looking for a smaller town (Houston, Fort Worth: rent, crimes, mobile home)

[BobTex]

When you say small how small a town are you wanting? It is all relative. Some would consider Tyler (pop. 80,000) small. I on the otherhand consider my little local county seat as small (Woodville - pop. 2,500). I highly recommend a search. Just north about 50 miles is Lufkin (pop 30,000) with Angelina College and the type of program your looking for.

East Texas has a starkly different aura obviously than West Tx.. There are no 50 mile vistas, tumble weeds, or caprock. There are dense forrests of towering, whispering pines. Forests brimming with many types of majestic oaks and with graceful magnolias, the gentle blooming ladies of the South. During the spring the flora and fauna each try to outdo themselves with dazzling displays of dogwood, redbud, wild plum, grancy graybeard, and wild azalea.

If Jefferson were to call you there would be the mysterious Caddo Lake with its myriad of bald cypress and tupelo gum lined waterways. And Jefferson itself , most likely the B&B capitol of Texas with its quaint old houses and brick streets.

I obviously love "my" East Texas and have spent much of my 50+ years exploring her, many times in a canoe as I glide along spanish moss lined waterways while I'm serenaded with the songs of the brilliant crimson male cardinal proclaiming his territory while blue jays rabble in the tree tops and pileated woodpeckers let loose with their furtive cry.

I'll often wander the natural trails along the creeks in my areas catching us a meal of Kentucky spotted bass while cat squirrels (gray squirrels) scold me from high in the cypress and drop cypress cones on me. I'll startle a mama deer and she'll blow her alarm at me and silently disappear with her white "flag" waving while her obedient fawn lies quietly, maybe only a few yards from me, intently waiting on me to complete my business there and move along.


This is my home, come for a visit ... no Espanol needed! But I assure you I feel there is many positives about most places in Texas and you could make any of them your home.

Outside my bedroom patio door about 30' :



My son, following in my footsteps:

[daisy_duke]

Originally Posted by BobTex

When you say small how small a town are you wanting? It is all relative. Some would consider Tyler (pop. 80,000) small. I on the otherhand consider my little local county seat as small (Woodville - pop. 2,500). I highly recommend a search. Just north about 50 miles is Lufkin (pop 30,000) with Angelina College and the type of program your looking for.

East Texas has a starkly different aura obviously than West Tx.. There are no 50 mile vistas, tumble weeds, or caprock. There are dense forrests of towering, whispering pines. Forests brimming with many types of majestic oaks and with graceful magnolias, the gentle blooming ladies of the South. During the spring the flora and fauna each try to outdo themselves with dazzling displays of dogwood, redbud, wild plum, grancy graybeard, and wild azalea.

If Jefferson were to call you there would be the mysterious Caddo Lake with its myriad of bald cypress and tupelo gum lined waterways. And Jefferson itself , most likely the B&B capitol of Texas with its quaint old houses and brick streets.

I obviously love "my" East Texas and have spent much of my 50+ years exploring her, many times in a canoe as I glide along spanish moss lined waterways while I'm serenaded with the songs of the brilliant crimson male cardinal proclaiming his territory while blue jays rabble in the tree tops and pileated woodpeckers let loose with their furtive cry.

I'll often wander the natural trails along the creeks in my areas catching us a meal of Kentucky spotted bass while cat squirrels (gray squirrels) scold me from high in the cypress and drop cypress cones on me. I'll startle a mama deer and she'll blow her alarm at me and silently disappear with her white "flag" waving while her obedient fawn lies quietly, maybe only a few yards from me, intently waiting on me to complete my business there and move along.


This is my home, come for a visit ... no Espanol needed! But I assure you I feel there is many positives about most places in Texas and you could make any of them your home.

Outside my bedroom patio door about 30' :



My son, following in my footsteps:

see now that sounds real nice and from your photos beautifull
ya know i asked about jefferson on here but i was told it was a better town to retire in than anythin
if you dont mind me askin what town are you from any towns that you would reccomend?
i dont really have a figure that i would consider small town just something more slow paced
i do need some sort of rental home or apartment and restaurants and/or bars cause thats the only work experience i have

[BobTex]

Most small East Tx towns have little to offer as far as employment. Also most of E. Tx is dry or has very widely spread areas that permit bars/ alcohol sales. As I posted I live just outside of Woodville ... you can search it on Google, or Tyler County, or The Dogwood festival or the world famous Picket House Restaraunt.

We do have hiking trails through the Big Thicket national preserve which is in the process of trying to double in size. Several units of the Preserve are within 15 miles of my land.

Might try some things along US 59 west of me too. Like Livingston and Diboll. Definite small town feel. My wife works at the hospital in Livingston. (There is a good employment avenue). Lufkin again is nice and Nacogdoches (15 miles north of Lufkin), the oldest town in Texas and the home of Stephen F. Austin Univ. are both nice and roughly 25K-30K population! Jasper and the Lake just 12 miles north of town (Sam Rayburn Reservoir) offer some employment opportunities too.

Do some internet searches and get back to this thread ... I'll try to watch it more closely or you can send email.

[daisy_duke]

Originally Posted by BobTex

Most small East Tx towns have little to offer as far as employment. Also most of E. Tx is dry or has very widely spread areas that permit bars/ alcohol sales. As I posted I live just outside of Woodville ... you can search it on Google, or Tyler County, or The Dogwood festival or the world famous Picket House Restaraunt.

We do have hiking trails through the Big Thicket national preserve which is in the process of trying to double in size. Several units of the Preserve are within 15 miles of my land.

Might try some things along US 59 west of me too. Like Livingston and Diboll. Definite small town feel. My wife works at the hospital in Livingston. (There is a good employment avenue). Lufkin again is nice and Nacogdoches (15 miles north of Lufkin), the oldest town in Texas and the home of Stephen F. Austin Univ. are both nice and roughly 25K-30K population! Jasper and the Lake just 12 miles north of town (Sam Rayburn Reservoir) offer some employment opportunities too.

Do some internet searches and get back to this thread ... I'll try to watch it more closely or you can send email.

i was looking at nacogdoches and i really liked that i'll have to come visit there do you know how the crime is?is there a shopping mall

[BobTex]

Nac I'm sue has at least one mall. I rarely go there but was there for a medical conference in 10/07 in the downtown area and thought it pretty clean. You will have to compete with the college crowd for waitress type jobs though and I'm sure that will drive down wages. Try Lufkin. It is growing ... lots of eating establishments and 2 small malls. The 2 towns are somewhat similar as far as size, etc. Don't overlook Livingston if you come this way ... for a town of about 6,000 it is fairly robust. Livingston is roughly 25 miles SW of Lufkin on the road to Houston (US 59).

[case44]

Originally Posted by High_Plains_Retired

The area around Post is indeed interesting with its southern caprock topography. We haven't tried George's Cafe but, if it's still there, I'm betting we will try it the next time we travel through Post on our way to visit family in east Texas.

In two weeks I am taking my brother and sister and their spouses from the Lufkin area to the Big Texan Steakhouse at Amarillo. It's a requirement of theirs whenever they visit. And no, I will not be trying the restaurant's free-if-you-can-eat-it 72-ounce steak.

Love the Big Texan, HPR. Great steaks. And that place in Post?? If I'm ever back in the Lubbock area soon, I think I'll give it a try. It's time for some West Texas CFS. Let's go!

[case44]

Originally Posted by catman

High_Plains_Retired: Very well said. I have always been awed by the expanses of West Texas. I rather like the little town of Post about 40 miles SE of Lubbock. The escarpment at the edge of the High Plains fascinates me, especially along FM 669. You're right, people either love it or hate it out there. George's Cafe in Post (I hope it's still there) has the best chicken-fried steak I have ever had.

I hope it is still there. There's a CFS with my name all over it.

In cream gravy.

[daisy_duke]

Originally Posted by BobTex

Nac I'm sue has at least one mall. I rarely go there but was there for a medical conference in 10/07 in the downtown area and thought it pretty clean. You will have to compete with the college crowd for waitress type jobs though and I'm sure that will drive down wages. Try Lufkin. It is growing ... lots of eating establishments and 2 small malls. The 2 towns are somewhat similar as far as size, etc. Don't overlook Livingston if you come this way ... for a town of about 6,000 it is fairly robust. Livingston is roughly 25 miles SW of Lufkin on the road to Houston (US 59).

livingston seems nice do they have any hiking trails and places to go swimming

[love roses]

Isn't there a lake in Livingston?.

[BobTex]

Lake Livingston is a 90,000 acre lake built and operated by the Trinity River Authority. You can swin in it. I consider Lake Sam Rayburn between Jasper and Lufkin much cleaner though. Also near Rayburn is a spring fed swimming lake called Boykin Springs (cold....brrrrr) and in Colmesneil north of Woodville is Lake Tejas with a pretty nice swimming setup. I have my own lake and a good sized creek just behind my land for cooling off in the summer.

Known hiking trails are pretty much relegated to the Big Thicket Preserve ... do the search! Be aware though ... its pretty flat here with just mildly rolling terrain so hiking is not an up and down thing.


No hiking trails close