Hunt and Ingram In The Texas Hill Country (Dallas, San Antonio: real estate, gated)

[KewGee]

I'm considering moving to the Hill Country and will be checking it out soon. I've been there a few times, but never looked into real estate except in Leakey and have decided it's just too hot out there. Yes, any place in Texas is hot, but a few Hill Country towns can be a tad more comfortable than others according to various web sites I've checked.

Anyway, Harper in Gillespie County is one place in which I'm interested and Willow City as well, although I've been warned of the many wildflower lookers that cause traffic jams but can be avoided in some parts of the area. Hunt and Ingram are two others although I'm not pleased with the higher crime rates there as opposed to places in Gillespie County.

Here is my questions. I see on the web that there are boys' and girls' camps galore in that area. Does this mean that most of the area is overrun with people or are there certain areas where one can avoid all of that?

Also, how hilly is it? I'd like to be where there are as many hills as possible but away from the maddening crowd. The crowd concern, I know, will keep me away from many beautiful areas, but it is one major "must" for me.

I hope this post makes sense, and thanks for any input

[neddy]

Hunt and Ingram do have loads of summer camps but you can still find some open space and most of the camps are self contained anyway. Plus any traffic that comes along with them is mostly during summer and then at the opening and closing times of those sessions. Very hilly and very pretty in that area.

[RSTX]

If you are looking for an area with fewer people check out Junction. it is a little WNW of the area you mention, but has fewer camps and crowds.

Leakey is no hotter or cooler than any other area. Don't look there for that reason. Leakey ( rhymes with "shaky"; if you say "leeky" folks will know instantly you are not from the area) is a beautiful area.

Yes, it is really hilly there. Very rough terrain can be found, as well as a few nice fields here and there. Harper is a neat town. Not crowded at all.

[lifertexan]

First,Hunt and Ingram are hilly,and very pretty,especially with the Guadelupe flowing through the area.

Second,I've never seen it crowded.Most of the time the people at the numerous camps stay on the ranches.They don't seem to hit the towns,and there isn't much traffic on the highway going through.(Ingram is really the only town.Hunt is a couple of stores at a highway intersection,unless there is more town hidden in a direction I've never driven).

But third,this area is probably as expensive as anywhere else in the HC,and that is saying something.It is too close to major towns (Kerrville and Fredericksburg) and cities (San Antonio) to stay reasonably priced,and the area itself is sort of a refuge of the well-to-do,which is the reason for all the retreats in the area.Look VERY closely into any land that seems to be reasonably priced.Most likely it will be infested with cedars,and many people either have,or as in my case,develop,cedar allergies from living around them that would make the place unlivable.Or might have some other problem,such as no underground water.Reasonable real state in a beautiful area that could be sold to one of the rich retreats for a high sum should be thoroughly investigated before purchasing.

Also,regardless of what data you are getting over the 'net,no place in the HC is any hotter than any other place,or any colder.Only in the Davis Mountain area,or Chisos basin in Big Bend,will you get any climate changes due to the elevation.

[KewGee]

Thanks, guys, for the comments.

The data I'm looking at regarding the climate is basically the comfort level index for particular areas which is based on the heat and humidity combination and how it "feels.". Leakey has an 18 where as Harper, for one, is a 29. The higher the number, the better, or more comfortable.

I know it won't make much difference but a little better is better than nothing. Where I am now is a 24.

Someone on one of the threads stated that the Kerrville area was cooler than many areas by a few degrees and that town also has a CI of 29.
I realize most of the temperatures are about the same but there must be something to that CI.

When I told my son I was going to "Leeky" he said, "Mom, it's pronounced "Lakey", so I learned that before I took my trip. He used to live in Uvalde, so he knew the correct way to pronouce it.

Yep, unfortunately, the land area is very high priced in the Hill Country which I must take greatly into consideration. Ugh!!

Time will tell what I can do.

[lifertexan]

I would not put too much value on the CI for small towns.The data they use is not from right in that town.For example,the NWS monitoring station for Harper is in Fredericksburg,20 miles away,while the monitoring station for Leakey is in Rocksprings,about 30 miles away as the crow flies and almost out of the HC.You cannot get accurate data for right in a small Texas town.There just isn't monitoring stations at every little town.They use the closest one to it.To say that Kerrville,with all of it's asphalt streets,is more comfortable than Leakey in the cool hills just doesn't sound realistic to me.The best thing is just to visit them on the same day.A Harper to Kerrville to Leakey drive would take less than 3 hrs.,and give a good local feel for each that you aren't going to get over the internet.The only drawback to Leakey is that some things like cheaper grocery stores is going to be a longer drive ( 40 miles to Uvalde) than Harper ( 20 miles to Fredericksburg).

[KewGee]

Originally Posted by lifertexan

I would not put too much value on the CI for small towns.The data they use is not from right in that town.For example,the NWS monitoring station for Harper is in Fredericksburg,20 miles away,while the monitoring station for Leakey is in Rocksprings,about 30 miles away as the crow flies and almost out of the HC.You cannot get accurate data for right in a small Texas town.There just isn't monitoring stations at every little town.They use the closest one to it.To say that Kerrville,with all of it's asphalt streets,is more comfortable than Leakey in the cool hills just doesn't sound realistic to me.The best thing is just to visit them on the same day.A Harper to Kerrville to Leakey drive would take less than 3 hrs.,and give a good local feel for each that you aren't going to get over the internet.The only drawback to Leakey is that some things like cheaper grocery stores is going to be a longer drive ( 40 miles to Uvalde) than Harper ( 20 miles to Fredericksburg).

Great points to consider. Thank you once again.

[lifertexan]

I saw where you asked about Center Point on another thread.We looked at moving to the HC before we decided to head to north of DFW,and of all the towns we looked at,Comfort and Center Point were the most disappointing in terms of what we had come to expect from HC towns.They were just non scenic and shabby,imo.One drive down Hwy 27,which we did specifically to look at them,was enough to make me decide to cross them off my list.

[KewGee]

Originally Posted by lifertexan

I saw where you asked about Center Point on another thread.We looked at moving to the HC before we decided to head to north of DFW,and of all the towns we looked at,Comfort and Center Point were the most disappointing in terms of what we had come to expect from HC towns.They were just non scenic and shabby,imo.One drive down Hwy 27,which we did specifically to look at them,was enough to make me decide to cross them off my list.

Thanks for the information on CP and Comfort. I will definitely wipe them from my list too as I trust your judgement explicitly.

[TexasNick]

Comfort is nice, but it's no "hill country" town. It's more of a farming town, flatter land and mainly just a stopping point for those headed north to Dallas or elsewhere.