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Old 06-26-2012, 08:48 AM
 
2 posts, read 11,931 times
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Hi, everyone!

I'm in the middle of doing some serious research, and was wondering if any of you would be willing to share your two cents, or point me in the direction of previously disseminated information.

I have lost my current teaching job of 8 years here in Pennsylvania. I was just offered a French teaching position in Lufkin, Texas. Now, outside of spending a week in Austin, I'm not really that familiar with The Lone Star state. So, anyone wanna fill me in?

Have any of you moved to TX from another state? What was the transition like?

How did/do you deal with the immense heat, especially if you're more of a cold climate person?

What's the cost of living like? Is it really as cheap as everyone says?

Is the economy still booming in Texas?

Are there a lot of tornadoes, floods, hurricanes/tropical storms around the Dallas/Fort Worth area?

Is the crime low in Lufkin?

Thanks in advance! (:
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Old 06-26-2012, 09:12 AM
 
Location: League City
3,842 posts, read 8,227,900 times
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I've been through Lufkin, and it is going to be small if you want small town life. But the southern end is highly developed and looks like a piece of suburban Houston with big box stores and chain restaurants. It's roughly 2 hours to Houston.

As for heat - seriously it gets hot, but probably not as bad as you are imagining. It's probably more the duration of the hot days that will wear you down. My gf and her family are from Cincinnati, Ohio, and they prefer the Houston heat to the midwest cold. She tells me it is far more tolerable, even though it is still awful. Also check the weather channel - it was hotter in NYC and DC last week than it was in Houston. Dallas doesn't get the hurricanes, or by the time a hurricane reaches Dallas it is just a really bad thunderstorm. I actually drove through the remnants of hurricane Ike while in Dallas (which was still a bad idea). I believe DFW worries more about serious tornados than Houston does.

The economy isn't booming here unless you are into oil and gas. It is just a little better than a lot of other places. Lots of people are still unemployed here. I was visiting my parents in E. Texas over the weekend, and we had some guys going door to door begging for money or handyman jobs to feed their kids.

Last edited by DanielWayne; 06-26-2012 at 09:20 AM..
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Old 06-26-2012, 02:26 PM
 
2 posts, read 11,931 times
Reputation: 11
Thank you, DanielWayne. Your info sheds some light on things.

Having lived in small towns all my life, moving from one small town to another doesn't bother me. The fact that Houston is 2 hours away is like my current situation- I'm two hours away from Philly. So, no big deal there. I've also seen pictures of quite a bit of greenery, which is enticing.

I've been checking the weather for the past few days, but I should probably delve a bit into meteorological history. I can take heat without humidity, though I hear Lufkin is in the more humid part of Texas. It's good to hear hurricanes aren't as big of a threat. Good to know.

I'd heard the southern end of town was best from various other threads. It's also good slice of reality to hear about the unmployment. Compared to PA, TX is lower, but not by leagues.
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Old 06-26-2012, 05:37 PM
 
Location: Lake Kimble, TX.
240 posts, read 535,750 times
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I personally like Lufkin, and have made many trips through there over the years, though I've never lived there. I transferred to Texas in 1997, lived in Arlington, with my duty station in Fort Worth, then transferred to the Beaumont area before retiring in 2009. I was born/raised in VA., and have lived in MS., LA., NC., FL., GA., AL., AZ., prior to transferring to Texas and I elected to retire in Texas, due in part to the low cost of living, low real estate costs, and no state income tax.

Lufkin is approximately 130 miles from me, and probably a three hour drive from the Dallas metroplex. I considered moving to Lufkin when I retired, but desired to move closer to adult children in the DFW area. However, I would still consider a move there if the right price was found for a couple of acres I could build on.

Lufkin was hit with a tornado about two years ago, but property damage was minimal, and no people were injured as far as I know. I was driving through there on SH 69 about an hour after the tornado hit, and the cleanup had began.

If you like small town living, a slower pace of life, enjoy fishing, (many lakes are close to Lufkin), boating, and history, you'll enjoy Texas.

Hope you decide to accept the position, and keep us apprised here of your progress.
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Old 06-26-2012, 11:35 PM
 
Location: Texas State Fair
8,560 posts, read 11,176,879 times
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I did leave Texas for a year, then moved back so I'll take that as moved here from another state. You'll find some rules and regulations might be a bit different, can't buy whiskey on Sunday. Otherwise, it's the same country, though Lufkin isn't highly influenced by attitudes from the northeast corridor. I had some relatives live there so I've been there a few times. Lufkin IS in the country side but easy access to Houston. There's a sweet college town just up the road a few miles, in Nacogdoches.

The immense heat, yes it is. And Lufkin will be humid but remember, Texas is the land of big hair. Little old ladies with lots of hair spray. They do okay, so will you. We do have air conditioning and it works great. Lufkin is between two forests and near a large lake. There's plenty of Pine and Oaks.

Yes, the cost of living is less. That's why everyone's moving here. And yes, the economy is still chugging along. And we have a tax free weekend at the end of summer, just before school starts.

Tornadoes, floods, hurricanes.... there probably no more tornadoes near Lufkin than you'd find in Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Iowa, or most any state in the central U.S. Lufkin is not going to flood and most any hurricane will have blown it winds out before reaching Lufkin. The rains would be welcome most anytime.

Crime... much the same as other conditions above.

If you're looking for an adventure then I'd say go for it. Stow the non-essentials, give it a year to see if it works. If so, take the summer to grab your gear and make the move permanent.

Nothing to lose but the answers to your questions. Good luck.
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Old 07-28-2012, 11:33 PM
 
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Lufkin is a city of 35,000 with a four lane loop around it and frontage road on some parts of it.The city has one highschool,one middle school and about 10 primary and elementrys schools.They have one major business corridor which is timber land where you will find H-e-B a grocery store two brookshires which are grocery,citi trends , fallas outlet, biglots,walgreens and CVS and down at the loop is Sears,Bealls,Jcpennys with 60 other stores in the mall.THey have Ross,oldnavy,bath bed and beyond,rue21,Target,kmart,bestbuy,Academy,belks,sa m's,lowes and home depot. the city is about
30 sq mi which is rooming enough.
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Old 07-29-2012, 03:21 PM
 
15,442 posts, read 21,251,255 times
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I had an opportunity to interview for a teaching job at Lufkin years ago after completing school in New Mexico in 1980 but I turned the opportunity down. I was born and raised at Lufkin but I left in 1968. Even as a teen I recall not being able to tolerate the heat and humidity of the east Texas Pineywoods. I will say with certainty though that the Texas Pineywoods contain some of the most beautiful parts of Texas.

I believe Lufkin (Angelina County) had about 20,000 people in the mid 1960s. It used to have excellent health services and was, for many years, a major center for retiring doctors. I don't know if that has changed or not. I can't say how the education system is now but it was excellent when I attended Lufkin Junior and Lufkin High schools in the 1960s. I still have a niece-in-law who teaches at Lufkin.

I wish I could offer more but the only thing about Lufkin that remains the same as when I was there is the summertime humidity. At any rate, I can offer you my encouragement and wish you the best of luck in whatever you decide.
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Old 07-30-2012, 12:29 PM
 
Location: Houston, TX
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i'm a lifelong texan so i don't really know anything about moving here from another state. as a general rule, people are friendly in texas. we don't really care where you're from; if you're happy to be here, we're happy to have ya. imo east texas can be shockingly closed-minded sometimes, but of course that depends on what you're used to and your opinions/beliefs. i'm from houston so i'm used to a lot more diversity than you tend to find up here.

the heat...isn't pleasant if you're not the kind of person who likes it. i hate the heat and humidity, although i will say that compared to houston, the humidity in lufkin is not as bad. really, you just crank up the A/C in your house and car, stay hydrated, and wait for it to be over. having to put up with the heat for a few months does make the "perfect" temperatures [low 50s-mid 70s] in fall and spring absolutely GLORIOUS though.

having never lived in another state, i can't tell you too much about the cost of living here as compared to other states. as i understand it, it is pretty cheap though.

the economy seems to be doing pretty well. we have a lot of new businesses setting up shop in lufkin, which is great because lufkin NEEDS new things to do, places to go etc. and i'll be starting my own business [a website, it's a rental property location service for small towns] in the next year.

just to be clear: east texas is not the dallas/ft. worth area. east texas is in tornado alley, and tornadoes do happen but not very often. honestly, we do pretty well here as far as natural disasters are concerned. we're far enough away from the coast to miss some of the hurricanes/not get it as bad [though rita and ike were exceptions and did do damage]. we have some occasional flooding, but in this case the lack of urbanization helps a lot, because the floodwater actually has somewhere to go besides highly populated areas. last summer we had serious drought issues which caused some wildfires [this wasn't just east texas; basically the entire state had wildfires], but so far we don't seem to be having the same problem this year.

as far as i can tell, the crime in lufkin is about on par with other small towns in this area.

my opinion: if you like small towns, lufkin is a good place for you. everything's very laid-back, people are very friendly, and the area is beautiful. we have trees EVERYWHERE, and several lakes within 50 miles. downtown is typical small-town america, maybe a little on the underdeveloped side, but there are some excellent places downtown [standpipe coffee house is amazing] and some major projects in the works that i hope will kick-start downtown. just beware: you may get bored quickly. we have the usual [restaurants, 2 movie theaters, decent shopping, a zoo, etc.] and angelina college does some art/drama stuff. you can also make a run up to nacogdoches [20 miles north on 59] and they have a beautiful downtown, a lot of history, and lots of activities through SFA.
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Old 07-31-2012, 08:45 AM
 
Location: WA
5,325 posts, read 7,608,219 times
Reputation: 8301
Quote:
Originally Posted by tkdshine View Post
Hi, everyone!

I'm in the middle of doing some serious research, and was wondering if any of you would be willing to share your two cents, or point me in the direction of previously disseminated information.

I have lost my current teaching job of 8 years here in Pennsylvania. I was just offered a French teaching position in Lufkin, Texas. Now, outside of spending a week in Austin, I'm not really that familiar with The Lone Star state. So, anyone wanna fill me in?

Have any of you moved to TX from another state? What was the transition like?

How did/do you deal with the immense heat, especially if you're more of a cold climate person?

What's the cost of living like? Is it really as cheap as everyone says?

Is the economy still booming in Texas?

Are there a lot of tornadoes, floods, hurricanes/tropical storms around the Dallas/Fort Worth area?

Is the crime low in Lufkin?

Thanks in advance! (:
Take the job if you have nothing super important keeping you in PA. I grew up trading time between Central PA and Oregon and was actually living and working in Alaska when my wife's career brought us to Texas. A couple of comments:

1. Climate. If you don't live in San Diego or Honolulu then most parts of the country have periods of time when it is just miserable to be outside. In the north that is usually the winter months. In the south it is the middle of the summer. So you mostly live in a climate controlled environment. Your car is heated/air conditioned. Your house and every building you walk into is heated or air conditioned. You just don't spend much time outside. When we first moved to Texas (Waco) from Alaska we arrived in the beginning of June and the heat was overwhelming. Just stepping outside the car in the parking lot and walking to the door of the grocery store seemed and adventure, especially with an infant. But after a while you do get aclimatized and learn how not to do stupid things like work outside on your yard at mid-day in August. The upside is that the fall and spring months are quite gorgeous and you will have many many months out of they year when it is perfect to be outdoors with shorts on.

2. Cost of living is cheaper. Electricity in the summer will be your biggest expense if you keep everything air conditioned. No state income tax, just state and local sales tax which you can minimize by limiting your spending and shopping online, although that is getting more difficult now that amazon is collecting taxes. Your car will also last longer because there is no salt on the roads.

3. There will be some culture shock but probably not as much as you might expect. Texas is absolutely full of immigrants from other parts of the country and the rest of the world. If you move to any growing town the size of Lufkin or larger you'll meet people from everywhere on top of all the locals. Generally speaking people are pretty friendly and will be nowhere near as insular as you would expect in a similar sized small PA town where everyone has lived for generations. Just get used to everyone asking you what church you go to. They don't really care, it's just part of the normal conversation down here. But I was not used to the question when we moved here. Seemed out of line to my northern sensibilities.

4. There are a lot of fast growing suburban areas in this state where new schools are constantly being built and hiring keeps happening despite the economy. Projected increases in population over the next 10-20 years mean that a whole lot more schools will have to eventually be built in this state. So if Lufkin turns out not to be your cup of tea you should be able to turn your Texas license and experience into a transfer to another district somewhere else. If you taught Spanish it would be even easier. Right now education funding is in a crisis in this state and a lot of teachers have been laid off just like in other states. But the inevitable growth in population will mean new jobs will always be emerging.

5. You'll get the occasional tornado passing near Lufkin and every few years or so you'll get the remnants of Gulf hurricanes passing over and causing flooding and general excitement. But weather-related catastrophes really aren't likely to be a bigger problem than anywhere else. You're much more likely to die in an ordinary car wreck than in a tornado and that can happen anywhere.

All in all, Texas is a fairly decent place to start a new life. If you are used to mountains and cool mountain air it will take some getting used to. But if you just want to get on your feet then it's not bad.

PS....there are some teacher-specific retirement issues to consider. The Texas Teacher Retirement System does not pay into Social Security and is probably not as generous as the system in PA (although I'm not positive about that). So if you have been working an paying into social security for many years you will take a retirement hit by moving to Texas for a teaching job because SS will claw back some of your benefits. I think there is a way to transfer your PA years into the Texas system but you will need to do some serious consideration of how this move will affect your retirement benefits. Basically the Texas system calculates your pension using the formula 2.3% x years taught x average 5 highest years salary and it is not inflation adjusted with any sort of COLA. So your pension on the day you retire is pretty much what you can expect to have until the day you die unless the state decides to be generous and grant COLAs which they haven't been doing in recent years. Be CERTAIN you understand the financial implications of this move on your future retirement benefits or you could be in for some very unwelcome surprises down the road.
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Old 07-31-2012, 07:43 PM
 
15,442 posts, read 21,251,255 times
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Originally Posted by texasdiver View Post
The Texas Teacher Retirement System does not pay into Social Security and is probably not as generous as the system in PA (although I'm not positive about that).
I have never been a member of TTRS but I have several retired friends who were and still are. From what I see, the retirements received out of the TTRS seemed extremely variable from one locale to another. These folks ranged from a city policeman and high school employee at Lufkin, to a public works employee in a small west Texas town near New Mexico.

I was unaware that TTRS employees did not pay into SS. This is similar to older Federal employees but Federal employees eligible for SS get their SS dramatically cut at retirement. But that is best saved for discussion in another thread.
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