NH to TX.... help me decide (Houston, Dallas: hardwood floors, lease, homes)

[BobTex]

I posted a long and detailed response but don't see it here ... don't know why but since it's late I'll do the Cliff notes. I'll post your wants as a copy/paste


What I am looking for.


1) Better food culture and culture overall.

Houston. Houston. Houston.

Most diverse city in Texas hands down. Short trip to South Louisiana and it's Cajun delights.


2) Larger area to roam

Not sure what mean here. Plenty of trips within easy driving distance to roam from the Hill Country to San Antonio and even Austin and DFW. If you mean roam in solitude then that's more difficult except in far West Texas (National Parks) and maybe the National Forests of East Texas


3) Decent job market for CDL/plumbing/HVAC guys. (My gun parts business is online so it doesn't matter where I go really)

Probably anywhere in Texas for this. Again the Houston metro area is huge so that translates into a huge market.


4) I really, really, REALLY want to go varmint hunting. Seriously, I could go pig hunting every day and not be bored. I'll do my best to solve the TX pig problem.

Almost anywhere. I am friends with a rancher east of Houston about 50 miles who had a terrible problem and employed a helicopter hunting service and they killed 4,000 hogs in a month. Hogs are a huge nuisance and was destroying pasture land. The thinning out helped for about 2 years. As 97% of land in Texas is private you'll have to either get permission or join a hunting lease. Helicopter hunts are big business and FLIR would be cool. Coyote hunting is also beneficial to ranchers.

5) Wife is a huge fan of art so an area where there are museums and galleries would be nice.


Houston or Dallas. Cool themed museums all around the state

6) Decent housing price (aren't we all looking for that)?

Stats are on C-D I'm sure but most places should be cheaper than either NH or SD.

Good luck . Will answer specifics on the thread or by PM. Also with the worlds largest hospital district translators can be in demand (I work in healthcare)

[JoeTomo]

I think Tyler would be the best fit for you. Tyler is a medium sized city about 100 miles east of Dallas along I-20. Home prices are dirt cheap, crime is very low and the food scene is amazing. Guns are very welcome and “varmint” hunting is a weekend thing that a lot of people participate in. Oh, and you can kill all the hogs you want. The downtown area has quite a few upscale trendy restaurants and there’s a really nice open air street market down there that sells just about anything you could want. The unemployment rate in Tyler is one of the lowest in the state and that means its one of the lowest in the country. There’s quite a few CDL opportunities here as there’s several trucking companies that have HQ here. Overall Tyler is going to be a really nice fit for you. A city big enough to have all the perks of a large city but small enough to have small town quirks.

[abelinkkin]

Houston is the only major city with quick access to public hunting land (Sam Houston National Forest). Public hunting around Dallas/Fort Worth is pretty limited and finding private land to hunt without paying an arm and a leg is getting harder and harder. Hunting leases within an hour of any major city can be as much as $10,000 a year or more.

While Tyler is a nice city, its not going to have a vibrant food/culture scene. Houston has everyone beat on food. Its such a diverse city. Plus quick access to the beach.

$200,000 isn't going to cut it in any of the major cities unless you buy a dump.

[Treasurevalley92]

Originally Posted by tcualum

What languages is she able to interpret? What sort of interpreting does she do? Medical, legal, government, business? All of the consulates are in Houston but Dallas also has a thriving immigrant community. Immigrants who speak her languages may not be here though. I've been to many places in Europe and I will say that Texas won't feel European at all. Will she be happy here? Also, how happy are y'all with extremely hot summers?

Mexico and Switzerland both have Consolates in Dallas. Canada also does. I'm sure there are others that I don't know about.

[Treasurevalley92]

It's unlikely you will find any place to hunt hogs unless you are willing to pay for it or make friends with someone with land. No one lets strangers come on their land to shoot hogs.

[tcualum]

Here's a list of Consular offices in Texas. It includes the situations where a single person from that country agreed to be consular while holding down a full-time job doing something else.

[KathrynAragon]

I also vote for the Tyler area. I won't repeat what others have said but reread the posts about Tyler and yeah, I'm seconding all that!

And yes, come visit in August because typically the heat and dry weather is at it's peak here - so you will see Tyler at it's "worst." Personally I love the mild weather between October and June. July, August, and much of September though is really hot here. When I say "really hot," I mean it's not unusual for the heat index to get to about 110. Like today. And it may cool off to the upper 70s by 4 am but part of my soul starts to die when it's 10 pm and I'd like to sit outside on the patio and it's still in the 80s and sticky.

But I still prefer that over dealing with ice and snow on a regular basis for months at a time so I just remind myself of that when I am staying inside all August - LOL.

[Mark Senior]

Originally Posted by Treasurevalley92

It's unlikely you will find any place to hunt hogs unless you are willing to pay for it or make friends with someone with land. No one lets strangers come on their land to shoot hogs.

I'm not sure, that "no one" is totally correct, maybe most, we are not talking about city folk here, but the distress I've seen from homeowners over this problem on their land, they just may allow you to hunt on their lands. If not, it should not be hard to find or make friends with those that would allow your hunting. Just don't take a no, as a definite, not ever gonna' happen.

[Treasurevalley92]

Originally Posted by Mark Senior

I'm not sure, that "no one" is totally correct, maybe most, we are not talking about city folk here, but the distress I've seen from homeowners over this problem on their land, they just may allow you to hunt on their lands. If not, it should not be hard to find or make friends with those that would allow your hunting. Just don't take a no, as a definite, not ever gonna' happen.

I mean maybe someone will let strangers hunt on their land, but I've not met that person yet.

Usually, you have to pay or be friends...which is fair enough I suppose, you don't want people trashing your property or getting hurt and suing.

[Mark Senior]

Originally Posted by Treasurevalley92

I mean maybe someone will let strangers hunt on their land, but I've not met that person yet.

Usually, you have to pay or be friends...which is fair enough I suppose, you don't want people trashing your property or getting hurt and suing.

Yep, agree.