Killeen (San Antonio, Austin, Temple: relocating, real estate, military)

[bobcat07]

I am thinking of relocating to Texas and the location and size of Killeen are very attractive to me. What is this city like? How are the schools? What is the real estate market like? and Would I need to know Spanish to teach at the public schools? Thanks.

[NOTAM]

all i know about Killeen is that it is a big military town-Ft Hood is there. i have a potential job opportunity there too! just one more choice to make things even more difficult! i would be working at the army hospital (which i have done for several years, so would be in my "comfort zone" so to speak)

[RSTX]

I can be of some help here. Temple is about 25 miles east of Killeen and both are in Bell County. Ft. Hood is indeed just on the WNW edge of town and it dominates the city. Killeen is both blessed and cursed by the military presence. Ft. Hood brings a LOT of money to the town, lots of visitors and a semi-stabilizing effect. Of course it also brings a corresponding increase in crime, consumption of resourses, and high turn-over in the community. This is mostly due to the transient nature of the military I believe. Nobody cares about improving their surroundings if they are only going to be there for one or two years. Lots of kids are bored when they move to Ft. Hood with their military parents and they find trouble to get into. Ft. Hood/Killeen is not LA, Detroit or Chicago. If you like to be outdoors (hunting, fishing, hiking, etc) Killeen is a good place. If bar-hopping, hanging at cool places and using public transportation is your thing you will be bored quickly. Lots of kids get in trouble there. Many of the officers move to Nolanville, Harker Heights and Temple/Belton to get away from most of the problems associated with a large military presence. They can work during the day and at night be a "normal" person. My wife sees a lot of military families at her clinic in Belton, which is right next to Temple.

I can't comment on the schools as I have never lived there. You would not need to know Spanish.

The point of the above novel (sorry for the length) is that Killeen and Copperas Cove have some issues that we don't 25 or 30 miles away.

Belle, I worked at Darnall ACH for two years as a civilian contract X-ray tech. It is a good place to work and I enjoyed my time there. Please consider a short and easy commute from the Temple/Belton area. Your life will be much easier.

Good luck to you both. If I can help any more let me know.

Rick

[NOTAM]

rick-roger that, Darnall ACH! keepin my fayngers crossed!

[tuck]

You do NOT want to move to Killeen. It has the highest crime rate of any city in Texas. The schools have many gangs, ( mostly from all the transients, military moving in and out all the time). Homes in the area are in very poor shape, due to the military in the area not caring, ( because it is not their home.) You would not want to live in Killeen. It is known as the "armpit of Texas"

[GAisGreat]

Lived in Killeen for a few years while...guess what...stationed at Ft.Hood!

I can't deny, many people call it the 'armpit of Texas' and there is a gang problem. The reason why I think the gang problem is so much more pronounced in Killeen than elsewhere, Killeen is unique in that most cities, one part of the city is bad, one school has a gang problem, certain races comprise most of the gangs, etc. Whereas in Killeen there's really no boundaries. It's a military town, so there are people from all corners of the US, even the world, all socio-economic backgrounds, etc. You can be anywhere and see the gang crap, you can be in what you think is an 'upper middle-class whitebred' area and find gang crap. So unlike most places, it's not that you just avoid 'this part of town' or avoid 'this mall' or as long as your kids don't hang around 'these types of kids' you'll avoid it. It's really spread out quite a bit.
That being said, I really think that is a nice area! Despite those problems at the same time you'll find living around people that will be willing to help you, take care of you, be there for you, etc. like you will rarely find anywhere else.

If you're taking a decent job in Killeen then I would definately recommend the area. If you're talking about just moving there and hoping you can make it, I wouldn't suggest it. If I had a good job offer in Killeen and knew it would last and I could move there and get a house anywhere around there w/o a problem I would do it. If I were to just pack up, move there find an apt. or something and hope soon enough I could find a decent enough job to get a decent house then I wouldn't do it.

But if you know you will be set then go for it. Basically, everywhere around Killeen is pretty nice. Very easy commute to many great places to live and raise kids...Copperas Cove, Belton, Temple, Kempner, Lampassas, Austin...Live in one of those places, work in Killeen, it won't be that bad!

[GAisGreat]

Originally Posted by bellestaroftexas

all i know about Killeen is that it is a big military town-Ft Hood is there. i have a potential job opportunity there too! just one more choice to make things even more difficult! i would be working at the army hospital (which i have done for several years, so would be in my "comfort zone" so to speak)

Seeing your location 'Wilmington Island' I'm guessing you work at Ft.Stewart?

That being said, I would tell you it won't be that much different. Killeen is just a much larger Hinesville. Take all the good and bad of Hinesville, multiple it by 3 and that's Killeen. But like Hinesville, it is easy to find a very nice, cheap area to live and raise a family away from the base. In fact I would say it's easier to find there than in GA. Cost of living around there is much lower than around Savannah. Since you've been there done that, you kinda know what to expect, Ft.Hood really isn't any different, just much larger!
Pluses, people there are much easier to get close too, much more neighborly than in GA, recreation is much better there than Ft.Stewart area, and best of all...You're close to AUSTIN!
Minuses, you're NOT close to Savannah or the ocean, more transient population, more military based locale than Ft.Stewart area, crime worse in some ways, but better in others (Stewart area probably more drug/meth problems, whereas Hood, more gang, car getting broken into type crime).

[uscpsycho]

Originally Posted by RSTX

The point of the above novel (sorry for the length) is that Killeen and Copperas Cove have some issues that we don't 25 or 30 miles away.

Can anyone else confirm this? I had a realtor tell me that for people working in Killeen, the most desirable places to live are Harker Heights and
Copperas Cove. Is Copperas Cove really as bad as Killeen or is it on par with Harker? Thanks.

[GAisGreat]

Originally Posted by uscpsycho

Can anyone else confirm this? I had a realtor tell me that for people working in Killeen, the most desirable places to live are Harker Heights and
Copperas Cove. Is Copperas Cove really as bad as Killeen or is it on par with Harker? Thanks.

Copperas Cove is more in between Harker Heights and Killeen. Not as bad as Killeen, but not as nice as Harker Heights. Like said before, the easy choice would be go out further and check out some of the other cities. Temple some problems, not nearly as much as Killeen. Belton, Kempner, Nolanville, Leander...you can't go wrong!

[nlburgess]

Most of you sound like your Anti-Military. Honestly I have lived all over Texas, and I liked that area the best. Theres Austin with in the hour drive. San Antonio is with 2 hours (depending on traffic). They are making it sound worse than it really is. There really isnt that much to do, other than drink and go to a few bars. I can tell you from expierence that the majority of the people go to Austin if they want to do things. Texas is a great state no matter where in it you live....its what you make of it, as to whether or not you like it.