Diverse community and good weather-Can I find it in Texas?? (Dallas: new house, neighborhood)

[whatalady]

Hi all. My husband and I are looking to move to Texas early next year. We don't have a specific city in mind but have looked into Sugar land and Katy.
BTW, we are from Northern California.
It's important for us to live in close proximity to jobs and entertainment.
Family friendly, as we have 3 young boys(10,3,2).
I don't want to live in a town where there is open racism.
We are an interracial couple, I'm black and he's white. I know as far as black/white couples go we are still considered different. Yes, even in California!
I don't want to people to turn their heads and gasp when they see us together, as if they saw a two-headed monkey speaking spanish.

Climate: I don't mind the heat, but Lord Almighty I can't stand the cold!
No hurricanes or tornadoes please.
oh yeah, how come so many homes are made of brick in Texas???

I don't want to live right in the city and not in the boonies
I would like to have a house that still has tons of yard space like .50 to 1acre would do just fine, thank-you.
I know I'm asking too much.
The race thing is really important though. I think too many of one race is a bad thing. That's just one lady's opinion.

[socketz]

Close to jobs entertainment...
Upscale.....
Lots of land....
Great Weather....
No natural Disasters...
Open Minds....
Great place to raise a family...
Cosmopolitan...

Hmm, if we could just take the best of Dallas, San Diego, San Fransico and NYC, we might be able to find a fit.

As far as fitting in as an inter-racial couple, Dallas is a pretty big city. I imagine if you live in a highly populated area, nobody will even pay attention to you.

[whatalady]

I heard that Dallas is predominately black. I want my children to be around as many cultures and races as possible. I love my black people but we all know what happens when you get too many black people in one place.....just keepin' it real. Black people can be prejudice too, even against our own race. sad but true. I am not liberal, more conservative.

[neddy]

Well San Antonio does not really care what ya look like! Its a great place to raise a family, we have flash flooding sometimes but that is easy enough to stay away from. Lots of land around here. Lots of homes made out of wood also in Texas. Brick is easier to upkeep however from what I know and you don't have to worry as much about termites.

[gigi927]

Check out Austin. it's pretty diverse, I think. We live on the outskirts of town (20 minutes from downtown) and there are several interracial couples in our neighborhood, along with many Asian families. I think you'd fit right into Austin!

[whatalady]

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE brick homes. Just found it a bit odd.

Most of the homes I've seen are really nice. Especially for the price!
In Cali I notice people tend to judge others,(economically speaking), based on the size of their house and the neighborhood/city they live in. How is it in Texas?? Is it just the city/neighborhood one lives in?? Be honest.

[cdelena]

Originally Posted by whatalady

...
oh yeah, how come so many homes are made of brick in Texas???
....

It takes two things to make brick affordable... availability of clay and cheap labor. Texas has both; much of the country does not.

Brick veneer is a low maintenance long life siding and that is why it is used. Almost all brick homes have structures made of wood that still needs to be protected (and can be attacked) from termites.

[neddy]

I think every city is going to have some people that have that tendency to judge you on where you live. I grew up in Dallas and San Antonio(divorced parents) and experienced that feeling much more in Dallas than SA. Now that I am an adult with 2 kids in a biracial marriage (I'm white, he is latin) I enjoy the vibe SA has. Pretty relaxed around here. If you want to get caught up in the whole social circle you can but its is easy to kick back and have a drink and bbq! Maybe thats the slowness everyone is talking about! Each Texas city is very different from the next with the whole feeling the city gives off. Even though Austin is the closest big city to SA it is a very different feel (different not bad so no one get ruffled up! LOL) SA is a lot more conservative Austin is Liberal.

[whatalady]

When you say Austin is Liberal. Do you mean Liberal as in diverse and open-minded or Liberal like San Fransisco Liberal where anything goes.

[Steel Man]

San Antonio or surrounding suburbs is a good choice. Most of the new houses are on smaller lots (1/5 acres or less), but there are some developments where you can get 1/2 acre for $250's on up. City has a diverse population and even celebrates all cultures during the yearly Texas Folklife Festival. Although people say the city is conservative, I tend to believe that is for family values and along those lines. Our current mayor is liberal and there are lots of Democrats elected here.