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hi all (:
thanks for all of your suggestions! ripley, do i read your email correctly that, in your opinion, the towns listed by others have high crime and low education?
as to distance from nm., anywhere in tx would be fine. "closer" is relative -- closer than pennsylvania is what we're looking for (:
thanks again!!
does anyone know about paris and bonham texas?
(:
amy
Please go to this https://www.city-data.com/city/Texas.html webpage, take a look at photos of some of the cities mentioned in this thread, and share your impressions. Is Fort Worth too large for you? Midland to desert-y? You seem to be playing your relocation preference cards very close--too close to get the best information from other forum members in this thread in my opinion.
Ripley, please critique some of the towns/cities I suggested.
I actually think the list of cities/town you offered is very good given the information we have been provided.
Texas is such a big state it is difficult to offer a more precise opinion without knowing the likes, dislikes, desires, activities, etc., that the family may have. I don't blame them for not sharing more, but sometime people from the northeast think, "Oh, it will just be a state or two away", but they don't understand just how long it takes to travel across our great state.
If I were in their position and had intentions of travelling to New Mexico and Colorado every so often, I would look first to the Fort Worth area, and then to other communities on the west side of the metroplex. I thought of Granbury and Stephenville as a couple options.
I do not know the income bracket, the ages of the family members, the employment situation, the type activities they might enjoy, or the desired size/price of a home ... so I don't know which of those you listed would be the best fit for them.
They may own their own plane and can fly out of any local airport any time they choose. They may have unlimited funds and can afford to restore a large, old home somewhere. If so, we would know to direct them to certain areas that would be best suited for their income level.
All-in-all, I believe you have a nice list of cities/towns that anyone looking to move to Texas could use in their search for a new place to call home.
greetings again (:
star, i tried to take the quiz. however, the website doesn't seem to offer it anymore. i will look at pictures, as well as the town websites (those that have websites).
i did not think that i was playing anything close to the vest (: so here goes trying to give you the best picture.
we're considering relocating to texas to be closer to our families in nm. and co.
we are looking for and our situation:
i am currently a homemaker with 2 kiddos -- age 3 and age 7 mos. if i go back to work, i would prefer to open a "paint your own ceramics" studio. my husband's job is out of town --this is why we can live anywhere.
we can spend 350K for a home, but would like to spend less.
his job requires him to be gone for 3 mos. at a time.
we are new mexico/albuquerque natives that were living for 3 years in pennsylvania. we really enjoyed it -- it met all of our criteria of my first post. howver, we moved back to nm. to be closer to family. however, nm. as a whole does not offer any of the below reproduced qualities except for nice parks and friendly folks and we've figured out that, as much as we love being within 2 hours of them, that our family is not enough to keep us in nm. w/o all the rest of the list. we are considering texas because i know that there are options that fit the list. ripley, please, you do not need to continuing worrying that anywhere in texas really is too far from nm. (: if it's a great place for us, it's a great place for us, distance notwithstanding.
a little snapshot that might let you "know" us a little better.
things we love to do:
go for walks in shady streets and look at historic homes
we love to walk!
fix up historic homes (we've done this twice. we don't have unlimited resources to do it. we do the work ourselves and use places like "habitat restore" for materials)
read about historic homes
go to antique stores (during our graduate years, we had an antique booth at a local antique mall)
have bbq. in a shady backyard during the summer
run barefoot with our oldest daughter in the sprinklers or sit in a shady sandbox
go to a nice park and play and go for a walk
hang out with friends in the backyard in the summer or have a cup of coffee in the living room in winter
go to a great church with lots of people (we are protestant -- our church in pa was methodist)
especially because i am alone with teh grils so much of the time, i want a town that has friendly people! and low crime
i could live in a smaller town IF it met all the criteria, especially if it was within an hour of a bigger one with the "big box" shopping. in other words, i don't want to have to travel to another town to go for a walk on a shady street, meet with friends, go to church.
it depends on the small town. an example by comparison:
espanola, nm. and durango, co. are about the same size (10,000 people)
espanola:
looks and feels blighted.
the locals are locals since the conquistadors and don't really like "new" people. they're nice and courteous, but not looking to make friends with the new people. and as one result, no mother's clubs or playgroups to get involved in.
espanola has the "small town" problem of h.s. dropouts, rampant teen pregnancy, and concomitant poverty
crime is high
the intown shopping, outside of walmart, is things like check cashing and the lock smith. not too many "extraneous" things like a bookstore or coffee shop.
one park that is full of graffitti and beer bottles
no sidewalks
it's "only" 35 minutes from santa fe, nm, which has more to do. however, i don't want to have to drive 35 minutes to go to a park, to church, to friends....
durango, colorado
"quaint" --not blighted
lots of the "extraneous" stores
high education level as a general proposition
people in their 30s with small children
lots of nice parks and walking trails
historic homes and trees
--durango sounds like it would be right up our alley. however...
-it is toooo expensive. 800 sf. for 390,000.00 likewise, all of the extraneous shopping adventures are also very expensive. a pair of shoes for a toddler....85.00 no thanks.
-the people are very very friendly and most are transplants. however, they're pretentious in a hippie/natural fiber outfits/celebrity kind of way. i'm looking for friends who wouldn't spend 85.00 for a pair of hemp shoes for their 2 year old. (and as far as a type of people we're looking for, i don't want to hang out with the "metrosexual" gang where everyone is talking about the death of the martini (that's what i hear about dallas).
as to waht kind of friends we have:
as a general population, our friends are college educated professions with young kids. no one has an extravagant lifestyle, but we're all financially self sufficient and don't have to count every single penny. for example, i didn't buy the 85.00 shoes i saw today, but i did by a 12.00 consignment dress for my daughter and a 12.00 lunch --without having to balance the checkbook.
we all hang out in our backyards for bbqs and meet at the park for picnics.
so maybe that gives you a better idea? i think we live a pretty simple life and maybe that's why the list looked like we were "hiding" something (:
because of how much we love to walk, sit outside and chat, and play outside with the girls, green and trees is paramount. our love of historic homes is just that, love. my daughter is just as gregarious as i am and every day wants to go to the park to see "friends" (any kids playing).
i hope that this helps you help me haha.
--amy
Last edited by 4wainwrights; 03-14-2007 at 03:20 PM..
Reason: forgot something
well, i'm glad that my blathering on and on was helpful (: i have cut and copied all of stars cities to a word document and am going to start checking them all out. i'm waiting on several books as well on towns in america to cross reference. it sounds like everyone thinks that star knows where we should check out. i really appreciate all of your input.
(:
amy
Thank you for your reply, ripley. Your writing conveys to me that you are one with a great deal of knowledge re demographics/ sociology/ marketing. Please keep sharing your insights in this forum.
4wainwrights, I don't pretend to be an authority, and my list is not exhaustive: my experience with East Texas is very limited, for instance. Your expanded thinking on relocation is very helpful. Please update this thread when you learn more via the internet or with boots on the ground inspection.
Should find yourself in Fort Worth driving along Camp Bowie Boulevard, turn north on Clover Lane and go about 1/2 block beyond the red dot in the middle of this http://www.dfwmaps.com/index.asp?ext...r01=&Zoomby=10 aerial photo-map where a very picturesque street scene unfolds [use zoom]. As you move north and west the digs seem to get progressively larger and more expensive: http://www.homesofcharacter.com/index_rivercrest.php (broken link) .
I think many of the smaller bungalow homes sparkle more than the larger, newer homes which strike me as having "aesthetic inclusions." The Kimbell Art Museum [Arts District] is located at 3333 Camp Bowie Blvd. It appears that there are a number of areas of Fort Worth which might have parks and character: http://www.homesofcharacter.com/index_riverpark.php (broken link)
Be sure to go to downtown Fort Worth. It has a very good feel, too: http://www.fortwortharchitecture.com/arch.htm
Last edited by starfields; 03-15-2007 at 02:21 PM..
I've lived all over Texas and all over the U.S. and abroad. Lived on every coast in the U.S.A., lived on islands, lived in giant cities and tiny towns and far from tiny towns. Lived in New Mexico 3 different locations before I said "To Hades with these destructive people."
Now I live in Midland.
No offense to the Kerrville folks, but they have crime and not much chance for higher ed there.
Nacogdoches is as humid as a wet sock and is stuffed with pretentious people thanks to Austin College.
Fredericksburg -- hope you like paying $10 for "Organic Lavendar-Sage Ice" and droning on about living forever through the magic of essential oils and hemp clothing.
Georgetown -- lived there, never again. Booming. The private college offers nothing to the populace. I-35 is a nightmare. Problems with the influx of Hispanics and Yankees. Housing absurd, and it's HUMID and folks, those aren't "hills" in the so-called Hill Country. LOL.
What you want is a lovely 1950's storybook version of American life, and it's mighty hard to find these days.
I've lived all over Texas and all over the U.S. and abroad. Lived on every coast in the U.S.A., lived on islands, lived in giant cities and tiny towns and far from tiny towns. Lived in New Mexico 3 different locations before I said "To Hades with these destructive people."
Now I live in Midland.
No offense to the Kerrville folks, but they have crime and not much chance for higher ed there.
Nacogdoches is as humid as a wet sock and is stuffed with pretentious people thanks to Austin College.
Fredericksburg -- hope you like paying $10 for "Organic Lavendar-Sage Ice" and droning on about living forever through the magic of essential oils and hemp clothing.
Georgetown -- lived there, never again. Booming. The private college offers nothing to the populace. I-35 is a nightmare. Problems with the influx of Hispanics and Yankees. Housing absurd, and it's HUMID and folks, those aren't "hills" in the so-called Hill Country. LOL.
What you want is a lovely 1950's storybook version of American life, and it's mighty hard to find these days.
Bravo, dust! But for $350-400k, I'm thinking 4wainwrights could find great folks and quite a nice slice of the 1950s in an "Old Midland" neighborhood. Her husband might also like the convenience of the Midland Int'l. Airport: http://texasarchitect.org/shapeoftex...08289467e30fa5 She and her family are more drawn to 1930s architecture, and how many homes like this Midland has to offer I do not know. Are you familiar with Strawberry Fields Cafe: it's one of the best things about "New Midland," I think.
BTW, New Mexico does not sing to me much at all.
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Shade trees plus SAFETY
