Tyler,TX (Houston, Dallas, Longview: lower-class, crime, house)

[NOTAM]

cheekymonkey-when reading your post about the fascist cop mentality, i remember the footage of that poor thang...the middle aged RN driving home from East Texas Medical Center in Tyler after her 3-11 shift at night, to her home in Lindale, and what happened when the state trooper finally got a hold of her, as she pulled up in her driveway...dadgum....that would have skeered the hayull outta me. bless her heart.

[cheekymonkey]

Originally Posted by bellestaroftexas

cheekymonkey-when reading your post about the fascist cop mentality, i remember the footage of that poor thang...the middle aged RN driving home from East Texas Medical Center in Tyler after her 3-11 shift at night, to her home in Lindale, and what happened when the state trooper finally got a hold of her, as she pulled up in her driveway...dadgum....that would have skeered the hayull outta me. bless her heart.

Bellestar, I hadn't heard about that specific incident. It doesn't sound like it ended very well, that's for sure.

If somebody works long hours, shift work, and/or has a stressful job, they may likely be somewhat disoriented on the drive home from work. Or possibly just overtired. At any rate, that's a particularly vulnerable time to be stopped by the police, because dealing with police effectively often requires quick thinking.

[destin04]

We just moved to Lindale about 3 weeks ago. Came from Frisco area of DFW. I feel very lucky to have a beautiful drive to work. However...even though I'm not a stranger to Tyler....I have to agree that the entire town needs to learn how to drive. OMG!!! These people drive like complete idiots! I agree that the Wal Mart in Lindale is much HIGHER in prices than the Wal Mart in Plano/The Colony. I guess they figure it's either that or Brookshires...not much of a choice.
I do love all the nature here. My phone bill was cut by about 75% and my water bill went from 100.00 a month down to about 30.00. Property tax is lower...home owners went up...car insurance came down...eating out is about the same and gas is more expensive!

[produrre]

I moved to Tyler in May from Chicago. I haven't found the traffic to be bad, though everyone here seems to complain about it... but, we drove around Chicagoland and the traffic there makes this look tame - so everything is relative.

I have found people to be very kind and when they found out we were new, many (particularly people at the cash register in local stores) were very helpful with info and tips. On these points I agree with nwlamom.

It IS a very conservative area... I am much more used to a wide variety of ecclecticism, religions, ethnicities and openmindedness. Because of this, it has been difficult for us, but we try to concentrate on the many positives available in Tyler... and as many people have told me around town... Tyler is changing and numerous people are moving here from out of state with broader viewpoints and more tolerant and accepting beliefs. I have been amazed at the people I've met that have moved here from Colorado, California, New York, Washington State, etc. We found a house in south Tyler, not too far from the loop & Broadway and are very pleased with the area.

[produrre]

Congratulations on the move to Lindale. I was having trouble finishing mypaintings so I decided I needed to do somethng diferent and I decided to take a weaving classa in Lindale ar Rose Path Weaving. It was great. I'm so glad I did... after a week workin on a loom, I went home and completed three paintings and have several more sketched out and ready to go.

[destin04]

I just wanted to be clear......it's not really the traffic in Tyler...compared to DFW...are you kidding me? HA! It's the way people drive. They sit at a unprotected turn until there is car bearing down on them and then they decide to go...almost causing a wreak. I hate the yellow median turn things.....accident waiting to happen! I agree it's VERY conservative...and don't get me wrong...we are pretty conservative ....but the people here are VERY conservative. However...we are finally meeting people who aren't so much. You just have to search them out...and I think the main thing is no one wants to admit that they aren't as conservative as everyone else.

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by 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.)

If there is a Tyler, TX in West Central Texas, what towns are nearby? There is also a Tyler COUNTY....but that is also in East Texas.

If the latter sucks, where is it?

[cheekymonkey]

Originally Posted by x532

I moved to Tyler for a job 7 weeks ago and I have to say, I find the whole town a bit odd. If you aren't uber religious or into casual sex and drugs then you aren't going to fit in. That seems to be it for social groups. I'm sure there are people somewhere who don't belong to one of those 2 groups, but I haven't found them yet.

Think about it, this is a town where they had a fit because the new anchorwoman was a playboy bunny yet all I hear in the news is about meth labs blowing up, sexual predators and animal cruelty cases. The news creeps me out so I won't even watch it anymore. This is also the town that advertises churches and drug rehabs on the local radio stations. They even have church and drug rehab billboards.

Driving to Lake Palestine to buy beer is bizarre. As soon as you cross the lake there is a place called Fatdog that sells beer and liquor. It is a madhouse. And because you have to drive about 15 minutes or so to get alcohol, everyone stocks up so you'll see people running around with carts full of stuff like that old game show Supermarket Sweep.

Basically, I go to work and then come home as fast as possible to my boyfriend and cats.

As for finding an apartment in this town, unless you know about 6 months in advance, don't bother. Every single complex we went to had a waiting list. The only one that had anything available was the most expensive place in town. So I'm paying $185 dollars more for rent than I did in Dallas. So much for a lower cost of living. And actually, some things are much more expensive here. Everything at Wal-Mart like Coke and toilet paper etc. is more than at the Dallas Wal-Marts. I guess because they don't have a distribution center nearby the cost of gas makes everything higher.

On a positive note, I love the nature. The trees and lakes are beautiful. I am also hopeful that at some point I will find some artsy, new age, computer nerd, comic book loving people like myself that I can hang out with. If not, I'll just move a bunch in from Dallas. :-)

You're right. MOST people here fall into two camps -- they're either very religious, or else they're low-class types who hang out at sleazy bars and look for trouble. Yes, there ARE some people around who don't fit into these major groups, but they're hard to find. And, like us, they're not having much fun either, because they're also feeling socially ostracized.

By the way, there are a buttload of phonies here who go out partying and taking drugs on Saturday night, and then go to church the next day on Sunday with that little imaginary halo over their heads. Unfreakingbelievable!

When I moved here from California about seven years ago, my son (who was 17 at the time) kept telling me he didn't like it here. My wife and I constantly told him that Tyler is a nice community, and he simply needed to get out and meet people -- instead of just going to school, not talking to anybody, and coming straight home afterwards. He hadn't had problems in the past meeting people, and in fact, really enjoyed his high school life back in California. A little over two years ago, he went back to California. He told me that he has met more friends in six months there than he met in Tyler the whole time he lived here!

Regretfully, that's also been my experience. Many people are superficially friendly, but that's about as far as it goes. There's a certain up-tightness here in Tyler that I find shocking for such a small city. And lately, I've sensed the fear of crime creeping in, like an invisible blight that hovers over the community. Yes, the meth labs, animal cruelty, and shootings are for real.

My son worked for a small mold remediation company when he lived here. Really nice little family-owned company, and the owners treated him well. (He was lucky to score such a good job right out of school.) Anyhow, one of the employees there was a kid (in his 20's I believe) who got in with some drugs and bad people. They found him dead in a sleazy motel in north Tyler. Drug overdose. It appeared to have been a drug deal that went sour. So somebody got their revenge by shooting him up with a lethal dose. What a waste for a young person to end up that way!

Tyler has also seen a courtroom shooting downtown, a hospital shooting, and enough crime at Wal-Mart to curl your hair. Hardly a couple months after the new Wal-Mart opened on the west loop & 64, there was a major crime incident in which a young woman was leaving the store. A man abducted her into his vehicle, then drove to West Texas, raped her, and dumped the body off I-20 near Odessa. Luckily, they caught the filthy animal who committed that crime and brought him back to Tyler for trial. But that doesn't do much to bring back the woman, does it?

I can definitely relate to the part about going to work, and then coming home as fast as possible. I have three cats and a dog, and have more use for them than I do for most PEOPLE nowadays. I've really tried to give Tyler a chance, but frankly I'm just burned out. Nothing I do around here ever seems to get reciprocated.

And yes, it's not your imagination -- the cost of living (including housing) is way out of line in relation to local wages. Except for executives/professionals. I'm working toward getting my own home-based business established right now. Several reasons. It's what I want to do. I've given up on the job market here. And after seven years here, I'm ready to put Tyler in my rear-view mirror. (When you work on the internet, you can live anywhere you want!)

Best wishes to the people who remain here. I hope you find what you want. Some people do. If you're one of those people, consider yourself lucky!

[kentuckycats]

Okay we are moving toTyler. Do you buy a house in the Woods or Holly Tree? Kids will go to private school so schools are not an issue.

[cheekymonkey]

Originally Posted by kentuckycats

Okay we are moving toTyler. Do you buy a house in the Woods or Holly Tree? Kids will go to private school so schools are not an issue.

It really depends on what you're looking for. The Woods and Hollytree are very nice up-scale neighborhoods. But they're not the only game in town. And you pay a premium price for an address in those types of prestigious areas.

The main thing is to find a good real estate agent with whom you (and your spouse) feel comfortable, so you can explore your options. If you see a place you really love in the Woods or Hollytree, great. But Tyler also offers plenty of other nice neighborhoods which are good places for raising kids, very safe, etc. For example, Tall Timbers is very high-class.