Tyler,TX (Longview, Kilgore, Whitehouse: homes, theater, school district)

[Just Lookin]

Originally Posted by lilypad

I lived in Tyler for several years in late 90s, was not happy with my job at one of the medical centers, but was nice enough town. Is very hot and humid in summer, little culture to be had. Was pretty countryside for sure and people friendly, cost of living low. Depends on what you want out of a place.

Thanks lilypad, we want about 4 acres outside of town. Not to far. Friendly people, hospitals for us and our pets and peace and quiet. Not like here in Calif. Noisy all the time. Yes, I guess we are getting old.

We are used to living in the county, not the city here and only had 4 neighbors on our block once but they all moved because of the building. Now we are surrounded by new homes and a younger age group.

[sunshine85]

Originally Posted by BSATEXAS

Can you tell me more about Whitehouse High School? Our daughter has gone to a private elementary/junior high but we are wanting to find a good public high school. What is the town like?

I actually graduated from Whitehouse High School, several years ago, but still. It's a great school, and by far one of the best for the Tyler area. Your kids will have a lot of advancement opportunities like AP classes and duel enrollment with the local junior college. The high school is very new--built in 2000--so it's in good condition and there's room for all of the kids. If you have more specific questions, PM me.

[Red]

We don't live in Tyler, but it has been on our top 3 relocation list the last few years (in fact, we just got back from another week in east Texas 2 hours ago). The Whitehouse school district uses a split grade set-up (I believe it's: K-4, 5-6, 7-8, 9-12) vs Tyler's more traditional set-up (elementary, junior high, high school). We prefer the Whitehouse version, but we prefer being close in to S. Tyler, so we focused on the area of South Tyler that is in the Whitehouse School district but still in Tyler--for us it would be the best of both worlds. If I remember correctly, the high schools in southern Tyler are 5A vs Whitehouse HS's 4A status--not much difference, truth be told.

--Red

[kawgpz550]

We've narrowed down our choices to either Tyler or a suburb of Dallas (most likely Caddo Mills/Royse City. We were in Tyler back in July. We loved it there, however after much research I am trying to avoid Tyler ISD altogether. The apparent not so "desirable" school John Tyler High looks pretty new and a nice looking school, however very low taks scores and whites are minority (I don't mind diverse, but I don't want my kids the minority either). The other high school, Robert E Lee, is supposed to be more "desirable" and has slightly better test scores, however, the school looks like it was once an old motel that was turned into a school. Really strange...
Anyway, if we go the Tyler route, we are looking at Troup, Lindale, Whitehouse (maybe Winona). Staying away from Tyler ISD and Chapel Hill. We may even go so far as to Big Sandy or Gladewater as we would be more centrally located between Tyler and Longview.
Hopefully within the next month or so we'll be able to make another trip and make our decision...I just can't wait to get to Texas!

[tehsensei]

I love Tyler and I have just recently moved to the area. Everyone is right about the pay scale, and the nightlife is lacking. But, other than that I dont see many downsides. The city is growing incredibly fast though, and so expect the city to get better and better.

I do know that since Tyler is out of the influence of DFW and Shreveport, it makes the city have to stand out. Im not good at putting my thoughts into words, but it stands alone in the region. Its like a hub for the general region, with the exception of Longview, which is still a decent 40+ minute drive.


Also according to Wikipedia, the Tyler population is approx 101K(thats if you include just outside city limits).

So its not that small, but you still have that small town feeling. I do need to let you know that south of loop 323 on U.S. 69(broadway) there is a surging urban sprawl(keep in mind I mean relative to the rest of the city).

Just my thoughts.

[brokenground]

Hi there! Sorry it's been so long since I've posted.

If you are going to stay in Tyler for schools, I have heard Lindale is one of the best school districts around. For High schools, Robert E Lee has gotten better marks than John Tyler High School, so that might help as well.

I know some good realtors in the area, so if you are looking for something and not working with a realtor yet, you can let me know and I will get you some more information.

City jobs pay about $8 for admin, a little more depending on the skill or experience. Of course there are other positions elsewhere that could pay more.

The humidity is alot more than CA people like, but once you've been here around a year, it really isn't that bad. San Antonio is more humid than Tyler, but there is a lot of stuff to do in San Antonio tourist wise.

If you are looking for a slower paced lifestyle, Tyler is the way to go. The people here tend to be very conservative by nature. People are nice for the most part, but you have your rude people in every city.

Let me know if there are any other questions, and I will try to answer them.

I will post more as I think of it.

Looking forward to maybe meeting you all one day!

[brokenground]

Originally Posted by kawgpz550

We've narrowed down our choices to either Tyler or a suburb of Dallas (most likely Caddo Mills/Royse City. We were in Tyler back in July. We loved it there, however after much research I am trying to avoid Tyler ISD altogether. The apparent not so "desirable" school John Tyler High looks pretty new and a nice looking school, however very low taks scores and whites are minority (I don't mind diverse, but I don't want my kids the minority either). The other high school, Robert E Lee, is supposed to be more "desirable" and has slightly better test scores, however, the school looks like it was once an old motel that was turned into a school. Really strange...
Anyway, if we go the Tyler route, we are looking at Troup, Lindale, Whitehouse (maybe Winona). Staying away from Tyler ISD and Chapel Hill. We may even go so far as to Big Sandy or Gladewater as we would be more centrally located between Tyler and Longview.
Hopefully within the next month or so we'll be able to make another trip and make our decision...I just can't wait to get to Texas!

kawgpz550 - RE Lee does kind of look like a big motel, but it reminds me alot of the school buildings that were built in the 70s

There are some really nice pieces of land that are Lindale ISD, but are still considered Tyler proper (don't know why though)

If you come for a visit next month let me know. If you don't have a realtor yet, I can give you a few names...

[brokenground]

Originally Posted by cm729

We like a lot of things about Tyler and are also considering it. I have read their salaries are much lower. How does it compare to the costs of food, utilities, etc.? And is living downtown pretty safe if you take reasonable precautions?

Hi there!

Salaries are much lower - city jobs, as I posted earlier run about $8 an hour. We moved from Plano, and the only thing that was majorly different for us was cable/internet- it runs about $65 a month with just barely basic and high speed internet. the prices for food and other utilities didn't change from when we moved.

As with anywhere you live, if you take reasonable precautions I think you can live in the downtown area. I have seen a lot of homeless people, but for the most part I found it pretty safe. The Azalea district and the brick streets are still close to downtown and there are plans on revitalizing downtown Tyler within the next few years. I think the plans include boutiques and apartments above the shops, so they are wanting to bring back downtown life that left when the mall was opened.

Let me know if I can answer anything else- I don't know a lot, but I can find it out for you!

[texgal24]

FYI: You should know that there is more than one Tyler Texas...I know of at least two. One in East Texas and another in West.Central Texas. (The latter sucks.)

[Michele164]

Depending upon where you are moving from and what you are looking for in a city will depend upon if you like Tyler or not. My husband works in Tyler but we live 70 miles away in Forney,Tx-outside Dallas. The reason...I grew up outside of Houston and the thought of moving to Tyler was terrible to me. It is an extremely small town with nothing to do and the housing costs are unreal, we were looking at spending $180,000 on a 1800 square foot home when in Houston we had the same square footage at $120,000!!! If you like to shop, you will have to drive towards Dallas for that. Children typically attend private schools in Tyler because the public schools are not good-another reason why we decided not to move there.

I hope my opinion helps.