Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Greetings from a fellow native Texan and now resident of the NEK. I escaped Houston myself at the age of 30 and haven't been back in over 10 years. All family and friends come to visit me annually. It seems you are seeking "what TX used to be" and it's a shame it isn't that anymore. But, you will also find a similar pride and tenacity in the people around here. (unless they are the ones that are stuck/can't afford to leave)
As for winters??? I used to freeze at 65 and now shovel snow at 20 below in my pajama shorts and no coat. Just a quip- it was my fist year here and I hadn't got my remodeling project sealed up quite yet (after all how cold can it get??) and ended up with ice in my dishwasher. I thought it was hilarious! All things winter still are fascinating to me; like leaving the car running while shopping just so it stays warm, a 2 foot snow storm ... and that kind of thing.
Believe you me, I was more crippled by the heat in TX, than the cold in VT.
LOL!! I feel the same way after 24 years up here, having escaped my native South Florida. Every time it snows, the word "magic!" pops into my head.
The onliest thing I still don't like about winter: Getting shocked when I touch my car and other objects. Ugh! I actually whap my hand hard on the car door handle so I won't feel the shock because I prefer the pain of a whap to the feeling of a shock. Go figure.
Quote:
Originally Posted by swanstone1
Just a quip- it was my fist year here and I hadn't got my remodeling project sealed up quite yet (after all how cold can it get??) and ended up with ice in my dishwasher. I thought it was hilarious! All things winter still are fascinating to me; like leaving the car running while shopping just so it stays warm, a 2 foot snow storm ... and that kind of thing.
Believe you me, I was more crippled by the heat in TX, than the cold in VT.
Have you ever been down here? That's not meant to be rude, but I know how much hype Texas gets on these boards.
Texas might have an extremely low cost of living and ridiculously affordable housing, but it is not the utopia a lot of folks paint it to be.
I suspect you are talking about suburbia more than Texas. Suburban Houston and Dallas have no appeal to me, but there are many nice places in Texas that I've seen in my visits there. Nice folks too.
I like the show Texas County Reporter on the rural channel. I saw a piece on the new small/tiny home movement that has changed my life.
The newer suburbs suck everywhere. I'm not talking about the so called "suburbs" of Burlington that the natives here are hysterical about.
[quote=tskav;16303408]we're hoping to avoid this. I understand it completely, but I'm hoping that two young teachers won't really be assumed to have money. I could be wrong, but eh, what are you going to do. We'll get through.
Have you ever been down here? That's not meant to be rude, but I know how much hype Texas gets on these boards.
Texas might have an extremely low cost of living and ridiculously affordable housing, but it is not the utopia a lot of folks paint it to be. You very much get what you pay for. Especially the DFW metroplex, where we both have grown up.
For starters, Texas is overrun and over populated. Everyday there is a new cookie-cutter suburb going up and the same, tired cookie cutter mini-mall following it. What used to be, in my parents day, a great state of independence has become one giant suburb for the bankers and businessmen in Dallas, Houston, and Austin.
This is not only frustrating culturally, but it has drowned all of us in a sea of concrete. Any natural beauty this state once had has almost entirely been plowed away. You cannot escape DFW without driving for at least three hours, and even then, the small towns outside the metroplex have become just as monotonous and boring as the suburbs.
I would never, ever want to raise my children in most places in Texas. There is a horrible materialism that has embedded itself so deeply within this state that its scary. It is all about what neighborhood you live in, whether you drive a BMW, a Mercedes, or a giant custom truck, etc. Especially in DFW and Houston, there is nothing people care about except the latest designer bag and owning the best, brightest new thing. Is this an attitude that has permeated all of American culture? Sure, but I truly believe nothing outside of NY or LA can top the DFW suburbs in shallow materialism. Especially amongst the young people.
With that, this illusion of the outgoing, friendly Texan kind of shrinks away. We will be more than glad to shake your hand, give you a welcome basket, talk to you in line at the store, then we'll turn right around and cuss you and write you off. Texans will invite you into their home, and then tell all their friends at church the next day how rude you were for accepting their invitation. The friendliness in Texas is very, very phony. If you need help on the side of the road, a true neighborly act, or a genuine friend, you might be in deep trouble down here. I think its sad that we get such a great rap as being such friendly people because it is simply just not true.
I see a lot of people complain about the weather in New England, but I promise you we can do the same down here. Come spend a summer (which in Texas means mid-march through late October) and see how depressing it is. For a fair skinned, blued eyed kid such as myself, summer was awful. You can't play outside because it is over 110 with the heat index. The humidity is so thick you can take a butter knife outside and cut it. There is nothing but concrete so the heat just stays there and hovers, so even if you wanted to go outside and run around your tiny concrete coul-de-sac, chances were you just couldn't because it was so hot. Oh, did I mention pollution is out of control down here? So most mothers won't let their children stay outside for too long. My mother wouldn't while I grew up in the 'burbs in Houston and I know I would be pretty wary of letting my kids hang out outside all day in Dallas.
To top that off, you have no seasons or weather. As I said, it is crushing heat well into October. Spring is mid and upper 90's with gross, hot rain. Winter? Forget it. Sixty in December might sound nice to you all, but it gets tiresome. You want to actually feel like its Christmas. I would kill to see more than two inches of snow. I would kill to get a break from the overbearing sunlight that everyone hear seems to love so much. As I said, we're both fair skinned and the sun just murders us.
Now if you want to escape all this, pretty much your only option is to move to West Texas. Now I lived in the panhandle for quite some time and actually do have a sort of love for the part of the state, but it is slowly becoming a place I wouldn't want to raise a family. The schools are beyond sub-par to put it nicely, and the middle-class has almost all but disappeared up there. There is either the old, old cattle and oil money, or there is massive crushing poverty. Crime, even in some of the smaller towns up there, is worrisome.
Now is there lots to like about Texas? Absolutely! Just not for us. We don't feel as if we fit in down here. We're quiet, private people. We don't define everyone we meet by what class of mercedes they drive and what church they attend. We're not about spending money or going out to the latest club or restaurant. We're nice...but I don't want to be attacked and befriended right away. Let me get to know and trust you first for goodness sake!
Quite simply, Texas does not feel like home to us. It never will.
We're looking at Vermont to escape Texas and everything that goes with it. I have never had a really home (we moved around every two years, I actually went to three high schools in three years my sophomore, junior, and senior year) and neither has she. We look at Vermont as a place where we can start a family, work hard, and lay down roots. Where we can say one day that we're from Vermont and our children can say their home is in Vermont. You cannot do that in Texas anymore. It is simply a place to make money. People move here because it is cheap and you can live easily. It's made it so that if you want to live a simple, conservative, quiet life, you simply cannot. It's just a place to live until you can retire, not a home. We want to buy one house up there and never move again. A legitimate home.
The most important part of your relocation, however, is the job search. There is limited opportunity in rural VT, and not a whole lot more in Burlington, and the cost of living in Chittenden County is as quite high for a rural state, so I hope that things work out for you...
I do think that you'll enjoy the quiet nature of most Vermonters, and the change in seasons ( bring a shovel, or two), but if all things go as planned, you won't regret your move.
Last edited by MassVt; 10-19-2010 at 03:02 PM..
Reason: separation
Just remember that when you go through the trauma/cost of a major move to a place that you consider your euphoria, it is all worth it. It's not always the price(salary,house) but the peace that can make it all worth while. It cost me over 6 figures to get here(divorce court/kid) but finally finding the peace and sense of home I hadn't had was worth every damn dime. I'd work for minimum wage to be able to feel safe, at home and with peace every day. Hey, that's just me and we are all different.
Yes, Texas is beautiful in every place as well, but when you "know" how people used to be and realize they aren't there so much anymore, it is sad. Of course, becoming disillusioned with a place is just "that". You can't always get it back and sometimes it's easier to find what fits you and yours and go get it.
As for the OP, bring a tent or cabin hop it's all "just down the street". In TX you drive 12 hours straight and still are in the same state. In 12 hours you can see everywhere that is the basis of American history. (ok another goofy thing I appreciate cuz it's still new and I love where I live)
p.s. keep my screen name for when you get here and I'll make you some moose chili.........never made chili in TX, but now I reign supreme. (something else I find humor in.....varmints other than possum,armadillo and copperheads)
Wow! Again we are blown away with how friendly everyone on this forum is. Thanks so much guys.
Quote:
I suspect you are talking about suburbia more than Texas
Yes, I really am aiming most of my venom at the suburbs down here. What is so scary is that the suburbs really feel like they are beginning to stretch from Oklahoma all the way to the Gulf. Even my favorite town in west Texas, Amarillo, is being swarmed by mini-malls, cookie-cutter mcmansions, and awful horrible light pollution. Not to mention you will never see worse littering anywhere in America as you will in Amarillo.
Quote:
The most important part of your relocation, however, is the job search. There is limited opportunity in rural VT, and not a whole lot more in Burlington, and the cost of living in Chittenden County is as quite high for a rural state, so I hope that things work out for you...
Finding jobs scares us, but for us staying here would be even more frightening. Texas is drawing in so many teachers because of a deceptively high starting salary that competition has become beyond fierce.
We both go a pretty good teachers college out here, so we are hoping combining our school's hiring resources and beginning our planning early can combat this tough economy.
I really didn't mean to unleash a novel in this thread (I really just wanted to ask if anybody had been married in a Vermont Bed and Breakfast and get some advice, haha) but the one post asking why we were so "desperate" to leave Texas was a little frustrating and I guess I had a bit to say about Texas.
Again thanks for all the kind words and advice. It makes our day when we see somone has posted on our thread!
Oh, and swanstone1: will do! Moose sounds like a whole new kind of treat, haha.
What you said above - right there - is the reason why I think you will succeed in finding a home in Vermont. That is the 'attitude'. That is why I am going back even though I've encountered a bit of 'unwelcomeness' and I wish the notion was right that I was coming from out of state with lots of money....I am going back, not to raise a family since that is not in the cards for my husband and I, but to live and to have a home, a way of life that may not be easy....but worth every struggle.
Vermont is no different + highest wage paid to cost of living in USA.
House will cost twice metroplex and unless you're an MD you wage will be half.
MUCH better in WI,MN ,IA,ND for what you describe .Of course crazy to move anywhere now w/o a job in hand.
Ah! I am so embarrassed! My girlfriend makes fun of me for the "y'all" all the time and I'm trying desperately to lose it along with all the other Texan-y aspects of my speech.
Also does anyone have any first hand experience with Montgomery? Any info or anecdotes would be greatly appreciated! Thanks...you guys!
Haven't read through every post, so I'm not sure if this has been mentioned or not...
Are you planning on surviving on money you earn here? Thats probably not going to happen...
Tskav,
I didn't bring money to vt when I moved here AND I have a professional job. And my husband found one after arriving (architect). And the 110 people I work with all have professional jobs too, in a company growing 20 percent a year. It's not all doom and gloom.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
