What towns are in the hill country? (Kerrville, Medina: living, reservations)

[TexasHorseLady]

Kyle and Buda are definitely not Hill Country, being farmland, but Dripping Springs would likely count as being on the petticoats of the Hill Country. (I spend a LOT of time driving around in the country outside of Austin looking at properties.) Georgetown likewise - not terribly hilly but you don't have to go very far west to get to it, but that would be the far northern end. Basically, you' want to look at the geology and you're looking at the Balcones Fault (I35) as the very eastern edge of the Hill Country, with Burnet/Georgetown the far northern edge (though it varies quite a bit in there - I wouldn't really count Bertram or Liberty Hill and they are pretty far west of I35 but there are places east of them that I think would count - like I said, the petticoats) and west of San Antonio as the southern edge. West of the Balcones Fault is mostly limestone soil and east is Houston Black/Sandy Loam, thus the geology. Our own ranch is just east of I35 and is half Austin Chalk (limestone soil), half Houston Black (black gumbo clay) - makes it pretty clear where the dividing line is.

[NBTX11]

Originally Posted by TheOverdog

And anybody who actually grew up in the Hill County (not you) would include those towns because the news/sports/ etc comes from there and most of the farming and ranching equipment comes from there, not from Austin or San Antonio.

Well, not really. I lived in the Hill Country (Canyon Lake), and we got all our news from San Antonio. I suspect a lot of the major hill country towns such as Kerrville also do. Not sure about Fredericksburg. There were major league hills surrounding my house in Canyon Lake.

To me some of the best areas of the Hill Country are going to be around a core of Kerrville, Medina, Bandera, and Leakey. Some of the hills around Leakey are Big Time. This is the area NW of San Antonio. The areas along 281 are not bad either. The drive from Blanco to Comfort is stunning also.

[NBTX11]

Originally Posted by johninvegas

Thanks guys! When I looked at the blurbs on the towns on the list, it appeared to me as some of them were pretty flat. I think we are going to concentrate our search in the Bandera-Fredericksburg-Leakey-Kerrville area.

GREAT choices.

[NBTX11]

Originally Posted by Johnhw2

I think you are hitting the mark on hiils, it is much more than just around Austin as one poster claimed. I think the prettiest part of the hill country is west to NW of San Antonio. Part of what makes thie area my favorite, are the live oaks but were fighting some disease issues on those trees 10 years or so ago when I was looking there so inquire about that if you value the trees where you look. Cedar allergies were another issue that had me switch my search

Correct. The best part of the Hill country is NW of San Antonio, IMO.

[StealthRabbit]

Depends on all your interests and needs.

As a retiree, I like to be in a college town (more activities, broader economic climate, diversity, decent medical.). Kerrville works, and is cheap, but not perfect. Quite near to many HC events, and ez distance to AUS or SAT. Wimberly is a pretty good location and town (near to SMarcos for college events. )

Having grown up in a tourist town (Estes Park, CO) I find the nicer to visit (mid-week) than to live.

Shooting varies. We have sporting clay course and natural
backstopped rifle ranges, but you need a lot of space for a true range. Consider moving near a range. But out of sound distance.

[turf3]

Originally Posted by TheOverdog

And anybody who actually grew up in the Hill County (not you) would include those towns because the news/sports/ etc comes from there and most of the farming and ranching equipment comes from there, not from Austin or San Antonio.

Well that's just silly.

That's like saying because the news and sports that people watch in Fowler, Colorado come from Denver, Fowler is in the Rocky Mountains.

[Arkay66]

According to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the following 25 counties are included in the Texas Hill Country:

Bandera
Bell
Blanco
Burnet
Comal
Coryell
Crockett
Edwards
Gillespie
Hays
Kendall
Kerr
Kimble
Lampasas
Llano
Mason
McCulloch
Menard
Real
San Saba
Schleicher
Sutton
Travis
Val Verde
Williamson

Look up each county and see what towns/cities are there.

[thenewtexan]

Originally Posted by johninvegas

Hi guys!

My wife and I have visited Fredericksburg a couple of times and are thinking of retiring to the hill country. While we know that Fredericksburg and the close surrounding area is the hill country, I was wondering what other towns are in the hill country.

We are conservative politically, pretty much keep to ourselves but do like to eat out at least once a week, and our hobby is target shooting, finding a home with a shooting range on the property would be a perfect fit for us!

We're looking in the 350-400k range and obviously we would want some acreage.

Also, how's the water situation in the area?

I'd head more toward the northern edges of the Hill Country, based on your values and interests, Abilene and San Angelo, and surrounding areas. On your budget, you could have a good life there.

[TXNGL]

Twice now in this thread I've seen Abilene listed as part of the Hill Country. This is so off it makes me wonder if the posters have ever set foot in Texas. It's not a "northern edge" of the Hill Country.

[NBTX11]

Originally Posted by Arkay66

According to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the following 25 counties are included in the Texas Hill Country:

Bandera
Bell
Blanco
Burnet
Comal
Coryell
Crockett
Edwards
Gillespie
Hays
Kendall
Kerr
Kimble
Lampasas
Llano
Mason
McCulloch
Menard
Real
San Saba
Schleicher
Sutton
Travis
Val Verde
Williamson

Look up each county and see what towns/cities are there.

Except that many of those counties are not hill country. Of course the Texas Parks and Wildlife Dept is going to stretch the truth and add more counties.