AndyRV7

AndyRV7

Well Known Member
I read the relocating to Dallas thread, and am in a similar boat, but with no job lined up. I just think Texas has been creeping into my conscious for the past few years for some reason. So maybe now is a good time to investigate a move.

I am trying to get a better feel for Texas as a state, not just DFW though. Can anyone help me understand the different types of landscape and weather that might exist for example in the North versus South, or East v. West. Is it all desert? Are there any hilly areas, is it all hot and dry, or does it get rain and snow ...where? When? What are the different areas like in terms of people and housing? Are there condo type places or all farms? What's the cost of living like in different places? If heard some people say cheap or expensive, but I'm not sure what that means!? For example, how much is a tie-down at a GA airport? Or does everyone have a hanger? You can't get in a hanger in NJ, and probably can't afford it even if you could get in from a waiting list (an exaggeration, but not much).

I'm really trying to learn what I can so I can try to direct my search a little. I've lived in NJ my whole life, and I love the water, but I also like the desert a lot as well. Not sure I want to be landlocked, but maybe a change is OK now too. Who knows. I'm likely going to have to find a new job before long. I'm caught up in the financial mess in NY and things are pretty scary right now as far as job security is concerned. But I've done a lot of other kinds of work growing up, so I have an open mind.

I was going to post this in the South forum too but I figure you guys in here should know more about your state than just the top half.

Thanks for any info.

Andy
 
Suggestion: Try to narrow it down

You might as well ask about all the information available about the entire U.S. Texas is a huge area with more diversity in its physical geography than the entire eastern third of the U.S. I suggest you check out some non-aviation resources to get a sense of the state and then come back with more specific aviation and RV questions here.
 
Texas

The Austin area is called the Hill Country. It has beautiful lakes and is somewhat culturally different than the rest of Texas, probably because of the huge university, seat of state government, and music scene.

San Antonio, further south, is a great SW cultural area. It has a lot of military bases and many retirees.

Further south along the coast, the Corpus-Harlingen areas remind me of the Orlando area. You can find palm trees and nice beaches. The economy isn't as good as Orlando's though!

The El Paso area along the western boundary down to Brownsville has the Rio Grande river and valley. The terrain varies tremendously and there is what you might call wilderness areas. Further south along the Rio Grande is a huge agricultural area which produces the world's best cantalopes and a lot of oranges and grapefruit.

The northern part of Texas is called the panhandle and is somewhat desolate in places.It has real winter weather and winds that produce much dust. Cattle operations are big there.

East Texas resembles Louisiana and Arkansas and has most of the trees in Texas. Houston area is heavy traffic, bumpy roads, and high humidity and heat.

Bremen, over east of Austin has the world's best ice cream-Bluebell !

Far east Texas has great fishing. Lot's of Texas has great hunting of all kinds.

Dallas-Ft. Worth are busy metropolitan areas with lots of nice suburbs and surrounded by great small towns.

The people of Texas are generally fantastic. They are straight-talkers and very friendly. Aviation is big in Texas because Texas is big!

Finally, in the words of the old Burma-Shave signs alongside the highways:
'The sun has ris'
the sun has set,
and we aren't out,
of Texas yet!
Burma-Shave!'
 
That's a good start! Thanks.

I think I am going to pick out a few "larger" towns on the map and then go look at the realestate pages. There should be some good pics of the houses and properties. Maybe even Google Earth for that matter.

Thanks again.
 
Texas Panhandle

If you check out the real estate prices around Texas you will probably find the best bang for the buck is in Lubbock, Texas.

Example:

http://www.coldwellbankerlubbock.co...R_AgentCode=&VAR_OfficeCode=* INVALID FIELD *

Plus we have the Red Raiders who knocked off University of Texas from the Number 1 perch last Saturday. Oklahoma State may knock off Texas Tech from their number 2 spot this Saturday unless Graham Harrell and crew can do it again.

I came to Lubbock from Austin in 1971 and the first two years couldn't wait to go back. For the last 35 years I wouldn't want to live anyplace else, having lived in North Carolina, Southern California, and the Texas Hill Country.
 
Gary Bricker

Texas is RV country. Someone get a count. Tell us what is your top 3 things you like and we will tell you where to get it in TX.
 
Yep, I am just sitting down here in the desert in Texas rubbing two sticks together to try to make a fire, maybe something will run by so I can kill it to eat. Seriously, you need to take about ten days and just check it out.

In the words of the Great David Crockett:

"You may all go to ****. I am going to Texas"

(Although he did crash & burn at a little place called the "Alamo", a few months later.)

Pretty much sums up how I feel about Texas.
 
AndyRV7 said:
What's the cost of living like in different places? If heard some people say cheap or expensive, but I'm not sure what that means!? For example, how much is a tie-down at a GA airport? Or does everyone have a hanger? You can't get in a hanger in NJ, and probably can't afford it even if you could get in from a waiting list (an exaggeration, but not much).
Click to expand...

If it helps, I'm somewhat familiar with both the DFW and Houston areas; grew up in/around the N Dallas suburbs but am currently in the NW Houston 'burbs. Regarding the cost of living, I'd think that just about anything here would be cheaper than NJ! There are expensive areas in both Houston and DFW, but there also reasonably priced stuff as well. I know that's kinda subjective, so to use an actual number, I bought my Houston house new in 2003, 2450 sq ft on a standard (fairly small) lot, paid $193K. And yes, it's nasty hot and humid here in the summer, but spring and fall bring really nice weather and the winters are mild.

Both Dallas and Houston areas have lots of GA airports and lots of RVs, and many airports have hangars available. My ship is in a hangar at Hooks (KDWH) on the N side of town, rent is $325/month. Hangars are usually available, no wait list. "Cheap" avgas too, last tank I bought was $3.50/gal.

If money and commute time were no object I'd probably be farther west over towards the edge of Hill Country, somewhere along a line between San Antonio and Georgetown, just N of Austin. Perhaps even out towards Fredericksburg or Kerrville... there are actual terrain features over there compared to the flatness of Houston; hills, lakes, clear running rivers and streams, curvy roads for my motorcycle. Problem is, everyone else wants that same stuff, so there's quite a bit of development there that seems to drive the price up. Also, GA airports are pretty scarce around the Austin area, so that's no bueno; I've heard hangars there are pretty hard to find. Ah well, guess I'll stay in Houston for awhile longer, since this is where my job is and all...
 
Thanks everyone. This has all been good info. I did a lot of looking around on the web last night and I now realize that I have a lot more to go!!

To be honest, I've always liked the desert but I'm not sure I want to live there (which may sound stupid to you all). I think a more grassy/hilly area might be better. I've surfed my whole life too, and that was just an excuse to be on or in the water. I'm not sure the gulf is were I want to be, but I'll have to consider that too. I may not be helping here, but I think I am just looking for a change. All my family and friends have left NJ in the past 10 years and are scattered about the Country (Myrtle Beach, Florida, N&S California). I only stayed for the job, and that is in jeopardy now too, so that kind of opens up the world of opportunity (at least the opportunity to move anyway!). I haven't ruled out Florida yet either. Not so expensive, no state tax (I think), GA friendly, and close to my family. Just really crowded airspace down there. Ah, but a good jumping off point for some nice Carribean trips!!:)

If I could trade the cost of living and the ridiculously crowded nature of NJ for something that is more conducive to spending a fortune building a plane, then that would be great. I was surprised to see that Texas doesn't seem a whole lot less expensive in general than NJ. But I guess you can rent a house with a two car garage there (for building). I can't get that here and still be able to afford a build.

Well, before I ramble any more, I'll say thanks again for the info. I'm going to keep hitting the Internet for the next little while and see if I can come up with some more directed questions.

Andy
 
jbDC9 said:
If money and commute time were no object I'd probably be farther west over towards the edge of Hill Country, somewhere along a line between San Antonio and Georgetown, just N of Austin. Perhaps even out towards Fredericksburg or Kerrville... there are actual terrain features over there compared to the flatness of Houston; hills, lakes, clear running rivers and streams, curvy roads for my motorcycle. Problem is, everyone else wants that same stuff, so there's quite a bit of development there that seems to drive the price up. Also, GA airports are pretty scarce around the Austin area, so that's no bueno; I've heard hangars there are pretty hard to find. Ah well, guess I'll stay in Houston for awhile longer, since this is where my job is and all...
Click to expand...
Having lived in Houston and Dallas for a total of 20 years, I'd agree. The hill country offers a lot of the good stuff of Texas. Summer climate is hot but somewhat drier than HOU and maybe drier than DAL.

The City of Austin is fairly anti-GA, but unless you want to live in a city, you probably want to avoid the actual city of Austin anyway. If you do want to live in the City, Austin is nice, although traffic and costs are getting bad. Austin didn't do much growth planning in the 90s and it shows.

If you like being on/near the ocean, there are some nice, quiet areas along the middle coast. Galveston is a real question mark right now.

TODR
 
Overview

If you are looking for some rolling hills and grass, think Brenham, Madisonville and some of the areas in between, as well as Waco and some points West of there. If you like Piney woods, hills and lakes, go to East Texas (Tyler, Lufkin, etc.). For desert, go to El Paso. For relatively mild summers try the Panhandle/South Plains area (Lubbock, Amarillo) -- no trees, grass, or hills there, though -- or Alpine or Marfa in the Guadalupe Mountains. For big cities, choose Dallas or Houston. For the music scene, go to Austin. The Hill Country near Austin and down to San Antonio is nice. Others have talked about the coastal areas, which I don't know well.

I know all these places, and I have chosen to live in Fort Worth.

There are also some very nice aviation friendly areas South and West of Fort Worth, like the Cleburne, Granbury, Pecan Plantation, Weatherford, Aledo area.

Wherever you go, expect the summers to be hot, and more humid the further East and South you go, and the people (outside of Dallas) to be genuine and friendly.
 
Still Love TEXAS!

I spent some formidable years growing up in East Texas (Palestine/Elkhart area). Beautiful country. As someone else said... much like Arkansas and Louisiana... Rolling hills, Pine forests, creeks (pronounced Cricks) lakes, etc. Sportsman's paradise as has commonly been said. Exciting weather! :eek: Absolutely wonderful people... Southern Hospitality is no joke.

Downsides of East Texas? Probably the humidity, bugs and snakes. But if you're gonna be a "City" Dweller... none should be a huge factor.

DJ
 
mikegraycmg said:
...or Alpine or Marfa in the Guadalupe Mountains...
Click to expand...
Not being a Texan, I may not have standing to comment but Marfa is on a high plateau and Alpine is near the Davis Mountains. The Guadalupe Mountains are about 100 miles north of this area and are mostly in New Mexico although we did give a little corner to Texas just to make Texans feel better:)

Incidentally, although I don't expect to ever move to Texas, if I did, I think it would be to this magnificent area south of the Davis Mountains.

DSC01100.JPG
 
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Go to Hill Country

Andy,

I spend all week flying around Texas courtesy of the US Government. With that being said, I may go to Harlingen one day, Ft Worth the next, Lufkin on Wednesday, Midland on Thursday, well, you get the idea . . .

As a sidenote, I lived in Central Jersey for a while too. With that being said, I agree that the Hill Country is the best area of the state (in my humble opinion). As someone who didn't grow up in Texas (a yankee!), my wife and I both agreed we'd choose the Fredericksburg area as our first choice if we could. Best compromise on climate, culture, expense of living, things to do, etc. If it were up to me, I would not stray too far from a line that goes from San Antonio to just north of Dallas. Just depends on what you are looking for.

Alpine seems like a cool, up and coming town and area that some people are moving to. Same with the Concan area (north of Uvalde).

As for me, I live near Del Rio on an old US Army Fort (from the 1800s). Hangar space is 5 (five) bucks a month with a pretty nice 5500 by 400' grass strip. Now that's cheap living!

Rick
 
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