Are you considering Waco? Don't. (Houston, Dallas: apartment, rental, house)

[HiddenValley]

You are doing no favors to Tyler's pretentious reputation. The lack of self-awareness is consistent with my expectations. What's my evidence? Well, you're still here, trying to make this Waco thread about Tyler. That's all the evidence I need.

Tyler's absurdly low tax rate is an example of the paranoid right wing political ideology that has a foothold in East Texas. No Texas city larger than 17,000 has such a low tax rate because it is obviously unsustainable.

And of course Tyler has changed in 30 years. For example, Smith County allowed the sale of alcohol four years ago. This last weekend, some gas station banners still read "WE DON'T SELL ALCOHOL. WE PUT FAMILY FIRST!" Only in Tyler could I get judgment with my unleaded. So alcohol is legal now? Fancy! But Tylerites are just as judgmentally condescending as ever.

Tyler is awash in pretentious debutante culture. It's obsessed with status--who has money and who does not. And, yes, it's still that way from the people I know there. Because the city is awash in condescension, the Tyler posters don't even recognize it. I first noticed it when I went to high school in Highland Park in Dallas--where the average home price is $1.2 million. Tyler is still more pretentious, despite its average house price of $182,000.

I'm glad that Tylerites aren't overtly racist to biracial children. The problem is that you don't recognize that awfully low bar. Before you start burning up the keyboard, I know that not all people are pretentious jerks in Tyler. I don't live there now, but I did live there for a long time and keep up with people who still do. There were certainly nice people there. But South Tyler culture hasn't changed. Claiming I don't know the place because I don't live there is the definition of provincialism. All of us only have anecdotal evidence. My experience is my experience and yours is yours.

In my experience, Tyler is old south. It is pretentious. Waco is southwest. It is not pretentious. Let's make this Waco thread about Waco.

[Mark Senior]

Originally Posted by HiddenValley

You are doing no favors to Tyler's pretentious reputation. The lack of self-awareness is consistent with my expectations. What's my evidence? Well, you're still here, trying to make this Waco thread about Tyler. That's all the evidence I need.

Tyler's absurdly low tax rate is an example of the paranoid right wing political ideology that has a foothold in East Texas. No Texas city larger than 17,000 has such a low tax rate because it is obviously unsustainable.

And of course Tyler has changed in 30 years. For example, Smith County allowed the sale of alcohol four years ago. This last weekend, some gas station banners still read "WE DON'T SELL ALCOHOL. WE PUT FAMILY FIRST!" Only in Tyler could I get judgment with my unleaded. So alcohol is legal now? Fancy! But Tylerites are just as judgmentally condescending as ever.

Tyler is awash in pretentious debutante culture. It's obsessed with status--who has money and who does not. And, yes, it's still that way from the people I know there. Because the city is awash in condescension, the Tyler posters don't even recognize it. I first noticed it when I went to high school in Highland Park in Dallas--where the average home price is $1.2 million. Tyler is still more pretentious, despite its average house price of $182,000.

I'm glad that Tylerites aren't overtly racist to biracial children. The problem is that you don't recognize that awfully low bar. Before you start burning up the keyboard, I know that not all people are pretentious jerks in Tyler. I don't live there now, but I did live there for a long time and keep up with people who still do. There were certainly nice people there. But South Tyler culture hasn't changed. Claiming I don't know the place because I don't live there is the definition of provincialism. All of us only have anecdotal evidence. My experience is my experience and yours is yours.

In my experience, Tyler is old south. It is pretentious. Waco is southwest. It is not pretentious. Let's make this Waco thread about Waco.

Ok, You burned my ass well, put me in my place, now, you feel better, are you satisfied? Now, let's see if anybody IS interested in making this a WACO thread.

[KathrynAragon]

Originally Posted by Mark Senior

Ok, You burned my ass well, put me in my place, now, you feel better, are you satisfied? Now, let's see if anybody IS interested in making this a WACO thread.

Yes, let's.

[KerrTown]

Originally Posted by TheOverdog

If you don't like Waco, you won't like any isolated TX small town (like Tyler) so I'd recommend a day trip to Dallas (an hour north) or Austin (an hour south).

If you don't like either of those, then you should plan a move to Florida or back to CA. Austin will be a little bit closer to CA lifestyle in some ways, but still nothing like a CA beach city.

You forgot about San Antonio and Houston, two hours away. If the OP wants a CA beach city, there is Galveston and suburban League City.

Originally Posted by Mark Senior

Do research, Tyler is 1 1/2 hour to DFW and not isolated and above all not really small, 225,000 in metro no, of course it's not LA or Houston or DFW but hardly rural, lol.

But Orange County it is not, but IMO much better than the Waco area.

I am also, curious why the heck was Waco chosen, yeah, one huge cultural shock, among everything else, coming for California, and especially Orange County to "boot", lol

Tyler is off the beaten path (from Houston at least and by San Antonio/Austin by extension). From personal experience, Interstate 45 is a long way from Tyler. Running to NorthPark for decent (South Coast Plaza-type) shopping is a pain in the butt. Can't wait for I-69 to reach Marshall (but you're already near Shreveport at that point).

Waco is accessible to all of the major Texas cities, San Antonio, Austin, and DFW on the interstate; Houston on Highway 6 and US 290. BTW, I-20 bypasses Tyler way too far in the north while I-35 goes directly through the city.

But Waco is the next Austin! You can thank HGTV's "Fixer Upper" for bringing Waco into the spotlight.

It's the last metro area on that stretch of I-35 that is still underdeveloped, until now! (Houston feels isolated from the rest of Texas with all that development along I-35.)

[JoninATX]

Since the OP never responded I guess he/she was just having a rough time. But still not sure why Tyler got involved in this discussion? If the OP was looking for the "OC" in Texas would be City of Austin or the Austin area like San Marcos, Georgetown, Leander, Cedar Park, etc would have been a better choice than Waco.

[TexasTallest]

Originally Posted by JoninATX

Since the OP never responded I guess he/she was just having a rough time. But still not sure why Tyler got involved in this discussion? If the OP was looking for the "OC" in Texas would be City of Austin or the Austin area like San Marcos, Georgetown, Leander, Cedar Park, etc would have been a better choice than Waco.

True. Or maybe Clear Lake or some other nicer suburb in southeast Houston, to keep some of the big city amenities near by, while retaining some of the beachy vibe he/she is used to. Obviously the beach in Galveston isn't nearly as nice as Orange County, but its a beach none the less, and the city is pretty neat.

[Cowboys fan in Houston]

Originally Posted by KathrynAragon

Longview and Waco, maybe, but not Tyler and Waco.

And Longview and Tyler are very different as well.

I'm sorry but absolutely not. Longview and Waco aren't even remotely similar. Waco and Tyler feel far more similar than Longview and Waco. Though Waco is not as conservative as Tyler is and not as pretty either. Wacos location to the big cities in Texas is much better.

[KathrynAragon]

Originally Posted by peterlemonjello

I'm sorry but absolutely not. Longview and Waco aren't even remotely similar. Waco and Tyler feel far more similar than Longview and Waco. Though Waco is not as conservative as Tyler is and not as pretty either. Wacos location to the big cities in Texas is much better.

Well, you're entitled to your opinion and I'm entitled to mine. I guess that's called an impasse.

I'm OK with that.

By the way, which of these three cities have you lived in?

[Cowboys fan in Houston]

Originally Posted by KathrynAragon

Well, you're entitled to your opinion and I'm entitled to mine. I guess that's called an impasse.

I'm OK with that.

By the way, which of these three cities have you lived in?

My mother lives in Waco. My fathers family lives in Longview, Gladwater, and Tyler. Ive spent more time in all of the above than I ever cared for.


Waco is actually my favorite of the lot because there is more to do there thanks to Baylor. Its also going through a re-birth of sorts. Tyler is ok too. I don't understand the appeal of Longview at all.

[KathrynAragon]

Originally Posted by peterlemonjello

My mother lives in Waco. My fathers family lives in Longview, Gladwater, and Tyler. Ive spent more time in all of the above than I ever cared for.


Waco is actually my favorite of the lot because there is more to do there thanks to Baylor. Its also going through a re-birth of sorts. Tyler is ok too. I don't understand the appeal of Longview at all.

Thanks for the information. I see that you have never actually lived in any of these cities, but at least you are somewhat familiar with them via family connections. That doesn't give you indepth knowledge of or experience in any of them but it does give you more insight than someone who is just passing through.

(By the way, I have lived in both Longview and Tyler, have friends and family we see often in Gladewater, and have had friends and family who lived in Waco, though they've all moved now - and I lived in Waco as a child but not as an adult, just to give some insight into my perspective.)

I'm with you totally on Longview - I really don't care for that town at all.

Personally (no surprise here), out of the three I much prefer Tyler, with Waco coming in second and Longview a distant third.

But I think all three small cities have very distinct personalities. You mention Baylor - well, I am not anywhere near college age so many of the activities that appeal to young adults associated with Baylor have absolutely zero appeal to me. For some people the term "college town" is positive, for others not so much.

But that's just a personal preference.

One thing that Waco does have going for it, for me personally, is that it's closer to Austin and San Antonio than Tyler. I do like those areas and they are at least a five hour drive from where we live just outside of Tyler. But we live so close to Dallas and Fort Worth that it's not worth the move to me to move to Waco rather than live in Tyler, especially considering all other positives and negatives of both cities.

I'm glad that Waco is experiencing a sort of rebirth (probably thanks mostly to Chip and Joanna Gaines). Anything that strengthens the economy of any Texas metro area is a positive to me and I'm proud of the positive attention that Waco is finally getting, after years of mostly negative (from my perspective). I've always thought Waco had some nice qualities about it, even though I've always preferred Tyler.

I wonder how much property has increased in value in Waco over the past few years? I know the average list price for a home in Tyler is $291,564. The average list price in Waco is significantly lower at $166,050, and for Longview it's $227,988.
Real Estate Overview for Longview, TX - Trulia

I think those differences give some insight into the type of growth, and the overall economy in each city. But like I said, it's good to see some positives coming out of Waco.