Where to relocate? Taylor, Burnet, Cameron, Hillsboro, or San Marcos Tx (Lockhart: water, BBQ)

[eepstein]

Ah, so loverose turns to hateroses around me! That's mildly amusing! I have nothing personal against you. I just came to know so many people from Hutto when I lived (on that side of town) and they were all dumb inbreds. I never have that problem in AR. Perhaps you are one of the few in that area who actually isn't like that. It is possible I suppose. But I have just had some bad experiences with people over there, that is why I dump so heavily on the city (if you can even call it that)

Originally Posted by love roses

Egads! I think we may actually agree on something! Shhh...don't tell anyone

[love roses]

I can't 100% fault you for not liking a place. In fact, my sister tells people she lived here when the place reminded her of the movie "Children of the Corn". Remember, I'm not actually FROM Hutto or Central Texas for that matter. I do like a lot of things about Hutto, but I do have a dislike list too.

[HappyTexan]

Originally Posted by love roses

I can't 100% fault you for not liking a place. In fact, my sister tells people she lived here when the place reminded her of the movie "Children of the Corn". Remember, I'm not actually FROM Hutto or Central Texas for that matter. I do like a lot of things about Hutto, but I do have a dislike list too.

OMG..ask your sister if that was back when the police force was 3 strong, the town pop was 600+ and Jake's Hill Road was that scary place you went on Halloween because of the dip in the bridge and the ride next to the cemetary on the original road ? LOL..back then it looked like the movie..even along 79

[HappyTexan]

I can chime in about Cameron if it's Cameron TX you ask of. Also know some about Taylor, TX.
Cameron is about 5K in population and a very Ag centric city.
Both the Ag Extension office and Ideal Poultry are located on Main Street if that's any clue.
No big box and the only chains there are the typical Texas chains (DQ and Sonic).
Everything else is mostly local mom and pop or local Texas chains. No Wallyworld or Chili's or Target. If you cringe at this..then skip Cameron

It really depends on where you are coming from and what you are looking for.
I'm also familar with Taylor TX and that is more of a suburban type city with country and Ag in the surrounding areas where Cameron is a town to serve the Ag community.

Taylor is close enough to Austin to get to the big city stuff when you want even for the day.
Cameron has Temple to the west and Bryan/College Station to the east for big city stuff.

Taylor is in Williamson County which has several big cities in it and borders along I35...much more of a developed county. Taxes are higher here.
Cameron is in Milam County which is primarily Ag..crops on the western part and livestock on the eastern part. Milam County does not border any big interstate. Taxes are lower here.

If you're looking for more of a suburban type country lifestyle..Taylor.
If you're looking for a real country type lifestyle with land, crops and animals ...Cameron.

Both towns are very friendly and I feel comfortable and welcome no matter where I go in either town.
I do suggest you rent rather than buy once you get here so you can get a feel for the different towns and decide which is better suited for you and your family.

Taylor Daily Press: Serving Eastern Williamson County, TX
Taylor TX - Official Website
http://www.taylorisd.org/CMS/index.p...page&Itemid=69

The Cameron Herald -- Serving Milam County since 1860
Welcome to Cameron Chamber of Commerce
http://www.cameronisd.net/default.aspx?name=homepage

[love roses]

Originally Posted by HappyTexan

OMG..ask your sister if that was back when the police force was 3 strong, the town pop was 600+ and Jake's Hill Road was that scary place you went on Halloween because of the dip in the bridge and the ride next to the cemetary on the original road ? LOL..back then it looked like the movie..even along 79

h
yep, I'm pretty sure it was. While she was still in her early college years, she was dating my brother in law and he grew up in Taylor. She would go out
there with him to visit is parents. She would always mention having to get to Taylor from Round Rock by cutting through the cornfields. Back then the only things out here were the 3 cops, Sonic, wag-a-bag, and the downtown and old town. One stop light and that's it. None of the other neighborhoods were there (well, the High School was there), none of the other businesses along 79 currently were there either. Round Rock was considered the boonies and even then not much was between it and Austin.

[Canine*Castle]

It's my personal opinion, but I would not live in Hillsboro. I know it well and I deplore that town except for the beautiful courthouse. I won't go into details as to why, but check it out. You may discover what I don't like about it. I don't know anything about Cameron and do know a little about the other places you've mentioned and would choose only Burnet if I were to live in any of them. Of course, I might even cross that off my list if I were to delve into what's happening there.

[pete1667]

Great info Hound 109. Thanks for the helpful website on the schools. I narrowed down the list based on the need in the community for the business that my family will be starting. Also, all of the cities listed seem like wonderful places to raise a family. I have also added Luling to my list of potentials. It is not a county seat but it is growing rapidly and has great BBQ! :-) Anyone know anything about Luling? Thanks!

[TexasHorseLady]

I know it's worth driving to (don't stop in Lockhart, just keep on goin') to have brisket at The City Market. Also, sometimes the fine aroma of oil wells will waft on the air, so you need to be prepared for that!

[texasdiver]

Just curious how you came up with that list of cities. Because it seems totally random. They are not at all similar.

Hillsboro is a slowly dying farm town along I-35 with not much to recommend it. Schools are mediocre.

San Marcos is a larger college town just north of San Antonio. Home to Texas State University which has over 30,000 students and is one of the fastest growing universities in the state. It ha all the typical college town stuff and decent schools. It is within commuting distance of northern San Antonio.

Taylor is a farm town east of Round Rock that is slowly falling into the greater Austin suburban zone

Burnet is in the hill country west of Austin and more of a vacation area. Lots of Austinites have weekend ranches and lakeside cabins in that area.

Cameron is a poor dying farm town further east of Taylor.

Of the towns you list, San Marcos is the only one I'd even remotely consider for relocation if you care at all about the local economy and education. There are other towns that are comparable to San Marcos but they are not any that you list. Towns comparable to San Marcos with good schools would be places like Georgetown, Woodway/Hewitt (suburbs of Waco). In the greater Dallas area there would be Denton, McKinney, Allen, Mansfield, Rockwall and many others.

If you're just looking for a vibrant small town outside the sphere of a larger city then Brenham would be worth a look. It has excellent schools.

Frankly the TX economy is best in the areas that fall within the larger metro area spheres like Dallas, Houston, Austin, and San Antonio and the cities that fall between them like Waco and Temple. The farther out you get from the big cities, the slower the economy gets.

[wanderer74]

One of my best friends is from Hillsboro and she would definitely not recommend living there unless that's where your family lives. Hillsboro is a rundown town with bad to mediocre schools and it's definitely not friendly to outsiders.