Tyler,TX (Dallas, Plano, Frisco: equity, zoning, jobs)

[sunshine85]

I grew up in Tyler...

kentuckycats, I had a friend who went to Grace Community schools in high school and he HATED it. He was a Christian, but not a Baptist, and the only time any fellow students tried to talk to him was to convert him. Ridiculous. Of course, this is just one person's take on it.

macoulter, for the most part, everyone is very friendly. The winters are quite mild, but the summers are really hot and humid. It rains pretty regularly in Tyler. I would imagine the pay rate there is lower than other regions of the country, but the cost of living is much lower as well.

[clawson26]

I am looking for a condo in Tyler but haven't found the ones in the 120's.
Where where where???

[TexasBornAndRaised]

Originally Posted by amirelez

Has anyone ever been to or lived in Tyler,TX? Please tell me how it is?

<---- Born and raised in Tyler (35 years).

Too many people, not enough roads. Too much traffic. Red lights at every intersection. And they're not synchronized with each other.

We don't have 4 seasons, we have two. Summer and Winter. Winter, if you want to call it that, rarely gets below 30. And barely last two months. With a slight snow every few years. Summer is torture. 95 average with high humidity equals a heat index of 105 - 110. Lived here all my life and I'm still not used to the heat.

City government is innept and corrupt. Read the book "Smith County Justice" if you can still find a copy. Tyler is the typical "good ole boy town" that just recently has grown into a fairly large city (est pop 100,000). The county is named Smith, and the Sheriff for the last 30 years is named Smith. Coincidence?

Certain families run this town, period. Brookshire, Wisenbaker, Orneleas, Clyde, Smith, just to name a few. Not to mention the ongoing feud between the two hospital chains, Trinity Mother Francis and East Texas Medical Center. Each brag about how great they are, yet neither hospital has a NICU or is certified in pediatric trauma. If you have a child with serious needs, you'll be sent to Dallas.

TISD is a joke. The "rich" schools get all the money, best equipment, etc. The "poor" schools are the oldest, get the least money, buildings are falling apart, etc. I remember a news report a while back about one of our "poor" elementary schools not having any playground equipment. Instead of TISD allocating money for a playground, the students at the school had to participate in fund raisers for THREE YEARS in order to pay for new playground equipment. In otherwords, private donations, instead of taxpayer dollars, paid for the play ground at the "poor" school.

Our poor schools are falling apart and overcrowded, yet the rich schools in south Tyler are the first to get expanded, and the first to get completely new schools when they get overcrowded.

If you're a Christian, you're a Christian. You don't get "converted" into a Baptist. I was born and raised a Presbyterian. But I married a Southern Baptist, and have been worshiping as a Southern Baptist for the last 15 years.

Lots of "pseudo" Christians here, especially the upperclass people. Money is what counts here. Our family has basically quit going to church because every church we attend, we don't feel like we fit in because we don't have as much money as the other people. Oh, they'll smile and say HI to you in church, but that's about it. If you miss a Sunday or two, you would think you would get a phone call or email. But we never did.

We want to attend church, but it seems like only upper-class people here are the ones that attend church. Guess they don't make churches for poor white people.

Pay scale is good....if you're a Doctor or a lawyer or some other white collar person. If not, you'll be stuck working at Wal-Mart or McDonalds because there are very few blue-collar jobs here these days. Cost of living is high IMO. Food, fuel, and energy. But that's true all over the US.

People here are like people every where. Upper-class look down on lower-class. People don't know how to drive around here. Drivers are rude, will cut you off, pull right out in front of you, block the driveway or sidestreet you're on and won't let you out, etc. And when they pass buy they usually have a cross or a fish symbol on the back of their cars. Pseudo-Christians.

I can see how somebody that visits here could be fooled into thinking this is a great place to live and work. But I have lived here all my life (35 years) so I know what goes on behind the scenes.

[BSATEXAS]

This sure is a lot of negative infomation about the Tyler area. I'm not sure what to think. We are Christians and we are Catholic and have a daughter that will be going into high school in another year. We have been looking at the Lindale area and it seems like a nice town and a good place to live.

[texnative]

try getting a job at the University of Texas Medical Facility @ Hwy 155 & 271

[texnative]

Lindale is a really great little town, but growing very fast! They have widened FM 16 and next will resurface. Hwy 69 is under construction for adding 2 more lanes. A new Home Depot is coming to Lindale. They are currently building a New Days In Express.
They have a new Chilies restraunt. Lindale is Hot and Booming! Buy property while its still affordable.

[kawgpz550]

Lindale is pretty much where we are looking right now as well. We have actually been in a toss up between Tyler area and San Antonio area (because we have friends moving to SA in a couple of weeks), but I think Tyler is where we want to be!
We were there last summer during Dallas' record breaking heat, and we ENJOYED IT! But hey, we're from the Arizona desert so we KNOW what heat is and anything less than 120 is good to us...humid or DRY
I loved Tyler! I guess once you have been somewhere for so many years, you tend to know things from behind the scenes that takes others a while to figure out. That goes on right here where we live as well. However, we're the type that pretty much live and let live and keep to ourselves.

I think the Tyler area is going to be exactly what YOU make of it! We have choices, it's up to us what we do with them. I honestly think you will find that you will love it there! BUT, I would definately look into Lindale, Whitehouse (Whitehouse is big money area and a bit more snooty), Bullard, Troup. The Tyler ISD, I would stay away from.
I'm confused though, someone else said something about the poor schools (falling apart and the rich schools being top priority. When we were there, we made noticed that John Tyler High (the "poor" school) looked almost brand new and looked very nice! However, Robert E. Lee (the "rich" school) looked like an old motel that was converted to a school. I'm not sure about the elemetary schools, but....

Good luck on your move! Hopefully we won't be far behind

[clawson26]

Originally Posted by kawgpz550

I guess once you have been somewhere for so many years, you tend to know things from behind the scenes that takes others a while to figure out. That goes on right here where we live as well. However, we're the type that pretty much live and let live and keep to ourselves.

I think the Tyler area is going to be exactly what YOU make of it! We have choices, it's up to us what we do with them. I honestly think you will find that you will love it there! BUT, I would definately look into Lindale, Whitehouse (Whitehouse is big money area and a bit more snooty), Bullard, Troup. The Tyler ISD, I would stay away from.
I'm confused though, someone else said something about the poor schools (falling apart and the rich schools being top priority. When we were there, we made noticed that John Tyler High (the "poor" school) looked almost brand new and looked very nice! However, Robert E. Lee (the "rich" school) looked like an old motel that was converted to a school. I'm not sure about the elemetary schools, but....

You are right about any place being what you make of it. Tyler is a lovely place to live and a great place to raise kids. I think if you even know who the "society" people are you obviously want to be one and that explains some of the resentment. Also you are right about the physical condition of the schools. The education aspects, crime, quality etc... are the opposite of what you would think by looking at them. Trust me...Lee is the good school and John Tyler is "less good." Lindale and all down hwy 69 toward Bullard are the newest and fastest growing areas.

[BSATEXAS]

Thanks for all the good information. I sure appreciate you all responding. If I have any questions come up, I know who to ask. We will be making another trip to Lindale in October. We lived in Texas (outside Houston) for 20 years before moving to Tennessee. We love Tennessee but We love Texas and we have a desire to move back before our daughter starts high school. If we do move, one thing is for sure, we will certainly miss the 4 seasons here in Tennessee.

[nwlamom]

People here are like people every where. Upper-class look down on lower-class. People don't know how to drive around here. Drivers are rude, will cut you off, pull right out in front of you, block the driveway or sidestreet you're on and won't let you out, etc.

I certainly didn't find this to be true while I was in Tyler on my househunting mission. Even my out-of-state plates and my obvious unfamiliarity with the area didn't seem to ruffle anyone's feathers. Traffic is quite manageable, sure, you may get backed up for a light or two on the loop at a busy time of day, but no "road rage" that I witnessed ... people WILL move over for you if they can. I mean, every place you go has rude or bad drivers, but that did not seem to be the norm while I was there.
But I guess everything is relative. It's one thing to say what's "good" or "bad" about your town, and most people will take to heart the words of a lifelong resident ... but remember ... LIFELONG residents DO NOT have a field of comparison. Let them move somewhere else and ofentimes they'll realize just how good they had it "back home."

I've found service persons to be very friendly and ... well ... HELPFUL!! It is nice to go into a store and have the checkout person actually LOOK at you, SPEAK to you, instead of craning her head over her shoulder and running her mouth with the employee at the next register. So far, everyone we've encountered has been so friendly ... people seem to have a decent work ethic and don't treat you like they're doing you some huge favor by doing their job. Also, just about everyone I've talked to, from real estate agents, to the lady at Sears Optical, to the checkout lady at the bookstore, has offered tips about being a Tyler resident - school info, area info, getting to places the "back way" to avoid the loop!!

I really like Tyler so far. I am excited about my move!!