I live in CA and my DH and me want to buy a home in Texas now to move in a few years after kids are out of school, we are really tired of CA, and want to move to a nice middle to upper class neighborhood/city in TX, we've been doing a lot of research and are planning to make a few trips to look at new homes, but I would love to hear what all of you have to say or recommend and tell me about the city you live in and the pros and cons.

Thank you!!

If you want you can pm me or send me and e-mail [email protected] or just post a reply!!

Born and raised So. Cali girl here, now in San Antonio. Pick your patch of grass(1/2 of central to east tx) or dessert (1/2 of central to west tx) build or buy the choice is all your's to have. We've lived in Austin, Houston, El Paso, and now San Antonio in the 10 yrs since we left CA. My DH is a Systems Analyst for a Major Bank. We love something about every place we have lived. But for us San Antonio has been the best all around. Austin was and still is High Dollar. All of my family lives in Austin Proper and in some of the neighboring cities. Housing is expensive, but the living is Grand! Houston is Texas Sized. Big Big Big, and Fun Fun Fun. We traveled a lot when we lived in Houston because there was so much to see and do. Cost of living for us was moderate. Where we lived, off of FM 1960 between the I-290 and I-10 everything was very reasonable. We had city living with a small town feel. El Paso is great if you love the dessert. No Humidity, prices real good on homes, and many places to travel to for a days drive. One plus for us was that we lived only 13 hrs away from our family in So. CA. and 8 hrs from our family in Austin. Visiting the family was a breeze in travel and finances. Now here in San Antonio we have everything we need. The living is easy and the cost of housing will fit Big wallets and coin purses too.Currently the corridor between San Antonio and Austin is the hot spot. People from all over the US are coming and buying Property for investment, and the small towns are quick becoming small cities. Well I hope this helps a little, and good luck where ever you go.

Gloria I

Thank you so much Gloria!! That was a lot of good information, I can't wait to make the first trip and see with my own eyes, I just have to look for a good realtor first!!


Thanks!!

Funny... I'm from So. Cal., been in Texas for 16 years now, and would LOVE to move back to CA! Texas is fine, cost of living is definately better than CA, but you you have to drive quite a distance to get anywhere (mountains, beach). We now live in N. Dallas (hot, flat, too much traffic and construction!) We were in Austin previously, and loved it there. Nice lakes and hill country. Don't mean to sound too negative... I burned out here this summer, we have had like 40 days of over 100 degrees and no rain. Can't wait for fall!

Born and raised in San Antonio, TX and I have always loved living here. It does get quite hot and humid but if you are looking for a good place to live as far as cost of living this is definately the place. The traffic can be bad in some places but its not near as bad as the traffic in Houston or Dallas. I've never lived there but I've been stuck in that traffic many times there! Its a great place to live and we also have Sea World and Six flags Fiesta Texas here which are great for all ages!

I too live in "the burbs" north of Dallas - near Denton. Lived in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex my whole life. Sad to say - but I wouldn't recommend here. DH and I are just waiting for the opportunity to get the heck out. And I really, truly never thought I would consider living anywhere other than here. I'm one of those Texans who thought there weren't any other states

Oh yeah - a biggie - the bad air (aka "smog" in CA). But I agree - I love the hill country too - very nice. Or the piney woods of east Texas.

Hey Allison - hope you got some good rain out your way. Looks like we're in for another round here in Coppell (work). Of course it will make for a LONG ride home - but at least it's not 100+!!!!

On this end I might be able to help you out with a realtor, if you look in the area between San Antonio & Austin. My parents just sold their home in 1 month after they bought the home they own now. My parents had some tough request, ie: sq ft, acres, out of city limits but close, and most important it had to fit my dad's budget. They got all that and more. With the old house selling so quick my parents new home is paid for. My dad got his acreage, mom got her sq ft and a Craft cottage to boot. I'm talking a little house with all the emnities, just for her crafting and scrapbooking! Their realtor did his job because my parents are very satisfied.

On the other hand you do have as cakesbyallison stated, HOT HOT HOT summers. While it's true she is in a part of Texas that is harder to live in, that's all part of your information gathering. We have had a blazing summer and no rain, but Cali had both. Believe me when I say, if the economy was different my Dh would have us back in Cali quicker than a tornado could touch down. He's a life long surfer with a love of beaches and ocean from Frisco to the tip of Baja California. It was not easy for him to leave, but providing for his family came first. Anyway just some more info to chew on. Once again Good Luck in your research.

Gloria I



Hey chrissy saw your post after I submitted. I'm in NW 15 min from Sea World where are you? Great info by the way on our city, should we mention the Spurs too? Or how about the possiblity of a Grand Prix race here in 07? Gotta give the men something to shoot for.

Thank you so much all of you for your comments. The HOT wheather and humidity is not and issue, where I come from the humidity can reach 100% during summer, and traffic well I can tell you that my husband works 80 miles from where we live right now, and during peak hours it could take him up to 3 hours to get home, go figure!
Like I said before, we would like to buy a couple homes as an investment but having in mind to move there eventually, I really would like to live in an small town or at least in a place that when you go out to your backyard you don't have to see your neighbors windows, may be I'm too dramy about it, but I always heard that people in texas is ery nice, here in CA the quality of people is every day worse, doesn't matter where you live, there is always gangs, low riders, grafittis, etc.
I just want a peacful place to live and where my money is worth, here in CA everything is soooo expensive.
Anyways, keep posting more info if you have it!!

Thanks!!

I have a close friend that lives in San Antonio. He loves it there, and says he will never move back home.

Theresa

I live in Longview, TX. It's about 65 miles west of Shreveport, Louisiana, and 120 miles east southeast of Dallas. I have lived here all my life so I don't have much to compare to, but I love it. My brother lived in San Diego for a while and now lives in Lemoore (northern Cali) so I can only compare to the few times I've visited him. I have to say, heat is definitely going to be the biggest difference for you. Plus we do get much more rain than they do in the San Diego area. Like mentioned before, the cost of living is much cheaper, especially in the more rural areas. Longview was just listed (I think it was in Texas Monthly magazine) as one of the ten cheapest cities to live in within the state.

I am with MisDawn on this one. I live in Longview also, and I love it here. I grew up in a VERY small town about 30 min from here which is a nice place if you want to live in the country. Only drawback is having to dive for 30 min to get somewhere. Longview is a decent sized city (population about 75,000 I think), but not huge. Traffic only gets bad during the holiday season. You are only about an hour away from the casinos and there are plenty of lakes nearby. The country out here is beautiful if you like the piney woods.

Well, you've heard from the East & South Central Texans - now the west.
I live in Odessa, we are about halfway between Ft Worth & El Paso. Midland/Odessa is kinda like a mini-DFW. Mostly money in Midland, working class in Odessa. Each city has about 95,000 in population. No water around for quite aways, but if you like semi-desert conditions, this is the place to be. I have lived in every area of TX, this is the best for people, weather (except wind in Spring ), jobs are very good now, with the price of oil up. If you are looking to get away from the crowds, our idea of a traffic jam is more than 6 cars at an intersection!

Hope you'll find your dream-home, wherever you land!

i am in central texas, Bryan/ college station home of the fightin' texas aggies. i moved here when i was 5 and have not left. i came from houston and if you are in to a mid size city with good schools and low crime rate this is the place to live. wether is here like anywhere else in tx unpredictable! we have long hot rainless days here and snow only comes once every 10 or so years but it is the place for me. cost of living is not bad and we have a low unemployment rate. we are about 2 hours from houston, 4 hours from D/FW, 3 hours from San Antonio, and 9 hours from the mexico border.

happy hunting in tx, the place to be.

Good Evening!
I live in The Woodlands, TX. Very Nice area! Growing very fast, they have added alot of new attractions. We are about 45 min. North of Houston, TX. When you get ready to look for a house, I know an excellent Realtor, her name is Haley Garcia, she works for Coldwell Banker.

I wish you the best! Happy hunting.

Misty from The Woodlands!

East Texas gal here. I have lived from one end of the country to the other. I was born in CA, young years in NY and all inbetween.There are only 2 places that are really green in Texas the Hill Country and East Texas. I love the piney woods. I spent many years in Dallas and couldn't get out of there fast enough. As with any major city, you are going to have traffic, pollution, and just plain crazy people. I got where I was uptight every time I had to get out and go anywhere. I have spent time in Austin and San Antonio, its a little much for me. Lots of theme parks and college kids, and the traffic is getting bad. Of course the hill country is around there. They have some good restaurants, and I enjoy the River walk in San Antonio. Although I have to drive a little ways to where I want to go, its nothing compared to the hustle bustle of the bigger cities. I enjoy the lakes and the greenery, of East Texas. It is much slower pace. I just prefer the rural areas more. The cost of living is less, and you can usually find some pretty good deals on property. Of course if you have to work, the money will be better in the bigger cities, you might find something a little more rural but commute. East Texas covers a big area, Tyler, Longview, Marshall, Kilgore, Greenville,Mt. Pleasant, Gilmer, Pittsburg, Canton, Sulfur Springs, Jefferson, Atlanta , Mineola, Winnsboro, and the list goes on. Good Luck in wherever you decide to go.

I guess it all depends on what you want - we have it all in TEXAS!
I love the East Texas Piney Woods. We have 17 acres of that - future retirement place!
I love the coast - Crystal Beach/Galveston - Except the humidity.
I grew up halfway between Waco & Dallas on IH35. I loved it there. Close enough to get "somewhere" but you were out in the middle of "nowhere". Now, I'm just east of Dallas and I wish I wasn't! I hate the traffic and it's nothing but concrete!
No one has mentioned the Panhandle! It snows up there!

Hey MISDAWN:

I live near your brother here in cali i am about 45 min there is a town between us. Is he is the service and the navel base that is what most of the town is made of. if you were talking about Lemoore ca. ok have a good day.

Yes my brother is a chief petty officer in the navy there. He just got off the USS Lincoln two weeks ago.

Wow, so much information!! I like small town feeling, slow pace and lots of greens, I don't care if I have to drive 30 minutes to get somewhere, here in CA evrething requires long drives, even taking my kids to a good school takes me 25 minutes, I just can stand the concrete and constant noise. I live in the Inland Empire area, where is most of it dessert and temperature can reach up to 115 during summer, so the heat is not a factor for us. One other think that we didn't consider when we bought our house here was school district, and man, how important is that, hopefully when we move we will only have one daughter in junior high, the rest would be gone to college.
I appreciate so much all your comments!!

Thanks!!

We have been in Tyler for 15 years. We love it here. It is a great place to raise kids. We have 2 5A schools and many elemtary schools. Tyler is where the HGTV Dream home was built a couple of years ago. We have beautiful lakes and friendly people. Tyler tends to be a little more social that the other small towns in east texas. We are known for the Tyler Roses and Rose Queen festivities as well as Azaleas and the Azalea Trails. Beautiful old houses and wonderful (high dollar) homes. There is a good mix in Tyler. We are only about 2 hours from Dallas. 4 hours from the Hill country. Please look at Tyler!!!

Another West Texan here - Amarillo. We're right smack in the middle of the Texas Panhandle. Semi-desert conditions. LOVE IT!! No humidity, except for a few days in August when we get much of our rain. I grew up in Arlington (between Dallas & Ft.Worth). Hated it! Never liked the extreme heat & humidity, crowds, traffic, smog.....YUCK! Moved up here 15 years ago and never want to leave!

We do get hot in the summers (100 is common) but with no humidity it's not too unbearable. And since the wind blows almost constantly it really helps. Summers here are described as standing in front of a hair dryer set on high.

Winters are rather mild. We'll get a good cold front blast through here (after all, there's nothing between Amaraillo and the North Pole except a few barbed wire fences!) but they only last a day or 2 then we're back up in bearable temps. Get some snow, just enough to make a good snowman, but doesn't cripple us.

We do, however, have some doozie of storms in the spring! Have a whopper of a hail storm at least once every year. Winds in the spring are also strong. I tease my mom, who still lives in Arlington, that we don't have a polution problem here - it all blows down there in the spring!

There is not such thing as a traffic jam here. If you have to sit through a light more than twice there must have been a wreck or something. You can get to whatever you need within about 5-10 minutes (even if it's across town). And if you drive in a straight line for more than about 10 minutes you're out of town. And you'll know it! Nothing out of town except prairie land and cattle. LOVE IT!

We have all the ammenities of large cities (pro baseball, football, hockey, symphony, theater, dining) but without all the hassle! And we're close enough to Dallas to go down for the weekend (about a 6 hr drive or 1 hr flight), as well as near New Mexico and Colorado for skiing. We have the beautiful Palo Duro Canyon for hiking/camping. No better place to live!

Read more about Amarillo here: http://www.amarillo-chamber.org/

Good luck in your search for a new home! As others have said, we have just about every type of climent here!

Marla

that is cool I glade he is home does he like lemoore ? the only thing i hate is the water it smells like rotten eggs to me lol. next time you come this way let me know

Wow Me2, that sounds so nice, I bet it must be very peaceful out there.
As far as I know there are no places like that here in CA and if you can fin them the house prices are sky high. CA properties are soooo expensive same as cost of living.
I look foward to visit some of the nices places al of you have mentioned!

I have nothing nice to say. I've lived just south of Dallas for about 6 months now (I'm a NJ transplant). Perhaps it is the area I am in but that saying about "good ol' southern hospitality" goes out the window. I have never ever come across such rude people. I dont care what they say about NYC being nasty and obnoxious, living in NY/NJ for 26 years I have never seen such blatently (sp?) nasty people. The impression that I get is that they dont want any outsiders "invading" their small knit community. They are very hesitant to welcome in change to their towns in a biz sense. Of course, this is just the area I live in - I know NOTHING besides the Metroplex and the surrounding areas.

oh puppyloveconfections,

i am sorry to hear you have been treated this way by some of the southern people here. i am really surprised to hear it. but then i have never lived in the D/FW area. i know it is not this way in houston or where i live in Bryan/college station. maybe you should look in to moving too... this is a great area where i am if you decided to find a different place in TX.

puppyloveconfections I'm sorry to hear that, I hope I don't have to go thru that when I move!

I bet it wasn't easy moving after 26 years living in the same city!!

Anyone else with more opinions??

Thanks!

Vicky, Fellow Texans
Lets just stop and think it is the end of August, we are hot, we are tired of being hot, we are broke from paying the electricity bill - and I don't even want to think about the water bill . Now I have lived in TX my entire life and am a proud Texan. I live about 20 minutes from Dallas. Vicky is thinking first of an investment property, so I would think a major city is going to be more profitable for her. I know that a 3 bdrm house in a "regular" neighborhood is running anywhere from $1100-1500 per month to rent. I would assume that is what you are planning on doing is renting the house out. Another thing to think about is to buy in a college town and rent to college kids. My daughter just graduated from WTAMU (go buffalos) and decent housing is hard to come by. I have several friends whose kids would rent houses. You can rent to as many kids as you have bedrooms (everyone has their own lease). If we had had the money we would have bought in Canyon and leased the house out to 2 other kids for enough to pay the mortgage then dd could have had free housing. Anyway this is just my 2 cents worth.

Melissa