Considering Texas...suggestions? Small horsey area would be ideal! (Houston: new home, employment)

[wppaints]

Ok, well what I am looking for may not exist, but I would like to move to a small(er) town (I live in Las Vegas and its so NOT me)....I breed and sell horses and sometimes show so I would like to be in an area where there are other horse trainers/people/barns, etc in the area..would like property with grass/pasture...need a job with salary high enough to pay for it, still single, 30s Christian woman so some social activity and friendly NICE people would be nice....not a fan of tornados, snow or rattlesnakes....I know thats a lot of requirements but...we dont have tornados or snow here, and the weather is nice 75% of the year which is the one reason I stayed 12 years..but we do have LOTS of traffic (and rattlesnakes) and super high priced property, little moral/family value structure and more fake women than a Mattel Barbie collection. I would love to live somewhere that is smaller, and more country with normal people who have old fashioned values...I can handle the hot weather but the twisters..I dont know. Anyone who can point me in the right direction would be awesome.

[southeasttexas]

Texas is full of potential places for you. Yes, the big cities have a lot of problems, but you can definitly still find a smaller town to suit your interests. I would only suggest you look to the central and southeast areas of Texas, as you are avoiding tornados and snow (those can happen in north and west Texas.)

Small towns along I-10 between Houston and SA could work; Columbus and Schulenberg (for example) are an option, as well as some a bit north of I-10, like many small towns around the Huntsville and College Station areas.

But if I just had to guess just one place in particular, I would suggest Brenham. Large enough for gainfull employment, climate to your liking, wonderful down-to-earth family type area, and very horse and ag friendly. I think you would really like it. Best wishes.

[Canine*Castle]

There are counties in Texas that have much less of a tornado chance than others. Some of them are:

Mason
Menard
Mills
Llano
Gillespie
Real
Kimble
Lampasas

Rattlesnakes are in Texas, but I'd rather have them than the threat of tornadoes. Snow is minimal in the above areas and something that doesn't happen every year.

Most rural areas in Texas seem to have the old-fashioned family values and morals but, of course, there are always the people who value material things, alcohol, drugs, and the like. I do believe though you'll have much better luck in a rural area of Texas than in LV.

Horse areas I'm not really familiar, but I know they're around.

[ripley]

Just a thought:

Contact Margo Dewkett with Windridge outside of Longview. Her knowledge of horses and your common values could lead to some good discussion of opportunities in this part of Texas.

Executive Director: Margo Dewkett.
Windridge Therapeutic Equestrian Center of East Texas, Inc.
P.O. Box 5932 Longview, TX 75608 ...

Windridge Therapeutic Equestrian Center of East Texas, Inc.

[TexasHorseLady]

Elgin in Central Texas is a possibility - very horse-oriented community, as well. Twin Creeks Equestrian Center is right outside of Walburg (TINY town). Lockhart is another possibility, as is Dripping Springs. Bertram or Liberty Hill, likewise.

These are all small or smallish towns, but an easy commute to Austin for employment if need be. There's several others in this area that might suit, as well.

[cabinfever126]

Here in 'west' Texas, we do have rattlesnakes and tornadoes. But I would rather put up with either of these. You know when to look out for tornadoes and get to shelter and as for as the rattlesnakes, bless their little scared hearts. They let you know they are there. Unlike the copperheads, corals and cottonmouths you have as you go north, east and southeast. Our part doesn't get much snow and what we do get is gone in a day or two.

[wppaints]

So, are there a lot of snakes in Texas?? This is one problem I recently had...I had been communting from Phoenix to Las Vegas and had a horse ranch in Phoenix, we had never had a snake problem until last year and they dug up a property at the end of our block to put in new homes..big surprise..then all of the sudden, I got HUGE (5ft) snakes...8 of them in one summer...and had a friend bit whose skin fell off his hand, and lost mobility in his arm...it was AWFUL...after that, I left permanently and I do not want to ever have to go through that again..I was deathly afraid to go out to the barn at night as thats when we found the rattlesnakes out in the backyard of my house next to my patio....at least the big bull snakes were out during the day and I could see them, but ICK!!!!!! I realize one might accidentally wander in but I dont want to move somewhere where it is "common" to find one in your yard....just thinking about it gives me the creeps.

[ChristieP]

No, there aren't "lots" of snakes in Texas. They are out there, but honestly, you really don't come across them very often unless you live right on a lake or a large pond. (Waterfront property isn't always a good thing...)

If you want a horsey place, look near Stephenville and Dublin, or maybe Brownwood. There are lots of other horsey folks and nice places to ride there.

Don't move to Mason or Menard if you need a job. There are NO jobs there unless you're a school teacher. My sister-in-law and her family live in Menard and she hates it. Also, the Hill Country has pretty rocky soil and thin grass, especially the further west and south you go.

[TexasHorseLady]

We have snakes around here, but I've lived here 11-1/2 years and seen perhaps 10 or 12 (of any kind, most of them rat snakes, not only harmless, but great for keeping rodents out of your horses' feed, though they do camouflage themselves to LOOK like rattlesnakes and can even,given some dry leaves or the metal side of a chicken coop, make themselves sound like one and get themselves shot).

There was one year where we saw more rattlesnakes than usual, and had both a dog and a yearling bit by snakes (both recovered just fine, by the way, one with anti-venin, the other without). But that was a VERY unusual year.

[BobTex]

On the pasture angle I'd check annual average rainfall because it varies greatly even within a hundred miles. Coastal and East Texas fit that bill as far as non artificial arrigated pastureland. I'm not a horse person but I do know pastures!

Snakes are everywhere but more numerous in some areas ... internet oughtta help there.

Tornadoes ... generally worse north of DFW (I-20) and somewhat west too. Although I remember the F5 that wiped out the community just north of Austin back in the 90's.