moving to Texas

[BG]

For some time now we have been thinking about moving to Texas. I just can't stand all of the "global warming" here in Tennessee. Despite the rise in temperature (below average ) it is still too cold here. By the way, it is just a shame the board does not have an Al Gore smilie for me to insert here....

We are thinking about Austin, San Antonio or Galviston. For those of you that live in Texas, what is your opinion of those areas? How is the economy in those areas? By the way, we are not interested in Dallas, Fort Worth, or Houston.

 

[No Longer A Libertine]

What kind of work do you do?

Austin is expensive but beautiful as it is in the Hill Country. 600,000 people in city limits, around 1 million in suburbs.

Houston and Dallas have the most economic opportunity, San Antonio is the third largest city in Texas.

Galveston is rebuilding right now because of Hurricane Ike. Around 1 million inhabitants.

Houston is the least effected city by the current recession, the winters are mild, there's an ice storm once every ten years, spring is gorgeous and summer is scorching, fall is chilly but not unbearable, then the cycle repeats. 2 million in city limits, 5 million counting endless suburbs.

San Antonio has the gorgeous River Walk, close proximity to national parks and the countryside, the Alamo for you to volunteer at, and seasonal weather. 1 million in the city limits, 3 million counting the suburbs.

Waco is the most centralized city, two hours to Austin, 90 minutes to Dallas, 3 hours to Houston, 2 hours to San Antonio and despite the hyperbolic press it has unfortunately received over the years it is actually a pretty place with seasonal weather that isn't too extreme in any direction but a bit hot in the summer.

It has the Brazos River, Cameron park (which is the nation's biggest city park next to Central park in Manhattan), and possibly the best PCA church in Texas I kid you not. Its about 130,000 people.

It really depends on what you do for a living.

 

[BG]

Travis,

You said,

and possibly the best PCA church in Texas I kid you not. Its about 130,000 people.

Wow, things really are bigger in Texas! Move over Rick Warren!
Thanks for all the helpful information. By the way, I am in the construction business.

 

[No Longer A Libertine]

Travis,

You said,

and possibly the best PCA church in Texas I kid you not. Its about 130,000 people.

Wow, things really are bigger in Texas! Move over Rick Warren!
Thanks for all the helpful information. By the way, I am in the construction business.

Caterpillar is huge in Waco, they're hiring while the rest of the country down sizes.

Any major city is good for construction, gotta build those suburban homes, even Galveston might be good for work just because rebuilding is the name of the game.

Redeemer is actually more like 300 hundred but hey, maybe one day

-----Added 2/23/2009 at 10:16:00 EST-----

Marvelous preaching in Waco, that church is off the hook! Gotta be jive wit' my language fo' the kids

Redeemer Presbyterian Church, Waco TX

 

[Richard King]

Travis pretty much summed it up on the big cities here in Texas. Of course the economic situation is not as bad in Lubbock or Amarillo as the rest of the world but most folks want to live in the pretty hill country and we West Texans want most folks living there. We mostly have good sky or as I like to think, more heaven over us. I have to put in a good word for the PCA church in Amarillo and the one in Lubbock. Outstanding pastors.

Now if I was moving to Texas from your area I would consider places like Stephenville or Graham or San Marcos because you get more of a Texas town but you are close to the things you might need someday in the big city. The little fringe towns like Buffalo Gap outside of Abilene or towns like Fredricksburg or even Tyler in east Texas are really neat places with nice folks. I think all of them would have work for a good construction man.

 

[Edward]

Do you want honest, or do you want politically correct?

Galveston still has a lot of damage from the hurricane. Of course, that might provide some opportunities for you. I've read that about 75% of the downtown stores are still closed, a lot of services aren't fully up to snuff, and many employers have moved. The beaches are not that impressive, but better than any in Tennessee.

The closest reformed churches I can think of are on the mainland - Bay Area, near NASA, mainstream PCA last I heard; Westminster, near by, much smaller and much more conservative.

Austin - huge university and lots of government jobs mean a very politically liberal area, but a comparatively solid economy. Several fairly new and solid PCA churches in the community. The surrounding hill country is popular with retirees. It can be a bit pricey.

San Antonio - over 60% Mexican (probably an undercount). A big chunk of the rest of the folks are military or retired military. Pick your neighborhood carefully. Heavily Catholic. About 4 relatively small PCA churches in a city of over a million - more than twice as many folks in the city limits as in the city of Atlanta, it's the 7th biggest city in the country.

I consider San Antonio a wonderful place to visit, but I would only live there if it was well worth my while.

A few things to keep in mind about Texas - school districts don't match city lines. Even if you home school, school districts have a big impact on value in urban areas.

Real estate taxes can be high, sales taxes are high but a little lower than Tennessee, no income tax.

If you have any specific questions that I can help with, ask.

 

[No Longer A Libertine]

Waco it is then, where your neighbors are Ted Nugent, George W. Bush and Baylor University, and most importantly Redeemer Presbyterian Church.

 

[Richard King]

Waco it is then, where your neighbors are Ted Nugent, George W. Bush and Baylor University, and most importantly Redeemer Presbyterian Church.

Not to mention a Dr. Pepper museum of Free Enterprise. Talk about old timey concepts!

 

[Rangerus]

all good assessments. I have lived all over the state, West Texas, North Texas, Waco and now live in Austin. Austin is by far my favorite from a beautiful, cultural and fun place to live. Only problem is that it is the most expensive place to live in Texas by at least 20%. Also, it is extremely liberal, but we're working on it.

 

[Mushroom]

Katy or Kerrville would be the only choices for me, because they have Churches pastored by some very faithful TE's. And that's from a guy with a zillion relatives in Ft Worth. I'd love to go back to West Texas, but hadn't heard of any decent Churches out there until now. I love Sweetwater, but its bereft of any Reformed Churches that I know about.

I'm in the construction bidness, too. Let's move to Katy and start an intentional community.

 

[No Longer A Libertine]

Katy or Kerrville would be the only choices for me, because they have Churches pastored by some very faithful TE's. And that's from a guy with a zillion relatives in Ft Worth. I'd love to go back to West Texas, but hadn't heard of any decent Churches out there until now. I love Sweetwater, but its bereft of any Reformed Churches that I know about.

I'm in the construction bidness, too. Let's move to Katy and start an intentional community.

Katy? I went to high school in katy and that PCA pastor is a hot headed pickle tyrant! His name is ted or Fred or some nonsense that rhymes with Red.

 

[BG]

Waco it is then, where your neighbors are Ted Nugent, George W. Bush and Baylor University, and most importantly Redeemer Presbyterian Church.

Wow, this is tempting....

I do like Ted Nugent, I saw him in concert ages ago, but at that time he was mixed up with a bunch of "Damn Yankees".

 

[No Longer A Libertine]

Waco it is then, where your neighbors are Ted Nugent, George W. Bush and Baylor University, and most importantly Redeemer Presbyterian Church.

Wow, this is tempting....

I do like Ted Nugent, I saw him in concert ages ago, but at that time he was mixed up with a bunch of "Damn Yankees".

Well here's the closer, two words...actually five: Dr. Pepper was invented there.

 

[Hamalas]

Katy or Kerrville would be the only choices for me, because they have Churches pastored by some very faithful TE's. And that's from a guy with a zillion relatives in Ft Worth. I'd love to go back to West Texas, but hadn't heard of any decent Churches out there until now. I love Sweetwater, but its bereft of any Reformed Churches that I know about.

I'm in the construction bidness, too. Let's move to Katy and start an intentional community.

Katy? I went to high school in katy and that PCA pastor is a hot headed pickle tyrant! His name is ted or Fred or some nonsense that rhymes with Red.

 

[fredtgreco]

You did say that Houston was a no-go for you, but just to comment:

Houston is so big (both in population AND in area) that it varies quite a bit. The Bay Area is very different from the City, which is different in N Houston and SW Houston. The Western suburbs (where we are) are different as well, and very nice. Everything from standard suburbia (Katy/Sugarland) to more country (Sealy/E. Bernard, etc) to mixed (Brookshire/Fulshear). The economy is still strong here, and the construction industry is also. Katy is a booming community just far enough from Houston that everything is multiplying out here. Hospitals are building Katy versions of the Medical Center, schools are being built (High School number 8 with the second full size stadium is being built in the next year or two in Katy).

Quite frankly, I can't think of a better place in the country to minister. I've lived around a bit (Buffalo, Michigan, in the city of Chicago, Cleveland area and Mississippi), and I don't ever plan to leave here (Lord willing).

Blessings,

 

[Berean]

Waco it is then...

What about the Branch Davidians?

Is their complex for sale? Cheap?

 

[No Longer A Libertine]

Waco it is then...

What about the Branch Davidians?

Is their complex for sale? Cheap?

Actually its in Mout Carmel, a small farming community half an hour outside Waco, but since Wacko From Waco made such a snazzy headline and you can see the Waco skyline over the flat corn fields, the city was stuck with the stigma.

That's the last time they will send their police officers to help federal agents I'll tell you that.

 

[fredtgreco]

I'm in the construction bidness, too. Let's move to Katy and start an intentional community.

We already have one! Come join us, so we can have 15 Confessional PCA churches your grandchildren could attend.

 

[BG]

What about Corpus Christi ?

 

[Mushroom]

I'm in the construction bidness, too. Let's move to Katy and start an intentional community.

We already have one! Come join us, so we can have 15 Confessional PCA churches your grandchildren could attend.

Almost thou persuadest me, Fred. But it will have to wait. I can barely afford to drive down the street much less down to Texas at the moment.

 

[Jimmy the Greek]

It doesn't matter where. It's all good. Just get down here and establish residency before we secede, or you'll be outta luck.

 

[fredtgreco]

I'm in the construction bidness, too. Let's move to Katy and start an intentional community.

We already have one! Come join us, so we can have 15 Confessional PCA churches your grandchildren could attend.

Almost thou persuadest me, Fred. But it will have to wait. I can barely afford to drive down the street much less down to Texas at the moment.

I'm a patient (yet active!) man. As I tell our people: "It's a marathon, not a sprint."

 

[LawrenceU]

It doesn't matter where. It's all good. Just get down here and establish residency before we secede, or you'll be outta luck.

I've been wondering the same thing.

 

[jwithnell]

Find an excellent church, then move there. Seek ye first ... etc.

 

[Staphlobob]

all good assessments. I have lived all over the state, West Texas, North Texas, Waco and now live in Austin. Austin is by far my favorite from a beautiful, cultural and fun place to live. Only problem is that it is the most expensive place to live in Texas by at least 20%. Also, it is extremely liberal, but we're working on it.

Is The 'Dillo still there in Austin? I remember it (somewhat - too much partying) from the early '70s.

However, I spent the bicentennial in Luckenbach, between San Antonio & Austin. How's that place? Prob. no decent churches in the area, but bound to be a bit more conservative than Austin.

 

[BG]

It doesn't matter where. It's all good. Just get down here and establish residency before we secede, or you'll be outta luck.

If that happens before I get there, I have a plan....
I have 2 Guatamalans working for me now, and they have assured me that they know of a way in the back door. Just kidding my guys are legal and have papers.


But seriously, I do hope that happens, all the more reason to live in Texas!

-----Added 2/24/2009 at 11:23:29 EST-----

Find an excellent church, then move there. Seek ye first ... etc.

I am way ahead of you. I am planning a working vacation in the next few months. Some family members out there need me to do some work for them. While I am out there, we will be visiting a few churches that we have found through the internet.

 

[etexas]

It doesn't matter where. It's all good. Just get down here and establish residency before we secede, or you'll be outta luck.

What he said!

 

[Richard King]

.[/quote]

Is The 'Dillo still there in Austin? I remember it (somewhat - too much partying) from the early '70s.

However, I spent the bicentennial in Luckenbach, between San Antonio & Austin. How's that place? Prob. no decent churches in the area, but bound to be a bit more conservative than Austin.[/QUOTE]

The Armadillo World Headquarters was replaced by a parking lot.
sounds like a folk song doesn't it?
Luckenbach remains the same
but down the road in Fredricksburg you will find many nice things however when retirees flood a place the property goes up.
they are trying to build the transtexas corridor over the op of Mt. Carmel
but a lot of Texas isn't thrilled with that.

 

[christiana]

Galveston is definitely not a desirable place to live since the hurricane! It is just a grim shadow of its former self! Sad but true!!

Now, consider The Woodlands, a city built by oilman George Mitchell and thriving in spite of the economy! It seems to have every thing one needs and is very attractively and conveniently laid out.

http://thewoodlands.com/

 

[jwithnell]

Actually, I've sometimes wondered if Texas would be a good blend of the south (where I mostly grew up) and the west which I absolutely love. My husband has always lived within shooting distance of Maryland though, so I guess I can only follow y'all's adventures ...