Curious about towns in Texas

[Ketabcha]

Check out the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. It might meet your needs. There are quality suburbs. : )

[k2121]

As far as san antonio/austin and surrounding areas, it seems you are looking at a far more liberal environment than you would like. You basically have to pick between no snow or now humidity, generally the places getting more snow in texas are the drier areas (lubbock) and the ones with no snow have the humidity (houston) so its going to be hard to cancel both things out. Also as mentioned above keep in mind it is a right-to-work state, and your question regarding the 'illegal' population just keep in mind were the borders are, and you should be okay if that would be an 'issue'

[catman]

Lubbock gets some snow, but not very much, and it doesn't stick around. The Hill Country is lovely, but don't think for a minute that it isn't humid. I think you should be farther west than that if humidity is a big concern.

[Lonestar1836]

We like:

1) smaller towns (under 100K population)
2) good job market for my husband's field - HVAC service commercial side and control systems (Sheet metal UNION)
3) decent schools
4) lower crime rates
5) close drive to larger cities for different shopping/entertainment

I should also add that the draw for my husband and FIL to states like WY and TX are:

1) no income tax
2) gun lovers/gun rights
3) similar political view points to ours


I agree with Ketabcha. You might consider the DFW area. While Dallas is a fairly large city, there are some nice suburbs and even more rural areas: Waxahachie to the south, Celina to the north, etc. At least, in that situation, you would have access to the city and the suburbs without the congestion.

Fort Worth is probably a nicer city than Dallas, however. There are more cultural attractions and the city seems to have a more western atmosphere. There are some nice suburbs there as well.

The job market in the DFW area is good, compared with the rest of the nation. In reality, the Texas economy is probably one of the best in the nation.

The public schools in most of the Dallas suburbs are good, by public school standards. Of course, I am more familiar with those north of the city.

For lower crime rates you will have to distance yourself from the cities. Of course, as you mention, Texans enjoy their 2nd Amendment rights so you are more than free to carry a concealed weapon (with a permit) and do what you must to protect your home and property.

There is no state income tax. Depending upon your state of origin, the property taxes might be somewhat high, though the cost of living, in general is extremely reasonable.

State-wide, you will find the GOP in the majority. There are some liberal strongholds, Austin being one. Naturally, some of the larger cities, such as Dallas, have a sizable liberal population. However, by and large, the state is fairly politically as well as socially conservative.

[BobTex]

I'd second the Hill Country but not so sure about the HVAC job market. The industries along the coast will have the most work though. Also there is quite a strong union presence. But the humidity is quite present. But, it only bothers me about 5 months out of the year.

[FarNorthDallas]

Texas has 1,254 miles of shared border with Mexico, so we have a few illegal peeps here.

You might look at someplace like Abilene, Texas or the Sherman-Denison area on the Oklahoma border.

[Dean Trails]

I would like to have a town that is:

Smaller than 50,000 population.
Lower crime rates than San Antonio.
Close drive to larger cities for different shopping/entertainment
With in driving distance to an international airport.
Low humidity.
Friendly Folks.

Any of those items work for Kerrville?

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by Dean Trails

I would like to have a town that is:

Smaller than 50,000 population.
Lower crime rates than San Antonio.
Close drive to larger cities for different shopping/entertainment
With in driving distance to an international airport.
Low humidity.
Friendly Folks.

Any of those items work for Kerrville?

Low humidity? Not in Kerrville. Beautiful place, neat town; the winters are wonderful, but the summers are like a sauna.

[love roses]

I was about to say somewhere like West Columbia, Brazoria, Lake Jackson, or other towns just outside of Houston near the coast and I think they meet all the criteria except for the humidity. I don't think the humidity is too bad on that part of the coast, but do think it's worse towards Corpus Christi. As for Kerrville, I think that's a good choice and it's not highly humid there. My great Uncle and my grandma lived there (when they were still alive) and we'd travel from Brazoria and Houston and the air was drier in Kerrville. I'm not sure about Kerrville being near an International airport, but you could get to Austin and San Antonio. Austin is not an International airport, not sure about San Antonio.

[Cathy4017]

As for Kerrville, I think that's a good choice and it's not highly humid there.

I guess it depends on what you're used to, and that also applies to the OP.

I spent two summers working at Camps Arrowhead and Mystic (Hunt/Ingram), and I thought the heat and humidity were pretty bad!