Pros and cons to living in Texas (Houston, Dallas: home, job market)

[radiolibre99]

Originally Posted by KathrynAragon

Right - if they can afford it.

If so, more power to 'em and I mean that sincerely. Our diversity is one thing that makes our country so great. There are enough interesting places, both rural and metro, to please just about everyone and I certainly don't begrudge someone finding their own "happy spot."

Exactly. If they can afford it. Which is why Texas is a good fit for families trying to get their slice of the American pie.

Austin and San Antonio are perfect towns in my opinion. But at least in LA the many public lands are free, the beaches easily accessible and free events frequent. Sometimes in the major towns in Texas public land isn't as highly developed or sometimes owned by private landowners like a fiefdom.

[BobTex]

Originally Posted by Two4damoney

All cons and no pros?

Why are you even in Texas then???????????????????????????????????

[BobTex]

Originally Posted by KathrynAragon

Well, good luck. Hope you find an out of state job very quickly and you and your family settle in elsewhere very happily! I mean that sincerely.

I didn't discover the charms of "the cowboy thing" till I was in my forties. All I can say is that I wasted a lot of time. I met and married the quintessential Texas gentleman when I was in my early forties and we have been enjoying each other tremendously ever since. He would tell YOU that I was the first woman he had dated who WASN'T a "cowgirl," so I guess the change was good for him too.

Funny story:

I met my husband on match.com. There was no indication in his profile that he had a lick of "cowboy" in him. His photo was of him in a button down shirt and a tie. He stated that he was an engineer. I didn't know that oil and gas engineers wore steel toed boots and hard hats.

We met for a very nice dinner after a couple of online exchanges and he showed up in a golf shirt and khakis. We had a BLAST that night - the best date of our lives in fact - and we agreed to get together and go shopping and just hang out a couple of Saturdays later.

He showed up in a big pickup truck at my house. He said, "I've got to buy some work boots - do you mind if we go to Cavenders?" (Cavenders is a western wear place.) I am NO COWGIRL and had probably never even been inside Cavenders before but I said, "Sure, why not?"

He bought some steel toed boots and an odd looking belt there (come to find out it was a cowboy sort of belt). Then we got back in his truck and I noticed that I smelled leather. I looked in the back seat and there was a SADDLE back there. Noted.

A few minutes later, he said, "Do you mind if we listen to my new CD?" I said, "Sure!" He put in George Strait. This was also a new experience for me.

After we had done some more toodling around, he said, "What are you in the mood to eat for lunch?" I said, "I am easy to please - you pick." Now - I was used to my dates choosing something like sushi, or Asian fusion or metro style Tex Mex. He said, "What about the Country Tavern for BBQ?" I said, "Why not?"

About that time, my adult daughter called and said, "Hey mom, what are you up to today?" I said, "Well, you won't believe this. I'm sitting in the cab of the biggest pick up I've ever been in. There's a saddle in the back seat. We just left Cavenders. We're listening to George Strait, and we're headed for the Country Tavern to eat ribs."

There was a long silence on the other end and then my daughter said in a low, somber voice (totally serious by the way), "Mom. Are you sure you want to do this?"

It was the start of a series of the best decisions I ever made in my life!

So...I made him a little less cowboy and he made me a little more. He introduced me to high school football (my kids were always in the drama and debate clubs, not into athletics), and I introduced him to London. He introduced me to BBQ and I introduced him to Korean cuisine. He introduced me to George Strait and I introduced him to Georg Frederick Handel. We're both living greatly enriched and enhanced lives now.

I believe this is the best damn post I have ever read on CD. Helluva story!

BTW, I brought my French Canadian wife down here in 1998 and I don't think I could pry her out of these Pineywoods. Offered many times to move to the Northeast to be closer to her family and she said hale naw !!!!

[KathrynAragon]

Originally Posted by BobTex

I believe this is the best damn post I have ever read on CD. Helluva story!

BTW, I brought my French Canadian wife down here in 1998 and I don't think I could pry her out of these Pineywoods. Offered many times to move to the Northeast to be closer to her family and she said hale naw !!!!

And she said it right, too, BLESS HER HEART!

That's a smart girl you snagged there!

[Two4damoney]

Originally Posted by BobTex

Why are you even in Texas then???????????????????????????????????

I assume that youre directing that to the poster that I quoted and not me. If its me then you misunderstood my post and might want to check my posting history and you'll see how much I love Texas.

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by radiolibre99

Pros - great job market, decent pay, low cost of living, great people, sunny.

Cons - the state is rather flat and ugly. Unless you live in the hill country or near the major state parks, the major cities are horribly ugly. The lack of real life outside of material things, meaning if you lived in California or Colorado, you'd be trading in the beautiful scenery and lifestyle for one where you compensate by affording more stuff. This makes for a very annoying "keeping up with the joneses" in some circles. Sometimes it sucks when there is no natural landscape to admire so people tend to focus on their cars, homes and latest procession. Ever hear of the 40k millionaire? Only in Texas!

You must not get out much if you think the entire state is flat and ugly. Or you are aesthetically challenged. Beauty can be found anywhere in nature, including the flat plains. Georgia O'Keefe painted some wonderful paintings inspired by the high plains and endless skies around Lubbock.

[radiolibre99]

Originally Posted by CptnRn

You must not get out much if you think the entire state is flat and ugly. Or you are aesthetically challenged. Beauty can be found anywhere in nature, including the flat plains. Georgia O'Keefe painted some wonderful paintings inspired by the high plains and endless skies around Lubbock.

I've never found the flat terrain of Texas to be pleasing. Especially since I have terrible allergies and was left stuffed up like crazy during peak seasons. Coupled with the humidity and sound of locusts it was challenging to see the ultimate beauty. But then again I'm mostly talking about the metro areas where the lack of aesthetics has people focusing on other things to do besides outdoor activities like shopping , drinking, and eating out. I know that you guys say there's much more to do but I'm not talking about living in the rural parts or commuting a few hours to get to this or that place. I'm talking about the difference between cities like LA, Seattle, and Denver where going out to a lake, a beach, the hills, the mountains, a giant state park, etc is all common. I think the only major metro areas you can do that in are Austin and San Antonio.

[TheOverdog]

I'm talking about the difference between cities like LA, Seattle, and Denver where going out to a lake, a beach, the hills, the mountains, a giant state park, etc is all common. I think the only major metro areas you can do that in are Austin and San Antonio.

You can't go to a lake or a state park in Dallas? And you can't go to the beach or a state park in Houston? Are you sure you have been to these places?

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by radiolibre99

I've never found the flat terrain of Texas to be pleasing. Especially since I have terrible allergies and was left stuffed up like crazy during peak seasons. Coupled with the humidity and sound of locusts it was challenging to see the ultimate beauty. But then again I'm mostly talking about the metro areas where the lack of aesthetics has people focusing on other things to do besides outdoor activities like shopping , drinking, and eating out. I know that you guys say there's much more to do but I'm not talking about living in the rural parts or commuting a few hours to get to this or that place. I'm talking about the difference between cities like LA, Seattle, and Denver where going out to a lake, a beach, the hills, the mountains, a giant state park, etc is all common. I think the only major metro areas you can do that in are Austin and San Antonio.

So I was right, you are aesthetically challenged, apparently nature has to be majestically overwhelming before you recognize the beauty in front of you. You have not yet learned to see, but it is not too late. I have allergies too, but it does not keep me from seeing beauty everywhere, in the veins of a leaf, in the wind blowing across a wheat field, in the majestic clouds sailing like great ships across the skies, in the spiral needles of a cactus or the flight of a buzzard. I have lived in LA and Denver and visited Seattle and yes those are lovely places, but they also contain a lot of ugliness that is beyond anything I have seen in Austin, Houston, San Antonio or Dallas. There is little that is uglier then the brown stained snow along the roads everywhere in Denver during the winters.

In Houston you can easily go out to the Gulf, sail before the wind on the bays and inter coastal waterway, go shelling in the surf at the beaches, travel a short distance north to the Sam Houston or Angelina or Davey Crockett National Forests, South to the Anahauc and Brazoria National Wildlife Refuges all brimming with wild life and natural beauty.

All of these things are common in my life, just as they were when we visited the mountains around Denver, if you are not experiencing them, that is your decision. Please do open yourself up more to enjoying what is around you.

[Two4damoney]

Originally Posted by radiolibre99

I've never found the flat terrain of Texas to be pleasing. Especially since I have terrible allergies and was left stuffed up like crazy during peak seasons. Coupled with the humidity and sound of locusts it was challenging to see the ultimate beauty. But then again I'm mostly talking about the metro areas where the lack of aesthetics has people focusing on other things to do besides outdoor activities like shopping , drinking, and eating out. I know that you guys say there's much more to do but I'm not talking about living in the rural parts or commuting a few hours to get to this or that place. I'm talking about the difference between cities like LA, Seattle, and Denver where going out to a lake, a beach, the hills, the mountains, a giant state park, etc is all common. I think the only major metro areas you can do that in are Austin and San Antonio.

What? Even here in Angelo theres lakes and state parks to go to. As well as some really nice city parks all along the Concho river.