Beaumont....good place to live? Where very nearby is better? (Port Arthur: rental homes, appliances)

[doctorjef]

BobTX apparently doesn't agree with me. I lived in Beaumont for 13 months before fleeing to Austin. It's the best city in the area. Port Arthur is far worse and Orange is sort of a dying place way passed its glory. Small communities like Nederland and Port Neches don't have much to offer IMO. Lumberton, Silsbee and other communities immediately to the north of Beaumont are just little towns, some with smelly paper mills. Beaumont is bad enough but it's got some amenities and nice neighborhoods.

[BobTex]

I think specifically it is better to live 10 minutes north of town(Bmt) and be able to have a more serene, quiet, wooded setting and safer place (Lumberton) And just DRIVE the 10 minutes and enjoy the amenities!

And who would mention Port Arthur (total ghetto and VERY unsafe) or Orange (30 minutes away on a dangerous roadway) in a conversation of GOOD places to live. Also both of these areas involve nearby refineries as do the areas south of Beaumont of Port Neches and Nederland. Nederland being more desirable.

Lumberton is above any type flood plain (Bmt isn't), is 20 miles from any papermill (its in Evadale) and would require a northeasterly wind to have any odors ... NE winds are pretty rare here. Hardin County(Lumberton and Silsbee) have only one papermill and it may be shutting down.

The only drawback to Lumberton is its explosive growth in the last 10 years. Infrastructure has struggled to keep up. Their schools are rated higher than any public school in Beaumont though.

I think more importantly is would the OP want a true city setting or a more wooded, country setting.

I have lived in(including Port Arthur 25 years ago) or worked in most areas mentioned here. I also have lived in the region of SE Texas for over 40 years.

[Michiman]

I think more importantly is would the OP want a true city setting or a more wooded, country setting.

I have lived in(including Port Arthur 25 years ago) or worked in most areas mentioned here. I also have lived in the region of SE Texas for over 40 years.[/quote]


Ideally, wooded setting is what we'd like.

[LinaJo76]

Originally Posted by Michiman

Is it a safe place? Here, Detroit has thousands upon thousands of people living in the city, but I wouldn't live in it. It's not safe. How is the crime rate? Do homes there have barred windows for security? Is it safe to walk down the street at night? Is it a good place for kids to grow up?

Yes, Beaumont is a nice little town. I had been born and raised there until the 4th grade (when we moved to Livingston, Texas another 2 hours away). I liked it. My mother still lives there and I have some family that live there too.

We used to play until dark and such, but that was more than 24 years ago or so, you have to remember. I really don't know how it is now (I go 1 time a year to see my mother, but for only 3-4 days, so I never had a lot of time to see it).

I used to live not far from Alice Keith Park (about 2 blocks away) and we played there all day during the summer season (played in that little bitty inground swimming pool they used to have). Now they have a huge pool for everyone (I've seen pictures. It's nice!!).

But like someone said before, Lumberton is a lot safer than Beaumont, but not a whole lot to do though. Very tiny town, still after all these years (even though there are more businesses there now). I had lived there until the 1st grade (my first 6 years of my childhood was spent there).

I still love them both and miss them both greatly.

[elmuno]

Does anyone have any old photos of the big above ground pool at Alice Keith Park or Magnolia Park in Beaumont Texas that was there in the 60's????????

[cBach]

SE Texas is the poorest part of Texas and is known as "cancer alley". There's not a lot going for it, except great Cajun seafood (lots of Cajun transplants) and proximity to the Gulf.

[AlGreen]

As much as I hate to agree with him/her, cbach isn't lying. I used to live in Beaumont, and let's just say that it isn't the best place to live a healthy, fulfilling life. Horrible odors coming from the plants/refineries was an ordinary occurence, to the point where you pretty much got used to it. But you do have a lot of great, friendly people down there.

And Southeast Texas is not the poorest area of the state. Extreme South Texas and parts of West Texas are. Beaumont actually isn't that poor at all, and you do have some pretty nice middle class neighborhoods around the area.

[centexguy]

Originally Posted by cBach

SE Texas is the poorest part of Texas and is known as "cancer alley". There's not a lot going for it, except great Cajun seafood (lots of Cajun transplants) and proximity to the Gulf.

But there's no facts to back up either claim that SE Texas is either poor or has high cancer rates, both are urban myths.

[Rapunzll]

Or maybe not.....

Collaborative on Health and the Environment :: Port Arthur, Texas: Public Housing Residents Breathe Contaminated Air From Nearby Refineries and Chemical Plants

[BobTex]

Port Arthur and Beaumont are apples and oranges