Longview TX

[KathrynAragon]

Originally Posted by Redlionjr

I don't know why people are bringing up Tyler since she didn't ask about Tyler.

OP, I grew up in Longview so I can tell you all you need to know about my hometown.

There's 4 public high schools that serve the area.
Longview High School, Pine Tree HS, Spring Hill HS, Hallsville HS

Parks/outdoor activies in Longview:
Lear Park (probably the best park in the city)
Akin Park(nice neighborhood park, nothing AMAZING about it but it's a nice quaint park in a good neighborhood)
Ingram Park
Hinsley Park
Teague Park( duck feeding, has an Amphitheater, a nice little pond, a nice little getaway park for picnics, does have some homeless people but they don't bother anybody and they should be able to enjoy a park as well)
Caddo Lake (close to a hour from Longview, but it's the only natural lake in the state of Texas and truly one of a kind in the state)
Thomas Falls Zip line(27 miles north of Longview near Ore City)
Lake Cherokee
Lake O' The Pines(48 mins from Longview, use to go fishing and camping with my father growing up. GOOD TIMES!)
Pinecrest Golf Course
Alpine Golf Course
Longview Arboretum and Nature Center(this is fairly new and is still in construction but it's an expansive project that will enhance the city once completed)
Paul Boorman Trail
Cargill Long Park Trail

Museums:
Longview Museum of Fine Arts (surprisingly a nice arts museum in the middle of East Texas)
Gregg County historical museum
Longview W.O.W. (hands on museum aimed at children)
East Texas Oil Museum(located in Kilgore about 20 or 15 mins from Longview)

Festivals/Events:
T-Bone Walker Blues Fest
Artwalk Longview
Texas Shakespear Festival (in Kilgore, a 15 min drive)
Hot Texas Balloon Race(this is truly unique to Longview, at any given day you can look up and see a Hot Air Balloon above your neighborhood, it's the Hot Air Balloon capitol of Texas)

Longview has great food especially when it comes to country cooking/bbq/soul food. Doesn't have a diverse cuisine scene but the restaurants that are there(especially the local eateries) are a gem.

Restaurants/eats:
Butcher Shop(best bakery section in the city as well)
Juicy's
Dudley's Cajun Cafe
Carter's BBQ
Bootlegger's Grill
Mi Casita
Chillum Grill
Lil Thai House
Unc's Bar B Cue
Texas Best Smokehouse
The Catch(fairly new but great food)
Nanny Goats Cafe and Feed Bin
Tuscan Pig Italian Kitchen
El Sombrero
Pizza King
Cotton Patch Cafe
El Rincon
Jack's Natural Food and Store(one of the few VERY FEW healthy options in the city for eating)
Divine Catering
Fat Boyzzz

You really can't go wrong with LOCAL restaurants in Longview, stay away from chains!

Longview has one mall
Maude Cobb Convention Center and Belcher Center is where most of the concerts and events are held in the city
Lots and lots of Trees and rolling hils
Longview is served by 2 hospitals (Longview Regional Center and Good Shepard Medical center) LRC seems to be the better one.

Crime honestly is above state average but unless your a drug dealer or in that lifestyle crime will not effect you. Just make sure you know the area of the city your moving to avoid crime. I grew up in a area that was close to some of the most "dangerous" parts of the city and I never been a victim of crime because I wasn't involved in that lifestyle.

In comparison to other cities in East Texas, Longview seems to be the most "liberal" open minded city in the region. Now that's in comparison to East Texas so you can take that with a grain of salt.

Longview is very religious to the point it tends to be a little annoying to me(just my opinion). It's mostly southern Baptist in the city.

New construction and infrastructure improvements are popping up all on the northside of the city and being completely ignored on the southside of town. I grew up on the southside of town so that's one of the ugly sides of the city which is it tends to ignore the predominately black and brown communities in the city.

One of my biggest gripes against Longview is the fact it doesn't do much to try to embark on a tourist industry. It's centrally located in East Texas and sits right off I-20 in between DFW and Shreveport. You would think a city in a prime location would take advantage of that and try to build more grander projects like a Zoo,Amusement Park or something that can attract more visitors to the city.

This is a good overview of Longview.

To answer your initial question - I brought up Tyler because it's just one hour east of Longview and if the OP doesn't have any burning need to settle directly in Longview, Tyler is another option in East Texas that the OP could consider. Can't see the harm in it.

Knowledge is power!

[Glenn Ross]

Juicy's is one of THE best hamburger places in Texas!

[Tressa27884]

Thanks Redlion and Mark! I'm looking at rural areas in East Texas, and it seems like being close to Longview would be good for the kids and me. I appreciate your time in responding thoroughly!

[KathrynAragon]

Good luck, OP. If you want to know more about either Tyler or Longview or East Texas in general, just holler. I've lived in northeast Texas for over 25 years including in both Longview and Tyler. My daughter currently lives in Longview and my husband and I just moved from there two years ago.

Hope I didn't throw you off by expressing my preference for Tyler. Longview is nice too. It just depends on specifically what you're looking for in a town as to which one you would prefer. I would recommend visiting both, and all smaller towns in the vicinity as well - Gladewater, Kilgore, Lindale, Chapel Hill, Overton, even Flint, Gresham, and Chandler. They're all within an hour of both Longview and Tyler.

[Tressa27884]

I appreciate any and all input; both good and bad! Thanks for taking the time to read my posts and reply.