What works in Tx for single retired not wealthy female (Houston: 2015, crime)

[In_Correct]

Originally Posted by explorer2014

In_Correct is incorrect. Competing with your neighbors is a widespread phenomenon everywhere but if anything it is more prevalent in the more affluent areas around Dallas than anywhere. It is also an individual choice. If you choose not to be drawn into that way of thinking you will be fine. To entirely avoid people with the keeping up with the Joneses mentality you would need to live alone on a deserted island.

I honestly cannot imagine it is such a major problem in the college towns of Oklahoma that it should discourage anyone from living there. What Johnhw2 says makes a lot of sense because college towns often bring more culture to an area than it would otherwise have.

I never said "Keeping Up With Jones" wasn't an issue with the affluent areas or larger subrubs around Dallas, because the OP has ruled that out, right? I think "just enough to pay bills" would rule out all the affluent areas.

I am not sure what OP's price range is and also I am not sure what type of environment she wants. "Anywhere except Kansas City"? And I don't know what the desired exact population is but No, small towns are NOT the same. Some are bad, some are worse, while many are very decent. Sorry I am not trying to promote any place. Perhaps those types of college-casino towns are desireable for OP and if so then do it because I reread and now notice the part where OP didn't mind corruption. That part I made a mistake. Oh well.

[explorer2014]

Originally Posted by In_Correct

I never said "Keeping Up With Jones" wasn't an issue with the affluent areas or larger subrubs around Dallas, because the OP has ruled that out, right? I think "just enough to pay bills" would rule out all the affluent areas.

I am not sure what OP's price range is and also I am not sure what type of environment she wants. "Anywhere except Kansas City"? And I don't know what the desired exact population is but No, small towns are NOT the same. Some are bad, some are worse, while many are very decent. Sorry I am not trying to promote any place. Perhaps those types of college-casino towns are desireable for OP and if so then do it because I reread and now notice the part where OP didn't mind corruption. That part I made a mistake. Oh well.

The point about not all small towns being the same is exactly why small college towns are desirable. They have things that are not available in most towns of a similar size. That's why most of the places you see in best places to retire listings are college towns.

[Johnhw2]

OP I have personnel experience with Durant from growing up there and with Mom and sisters family living there for decades. Neither keep up with the jones and both enjoy Durant. My mom is 91 and long retired after living in Durant for over 80 years. My sisters family have lived in Durant for 35 years by choice. My mom had two sisters who moved to Durant to live after their husbands died. One moved from Houston and the other from Miami in far NE Oklahoma to Durant. Both were surprised at how much there is to do in Durant and both fit into the community and developed good friends there despite moving there later in life.

Durant is not perfect nor for everyone but I think it might be a very good fit for your situation. Good luck!

I don't know nearly as much about Tyler as others but the little I know about it would make it a good Texas fit for you to compare to the far South, near Dallas options mentioned.

[KathrynAragon]

Originally Posted by Mark Senior

Can't resist this, check out areas near Tyler. You might want to be near top notch medical facilities in your retirement years. Look at information in the Tyler sub-forum. Good luck.

Amen. Tyler is a great area to consider! Close but not too close to Dallas/Fort Worth, especially on the west side of Tyler (Chandler, Van, Edom, Ben Wheeler, Canton, etc). The Tyler forum is a good source of info.

[AmericnGrl]

Thank you for your recommendations of Durant and Tyler. I will definitely investigate those 2 locations - they certainly sound good to me!

Which brings me to - How does the search function work here - I don't seem to have any luck so I must be doing something wrong?

[Mark Senior]

For me, I would search, the Tyler Sub-Forum with much information. Then for both Durant and Tyler go to City Data then the State and just look up the two cities. I hope that helps. Good luck.

[BobTex]

Remember the further south the warmer.

Try Lufkin/Nacogdoches areas. I would like to recommend the areas around Woodville, Texas in Tyler County (2.5 hours south of the city of Tyler). I have 50 acres of timberland (Tyler County) with improvements and pay less than $XXXX/year in combined taxes (DM me for the figure but I'd guess 60%-70% lower than local city dwellers). Livingston is another small town worth investigating. East Texas is beautiful forestland and generally some of the lower taxes. Lots of wildlife. Only drawback might be the humidity.

[Clemencia53]

Move to the gulf coast if you want to get away from cold weather. Yall are mentioning towns in OK and north Texas and all I can think of is the snow, ice and tornadoes.

I did live in OK for a while and enjoyed it, but did feel landlocked.

[cp102]

What is your budget, would you buy or rent that will definitely make a difference in where you would choose to live in Texas, not all small towns are budget minded. I live in a smaller city but the rents can be very high.

[AmericnGrl]

Originally Posted by cp102

What is your budget, would you buy or rent that will definitely make a difference in where you would choose to live in Texas, not all small towns are budget minded. I live in a smaller city but the rents can be very high.

I doubt I will have the resources to buy a home again so apartments are probably where I will end up. Right now I like doing outside stuff a lot, landscaping and lawn mowing, etc. but that's not to say that won't change depending on health, etc.

Anyway, though I live in a house now I don't have much equity and so apartment living will be where its at for me. I have mixed feelings about that but it is what it is.

So if anyone can give insight with that in mind - the rental costs as well. You're very right housing costs and rental costs will need to be taken into consideration.

I'm going to have a really hard time giving up my garden, that will be my one regret, my huge covered patio, etc. because most apartments come with postage-stamp sized decks. Some older apartments have bigger decks but they usually don't have w/d hookups and that is one thing I don't want to give up.

There's always the chance i could find a house to rent depending on the market but that's a big maybe - anyone, costs to rent are going to be a big consideration for me.

The housing collapse was a major blow to lots of folks and I was definitely affected as I went from having a little equity to being upside down. Some areas are recovering but where I live in K.C. hasn't improved at all, sad to say.