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Old 05-04-2010, 02:37 AM
 
Location: Texas
14,076 posts, read 20,526,395 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kawgpz550 View Post
We have been looking at relocating to East Texas, However, my husband is thinking about going back to college for a teaching degree. Therefor, we are now looking for something around rural Dallas.
Does anyone have any insight to any of these areas? What the towns are like, utilities, taxes tornado activity, and overall life. They all look like nice areas and seem to have good schools. I would just like to hear from someone that may know the areas.
If I don't find something in the rural Dallas area (trying to stay south of Dallas) then I may have to start looking back around rural San Antonio...I just didn't find many rural areas around San Antonio that had good schools. The places I did find are not easy to find reasonable housing.
Any info will HELP!
Thank you all very much!

[CENTER] HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! [/CENTER]

Unless you're just married to the idea of Texas in general, you might be better off to consider Bryan County, OK, which is just across the Red River from Texas. It seems to offer everything you're looking for with a much lower cost of living.

Property taxes are noticably lower. So are utilities because they're still regulated in Oklahoma, unlike in Texas where we enjoy the "benefits" of Gov. Bush's deregulation. My electric bill here in Texas rarely falls below $200 (2100 sf house) and is in the $400-500 range during peak use seasons. If I had this same house just a mile or so north, over in Bryan County, it would never get above $200. Yes, Oklahoma has a state income tax, but overall you save money by crossing Red River.

Property values have gone up in recent years, but you won't pay any more for a place in Bryan County than you will in East Texas. However, most of the recent growth has been north and west of Durant, the county seat. There are still moderately priced, rural homes for sale southeast and east of town.

The county is one of the fastest growing areas in the country with jobs pouring in all the time. The Indian casino just outside of town is in the process of expanding their work force to about 2000 so, with your experience, you shouldn't have trouble finding gainful employment.

Here's the kicker for you, though: Durant is home to one of the most respected teacher education schools in the country: Southeastern Oklahoma State University. It is a pretty small, liberal arts college with an enrollment of about 3000 or so and it's education graduates are heavily recruited because of it's reputation.

For the "finer" amenities of city life, there is the Sherman/Denison, TX metro area about 20 miles away and it has anything you might want. The combined population is around 60,000, so most of the major retail players are present.

As for tornadoes? Yes, we get them here occassionaly, but so does east Texas. You're not immune from them, but they're not an every day occurrance either.

Just something for you to consider.
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Old 08-17-2010, 09:44 AM
 
1 posts, read 749 times
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Anyone have any input on Van?
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Old 08-17-2010, 11:04 AM
 
3,028 posts, read 5,083,379 times
Reputation: 1910
About 1,500 pop. Most people work, shop etc in Tyler. Which has most everything you need, and much of your "wants."
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