Small town TX (Dallas, San Antonio, Austin: crime rate, houses, landscaping)

[mikeym973]

Hello,

We are moving to Texas from Phoenix and are trying to chose between the Abilene area and Sulphur Springs. Can anyone who has lived in either of these locations provide any first hand knowledge?

We are looking for a safe, family oriented town, nice weather, and green trees and lawns.

Thanks

[RSTX]

Try San Angelo. It will fit most of your requirements.

[Diamond Dee]

TRY San Angelo or Sweetwater and even Abilene I belive you can't go wrong their.

[Kimnfrank2]

Hi!
We moved here (Abilene area) almost two years ago and plan on retiring here. The crime rate is low (stay away from the north side), the rates are comparable and there are things to do without all the hubbub of a big city.
Your lawns wont always be green, but the neighbors are usually very friendly here. And it doesn't take hours to get from one side of town to another. You can get to the larger cities in a few hours (Lubbock, San Angelo, Dallas, San Antonio) if you want the theme parks and such.
I don't know about Sulfur Springs, never been there, so can't tell you much about that one.
I don't care for San Angelo at all. Austin is a great town but crime and college life is big there so watch out for that.
Good luck in your hunt.
Kim

[NicoleP]

Have you already moved? If not, PM and I can help you out. We are a family in the Sulphur Springs area.

[TexasNick]

San Angelo has trees??

[shady12]

Uh, yeah. San Angelo is about as pretty as a West Texas town gets. Similar to Abilene except there are also rivers and lakes as well. I'd choose San Angelo over Abilene, a little more to do being less controlled by the Church of Christ/conservatism(for example pro sports teams have failed because they can't sell alcohol).

[TexasNick]

Okay sorry, I just haven't spent time in San Angelo, only passed through. Does it look like Big Spring? I don't remember trees in these towns, only shrubs. When I think of Trees I think of things like the mighty oaks in the Texas hill country or the tall pines in Gonzales.

[shady12]

Hmm, not really. Thing is we have a river so we have a lot of large trees running in the area along that, as well as lakes. There is a downtown riverwalk area with nice trees and cliffs on one side with houses overlooking, and a public golf course. Several walking bridges in the area of the new visitors center which overlooks the river with landscaping/waterfalls/trail that goes down to the river/riverwalk path. Then a little ways down the RiverStage an outdoor concert venue that meets El Paseo De Santa Angela connecting it all to historic Concho Street behind it. This street in the late 1800s was your typical wild west main street. It's now a tourist area kind of like a mini version of Fredericksburg's Main St.

Several pretty neighborhoods with huge trees, some areas where the canopy will cover the street, etc. Some nice highs and lows in the terrain for some views of large parts of the town, and the river/lakes. Actually, some parts of it remind me of parts of San Antonio with some slightly hilly streets and plenty of green trees. And there's the Twin Buttes.. Two twin perfectly shaped pointed hills. If you are at Lake Nasworthy it makes for a nice sunset, the hills behind the lake with the sun setting between the hills.

Really the only pic I could find online of the Twin Buttes. Pic on the left is that lake facing the other way, the random building on the right is the Museum of Fine Arts which is across the river from the RiverStage behind Concho Street:



Biking along the river:



Concho St. taken from Eggemeyer's General Store towards Miss Hattie's Bordello Museum:

[NOTAM]

gorgeous! san angelo would definitely be my kind of town, but is not offering the kind of job i ideally want, though EDEN does....which aint too far, i dont think!?

Originally Posted by shady12

Hmm, not really. Thing is we have a river so we have a lot of large trees running in the area along that, as well as lakes. There is a downtown riverwalk area with nice trees and cliffs on one side with houses overlooking, and a public golf course. Several walking bridges in the area of the new visitors center which overlooks the river with landscaping/waterfalls/trail that goes down to the river/riverwalk path. Then a little ways down the RiverStage an outdoor concert venue that meets El Paseo De Santa Angela connecting it all to historic Concho Street behind it. This street in the late 1800s was your typical wild west main street. It's now a tourist area kind of like a mini version of Fredericksburg's Main St.

Several pretty neighborhoods with huge trees, some areas where the canopy will cover the street, etc. Some nice highs and lows in the terrain for some views of large parts of the town, and the river/lakes. Actually, some parts of it remind me of parts of San Antonio with some slightly hilly streets and plenty of green trees. And there's the Twin Buttes.. Two twin perfectly shaped pointed hills. If you are at Lake Nasworthy it makes for a nice sunset, the hills behind the lake with the sun setting between the hills.

Really the only pic I could find online of the Twin Buttes. Pic on the left is that lake facing the other way, the random building on the right is the Museum of Fine Arts which is across the river from the RiverStage behind Concho Street:



Biking along the river:



Concho St. taken from Eggemeyer's General Store towards Miss Hattie's Bordello Museum: