Newbie, Future Texan, help a brother out. (Kerrville, Winters: sale, real estate)

[Sogno]

Hello Folks,

As lifelong residents of a state in the midwest, my wife & I are intending to relocate to the Great State of Texas to live out our lives. Short story - what was once tolerable and enjoyable (frigid Winters) no longer is either, and is the primary motivator. That, and the fact that we have a calling to Texas. Have traveled to and experienced most states in the US, not to mention extensive international travel. We've chosen Texas.

We've chosen Hill Country as the region, and based on our list of 'must haves, must not haves' are looking at the Kerrville/Comfort area. We've visited this area once several years ago when we were on our reconnaissance and exploration visit, and will return this winter for a two week vacation/exploration/reconnaissance visit. Staying at a couple VRBO's in the Kerrville area, as base camps.

What suggestions would you have for someone that is trying to learn as much about the area as possible prior to selling our home, picking up stakes and moving here? Of course we'll have a list of things to do and see, but would like to pick 'yall brains if I may.

Let them suggestions flow like sotol!

[ChristieP]

Find a job before you decide where to live. The Hill Country is definitely beautiful, but the real estate there is expensive, and jobs are scarce unless you're willing to commute in to a bigger city, or you have the ability to work remotely.

Do a search here about Kerrville. It's been reported the property taxes in that town are super high, and that the crime rate is high, too.

[Sogno]

Retired. My bad for not mentioning. Crime rates in this area are relatively low from my research. Do you have data that suggests otherwise? Links?

Thanks.

[Treasurevalley92]

Originally Posted by Sogno

Hello Folks,

As lifelong residents of a state in the midwest, my wife & I are intending to relocate to the Great State of Texas to live out our lives. Short story - what was once tolerable and enjoyable (frigid Winters) no longer is either, and is the primary motivator. That, and the fact that we have a calling to Texas. Have traveled to and experienced most states in the US, not to mention extensive international travel. We've chosen Texas.

We've chosen Hill Country as the region, and based on our list of 'must haves, must not haves' are looking at the Kerrville/Comfort area. We've visited this area once several years ago when we were on our reconnaissance and exploration visit, and will return this winter for a two week vacation/exploration/reconnaissance visit. Staying at a couple VRBO's in the Kerrville area, as base camps.

What suggestions would you have for someone that is trying to learn as much about the area as possible prior to selling our home, picking up stakes and moving here? Of course we'll have a list of things to do and see, but would like to pick 'yall brains if I may.

Let them suggestions flow like sotol!

If you are moving to the Hill Country make sure your allergies are not bad there. I never had issues with allergies before moving to Texas but they are very bad here for a large number of people.

Also, be ready for high property Taxes. Also, this hill country will be more expensive than almost anywhere in the Midwest not named Chicago.

If you are retired, I don't know why you would pick Texas.....our Tax system is set up to favour people making money (No State income Tax) While our property Taxes are some of the highest in the country. I mean yes their are loop holes, but still.

Make sure you arn't allergic to anything and that you have the tax situation figured out before moving and you should be good.

Also, if you are retired maybe consider living closer to Kerrville than comfort as medical response times will be better that way. Comfort is 25 min to a hospital.

[ChristieP]

Kerrville is popular with retirees, especially ex-military since there is a VA clinic there.

Here's a past post on Kerrville:
What do you think of Kerrville as a place to live?

[Sogno]

Originally Posted by ChristieP

Kerrville is popular with retirees, especially ex-military since there is a VA clinic there.

Here's a past post on Kerrville:
What do you think of Kerrville as a place to live?

Thanks for the link - I missed it. I'll take time to read all of it.

Btw, if taxes were my primary consideration for a place to live, I would have relocated decades ago.

[RSTX]

The only advice I can give that is worth anything is this: rent for at least a year before buying. You may discover that it is not what you are looking for after living in the area. Or, it may be fantastic, and if you rent, you have time to drive around and look for a great house instead of trusting a quick visit or internet search.

I grew up about an hour from Kerrville. It is a beautiful area, sort of remote, and I still have positive feelings for it. I wish you the best of luck.

[Mark Senior]

Yeah, rent first and see if you really will "enjoy" the extreme heat, yeah some will say, "it's not all that hot because it is a DRY heat". Sometimes the sun/heat can actually sting your skin, has occurred to me on my arms, felt like a "bad" needle stick, I don't mean a sunburn, it's just so hot, sometimes 100-105 or more, IN THE SHADE, "but it is a dry heat" lol.

I placed a certified thermometer in the direct sun in a grassy area, away from asphalt, concrete, any heat "islands", or buildings and in a residential area, around 4 P.M this summer, the reading was 130 degrees, in the shade 94 degrees. Is it any wonder that you get a sunburn, you are "cooking" your skin?

Enjoy, lol, But little no to no snow, most winters, lol

[Sogno]

We've visited the area in the middle of July, purposely. We love the heat, and we thank you for the heads up. Perhaps I'll be able to make some jerky outside, without the slow cooker.

We'll be leaving a climate that has very little sunshine days throughout the winter months, sometimes several weeks in succession with overcast, dreary, cloudy days, and temperatures that reach -30 degrees. That's without windchill. Any exposed skin will frostbite within a minute or two, so I can relate to issues with extreme temperature. Bring on the heat, we're ready for it!

Great suggestions to rent before buying. This will likely be necessary as we'll be using the $ from our home sale to purchase our next home. We don't plan to come down and rush a sale. Renting before buying makes a lot of sense to get a feel for the area. We plan to be outside the city; rural is our style.

Thanks, and keep them coming.

[lonestar2007]

Originally Posted by Sogno

We've visited the area in the middle of July, purposely. We love the heat, and we thank you for the heads up. Perhaps I'll be able to make some jerky outside, without the slow cooker.

We'll be leaving a climate that has very little sunshine days throughout the winter months, sometimes several weeks in succession with overcast, dreary, cloudy days, and temperatures that reach -30 degrees. That's without windchill. Any exposed skin will frostbite within a minute or two, so I can relate to issues with extreme temperature. Bring on the heat, we're ready for it!

Great suggestions to rent before buying. This will likely be necessary as we'll be using the $ from our home sale to purchase our next home. We don't plan to come down and rush a sale. Renting before buying makes a lot of sense to get a feel for the area. We plan to be outside the city; rural is our style.

Thanks, and keep them coming.

I'm sorry but I couldn't resist. . . . .

Man quickly faces the harsh realities of the Texas heat.

Dear Diary:

June 1st:
Just moved to Texas! Now this is a state that knows how to live!! Beautiful sunny days and warm balmy evenings. What a place! It is beautiful. I've finally found my home. I love it here.


June 7th:
Really heating up. Got to 100 today. Not a problem. Live in an Air-conditioned home, drive an air-conditioned car. What a pleasure to see the sun everyday like this. I'm turning into a sun worshiper.


June 14th:
Had the backyard landscaped with western plants today. Lots of cactus and rocks. What a breeze to maintain. No more mowing the lawn for me. Another scorcher today, but I love it here.


June 21st:
The temperature hasn't been below 100 all week. How do people get used to this kind of heat? At least, it's kind of windy though. But getting used to the heat is taking longer than I expected.


June 28th:
Fell asleep by the community pool. (Got 3rd degree burns over 60% of my body). Missed 3 days of work. What a dumb thing to do. I learned my lesson though. Got to respect the ole sun in a climate like this.


July 1st:
I missed Lomita (my cat) sneaking into the car when I left this morning. By the time I got to the hot car at noon, Lomita had died and swollen up to the size of a shopping bag, then popped like a water balloon. The car now smells like Kibbles and ****s. I learned my lesson though. No more pets in this heat. Good ole Mr. Sun strikes again.


July 3rd:
The wind sucks. It feels like a giant freaking blow dryer!! And it's hot as hell. The home air-conditioner is on the fritz and the AC repairman charged $200 just to drive by and tell me he needed to order parts.


July 7th:
Been sleeping outside on the patio for 3 nights now, $225,000 house and I can't even go inside. Lomita is the lucky one. Why did I ever come here?


July 10th:
It's 115 degrees. Finally got the air-conditioner fixed today. It cost $500 and gets the temperature down to 85. I hate this stupid state.


July 13th:
If another wisea** cracks, 'Hot enough for you today?' I'm going to strangle him. Damn heat. By the time I get to work, the radiator is boiling over, my clothes are soaking wet, and I smell like baked cat!!


July 14th:
Tried to run some errands after work. Wore shorts, and when sat on the seats in the car, I thought my ass was on fire. My skin melted to the seat. I lost 2 layers of flesh and all the hair on the back of my legs and ass... Now my car smells like burnt hair, fried ass, and baked cat.


July 15th:
The weather report might as well be a damn recording. Hot and sunny. Hot and sunny. Hot and sunny. It's been too hot to do s*** for over a damn month and the weatherman says it might really warm up next week. Doesn't it ever rain in this damn state? Water rationing will be next, so my $1700 worth of cactus will just dry up and blow over. Even the cactus can't live in this damn heat.


July 22nd:
Welcome to HELL! Temperature got to 115 today. Cactus are dead. Forgot to crack the window and blew the damn windshield out of the car. The installer came to fix it and guess what he asked me??? "Hot enough for you today?" My sister had to spend $1,500 to bail me out of jail. Freaking Texas. What kind of a sick demented idiot would want to live here?? Will write later to let you know how the trial goes.



btw although I tend to gripe about the heat in the extremely hot periods of summer, I know I couldn't live in a cold area, especially one that has a lot of overcast days. If I go more than a couple of days without sunshine I can definitely feel the negative effects.

The Hill Country offers many things to do and since you have visited the area before, at least you have a limited knowledge of it. Two weeks this winter will help some in evaluating the area further. A cool thing about Texas is that it is so varied. If you liked what you've seen and read about so far on the Kerrville/Comfort area that would be a good location to start with. You would have time to explore the entire area plus check out other areas of Texas that you might come to realize you like even better.

Welcome to Texas. I think you'll love it here (even withstanding dead cats in the car ).