Texas

[Patriot]

I'm considering a move to Texas. My girlfriend and I are about to be married next month and we're looking to use my VA loan and buy a house next year. We moved to Florida 12 months ago from Seattle, and although it's ok here, it's not exactly what I was looking for in a place to settle down. There isn't much land to buy, most houses come with a 1/4 acre or less. We've been looking at houses in Texas that have 2-5, sometimes up to 10 acres for the price of houses here in Florida with a half acre or less. Florida doesn't have the hunting, camping, lake fishing or mountains that I need. I've been here for a year and I'm going nuts without some wilderness to explore.

Both of us can transfer with our jobs to just about anywhere in the country. My company has positions in Houston, Dallas, San Antonio and Austin in Texas. Any suggestions?

[Wolfie]

Have family in the Dallas-Duncanville-Plano area, nice place and its booming.

http://bizbeatblog.dallasnews.com/2015/06/texas-housing-market-still-growing-faster-than-the-rest-of-the-country-despite-energy-sector-declines.html/

[Patriot]

Have family in the Dallas-Duncanville-Plano area, nice place and its booming.

http://bizbeatblog.dallasnews.com/2015/06/texas-housing-market-still-growing-faster-than-the-rest-of-the-country-despite-energy-sector-declines.html/

Yeah I think Dallas and Houston are my top two choices. Houston is only a 16 hour drive to my wife's mother's place in Florida which is a major selling point for her. My first choice would be Arizona but it's too far from Florida and my wife just won't go for it.

[Mike_Fontenot]

Austin (especially the north-west part) is very pretty, and the hill-country just to the west is very nice.  But Austin is a bastion of liberalism, in an otherwise conservative state.  Houston is very humid (maybe not too different from what you've already got in Florida, though).  Northern Arizona would probably be much more comfortable weather for you ... how about Florida via the airlines?

[DeltaSteve]

My wife and I our family's have been in DFW for three generations,yes it's booming, the natives are very freindly and no state income tax. That being said, it's awful flat and in the summer it's hotter than hell

[Patriot]

Austin (especially the north-west part) is very pretty, and the hill-country just to the west is very nice.  But Austin is a bastion of liberalism, in an otherwise conservative state.  Houston is very humid (maybe not too different from what you've already got in Florida, though).  Northern Arizona would probably be much more comfortable weather for you ... how about Florida via the airlines?

I'm not big on flying. I do it when absolutely necessary but it really freaks me out. I was stationed on USS Fife back in 2000 when Alaska Airlines flight 261 went down off the coast of California. We spent the next week pulling wreckage and bodies from the water. I've had a fear of flying ever since. In fact I didn't get on a plane for 12 years after that. Next month will only be my 3rd time flying since that crash. 

[Patriot]

My wife and I our family's have been in DFW for three generations,yes it's booming, the natives are very freindly and no state income tax. That being said, it's awful flat and in the summer it's hotter than hell

I'm originally from the Mojave desert in California. Heat doesn't really bother me.

[The_Shadow]

Al I can do is wish you all the best, I hear the horror stories from the Houston area, but that is getting be near most all major cities.  Houston isn't too far from the Gulf and other lakes rivers good for fishing.  There are open areas of AL and MS which are good for hunting but fishing not as much, probably not good for the job opportunities.

I'll be looking to see how things go for you all!

[Tomcat 10]

Patriot , Good luck with your move .  My son was stationed at Fort Hood , and my wife and I went out there to to see him .  I really liked Texas ,and  The people were really frendly .  If I was ever going to move to another state I would pick Texas .

[cwall64]

I have lived in Houston my whole life, my parents, and grand parents also.  It is hot and humid, traffic can be a tough one depending on where you life/work - but no where near as bad as Dallas!  I was up there last week and it took me 45 minutes to go 5 miles in morning traffic from a hotel to our offices!  Austin is the nicest if you can stand the liberals...  Nice thing is Austin and the hill country are only 2.5 hours drive from Houston and a nice weekend getaway, I am in Austin on business at least every other week.  I always wanted to move there, but it is getting kind of expensive in the popular areas.  If moving to Houston and looking for close by property my father has a working ranch that is near College Station (about an 1.5 hours drive) and you can still get a decent price of land for a "reasonable" amount of money.  It is not to bad for dove hunting, whitetail deer, and use to be great for quail, but the fire ants seem to have cleaned them out.  The areas out northwest of Austin (as well as south Texas) seem to be where a lot of the big deer hunts go on.  And you can hunt ferrel hogs where ever you want!

Unfortunately our hills are probably not going to satisfy your needs...  But they are nice for us flatlanders!

San Antonio is a nice town, not a huge metropolitan city like Dallas or Houston, but I wouldn't rule it out - nice town with a lot to do and see.  Not to mention it is much closer to some of the prime hunting areas in Texas.

[Patriot]

I have lived in Houston my whole life, my parents, and grand parents also.  It is hot and humid, traffic can be a tough one depending on where you life/work - but no where near as bad as Dallas!  I was up there last week and it took me 45 minutes to go 5 miles in morning traffic from a hotel to our offices!  Austin is the nicest if you can stand the liberals...  Nice thing is Austin and the hill country are only 2.5 hours drive from Houston and a nice weekend getaway, I am in Austin on business at least every other week.  I always wanted to move there, but it is getting kind of expensive in the popular areas.  If moving to Houston and looking for close by property my father has a working ranch that is near College Station (about an 1.5 hours drive) and you can still get a decent price of land for a "reasonable" amount of money.  It is not to bad for dove hunting, whitetail deer, and use to be great for quail, but the fire ants seem to have cleaned them out.  The areas out northwest of Austin (as well as south Texas) seem to be where a lot of the big deer hunts go on.  And you can hunt ferrel hogs where ever you want!

Unfortunately our hills are probably not going to satisfy your needs...  But they are nice for us flatlanders!

San Antonio is a nice town, not a huge metropolitan city like Dallas or Houston, but I wouldn't rule it out - nice town with a lot to do and see.  Not to mention it is much closer to some of the prime hunting areas in Texas.

Thanks for the info. Very helpful.

[Mike_Fontenot]

I'm not big on flying. I do it when absolutely necessary but it really freaks me out.

Understood.

I should have mentioned that East Texas is very different from the rest of Texas, and you might appreciate the East Texas woods because of your history in Seattle.  Summer heat is bad, but you are apparently not affected by that very much. 

I spent a lot of my summers when I was growing up on my maternal grandparents' farm just outside of Athens, Texas, and I have very fond memories of all the tramping around I did in the woods on that farm ... beautiful hardwoods and pines, and gently rolling terrain.

The rest of my summers were spent with my relatives in southern Louisiana (Opelousas and Baton Rouge) ... I liked that a lot also.

[Wolfie]

Over 1 million conservatives live in the liberal city of New York. President Bush moved to a liberal area called Dallas. In Texas they do not use the word liberal to describe liberal areas they use the word "cosmopolitan."  Do not be afraid to live in a "liberal" area. In fact demographics show the future of Texas. Non white Hispanics are already a minority. In less than 20 years liberals will be running Texas. It would be less than 10, but in Texas Hispanics are treated very well.

[cwall64]

Well, hopefully will have Abbot for max terms like we did Perry and we should be ok for a while...

[pacapcop]

I am overjoyed that Texas wants it's physical gold bullion back to Texas in it's own depository once built. Back from the corrupt Fdd Reserve in Manhattan. Its actually Univ of Texas Endowment for Academics investment fund. Non the less requesting and getting are two different things. They see the ongoing fraud and corruption. Also a fan of Hedge Fund investor Kyle Bass.