Thinking about retiring to Texas - Page 2

Justa_TXguy · 05-27-2007, 16:21

I live south of Houston.
Con:
It's hot and humid during the summer, which last 9 months. Then we have 3 months of nice weather.

The property taxes are high.

Pro:
Real estate is very reasonable. Land is too, depending on how close to Houston you want to be.

Crime is low in my area, out in the country.

Excellent firearms laws.

Almost no winter. You could live your entire life here and never see snow. I've seen snow once. Year-round outdoors activites.

Close to the gulf. Everyone likes the beach.

YMHO.

Check out HAR.com for access to Houston and surrounding area's MLS.

mitchshrader · 05-27-2007, 17:29

texas.

shop in dallas.

don't go to houston.

live in the hill country.

don't work in austin.

party at kerrville and luchenbach.

party at SXSW in austin.

drink beer at the microbreweries in austin.

drink wine at the little wineries in the hill country.

learn spanish.

learn spanish.

park in the shade, it's the law.

SeriousStudent · 05-27-2007, 20:52

Quote:

Originally posted by mitchshrader
....drink beer at the microbreweries in austin.

Pecan Street Lager is very much tasty.

ranchonodinero · 05-28-2007, 10:55

It has been said that Fort Worth is where the West begins-well Dallas is where the East peters out. The closer you are to Dallas, the closer you are to the East and life is too short for that. North Texas DFW metro area is more expensive to live than South Texas. It isn't much cooler up here in the North than it is down South and actually, in the NE part of the state, it may seem hotter. Generally, the farther South you go, the less expensive it is to live. The Austin area is one of the prettiest areas of the state-the farther you go West of I-35, the better too. If you like hunting and fishing, then check out the small towns North West of San Antonio. 2 1/2 hours from the coast and less than that for hunting. Good luck!

tallmike · 05-28-2007, 12:13

I live south of Austin in Hays County (Kyle) and its really nice. We have only been here for 4 months now, but its the 7th state I have lived in (if my quick count was right just now) and I and my family love it here already.

We avoid Austin, all the shopping or entertainment we need is right here in San Marcos, Kyle and Buda so we rarely have to go into town or even leave Hays county. Small towns (40k for San Marcos, 25k for Kyle, not sure on Buda but its smaller than Kyle) and nice folks plus we have lakes and open areas and we are the beginning of the hill country.

Salt Lick BBQ is 15 mins down the road, Super Wal-Marts are everywhere, HEB Plus (wal mart competitor) is opening here in Kyle 2 weeks from now, Lowes/Home Depot less than 10 mins away (one to the N and one to the S), Sams Club/giant outlet mall/chain restaurants/etc... are just 10 mins down the road in San Marcos. Like I said, I really like it here.

The biggest problem is that I have to drive an hour to get to a range to go shooting. There is a giant Cabellas just up the road though in Buda, wish they had an indoor range for me.

Property values are good here too. Lots of new developments (if thats what you want) and plenty of places to live in the country if you want to buy land too. I paid $170k for a new 2100sq/ft house with a nice sized yard backing up to the neighborhood park and pool (I have small kids so that was a big selling point for me). The taxes are high, but it sounds like they are lower than other areas so I may not be doing too bad at around $4500 per year.

Good luck choosing. =)

JohnKSa · 05-30-2007, 23:05

According to today's Dallas Morning News, TX is now the second most popular retirement location. Second only to Florida...

Must be a reason!

stepper · 06-21-2007, 00:09

Quote:

Originally posted by nuparadigm
Pat701,
Howdy and welcome to relative freedom. You're correct about places such as Paris being somewhat cooler than other parts. Where I live on the Gulf Coast is muggy and hot. However ... don't overlook far West Texas. It really is a dry heat and low humidity. I lived there for a time and loved it. Many counties in that area have more cattle and sheep than people. Check out towns such as Marfa, Van Horn, Ft. Stockton, Sheffield, Alipne. Counties such as Hudspeth, Jeff Davis, Brewster. Hope you find a good fit somewhere in Texas.

I lived in Alpine for 3 years and loved it. Its a totally different world down there though. No walmart withing an hour. Huge Hispanic population. Knowing spanish would come in very, very handy. Very pretty scenery. Alpine is located within mountains, so its very cool. Alot of people retire and live there. I wouldn't mind retiring and living there again someday. Its very laid back, only 1 stop light in town.

Marfa, Ft.Stockton are similar, but not as cool as Alpine.

nuparadigm · 06-22-2007, 17:50

I strongly second the Alpine suggestion! Houston is where the weak are killed and eaten.

RyanNREMTP · 06-25-2007, 14:26

With all the rain Texas is getting lately, views of lakes shouldn't be an issue.

PhuzzyGnu · 06-25-2007, 15:15

Take a look at La Grange. The Colorado River runs through it, and it is at the intersection of HWY 77 and 71. Right in the middle of the Houston/Austin/San Antonio triangle. No more than a couple of hours from ANYTHING you could want or need in life. Plus ZZ Top wrote a song about it.. heh heh

http://www.lagrangetx.org/

Beautiful town. My choice if I were gonna settle down somewhere.

-p.

Rex G · 06-29-2007, 16:16

I work for a large police agency in an urban area in Texas. I would like to retire to a good spot on HIGH GROUND between the Brazos and Colorado rivers, not too close to the coast, and not too close to the I-35 corridor. This would place me away from urban gangbangers, but still within reasonable distance of the wonderful things in the Hill Country and Central Texas, and not too far from the excellent medical facilities and my friends and family in the Houston area. High ground is important when it rains; look at topo maps when shopping for real estate. The high ground south of the Colorado River is probably just as good, but I have not looked there yet. As for the heat, I seem to recall heat waves in Chicagoland that are far worse than anything I have experienced in Texas.

wmailhos · 07-21-2007, 16:23

Quote:

Originally posted by pat701
Howdy, i am a Chicago police officer for 30 years, I need out of this city and state we almost have no Second Ammendment rights in Chicago. I have never been to Texas. I have been looking at homes in Texas at realtor.com. In the Paris/Reno area do to the fact that is a northern area and hopfully a cooler area in the summer then the south of Texas. I need to be in a "low crime area" after fighting with the gang bangers all my life. Please give me some locations to look at in Texas, i would like to see trees and lakes if that is possable. With hunting and fishing an hour or two away. That you. I will be blowing the job on 15July07. I can't wait need peace and quite. 30 years was a life time on the job.

I was just in Chicago last weekend and I know that I would much prefer to retire down here than there. I can only take Chicago in very small doses (and usually accompanied by a large dose of alcohol).

I've got a buddy that quit his high paying job to move back home to Paris. He swears that it is the greatest place in Texas.

I moved here in 1991 from east Tennessee (which is very pretty also and would be a great place to retire) and immediately fell in love with Fort Worth. 16 years later I still like it but it is growing WAY too fast for me. I live in a small town called Haslet (near the NASCAR track) that is north of Fort Worth but everything is growing out this way and I am not that excited about it.

I would seriously check out the Texas Hill Country. I am considering buying some property down there for my retirement (which is still 15 years away) but I want to buy it before it REALLY gets expensive.