Got my list, so how do I make a decision? (Austin: renting, insurance)

[changeofpace]

We considered San Marcos for our move but found it had a higher cost of living than Portland, Corpus or Harlingen. Property taxes, homes cost more in San Marcos (property taxes affect rent). We would have had to commute several times a week to Austin for our work and the traffic in and out of Austin to San Marcos was very congested and it was 46 miles from San Marcos to downtown Austin. Good luck in your search.

[idontthinkuheard]

I want to add my 2 cents as I am searching investigating places as well. And I think what is important is to see what is important to you in a city and take the good with the bad. I mean honestly there is no PERFECT place.

I live in So cal I love the weather the beach etc. But I tell ya it is so darn crowded I cant handel it, thus I am moving to a less crowded placem sure the weather isn't as nice... but if the perfect place was out there we would all be moving there and it wouldnt be perfect any more

So keep up the search and you will find the right place eventually. And... if you dont stay where you are.

Hope this helps

J
psalm 14:1

[Adoniyah]

I am new to this forum.

I was not born in Texas but the wife and I got here as quickly as possible. I've lived in both Dallas and Houston. I liked Houston much better until Katrina. After Katrina, the crime rate in Houston sky-roketed. I suppose every criminal from New Orleans came to Houston.

I have since retired and now live in the beautiful East Texas piney wood country near Colmesneil. Many good people live here who love God and are always willing to show their kindness and helpfulness.

You gotta luv it when the Cost of Living Index is 72 compared to the average of 100. I recently had our new 2200 sq ft. house built on our 20 acres for approximately $70,000 in 2005.

[DFWMike]

To Colmesneil resident: Thats cause you can't find a job out there to save your life unless you are a teacher, city worker or a bank manager, unless you count working at the Woodville wal mart or the local prison a good living. (no offense to those that have to work there, but you know more than we do how little they pay you). But I imagine it would be a decent place to retire. If it's your cup of tea, that area is a real bargain. I lived in the area for 10 years, I doubt I would ever return to live, but great place to visit. Good luck down there, hope you continue to love it.

[NOTAM]

the prison system pays very well if you are a nurse...you are contracted either thru UTMB or Texas Tech...good pay and benefits.
now obviously correctional officers dont get paid that well, unfortunately. they should.

Originally Posted by DFWMike

To Colmesneil resident: Thats cause you can't find a job out there to save your life unless you are a teacher, city worker or a bank manager, unless you count working at the Woodville wal mart or the local prison a good living. (no offense to those that have to work there, but you know more than we do how little they pay you). But I imagine it would be a decent place to retire. If it's your cup of tea, that area is a real bargain. I lived in the area for 10 years, I doubt I would ever return to live, but great place to visit. Good luck down there, hope you continue to love it.

[KewGee]

Candy Apple,

You may find this link useful as far as pollution goes:

Clear The Air (http://www.cleartheair.org/dirtypower/map.html - broken link)

Just select Texas, and it will show you where all the coal burning power plants are in the state. Click on the "plant icon" and it will show what in what county a plant is located.

Texas ranks as the highest emitting state for power plant emissions of mercury. That risks the health of our children and impacts the over $6 billion fishing industry.

[kylevp]

this may sound really silly, but we were googling for a gaming group in hill country, trying to find some folks to game with that are at least old enough to vote.... preferably old enough to have enough experience to vote intelligently :P

Anyway, your post popped up. If you end up around kerrville, and still have an interest in gaming, look me up My wife and I haven't played a table top game in half a decade, and it sounded like fun to start again :P

It is very pretty here, air is clean. work is easy to come by if you are in the medical field. Other than that you are looking at home depot / lowes / walmart type jobs.

But then, cost of living is much lower here than places like san antonio etc. that pay better.

Those reports on that site are almost as old as my son (the clear the air page). and he's already in kindergarden.

They also don't state much in the way of sources for their information, so there isn't much of a way to see if it is accurate now (or even then).

[Taylorcraftbc65]

Hey ADONIYAH, I love the screen name, nothing like telling everyone straight
out what your spritual beliefs are.
I don't think that candyapple is going to want to live in your area if it is true, as according to one of the posters on this page that she is an athiest.
I grew up in the hills of east Tennessee, where you went to CHURCH Sunday morning, Sunday night, AND made it to Prayer Meeting during the week.
Know what? I never SAW any crime till I left the BIBLE belt. Brie

[RoaminRed]

Originally Posted by Taylorcraftbc65

Hey ADONIYAH, I love the screen name, nothing like telling everyone straight
out what your spritual beliefs are.
I don't think that candyapple is going to want to live in your area if it is true, as according to one of the posters on this page that she is an athiest.
I grew up in the hills of east Tennessee, where you went to CHURCH Sunday morning, Sunday night, AND made it to Prayer Meeting during the week.
Know what? I never SAW any crime till I left the BIBLE belt. Brie

Unfortunately, most people who follow an organized religion have a skewed opinion of atheists. Typically, the only ones they see are the wacky ones that make it onto television by being jerks. Think of it this way...if you're a Christian, do you want everyone who is not a Christian to think that you're of the Fred Phelps type of Christianity?

Well, fyi most atheists don't care what brand of religion you practice, nor what god you worship. All we want is to live in peace and raise our children to be good law-abiding citizens that think for themselves and take personal resposibility for their own actions.

Contrary to what you might think, we don't want to "de-convert" you, and on the flip side, we aren't interested in your trying to convert us to your beliefs either. There are good and bad people of all beliefs, atheists included. Please don't paint all of us with the same brush as Michael Newdow et cetera. Like you, most of us just want to get along with our neighbors and have a good life.

[JamesAbilene]

I know that I am an Abilene booster, but consider Abilene.

South of town are mesas that look like small mountains. There are lots of roads and paths that bikers use to explore that area. I have 5 friends who bike from Abilene that direction every day. (Toward the town of Buffalo Gap--which is a beautiful, tree-shaded, old community right between the Mesas.)

Swimming is not a great option. There are lakes, but they are not great swimming holes.

Jobs are plentiful and unemployment is low (around 3%). Wages are not great, but the cost of living is low. Rents are very low.

There is a good (not great) bus system. The negative is that it does not run on Sunday.

There are several taxi services.

Lots of subsidized housing for rent. Unfortunately, most of it is in large apartment complexes.

I don't know the answer to your goat milk inquiry.

Abilene has a rep as a highly conservative Christian community. I have friends who are atheists...they are not bothered. Also, the Air Force Base brings in lots of people with diverse views.

The largest electrical generating wind farm in the United States is located southwest of the city. (There was an article about it in Time magazine last summer...don't remember the exact date, but you can look it up.)

It is not perfect. But it is a family friendly, pleasant city. I know there are lots of Mom groups, but many of them are affiliated with churches. There is bus and air service to Austin.

Good luck in your search. San Angelo would be another great choice--much like Abilene but not quite as large.