Most beautiful scenery?: Tyler, Waco, or New Braunfels? (Houston, Dallas: crime, home)

[dee936]

Originally Posted by Mark Senior

We need Kathrynn to respond for Tyler. I'm Tired. But Tyler has it over Waco for what you are looking for or need, I think. Tyler State Park is not over ridden with guest. Really nice mountain bike trails, known for that. U.T. Tyler Campus has really challenging mountain bike trails as well a "regular" bike trails. Inside the city is Rose Rudman, and South Tyler Trails, and more to come, for walking biking, skating, strolling with baby carriages etc.

You will "do" yourself a disservice if you are checking Waco out but not Tyler. Come on Kathrynn, post your response, I'm done. Unless the poster would like to email directly for more specifics which I would be glad to provide. Oh, Waco's city tax rate is three times, that's 300 per cent HIGHER than Tyler's. For that matter Tyler's City Property taxes are the LOWEST in the state of any city over 17,000 population. Other taxes School, County are just average. I will tell the negatives as well as positives, just one of the 2 or 3 best places in Texas for MOST of what you want or need, I said Texas, not America. There many better places some where out of state, but again, in my humble opinion, not Texas. Oh, I moved here from Houston, and many others have moved here from Houston and the DFW area.

I wish Metro Matt were still a poster, he would have many photos on/of Tyler.

Oh, just one more thing, ahh, Columbo said, I believe, Tyler has it's on Sub-Forum, Waco as yet, does not, that should show/tell the interest level, more threads, posts, than Lubbock too, but not as large of a city. Just sayin' lol

Tyler is a plan jane town with no hills no identity and is like any average town around 90,000 people.
The city shut down at 10:00 pm and there is no nightlife anywhere to be found but it is about 80 or 90 miles from Dallas.My city Nacogdoches around 40,000 people have way more nightlife then Tyler basically Tyler is full of retired people who like slow place that like to eat and shop a little thats it.


You just need to go there to see and get a real glimpse of the town instead listening to people who live there or maybe natives because they are not going to tell you the flaws of that rinky dink town.

[TexasTallest]

Originally Posted by hhwdavid

"Old" Braunfels

Not sure Germany was an option.. awesome scenery though!

[TexasTallest]

Originally Posted by Wheretoraisemyson

But Does New Braunfels feel touristy? Or more small town? I'll definitely be looking more into it.

New Braunfels is kind of a hybrid of small town/touristy. On the one hand, its very small and in the winter time seems laid back.. but come summer time, you have over 1 million people visiting Schlitterbahn, with a number of old articulated busses shuttling people back and forth down the city streets between each section of the water park. Not to mention the people visiting to float on the local rivers, so it starts to comes off as more of a "party" destination.

[TexasTallest]

Originally Posted by Wheretoraisemyson

Hi! If you had to choose between these three cities, which would you say is the most beautiful area? I like lush greenery and a lot of outdoors for exploring. Husband likes to fish and camp. I'm about to have a second baby, another boy, and I'd like to put down our roots somewhere in a Texas town such as these. I'm currently in Houston and do not like the size and traffic. Jobs is usually the first thing I see brought up on a forum, and we both feel comfortable being able to find something. It's more about the first big investment of finding a nice house and area and go from there. We are looking for peacefulness, safety, family life. Thanks for any input!

Waco has the lush 400+ acre Cameron Park, with dozens of mountain biking/hiking trails of all different levels (and The Cameron Park Zoo is located at the front of the park), and of course the usual park amenities.. There are some cool vantage points in the park from the tall cliffs/bluffs along the the Bosque and Brazos Rivers (here is a picture of a few of the bluffs along the Bosque River). As for fishing and camping, there is the 13+ square mile Lake Waco, and a number of parks/campsites around it. There is also a great trail system along the Brazos as it goes through the heart of town, connecting Cameron Park to the far side of Baylors campus. The river front around downtown is pretty neat. If you're there on a Saturday, be sure to stop by the Farmers Market. Oh, and traffic is a breeze! Every once in a while there will be a wreck on i35 slowing things down, and of course any Baylor sport events will have traffic slowed down around campus, though since you are raising a family it seems like you would be more inclined to live in one of the "suburbs", and should be able to avoid any of that.

[texasdiver]

Originally Posted by TexasTallest

New Braunfels is kind of a hybrid of small town/touristy. On the one hand, its very small and in the winter time seems laid back.. but come summer time, you have over 1 million people visiting Schlitterbahn, with a number of old articulated busses shuttling people back and forth down the city streets between each section of the water park. Not to mention the people visiting to float on the local rivers, so it starts to comes off as more of a "party" destination.

Yeah, it would pretty much suck living in the old central part of New Braunfels with all the drunk college students tubing there all summer. Your yard will become a collection point for tossed beer cans and drunk college students looking for a bush to pee in.

[Gunion Powder]

I'll recommend Nacogdoches. More lush than either of these cities and it will put you a lot closer to Houston. The population is also a lot younger than a retiree magnet like Tyler.

[Wheretoraisemyson]

Really appreciating all of the opinions! One more thing that makes me happy to be back in Texas is everyone's passion for where they live! I have a feeling I'll love wherever we end up! Not sure if this made the decision making much easier, but I can't wait to do all of this exploring. These cities are all still on my "must-visit" list.

[KathrynAragon]

Originally Posted by Mark Senior

We need Kathrynn to respond for Tyler. I'm Tired. But Tyler has it over Waco for what you are looking for or need, I think. Tyler State Park is not over ridden with guest. Really nice mountain bike trails, known for that. U.T. Tyler Campus has really challenging mountain bike trails as well a "regular" bike trails. Inside the city is Rose Rudman, and South Tyler Trails, and more to come, for walking biking, skating, strolling with baby carriages etc.

You will "do" yourself a disservice if you are checking Waco out but not Tyler. Come on Kathrynn, post your response, I'm done. Unless the poster would like to email directly for more specifics which I would be glad to provide. Oh, Waco's city tax rate is three times, that's 300 per cent HIGHER than Tyler's. For that matter Tyler's City Property taxes are the LOWEST in the state of any city over 17,000 population. Other taxes School, County are just average. I will tell the negatives as well as positives, just one of the 2 or 3 best places in Texas for MOST of what you want or need, I said Texas, not America. There many better places some where out of state, but again, in my humble opinion, not Texas. Oh, I moved here from Houston, and many others have moved here from Houston and the DFW area.

I wish Metro Matt were still a poster, he would have many photos on/of Tyler.

Oh, just one more thing, ahh, Columbo said, I believe, Tyler has it's on Sub-Forum, Waco as yet, does not, that should show/tell the interest level, more threads, posts, than Lubbock too, but not as large of a city. Just sayin' lol

LOL here I am!

I like all three cities for different reasons. I'll add to your excellent post, Mark Senior, and try not to do much repeating.

I think the surrounding Hill Country makes New Braunfels very intriguing but personally I find the whole area down there 1) too congested, 2) too expensive, 3) too touristy for "everyday living," though I enjoy visiting. The natural beauty of the Hill Country is a draw but also, I do think it's a bit too dry and arid for my own personal taste all year long. Like they say, "It's a great place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there."

Waco is a pleasant town and I have always thought it had some big positives - I personally think it's got attractive areas, and I like it's proximity to both DFW and Austin. It's enjoying a surge of new popularity due to Chip and Joanna, which is nice. But honestly, if the OP is going to check out Waco, they really need to make the short drive to Tyler for comparison.

In my opinion, Tyler is overall the most attractive of the three cities presented. The town itself has lots of beautiful neighborhoods and areas. The surrounding countryside is not show stopping gorgeous, but it is VERY bucolic and pleasant - lots of rolling hills and pastures, lots of trees (you will notice a marked difference in the height and abundance of trees in Tyler vs the other two cities, for instance), and Tyler is also surrounded by many large lakes, rivers, etc. Out of the three cities, Tyler is going to be the most green and lush.

For the record, my husband and I could live literally anywhere in the US (and many places in the world), and after several years of traveling around trying to decide where to move, we chose Tyler. We have both lived and worked in many other states and countries but out of this whole wide world, we settled on Tyler, Texas! Now - to be fair, it's not my very favorite city in the entire world, but overall it met our all of our needs and most of our wants. One of those wants was natural beauty. Another was good amenities. And finally, we wanted to be CLOSE to a large metro area but we didn't want to live in the middle of traffic, congestion, noise and a higher cost of living. So overall, Tyler won our hearts. (By the way, we seriously considered moving to the Hill Country and looked extensively at property in that area but the congestion, the cost of living, the traffic and the water issues eventually persuaded us to reconsider East Texas.)

[BobTex]

Tyler, definitely Tyler. But they are all too crowded. If you want smaller why not just go up 59 to Lufkin and get true small town feel and benefits? Truth. Especially camping and fishing, With Sam Rayburn Reservoir almost touching the Lufkin city limits it can't be beat. Heck, I'd live in one of the lakeside communities.

[Gunion Powder]

Originally Posted by BobTex

Tyler, definitely Tyler. But they are all too crowded. If you want smaller why not just go up 59 to Lufkin and get true small town feel and benefits? Truth. Especially camping and fishing, With Sam Rayburn Reservoir almost touching the Lufkin city limits it can't be beat. Heck, I'd live in one of the lakeside communities.

Lufkin is considerably less attractive than Nacogdoches, though, and it seems less family friendly. They can move to Nac and still be close to Sam Rayburn.