Living in Texas (Houston, Dallas, Austin: homes, find a job, buy)

[LIFELEADERSHIP]

Hello everyone !

I love the idea of living in Texas. I live in Minnesota. Beautiful during the summer, horrible during the
Winter. My wife and I are in our early 50's. Where is the best area to live in Texas. I hear horror stories of the HOT summers, the bugs etc. Just looking for some feedback. Also, would be interested in knowing if there are any areas in Texas where you can get a nice home around the $350,000 range that is
safe and offers plenty of shopping, restaurants, entertainment, etc.

THANKS so much for any help.

[KathrynAragon]

Hello!

I'm one of the resident East Texas lovers!

I moved here 25 years ago and I love it. My husband is from here. We live about an hour and a half east of Dallas near Tyler, Texas.

Northeast Texas is less extreme when it comes to many weather factors in Texas. It's got a definite "southern" rather than "southwestern" feel. It's green with rolling hills and plenty of trees, lakes and rivers.

Summers are long and hot and pretty humid - much like the upper half of Georgia, Alabama, or Mississippi. However, it's not as humid as Lousiana, even though Louisiana is right next door.

You can expect daytime highs between 90 and 100 just about every day from the first part of June through September. Not TILL September - THROUGH September. October is warm and very pleasant with beautiful temperate evenings. November is cool and can be pretty cold at times - same with December (we have already had some snow flurries and freezing rain this year but nothing has stuck). January is pretty cold and we can have some freezing rain and maybe even a few inches of snow between January and March. We can also have some beautiful spring like days in February, but do not be lulled into a false sense of security because we usually have one more cold snap, along with an icy freeze, after the first few days of warmth in February.

April and May are gorgeous months throughout most of Texas. Wildflowers are profuse. Evenings can still be cool and even crisp.

By June 1, summer is here and temps are usually in the 90s for highs in June and July. August and September are the most brutal months. Even the evenings are hot and muggy then. But that's what air conditioning is for! And all those lakes and rivers.

Spring and summer thunderstorms are common and can be severe but can also be awesome (I actually really like them).

Bugs - I guess we have them but I've never had any sort of serious problem with them. We do have our yard treated for mosquitos but the treatment isn't expensive and does totally take care of the potential problem, which wasn't that bad to begin with but we have a couple of grandkids who are pretty sensitive to them.

We've found a couple of snakes in our yard (we live across the street from a pretty wide creek). None were poisonous and we just let them go.

Northeast Texas has lots of positives - great medical facilities, nice towns (Tyler, Longview, Nacogdogches, Lufkin to name a few of the larger ones). Good shopping and not a far drive to several very large metro areas - 1-2 hours from Dallas/Fort Worth, 2-3 hours to Houston, 4-5 hours to Austin. The roads are in great shape.

Housing is very affordable. You could buy a very nice place, even with some acreage if you wanted, for $350k in most areas outside the big metro areas.

If I can help with any more specific questions, just holler at me! I love Texas and it's a very welcoming state.

[LIFELEADERSHIP]

Thank you so much, Kathryn. That is very helpful. I have a HS classmate who lives in Tyler.
Her and her husband love Tyler and all that Texas has to offer. I believe she is one of the news
anchors for the major TV station in Tyler. Her name is Gillian Sheridan. A wonderful friend and a
great person.

There are a lot of things I like about Texas. Just trying to figure out what area would be the best fit
for us and when to make that big move. The Winters in Minnesota are tough but the summers are
absolutely beautiful.

[RonnieinDallas]

I could never live in Minnesota (for the same reason you want to leave).

With that said, we need more information in order to give you relevant suggestions. There are probably 1000's of places that meet your requirements. $350,000 homes can be found pretty much everywhere in the state.
//www.city-data.com/forum/dalla...-should-i.html

Why Texas?

Will you be needing jobs, if you move here?

Have you applied for jobs here? It's really best to secure a job before coming here.

Have you ever visited Texas? If not, book a flight in early August to experience the heat for yourself.

Are you looking for something urban, suburban, or rural?

[hound 109]

I agree with everything that Ronnie says. OP, answer his questions in your next post.

Also, be sure you factor in 2% - 2.8% (per year) in property taxes. Note - the higher rates are in newer/suburban areas. 350K home would be 6K - 9K per year in property taxes (most of this goes to the local school district).

[bluescreen73]

Take Ronnie's advice. Visit in late July/early August when the heat is at its worst because you're looking to go from one end of the weather pendulum to the other. Trading mild-ish summers and crappy winters for mild-ish winters and crappy summers.

Another thing to consider with Texas are seasonal allergies. I lived in Dallas and allergy "season" starts in February with "mountain" cedar and it doesn't stop completely until the first frost in November. You'll have little breaks here and there, but for the most part Claritin essentially became a daily maintenance med for me.

Honestly if you want a better balance of summer and winter and you're set on Texas, the Alpine/Marfa/Ft. Davis area is your best bet. The only downside is that those towns are in BFE, but the climate can't be beat.

[LIFELEADERSHIP]

Thank you for all the great feedback. This is so helpful. We may be in a position to relocate in
the next couple of years so that is why I began to research.

Why Texas ? We have friends who love the Dallas area. The nicer Winter weather so 6 months of cold
is something we don't enjoy at this time. I work with some of the top HS Marching Bands in the country
so Texas is a great location for quality marching bands. Plus, we love sports so Texas is a hot bed for
sports.

As for a job, I do Leadership Workshops around the country and my wife is an elementary school teacher.
I can be located anywhere but my wife would need to find a job.

We are interested in finding a place just outside of the big city where there is a lot of shopping options, restaurants and entertainment.

We appreciate the insight from everyone. I love MN in the summer.

[Mark Senior]

Where do your friends live in the Dallas area? Half of the metro DFW of nearly 7 million live in suburbs that are just booming in population.

Tyler has major shopping for 100,000 pop and an 1 1/2 hour to Central Dallas. But you need to get a job first. City of Tyler property tax rate is the lowest in the state or any place over 15,000 pop. Most cities are 200-300 percent more. The rest of the taxes are just average. But you do save significantly on the city rate. Check Tyler sub-forum for as much information as you can get on anyplace else in Texas. Good luck.

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by LIFELEADERSHIP

Hello everyone !

I love the idea of living in Texas. I live in Minnesota. Beautiful during the summer, horrible during the
Winter. My wife and I are in our early 50's. Where is the best area to live in Texas. I hear horror stories of the HOT summers, the bugs etc. Just looking for some feedback. Also, would be interested in knowing if there are any areas in Texas where you can get a nice home around the $350,000 range that is
safe and offers plenty of shopping, restaurants, entertainment, etc.

THANKS so much for any help.

You can get a nice home in almost any city in Texas in that price range, that meets those requirements.

[soletaire]

I am another resident east texas lover...you should really consider the Tyler/Longview area. I actually regret leaving a little now...it has all the southern charm you could ask for with great scenery/rolling hills and even better Texas food ..it really is a great area in my opinion.