Need moving advice: Houston, dfw, sa, austin??

[Meyerley]

Well, it looks like we're moving to Texas. I'm Arizonan born and bred, but moved out to Chicago 2 years ago for wife's graduate program. She's done, so now it's time to get the hell out.

I have interviews scheduled with Dick Cheney's former company in Houston and a web hosting company in San Antonio, but have recently applied to positions in DFW and Austin. I have a cousins in both SA and DFW, and friends in Austin and Houston. My wife and I have only been to San Antonio, about 7 years ago, and really liked it. I heard Dallas is more expensive than Houston and Dallas isn't as diverse. Not sure if that means Houston has more crime though? I hear Austin/Round Rock are nice but I loathe Obama, and I hear he's popular there.

Wherever we choose, we are going to set down our roots. It's time to start a family and we don't plan on moving again anytime soon. We want to live in an area that is clean, safe, good schools, affordable, close to major industries, somewhat near major airports, and at least relatively culturally diverse. I'm 3rd generation mexican-american so good Mexican food is a MUST!!! My wife's familiy lives in St. Louis, so we want to be near an accessible airport for frequent visits. The majority of my family still live in AZ.

We will be making a decent living, in the 130K to 180K range, and want to buy a home in the later part of this year. I have been researching Sugarland, Katy, Round Rock, Frisco, and a few other suburbs. We are not city dwellers, we'd prefer to stay in the suburbs of any major city.

Now, where should we live and why? Thanks in advance for your advice.

Joe

[bluelineman]

I can only speak for areas around the DFW area. Although I do have to say that I think that Houston & San Antonio probably have higher crime rates than DFW. It all depends on where you live. There are nice & bad parts of every city. I live north of Dallas, used to live in Dallas, glad to be outta there. I think Frisco is growing way too fast. They've got a new tollway going through there, and also have the Stonebriar mall (huge), which creates A LOT of traffic. I avoid going through there like the plague. You might want to check out McKinney or Allen. They are both growing areas and have pretty much everything you need and a commute to Dallas wouldn't be too terribly bad if you left early enough. If you choose the Dallas area, I'd stick to Collin county. The roads are good and the crime rate is relatively low. It's also close to all the major sports teams in town. Hope this helps.

[Meyerley]

Thanks bluelineman, that is some really good info if we end up in the Dallas area. It seems like more people prefer the San Antonio area to live, but concede Houston and Dallas are better for business....

[bluelineman]

No matter where you go in Texas, we are FAR MORE CCW Friendly than the Republik of Illinois. I should know, I used to live there. I moved up there to convince my wife (wasn't married yet) to move down here. :supergrin: That 16 months was the longest 18 months of my life.

[wayne5plus1]

I've lived in Houston and Dallas...part time in Dallas still. Either are nice to live in...although I hated Dallas the first 4 months I lived there because I wasn't used to the traffic.

In Houston, the Katy/Richmond area is nice...peaceful and easy to commute to with the Westpark tollroad. Sugarland is nice too...although 59 gets packed with traffic if you work in downtown Houston. I had a house in the Mission Bend area years back, but I wouldn't recommend living there now.

Dallas...there are many great areas to live in. Valley Ranch and Los Colinas are great and fairly close to the DFW airport. Frisco is nice as well.

Good luck on the move...and ask questions if you have any!

[Gription]

Checkout The Woodlands north of Houston or Katy to the west.

Austin is like the left coast of Texas. There are some very "interesting" people roaming around.

[goalieme03]

Check out the Lewisville/Flower Mound area. North of dallas up 35E but south of Denton. Growing, but still has a fairly country feel. Close to the race track, hop on 35e and head south to dallas. Shoot over to 35w and head south to Fort Worth. Right off of Lake Lewisville. 10-15 min from Lake Grapevine. 30-45 from Joe Pool Lake. Lived there for 6 years moved because of family reasons to Amarillo, but will be back with in the year. FWIW.

[Meyerley]

goalieme03

Thanks for the advice, I will definitely check it out if I end up in Dallas.

By the way, I love the avatar pic! :wow:

[TexasFats]

In the Austin area, I would suggest Buda, just south of Austin, in Hayes County or Round Rock/Georgetown, just north of Austin in Williamson County. Both are more self-defense and gun friendly than Moscow-on-the-Colorado (Austin and Travis County). Here, if you pop a burgler, my impression is that our local left-wing DA will try harder to ruin your life. Also, there is a Cabelas in Buda and a Sportsman's Warehouse in Round Rock.

[Harley Rider 1955]

Round Rock is nice. It's close to Austin and the entertainment, without the hippies.
It has a nice AAA baseball club, The Round Rock Express. It's owned by Nolan Ryan. His son, Reid, is CEO.

[Meyerley]

My ultra liberal cousin told me to move to Austin, but if I did I think Round Rock is definitely the place to settle down. Unfortunately, I haven't seen many jobs im qualified for that would be good fit for me. Most jobs are in Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio.

[deadday]

I spent 10 years in Houston, some in the suburbs, some downtown, and some out in the Clear Lake area...Houston is a great place to live with reasonable COL, and plenty of things to do....That being said, the traffic in Houston is fargging ridiculous...When I was going to the police academy, I had to drive from downtown to my apartment on Westheimer..It was about a 10 mile drive that took an hour in the morning and at least 1.5 hours in the evening...

I am currently living in San Antonio and love it...It has everything to offer that Houston has, and then some...There are a lot of really nice parks around town, there is the River Walk, several major corporations based here, and there is hardly ever any traffic....You can get to just about anywhere in and around town in under 40 minutes...Houses are pretty cheap, apartments are reasonable, taxes aren't too bad..

[Harley Rider 1955]

My ultra liberal cousin told me to move to Austin, but if I did I think Round Rock is definitely the place to settle down. Unfortunately, I haven't seen many jobs im qualified for that would be good fit for me. Most jobs are in Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio.
I don't know the kind of business you're in, but Dell Computers is based out of Round Rock.

[Meyerley]

I don't know the kind of business you're in, but Dell Computers is based out of Round Rock.

Not in IT. I was a business major. I now work in employee and executive compensation.

[TexasFats]

Not in IT. I was a business major. I now work in employee and executive compensation.

There are not that many firms that have corporate headquarters in the Austin area, but don't overlook the fact that there are quite a few jobs in government, including state HR jobs involved with setting salaries for state civil service.

[Meyerley]

There are not that many firms that have corporate headquarters in the Austin area, but don't overlook the fact that there are quite a few jobs in government, including state HR jobs involved with setting salaries for state civil service.

Yeah. I saw the Travis County manager job, but I don't want to work for gov't. I started out in local gov't, but I wouldn't do it again!

[Glenn E. Meyer]

If you want to get a good feel for the shooting environment around San Antonion and Austin - www.krtraining.com has an area FAQ for matches, ranges and other resources.

[APD]

In the Austin area, I would suggest Buda, just south of Austin, in Hayes County or Round Rock/Georgetown, just north of Austin in Williamson County. Both are more self-defense and gun friendly than Moscow-on-the-Colorado (Austin and Travis County). Here, if you pop a burgler, my impression is that our local left-wing DA will try harder to ruin your life. Also, there is a Cabelas in Buda and a Sportsman's Warehouse in Round Rock.


Good post, dead on accurate.

Stay out of Austin unless you are a hippie and like crime with no prosecution.
Austin is where the criminals com eto do their work because there is lax prosecution.
Houston was too busy for my tastes and had much higher crime rate.

I prefer the WIlliamson County area,Round Rock,Georgetown etc.

They are near Austin but without the marijuana-scented liberalism that Austin has.:whistling:

[Glenn E. Meyer]

Lighten up a touch , APD - Austin is a fun town - good restaurants, shopping, food , culture, books, music, etc. Too many gun folks get scared of the hippies and freak out.

Lots of gun stuff around Austin also. The traffic stinks, it is true.

[APD]

Lighten up a touch , APD - Austin is a fun town - good restaurants, shopping, food , culture, books, music, etc. Too many gun folks get scared of the hippies and freak out.

Lots of gun stuff around Austin also. The traffic stinks, it is true.

I know, I have worked there for 6 years dealing with their "finest" citizens.:rofl:

[G19AR15]

I have to vote for San Antonio.

Sooo much to see and do. With two loops (410 + 1604), 281, 35, 10/90, all cutting through, I can be anywhere in good time.
Especially up North is nice. Bourne, Bandara, New Braunfels, etc are wonderful, but more $$$.
I just bought a new construction home here this year. 3BR, 2B, 2 car garage, fenced yard fully sodded, raised ceilings and lots of extras = $105,000.
I live between the two loops, SE side. Only the West side has any real trouble with crime. SAPD and Bexar County Sheriffs Office do a good job. I had one SAPD officer tell me how they side with the home owner, 100% of the time.
I'm within 15 minutes of two ranges also.
From what I hear....Houston has too much crime, Austin is too crowded and liberal, and DFW is still nice, simular to SA but colder. It was 75 here yesterday

[Meyerley]

I have to vote for San Antonio.

Sooo much to see and do. With two loops (410 + 1604), 281, 35, 10/90, all cutting through, I can be anywhere in good time.
Especially up North is nice. Bourne, Bandara, New Braunfels, etc are wonderful, but more $$$.
I just bought a new construction home here this year. 3BR, 2B, 2 car garage, fenced yard fully sodded, raised ceilings and lots of extras = $105,000.
I live between the two loops, SE side. Only the West side has any real trouble with crime. SAPD and Bexar County Sheriffs Office do a good job. I had one SAPD officer tell me how they side with the home owner, 100% of the time.
I'm within 15 minutes of two ranges also.
From what I hear....Houston has too much crime, Austin is too crowded and liberal, and DFW is still nice, simular to SA but colder. It was 75 here yesterday


What part of town and how many square feet is your house?

[testersbc]

i lived in taylor which is about 30 minutes norhteast of austin and about 15 minutes east of round rock. Round Rock is growing and is in Williamson county. Which for the most part is conservative. My daughter lived on the north side of San Antonio and she thoroughly loved it. I have friends that live in New Braunfels, which has the greatest water park in the world, SCHLITTERBAHN!!!! Would personally not live in houston, but that is my personal preference. I currently live in mckinney which is north of dallas and with all the new roads you can be anywhere in a hurry.

[ScoPro]

Hey Tester - my wife is from Taylor, although she left there for college in 1963. Her grandpaw was once a prominent builder in that town during the first half of the last century. The old 1910 family homestead at 311 Davis has been restored by somebody from Austin.

We now live in the Brushy Creek area west of Round Rock, after domiciling for 27 years in Austin. It's really nice up here, with very little crime.

BTW - One of my sons is an Austin hippie - a vegan no less - but he's pretty conservative in a lot of his views and owns several firearms. And he works hard for a living. :cool:

[joseywales]

In the DFW area - check into Coppell, Flower Mound, Lewisville, Grapevine, Colleyville, Southlake. All nearby to DFW airport. Dallas Pistol Club located in Carrollton (range borders Coppell) - lots of matches, great place to practice. Outstanding appreciation and resale value. At your stated income level, you should be able to get a really nice place in any of these cities. Been in DFW 25 years, Coppell for last 16 - this is a great area to live.

[Meyerley]

I'll be moving to San Antonio at the end of the month. I need to get a pair of boots...

Thank for everyone's replies!!

[Ranger54]

Welcome to the Lone Star state. I moved to San Antonio in 1980 from the Boston area and never looked back!!! I just moved to Austin this summer. When you get to SA, drop me a private message and I will fill you in more on the local shooting scene.

[G19AR15]

Congrats, you'll love it here. Give a ring when you get settled and I'll take you to the range!

[fishcharmer]

Welcome to Texas!

[why]

Thanks bluelineman, that is some really good info if we end up in the Dallas area. It seems like more people prefer the San Antonio area to live, but concede Houston and Dallas are better for business....Thats pretty much my feeling (i also hate the liberals in Austin). Where ever you do move, get as far from low lying areas as possible; this is especially true in Houston.

You might want to check out Corpus Christi too. I lived there in the 80s and it was very nice (except for the hurricane threat). GREAT seafood and lots of mom and pop small mexican eateries. I've yet to find a decent breakfast taquito since I left there.:crying:

[Rob_0811]

Welcome to Texas.

You'll love it here.