shorter commutes, NO TOLLS, and more affordable property in San Antonio.
I would think the VA in San Antonio could use any nurse they can find.
Do you care about schools? Your budget goes a lot farther if you don't need them for kids yet. When I moved to Houston the first time in 2010, without children.. my wife and I made just shy of $80k combined. We were not hurting for money and lived in a nice 1BR apartment in The Woodlands. I can still find apartments in nice communities there for around the same I paid then($1000 a mo). We had two car payments at the time too. We managed to afford to have a child and buy a home in that first year. I would skip buying a house if you can when you move, there are lots of great apartment communities in Texas where you will get pools, gyms, community centers, activities, etc.. not like the old, trashy ones that are common in Connecticut. That will give you time to find where you really like before you buy.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
