Moving from VA to (Central) Texas. Advice Please ( (Houston, Dallas: how much, attorneys)

[LilyLady]

Originally Posted by ddeel

Now come on, ALL of San Antonio can't be a tourist trap hon. I know you know better than that since it's a city of over 1 million. I rarely even go to the touristy parts
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Agreed. I grew up in SA and lived there for a lot of years before moving away. You're right. The whole city isn't a tourist trap. One can find San Antonio a good place to raise a family without visiting the tourist attractions. But on the other hand, there are plenty of attractions that locals enjoy too.

[doctorjef]

Well, the OP certainly does live in a crappy bit of VA. Why not simply move to Charlottesville and spare yourself the culture shock. Charlottesville is like a tiny Austin with even prettier scenery.

[MamaMiaof3nJD]

Originally Posted by SoulMane979

Don't know if you're looking for more of a southern culture,liberal,western or what.It will all depend on your personal preference,so I'll give a few examples of the different types of Texas.I'm not into politics or exclusivity,so my opinions will not be biased.Austin is very liberal and young spirited will lots of festivities and major annual events.There are very health conscious people who drive mini coopers and drink vanilla chai tea.lol Not much southern culture,but still a decent place to live if you are the active/veggie burger eating type.Austin metroplex also recently hit 1 mil.If you're more conservative and not into "save the salamander" campaigns you might like east Texas(Houston included) a little better.Some parts of central Texas,and all of east Texas are pretty much southern in culture and landscape.Bryan-College Station is what I would call east central Texas and culturally is %100 different from Austin,which is also considered central Texas.Tyler is in east Texas about 1.5 hours from Dallas.Both College Station and Tyler's communities are driven by their universities,Texas A&M in College Station and UT Tyler.San Antonio is a hispanic city with mostly mexican influence.Most of Texas has large hispanic populations,but in SA and south Texas it will be even more magnified.Austin is the only city of it's kind in Texas(could be compared to(Seattle or Denver).Dallas and Houston are more conservative than Austin,but still more liberal than our small towns.In short,east Texas is southern.West Texas and the panhandle are southwestern,while central Texas is a mix of all regions.For the best of all worlds I would say a small town north or east of Austin would be a good choice:Rockdale,Hutto,Belton,etc... Hope this helped.

Thanks so much for this info. We really are looking for a "southern laid back" sort of town. We aren't "veggie burger people" either. We are tired of living in the stress and craziness of a big city. But to be honest we do like some conveniences (Such as a Target store) within an hour or so drive. I will add your suggestions to my list.

[MamaMiaof3nJD]

Originally Posted by doctorjef

Well, the OP certainly does live in a crappy bit of VA. Why not simply move to Charlottesville and spare yourself the culture shock. Charlottesville is like a tiny Austin with even prettier scenery.

I would not move to Charlottesville, my brother lived there, he got out as soon as he could and really the only reason we came here is for grad school, so there is not much keeping us here. I think I am done with the east coast for now. Although people are nice, its just too crowded and touristy.

Originally we are from a smaller city (67k) but it was starting to decline we we left, more crime, gangs and violence in the schools, and that doesn't include the bad politics.

I don't think it would be a huge culture shock to move to TX. There are many things I like about Texas that other places don't have and because Texas is a big state there are so many places to choose from, but that also makes it harder to find the "right spot".

Also I loathe the traffic here in especially Northern VA, would never live there.

[MamaMiaof3nJD]

Originally Posted by LilyLady

San Angelo's population is just over 95,000.
San Antonio's population is estimated to be around 1.38 million.

Good for you on getting out of this area. Our expenses are indeed quite high here. You'll find that you'll get so much more for your dollar when it comes to buying or renting a home in Texas.

thank you LilyLady, now if I could only find the right place

[MamaMiaof3nJD]

Originally Posted by LilyLady

Agreed. I grew up in SA and lived there for a lot of years before moving away. You're right. The whole city isn't a tourist trap. One can find San Antonio a good place to raise a family without visiting the tourist attractions. But on the other hand, there are plenty of attractions that locals enjoy too.

What are the areas near San Antonio that are good for raising families? Are there any towns outside San Antonio or neighborhoods that you would recommend?

[MamaMiaof3nJD]

Originally Posted by ChristieP

Neither San Antonio or San Angelo are green. Both of them are semi-arid climates. If you want green, you need to look near Tyler or Houston in east Texas.

Thank you, I am beginning to see now that East Texas might be a better area as far as green landscapes and trees and such. I definitely don't want to live in the desert

[MamaMiaof3nJD]

Originally Posted by Westerntraveler

San Angelo is supposed to get a lot more crowded and overall expensive if and when the Cline Shale heats up in that area and the oil is already booming there somewhat.However, I have my doubts if that will ever happen or to the extent they are predicting. Near San Antone would be like maybe New Braunfels.About 50,000 people live there.Also, there's San Marcos closer in to Austin.Both are on 35.The Hill Country is green right now.There are lots of small towns within a hour of San Antone and Austin that might work.However, traffic will only get worse as more of the Hill Country gets built over and developed.

Thanks for your info about San Angelo. I would like to avoid crowded cities. Ideally I would like to live an hour from a moderately smaller city (around 70k or less population), is that a possibility?

I would love to live near the hill country, but have noticed it is quite touristy and very expensive.

[MamaMiaof3nJD]

Originally Posted by Mark Senior

Tyler, Longview, that's what you want, lol Tyler, roses, azaleas, trees, trees, small rolling hills, not the Hill country, Tyler 100,000 pop, not good public schools, with a few exceptions, 6 private schools, lowest CITY, tax rate of any city over 15,000 pop.

Small towns with good schools very near, Lindale, Bullard, Whitehouse, 1/12 hours to DFW Nice zoo, lakes, all around, nice Cowan Performing Arts Center on the UTT Campus, very good East Texas Symphony Orchestra, many different types of home, very good shopping with a huge Town Center being built now, not a mall.

Miles of walking Trails, Rose Rudman Trail, South Tyler Trails now connected, yes, there are parts of town that aren't very nice, working on that, poor areas, Tyler is a complete "stand alone city" not adjacent to Houston as a bedroom community, where all the homes are upscale nice, as in some areas Houston, Austin, San Antonio and DFW which are "mega" population centers.

Again, Six Flags, Jerry Jones World, Texas Rangers about an easy two hour trip.

But, you better have a job before moving to Tyler of course, no booming job growth as in many others parts of Texas. Medical, retail, largest employer, yes, banking business center of East Texas.

You can tell, at 68 years old, Tyler information is one of my hobbies, I try to be somewhat "objective", sort of, lol Also, lived in Houston 25 years, so I do have a little bit of comparisons to other parts of the state except no interest in West Texas Midland,Odessa, most folks move there for oil jobs and other jobs created BECAUSE of all the people coming for oil jobs, just mostly not very scenic.

Also, East Texas is very humid, yeah, that's what creates all the lushness, lol, moisture. Good luck!!

Thanks so much MarkSenior, Tyler sounds nice, but the schools would be an issue, since we will have three school age kids and good public schools are important. Lindale, Bullard and Whitehouse sound good, are they close to Tyler then?

[Westerntraveler]

Originally Posted by MamaMiaof3nJD

Thanks for your info about San Angelo. I would like to avoid crowded cities. Ideally I would like to live an hour from a moderately smaller city (around 70k or less population), is that a possibility?

I would love to live near the hill country, but have noticed it is quite touristy and very expensive.

Anytime.Im more familiar with mid-sized cities in West Texas but there probably is somewhere that would fit work for u elsewhere.