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We want to get out of California so bad we can taste it! We figure Texas is so huge, surely there is a town there that would suit us. Here's our wish list...so all you Texans out there tell us what you've got for us!
Town size = 25 - 80 thousand
Climate = low - mid range humidity (lower is better, of course)
Safety = VERY safe for families
Air = Clean is a necessity...we live in Bakersfield now, which has the 2nd worst air in the nation
Teaching Salaries = my husband and I are both English teachers, so we need to live in a place that pays a decent salary, or whose cost of living makes a lower salary acceptable.
Area = well, it would be nice to have a some greenery around us
So why not move to Oregon/Washington, or stay in CA? Well, the politics are so far left, that I truly fear for the future of our son...
San Angelo would be my first suggestion. Next would be Kerrville. Brownwood would be a close third. I would suggest Temple, but the humidity is a little higher here. Lots of great choices. All will be pretty conservative, safe and clean. Salaries are relative, so it is hard to comment on that.
Will tell you what we have found so far (going back down to TX next week to look around more). All the talk about heat and humidity (and make it sound like the entire state of TX is hot and humid) it depends where in TX you are. I have lived in Ft Worth and San Antonio and we are semi retiring back to TX after 35 years in MN (hot and humid from June thru Sep in MN). We are checking out Corpus and Harlingen TX. Portland is across the harbor from Corpus and has a population of about 17,000. Harlingen has a population of approx. 68,000. The breeze off of the Gulf and bays make Corpus feel more like the tropics with the tradewinds, not uncomfortable for us even from MN.
Corpus was clean, housing was a bargain, property taxes much less than in MN. Harlingen cost of living is even less. We visited Corpus the first time in March and both my wife and I were offered management jobs at the first places we inquired. The cost of living is so much less in TX than it is in MN that even if we did not get jobs at the same pay we would be far ahead in income. No personal income tax in TX, no tax on retirement income and they freeze your property taxes when you turn 65yo (dont know if that is state wide, a county thing or what, but we will check that out more next week. Talk about politics to the left, try MN if you want every feel good program and high taxes to pay for it. Business tax is 80% of what it is in MN.
We are looking forward to relocating to TX this fall.
I know the medical field is begging for people in most of TX as are transportation and financial management. Dont know about teaching positions.
Good luck. Will report more when we return from TX in 2 weeks.
Location: East Texas, with the Clan of the Cave Bear
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Well, most of Texas is pretty "right"! That is good for y'all! Now, the bad part ... you aren't going to mix "low" or "mid-range" humidity with "greeen" in Texas IMHO!
So which is it, green or lower humidity? Low humidity is in west Texas and on up to the Panhandle areas! Green is east of I 35 .... the greener the more east one goes! It is real green where I live but as I talked to a very good friend in Maine tonight I was lamenting that this week summer has set in finally. And it will be here until the end of September. An example of my lament: As I walked thru my property late this evening with the dog I got all sticky just with my leisurely pace ( no breeze, 85 degrees, ?% humidity).
Now I live only 75 miles inland and generally daytime heating (of the land mass)brings an onshore flow of Gulf of Mexico humidity charged air. Pretty darn safe in my county bu no large towns as the whole county has a population of only 17K. Green towns of your wants might include Lufkin, Nacogdoches (oldest town in Texas), Tyler , and Longview. I know there are probably a couple more that will scrape by on your 25K population prerequisite but its late and the brain is hazy!
The ideal thing for safety is to NOT live directly in town but "out" a bit. Most of Texas is pretty safe once you're out of the cities. The towns I've listed are all pretty good as far as safe. But as I tell everyone ... each individual is responsible for their own safety and the safety of their families. I am always armed and I practice almost every week to be prepared. In the 30+ years I've carried I've never even been tempted to bring my pc. out of hiding (thank God!). But I am ultimately responsible for my wife and children's well being and I am quite serious about it.
This little diatribe was to get you in a Texas mindset so to speak! Good luck and welcome to Texas if you decide you want to live here!
Location: East Texas, with the Clan of the Cave Bear
3,266 posts, read 5,632,596 times
Reputation: 4763
Quote:
Originally Posted by changeofpace
Will tell you what we have found so far (going back down to TX next week to look around more). All the talk about heat and humidity (and make it sound like the entire state of TX is hot and humid) it depends where in TX you are. I have lived in Ft Worth and San Antonio and we are semi retiring back to TX after 35 years in MN (hot and humid from June thru Sep in MN). We are checking out Corpus and Harlingen TX. Portland is across the harbor from Corpus and has a population of about 17,000. Harlingen has a population of approx. 68,000. The breeze off of the Gulf and bays make Corpus feel more like the tropics with the tradewinds, not uncomfortable for us even from MN.
Corpus was clean, housing was a bargain, property taxes much less than in MN. Harlingen cost of living is even less. We visited Corpus the first time in March and both my wife and I were offered management jobs at the first places we inquired. The cost of living is so much less in TX than it is in MN that even if we did not get jobs at the same pay we would be far ahead in income. No personal income tax in TX, no tax on retirement income and they freeze your property taxes when you turn 65yo (dont know if that is state wide, a county thing or what, but we will check that out more next week. Talk about politics to the left, try MN if you want every feel good program and high taxes to pay for it. Business tax is 80% of what it is in MN.
We are looking forward to relocating to TX this fall.
I know the medical field is begging for people in most of TX as are transportation and financial management. Dont know about teaching positions.
Good luck. Will report more when we return from TX in 2 weeks.
Best brush up on your Spanish if your going to move to Harlingen! Welcome back!
Spanish, Russian, Hmong, Somali & English has to printed on all transit and government services literature in Minneapolis & St Paul. I was very curious why all the service workers in Corpus spoke english that we could understand. The reponse from the mexican workers and management: If you dont speak satisfactory english you dont get hired. In MN you cant understand half the resturant, hospitality, landscaping or construction workers. Minneapolis has the largest Somali population in the country and the Hmong community is the 5th largest in the US as well.
As far as crime, Minneapolis is back on track to be called Murderapolis as it was called about 5 years ago. Its time to return to TX.
Check out the Tyler area. The cost of living will make you laugh it is so low compared to where you are moving from, the humidity is a little higher that you might like but it is the "Piney Woods" area and in Texas you can't get green without a little humidity. I lived in Corpus for a couple of years and talk about humidity! I know when I die if I'm not good I'll open my eyes and see the "Welcome to Corpus" sign. (Some people love it but I could never figure out why so no offense to those who do) Check out this website and read about Tyler. You can search by zip or city demos. Moderator cut: link removed
Kerrville's population is a bit under 25,000 at a tad over 21,000 and San Angelo is over 85,000, nearly 89,000. Tyler has close to 90,000. The population in Corpus Christi is over 280,000, but Harlingen fits between the figures you stated at about 65,000.
As an ex-southern Californian, it is not easy to escape the humidity in Texas unless you live in far west Texas but, in my opinion, it is not the greatest place to be. The Panhandle also has lower humidity.
Georgetown, which is south of Austin, is a nice city with a population of a little over 34,000. I have a friend who taught at Georgetown High School for many years and loved it. There is a very nice university there, Southwestern University.
It's a clean town and many years ago, it was well-known for high morals and teetotaling. It has a pretty low crime rate as well. My son lived there for a few years and loved it.
According to BestPlaces, Bakersfield's air quality is rated a 13 on a scale of 1 to 100 and Georgetown is a 40.
There is a nice town in the DFW metroplex called Keller which has a great school system, but because it's so close to the big cities, its air quality is rated an 11. Dallas is a 1 and Fort Worth, 11, whereas Austin is a 14.
These figures are based on ozone alert days and number of pollutants in the air as reported by the EPA. Nevertheless, when near a large city, the air quality is not going to be that great.
By the way, Kerrville's air quality is a 64 which is not bad and close enough to the population for which you're looking. Its crime rate though is higher than Georgetown. Kerrville's change of tornadoes is lower than Georgetown's as well.
Teaching salaries prove to be higher in the larger cities but along with that comes the crime and poor air quality. Sometimes school websites will list salary ranges right on the site.
Right now, we're greener than we've been in a long time because we finally got some much needed rain. Honestly, this is not always the case except probably in East Texas, but that is where you'll find even higher humidity.
I feel as you do; if I move again, I want what I want and that takes much searching. I wish you the best on your new venture.
Speaking as an English teacher--good luck===hardest working teachers in middle/high school (because coaches don't grade essays and don't have TAKS tests to worry about)--usually toughest job to find--less turnover in job slots--more women than men who get into schools and stay unless husbands are transferred...very stressful because of TAKS testing and No Child Left Behind rules...
The State of TX sets a base line salary for teachers--some districts pay above the state minimum--usually ones in more urban districts--around my area N. Tarrant Co--FTW--Mid Cities---there is a big deal each year at start of school about what the first-year's salary will be--right now it is sounds good-==several districts pay above state minimum---\
the Northwest ISD (which is not the highest, just the first I found) has a starting salary of 44,159--after 5 years you are making a munificent 45,559 and after 10 years 46,691---so you can see that experience is not rewarded--there may be a onme-time raise of about 5000 if you have a Master's r --but about the same ratio of 500-1000 each year after...
Teachers' insurance is not cheap--each district carries its own basically and the state ins board won't let them pool together in local areas--where people would have access to same hospitals and same doctors as other districts in area for better pricing---they are helping the insurance co not the districts or teachers--it is really prohibitively expensive to pay for family health care if you are a teacher with 3 or 4 kids--deductables are high and co-pays...
Regarding the retirement aspects of teachers in TX---if you have come from a state where you paid into your state retirement private pension--you can transfer that into the state pension and get credit for your past years teaching...
when you retire, there is what is called an OFF-SET penalty regarding SS...many teachers work in summer or part time at jobs that pay into SS---if they would earn enough and would be entitled to a SS check at 62 or 65, each dollar of their TX pension off sets or blocks a SS dollar---if you were entitled to a 300 SS check and you were getting a 2300 teacher pension--you would not see ANY of the SS check because the teacher pension is higher...
its the truth...
same with getting spousal SS check the husband/wife of the teacher paid into SS for years--when that husband or wife retires, a spouse can claim a spousal portion (based on whether or not that person also has a SS pension under his or her own SS earnings)
--but if you have a Teacher's pension--that off-sets spousal SS as well---
say you might be eligible for a 400 a month spousal check--and you retire w/a 1600 a mo teacher pension--you won't see any of the spousal check because the teacher pension is higher...
I have friend who taught for years in NY city and paid into SS under their plan--she earned enough that she would qualify for SS pension under her own SS number/earnings--not just a spousal portion from her husband who worked for American Airlines most of his life...she found out when she was ready to retire several years ago that her TX pension--which is pretty high because she had a master's and taught for over 20 yrs here in TX--would totally override ANY of her own EARNED SS pension--
NOT FAIR--does not even seem legal--but it is a way for govt to keep SS money and not pay it out...
You might like to read this story I found on line--it gives some positive and some negative info about the state's sense of responsibility to its teachers
Senate approves extra pay for retired Texas teachers (broken link)
Do I recommend teaching in TX--if teaching is what you love to do, you just need to know what the ramifications of that decision are--I have a daughter who is elementary teacher at first in Tx and now in FL and she loves it and is great at it (and FL is really no better and worse in some things than TX)
My son got an English degree and taught for several years in jr high--went back to school to get MA in creative writing--wanted to get college teaching post but just too much school and too much time and he is engaged and wanted some decent money and prospects--so when he knew he fulfilled his MA, he got full time job this year working as creative/tech writer for co in Dallas that does web-based instruction for variety of corporate entities like Visiting Nurses Assoc, IBM--he was lucky to get job because he has no real-world business experience but the owner of the small co wanted someone who was CREATIVE -- he seems to like it alot--company is small and they are kind of non-corporate about lots of stuff---we just hope it says viable...
There are few perfect towns/school districts in TX--many people have moved here from other states into urban areas or smaller towns--just like you want to do--fleeing from a bad situation--also we have many Hispanics doing the same thing from Mexico and Central/South American countries...
smaller towns have same sort of pressures as larger towns--drugs/gangs/poverty/crime and also good things...
I like the central portion of TX and so do lots of others--San Marcos/New Braunfels/Seguin and areas around Austin are getting overcrowded--
you might try Stephenville--just west of DFW--think that is nice town that is still pretty isolated because it is too far to commute to FTW--
also might try around Salado/Lake Whitney or Tyler in east TX--don't know any specifics but they are pretty nice towns in themselves
So why not move to Oregon/Washington, or stay in CA? Well, the politics are so far left, that I truly fear for the future of our son...
So do I understand correctly that you're moving because of politics?
That's a new one to me.
Not that I agree or disagree with you... I tend to be 'moderate', so I view both parties with equal disdain.
If you're looking for a more right-leaning area, just come up here to Northern California. We've elected the same Republican guy to the U.S. House of Representatives for something like 8 terms now, and he has a proven track record of doing absolutely nothing while in office... well unless you count "National Ice Cream Day" or "Dairy Goat Awareness Month" (I kid you not!).
But if you're looking for a definite right-leaning state, Texas is it. We're looking at Texas too, though for different reasons.
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changeofpace
, and Longview. I know there are probably a couple more that will scrape by on your 25K population prerequisite but its late and the brain is hazy!
