San Angelo Questions (Amarillo, Canyon, Grape Creek: real estate, apartments, rentals)

[cobolt]

Hello,

I am a former Tx transplant (lived in Amarillo for 13 years, moved away 3 years ago just south of Seattle) who is considering returning to Tx. I have several reasons including: miss Tx friendliness, I can't handle another year of 10 months of rain/clouds, lack of affordable housing. I am a vet of both Navy and Air National Guard and I currently work for a defense contractor in WA. I'm thinking of making a visit to SA in Sept/Oct and doing a sidestep visit to my friends in Amarillo, Canyon, and Olton. I have a few basic questions about SA I'm hoping you can help me with:

1. I noticed Goodfellow AFB is there, which would be an obvious employment option for me. Could you tell me how far from the city the base is and what sort of commute would it entail?

2. Could you give me an idea about property taxes for the area as well as utility rates? I'm trying to calculate what sort of salary I should shoot for, seeing I now live in a high cost of living area and I'll most likely take a paycut. I want to know what is reasonable.

3. I am a single female who is just looking for a small, quiet, friendly place to live and at some point, buy a little house and grow a garden. I don't need anything big. Can't see living in anything beyond 900 sq feet. Just need 2 bedrooms 1 bath. But I would like an older house in a good area. I know in some areas, alot of small, older homes are in bad areas. I don't care to live in a planned community with those sterile new houses or where I have to deal with an HOA that will tell me what I can or can't do with my property. IF I want to paint my house pink or have a water sistern, I should be able to do that. Are these sort of houses around? I don't want to pay much more than 100k.

4. I know in Amarillo, the dirt was hard and sort of a challenge when it came to gardening. Is it the same way in SA? I guess that raised bed gardens are always an option, but I'm wondering if there is an established gardening community there?

I thank ya'll in advance for your attention to my post, and I hope one day to be able to say "howdy neighbor" to ya'll.

[Rathagos]

Originally Posted by cobolt

1. I noticed Goodfellow AFB is there, which would be an obvious employment option for me. Could you tell me how far from the city the base is and what sort of commute would it entail?

I live in San Angelo and work on Goodfellow AFB. It is in the city itself. I live in the southwestern part of the city, and it takes me 15 minutes to drive to the base. You can live as far away as you want (I know someone who works on base that lives in Bronte.. drives 45 mins each way to work). If you live in the within city itself or surrounding areas (Grape Creek, Cristoval, etc), it should not take you longer than 15-20 mins regardless of where you live...

Originally Posted by cobolt

2. Could you give me an idea about property taxes for the area as well as utility rates? I'm trying to calculate what sort of salary I should shoot for, seeing I now live in a high cost of living area and I'll most likely take a paycut. I want to know what is reasonable.

I live in a house that I bought brand new in 1998 (when I was active duty Navy) for $83.5K, it's appraising for tax purposes right around $100k. Houses similar in the neighborhood are selling for about $140k. I don't know taxes off the top of my head.. my house is 1600 sqft, 4 bed/2 bath, 2 car garage. My monthly mortgage (taxes, insurance, etc.) is $785. My monthly water is around $70 (which includes trash). My monthly electric is around $250-$275.

Originally Posted by cobolt

3. I am a single female who is just looking for a small, quiet, friendly place to live and at some point, buy a little house and grow a garden. I don't need anything big. Can't see living in anything beyond 900 sq feet. Just need 2 bedrooms 1 bath. But I would like an older house in a good area. I know in some areas, alot of small, older homes are in bad areas. I don't care to live in a planned community with those sterile new houses or where I have to deal with an HOA that will tell me what I can or can't do with my property. IF I want to paint my house pink or have a water sistern, I should be able to do that. Are these sort of houses around? I don't want to pay much more than 100k.

You can tell from what I said above, you can find houses from about $30k up to $3 million in the city. Obviously the desirability for the area depends on what you are willing to accept. There are older houses closer to the base and on the north side of town that are less expensive. But the neighborhoods are "less" desirable. That said, you have to keep that in perspective. There are many hispanics in this city, and some people don't want to live next to them for whatever reason. Also, San Angelo isn't a high commercial-job area. I think the last polling I saw had an average salary in the city of $37k. Obviously jobs on the base are desirable because they pay more, but of course, you have to have qualifications to work here (degree for many jobs, security clearance also). For the size of the house you are looking for, and the money you stated you would spend, you should have no problem finding what you are looking for here.

Originally Posted by cobolt

4. I know in Amarillo, the dirt was hard and sort of a challenge when it came to gardening. Is it the same way in SA? I guess that raised bed gardens are always an option, but I'm wondering if there is an established gardening community there?

We have several nurseries here. But it depends on where you live. The area I live in (called "The Bluffs") is pronounced with caliche and clay. We have a hard time growing grass let alone any gardens. I know some people who have set up greenhouses in their back yards. But because of the hot weather and lack of substantial rain, it's hard to keep a nice garden. But, to be honest I don't know anyone who has really tried.

Please feel free to ask any questions, or if you want to DM me with a big list, please do that as well. If there's anything I can do to help (get web addresses, etc.) let me know.

Rath

[cobolt]

Thanks Rath. I do have degrees and a security clearance and as I said, I work for a pretty well-known defense/aerospace contractor. That being said, where does Goodfellow post its openings? I didn't see any on their website (I could have overlooked this). I did check out USAJOBS for some openings.

Did that city polling for average salaries of 37k include those working on the base?

Could you give me an idea of rental prices for a 1 bedroom apt to start out with?

LOL I tend to be suspicious of 30k houses! I have enough for a downpayment or can use the VA loan where I could of course qualify for more than my stated 100k, but because I'm a person who doesn't really believe in buying more than I need or living beyond my means, something small in a nice neighborhood would do me just fine.

Any other pointers/suggestions you can throw my way are appreciated.

[DisplacedTexan]

Originally Posted by cobolt

Could you give me an idea of rental prices for a 1 bedroom apt to start out with?

You should be able to find something decent for less than $600. The ritzier and larger places will of course be more expensive. If you don't see a place you like at one of the apartment hunting websites, look up some of the San Angelo real estate agents and ask if they have any rentals or if they know someone who has some. We found our place this way long distance as not all available rentals are listed online or in the newspaper.

LOL I tend to be suspicious of 30k houses! I have enough for a downpayment or can use the VA loan where I could of course qualify for more than my stated 100k, but because I'm a person who doesn't really believe in buying more than I need or living beyond my means, something small in a nice neighborhood would do me just fine.

I'm of the opinion that it's wise to rent for awhile till you know for sure that the town and your employer are a good fit for you. When we are ready to buy we will also be looking at houses under 100K which thankfully is easy to do here!

Any other pointers/suggestions you can throw my way are appreciated.

My DH likes to tell people to head on over to the Western Sky for dinner their first night in town. It's not fancy, the food is tasty, and they don't mind if you are a little dusty from moving!

[Rathagos]

Originally Posted by cobolt

Thanks Rath. I do have degrees and a security clearance and as I said, I work for a pretty well-known defense/aerospace contractor. That being said, where does Goodfellow post its openings? I didn't see any on their website (I could have overlooked this). I did check out USAJOBS for some openings.

Are you looking for a contractor job, or a GS-type job? If you are looking for the former, you will have to go to the sites for those respective companies. What is your skill set? I am former Intel, specialized in satellite imagery analysis. But in the contractor world, I'm working as a Learning Management System/Database Administrator. I also do web-development for courseware.

Some of the companies that are on base are General Dynamics, BAE Systems, SRA International, SBI, SPECTRUM, and Raytheon. If you want, I can give you a little background on each one here and their relative reputations.

Originally Posted by cobolt

Did that city polling for average salaries of 37k include those working on the base?

That I can't answer... it was an article in the local paper, sorry. I don't remember where they said they gathered the stats from. If you want to get an idea for salary on the base, feel free to DM me, I'm sure you'll understand the desire to keep some of that private from the public side of the forums.

Originally Posted by cobolt

Could you give me an idea of rental prices for a 1 bedroom apt to start out with?

My MIL is renting a 1 bedroom apartment in an "okay" area for $400/mo. It works its way up, but there are some nicer ones closer to base. Problem with those apartments is they want to have proof of employment before they let you rent. They are a little pricier, but nice apartments and amenities. Hard to say what's okay for an area, since I don't really know you and your preferences. Crime isn't too much a factor here. In fact, we're shocked.. we actually had a second murder in the city this year! But I know where I grew up in the projects of San Francisco (or any other major city) that two murders over more than 1/2 the year would be a God-send.

Originally Posted by cobolt

LOL I tend to be suspicious of 30k houses! I have enough for a downpayment or can use the VA loan where I could of course qualify for more than my stated 100k, but because I'm a person who doesn't really believe in buying more than I need or living beyond my means, something small in a nice neighborhood would do me just fine.

Again, not knowing what is "okay" for you in a residential area makes it hard to recommend some places. I live in an area called The Bluffs. The houses here range from $90k up. But there are no small ones. I think most are 3 bedroom plus. Santa Rita is a nice older place, and houses cost about the same as here (actually, the average there is probably higher, because from years ago, that was the retirement area for alot of the "oil" money. If you are set in getting a smaller place, you will probably be leaning towards living around the base. The only thing I would say about that is you can have a really nice house next to a literal dump. Hard to gauge those things.

Here's a link to our local paper, it may help you. And, again, if you want to know what those companies I listed primarily do on the base so you can refine your search, DM me. Also, I can give you a target range for salaries.

gosanangelo.com : San Angelo, Texas News, Business, Homes, Jobs, Cars & Information

[cobolt]

Originally Posted by DisplacedTexan

You should be able to find something decent for less than $600. The ritzier and larger places will of course be more expensive. If you don't see a place you like at one of the apartment hunting websites, look up some of the San Angelo real estate agents and ask if they have any rentals or if they know someone who has some. We found our place this way long distance as not all available rentals are listed online or in the newspaper.

600 is kind of high for such a "low cost of living" area. I'd prefer not to live in a "complex." Do people rent out mother-in-law houses and the like? When I was living in Amarillo, I rented a garage apartment....the cutest little place, safe, quiet, and loved it so much that I stayed for 7 years. I'm looking for that sort of set-up but if that isn't something that happens, I would do the complex thing until I found the job worked out and I wanted to stay.

Originally Posted by DisplacedTexan

I'm of the opinion that it's wise to rent for awhile till you know for sure that the town and your employer are a good fit for you. When we are ready to buy we will also be looking at houses under 100K which thankfully is easy to do here!.

I am of that opinion too, which is why I am renting here and why I am leaving. After 3 years it's apparant I'll never be able to afford a house.

Originally Posted by DisplacedTexan

My DH likes to tell people to head on over to the Western Sky for dinner their first night in town. It's not fancy, the food is tasty, and they don't mind if you are a little dusty from moving!

Thanks for the tip.