So...What will I like about Texas?

[DisnyMama]

Me and DS (15) are about 97% decided that we are going to move to the Plano or McKinney area of Texas. We currently are in So. California with my home up for sale-2 days into escrow. This all started because my job of almost 11 years came to an end last month and without a degree as a single parent California is just too expensive. I have always known I would probably have to move out of state if this happened. I know so many people with two incomes who can't make it here. I have looked at other parts of the country but nothing has appealed to me. My fellow DISers have been a great help in regards to schools but now I would like to know what are some of the things that I will like about being there? What makes Texas and/or this area such a great or nice place to live? I am really looking forward to hearing your responses.

 

[Jpgirl]

Texas is almost like it's own country. It's hard to explain-it's just Texas. I started out here but lived 30 plus years else where. You'll love it or you'll hate it. We moved to Houston 4 years ago and I just couldn't explain what Texas is to my dh who lived his whole life in Ohio. First off with any major change, you need to come with an open mind and heart. So here's what I think you'll love about Texas. Wide open spaces, lots of heat and humidity but easy winters. You will get some kind of winter in Plano-maybe snow as times. The people are very firendly, hard working, hard playing, not afraid to tell you how it is to your face, good at drawing deep boundary lines, but will give you the clothes off your back if they think you need them. The state is beautiful, we have beaches, hills, mountains,desert,swamp,pine forests. Texans are very proud of their history and roots. There are Spanish, Mexican,Cajun, German, and Polish influences all over. San Antonio is probably my favorite city to visit and a great place to get historic flavor. Speaking of flavor the food is varied too and just so yummy. I just can't describe it in so few words, I'm so happy that my family embraced what Texas is and nobody regrets the move. Good luck and welcome y'all

 

[SandraVB79]

I went a couple of times to Texas for a 3-6 week period, as an exchange student with the Lions Club. teh first time they told me I would have to go to Texas (I had applied to go to Florida, Georgia or Louisiana, after having been to California with the programme), I cried for a whole week; it was my worst nightmare coming true!! Why? Because I didn't know Texas, I only knew it from "Dallas" on TV and from "Houston we have a problem" and I thought there would only be cows and horses and I'm afraid from cows and horses!

I ended up being 6 weeks in middle-of-nowhere-Texas, and I.... loved it!!! I returned many times after that, and have been to quite some places in Texas (Wheeler, Amarillo, Dimmitt, Lubbeck, DFW-area, Austin, Kerrville, ...)

Why I love it? I can't really define it. The people are very nice and very... welcoming? Everything is big, and you have lots of space. People talk a slow English that I understand (I have a hard time understanding people in California and Florida), ...

Quite now, I'm at the point to do whatever to be able to live in Texas. It's not easy for me, since I would need a working permit + green card, and that's not easy to get. But I always hope i'll meet the man of my dreams when i'm on vacation in Texas (next time: September 2006!!!). Yeah, I know... but hey, sometimes... dreams come true!!!


*star light, star bright, first star I see tonight... I wish I may, I wish I might... *

 

[Horseshoes]

My friend and her 2 adult daughters moved there last September from CT.

The oldest daughter loves it, she lives in a beautiful home on a golf course, the younger daughter HATED living there, and has moved back to CT.

My friend says there is a lot of Texas pride, wide open spaces, and she is surprised how hot it is so early on. She told me today was supposed to hit 99 degrees. She loved the mild winter but misses the rain, she says its only rained about 7 times since she's moved.

As far as being cheaper to live there, (because thats what she thought), she paid cash for her house but her electrical bills are higher than when she lived in CT. And she said her taxes are the same.

She is in McKinney.

 

[ChristmasElf]

I'm surprised that someone would have taxes in Texas be the same as they would be in Connecticutt.

Texas has NO state income tax.
Housing is unbelievably reasonably priced. (meaning you get a lot of house for the $)
Hot summers, cool winters. If it ever does "snow" it just looks like someone sprinkled powder all over and it is gone before you know it.
Plano has really good schools.
McKinney and Allen used to be sleepy lil Texas towns. Now they are bustling with stores,houses and people! oh and more traffic!
People are very friendly in Texas!
Plano has an awesome Balloon festival every year that is really fun to see.


Good Luck on your move!!!

 

[Conservative Hippie]

I once heard that many people claim that their state is the best in the country, but Texans are the only ones that can say it's true. Texans tend to be very arrogant about being Texan, but really, they have a point. My mom is originally from San Antonio before moving to Alabama, and then Florida, and my husband grew up in Tyler. We moved to Austin (from Tallahassee) three years ago, and I love it. Texas is big, hot, and everyone loves Mexican food. One of DH's uncles lives in Plano, and it's a very nice suburb.

Hey Sandra--if you are coming around Austin on your vacation, we'll start scouting out single guys to set you up with!

 

[Horseshoes]

I'm surprised that someone would have taxes in Texas be the same as they would be in Connecticutt.

Her real estate tax is the same, also same size house too.

 

[ktulu]

The other posters have said it, I just want to give a big ole Howdy to you. We live in Lewisville, which is just to the west of Plano.

 

[CathrynRose]

Plano has an awesome Balloon festival every year that is really fun to see.

The Balloon Fest...hmph. Yeah - I recall my ex-boyfriend going to that balloon fest and meeting some "icky" girl. Then one month after he tossed me aside like an old rag doll - he married that "icky" girl.

Bad Memory Moment.

Carry on....

 

[HomeSweetDisney]

Well I live in San Antonio and haven't actually been to the McKinney/Plano area. But I hope you'll enjoy living down here. We really are a great state! Lots to do and see here. The people are friendly, the food is good, the housing is affordable, and there's always something to keep you busy. The summers here can be a bit unbearable...that heat can really get to you. But the fall and winter months are nice and cool, lots of sunshine and blue skies. Like someone else said, Texas really is like its own country. Good luck with your move here and welcome!

 

[AmazingGrace]

I once heard that many people claim that their state is the best in the country, but Texans are the only ones that can say it's true. Texans tend to be very arrogant about being Texan, but really, they have a point. My mom is originally from San Antonio before moving to Alabama, and then Florida, and my husband grew up in Tyler. We moved to Austin (from Tallahassee) three years ago, and I love it. Texas is big, hot, and everyone loves Mexican food. One of DH's uncles lives in Plano, and it's a very nice suburb.

Hey Sandra--if you are coming around Austin on your vacation, we'll start scouting out single guys to set you up with!

Yeah, what she said!!!!

 

[arminnie]

Okay the no income tax and cheap housing are the biggies although property taxes have increased DRAMATICALLY in the past decade or so.

You get pretty good air service (lots of non-stop) flights out of Dallas. I liked the fact that I could fly most places in the U.S. in less than 3 hours.

After I moved to CA it took me a long time to get used to the fact that it took me all day (long flight plus 3 hours time difference) to get to the East Coast.

 

[ForTheLoveofDisney]

Can't tell you anything about Texas but DH and I are around 86% sure we are moving to S.C.

I'm just so excited about this cool website I found calledCity-Data Forum that I actually started a thread telling others about it.

It's just like the Dis and every state has it's own board. Just another little helpful suggestion that might be worth you checking out.

Hope this helps. And good luck with your move.

 

[challada]

I grew up in that area and can tell you, even if Texas is NOT the best state in the nation, the people in Texas certainly BELIEVE they are the best. In fact, most Texans believe they are their own nation and do not have a problem telling you that. They are Texan first and American second.

It is the land of big hair, big cars, big houses and big egos...in Texas, the bigger the better!


So the good news:
HOT summers means lots of water activities/water parks around.
Airport at DFW is huge so it's easy to get flights OUT of Texas.
You can look out your back door and see for MILES as it's flatter than a pancake there.
Eventually, you will learn the language and be able to communicate w/ a "howdy y'all".
If it snows in the winter (and I mean one flake in the air) EVERYTHING closes.
Oh, and you can wear shorts for Xmas some years.

 

[brerrabbit]

Okay upfront I am a little bit biased, but that said there is a ton of things that are great about Texas.

Food- The best Tex Mex in the world, bar none. What the heck it was invented here so we should have the best right? Bar-b-que, Texas style slo smoked beef brisket. Not that pork stuff from the east but real meat, beef.
From the Gulf coast you get tons of fresh seafood and we also have about as many crawfish grown here as in Louisiana. In Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Austin there are tons of great places to eat with all the variety you could ever want.

Weather- Sure it gets hot in the Summer, and the Fall, and the Spring, and sometimes in the Winter......... but I digress, you get to wear shorts and sandals all the time and we are considered the air conditioned capitol of the world so other than those short walks from the car to the mall, the car to the office, the car to the house, you live in air conditioned comfort everywhere. Seriously though early morning and late evenings are great and there are tons of different scenery in Texas from the coast, to the hill country, to the mountains and deserts in Big Ben, to the forests and lowlands of East Texas than you always have a choice.

Friendly people. This is a big one, everyone is friendly and will be glad your here. We love having new people move into the state cause it gives us someone new to tell all our stories to that haven't heard them a hundred times already. We love to share and talk about Texas.

While another person has said that we consider ourselves Texans and then Americans thats not always true but maybe sometimes it is. My family got here before Texas was a state and was its own Republic so I do sometimes feel more Texan than anything else, but thats okay.

Congratulations on your move and I hope you enjoy it here as much as my family does. We have had the opportunity to move other places over the years and even though they were better financially for us we have always declined saying that Texas means to much to us to ever consider going anywhere else.

 

[TheOtherVillainess]

Let me be the next in a long line of people saying Howdy, Ya'll.

You can look out your back door and see for MILES as it's flatter than a pancake there.

That's not entirely true. Texas is, quite literally, split right down the middle. We have the Hill Country in middle, the Piney Woods up east, the desert in the west, the gulf coast way down south and the northern great plains. So there is a lot of variety in Texas.

If your job is going to be in Plano, you might consider moving to either Frisco, The Colony or Little Elm. All of these are within 15-20 min of Plano. If you're looking for a small town atmosphere, I DEFINATELY recommend Little Elm. We are called "The Town By The Lake" because most of the town is within walking distance of Lake Lewisville. It's the kind of town where everybody knows everybody and they are extremely friendly most of the time. There are a lot of 'starter' homes in this area that are a good price (everything from the 70s and up) and despite the fact that HOAs abound, the neighborhoods are nice. DH likes to say that you might as well roll up the sidewalk after dark because everybody goes inside and very little goes on.

Welcome to Texas...there is no finer state anywhere.

Oh and don't worry about the bird population. I know it make look like a scene out of that Alfred Hitchcock movie, but really, it's normal. Honest!

TOV

 

[ktulu]

As far a property taxes go, they actually just passed a new school funding measure that will lower property taxes. The taxes aren't too bad, but it does depend where you live. I hear Travis county (austin area) has really bad property taxes.

darren

 

[AuntieM03]

I have a question for those with asthma/allergy/sinus problems. I live in Southern California so I don't have any experience with humidity. Does the humidity worsen the condition? I am considering moving to Texas in the next few years. Thanks!!

 

[paigevz]

Everything! What's not to like about Texas?

Seriously, we've got EVERYTHING..........except Disney World, but there are rumors about that!

We've got coasts, deserts, woods, lakes, caves.........what do you want?

We've got every sport possible in a warm climate.

Heck, we even truck in snow and ice to set up a winter fun time once a year!

We've got Chipotle, Rainforest Cafe, Pappadeaux...........................

We've got great schools, great stores and malls, great weather! I like it hot in summer, and we get cold, but just not huge ice storms for weeks on end or below zero temps.

I'm sure anything I've forgotten was mentioned in the other threads I didn't read yet.

 

[AmazingGrace]

Everything! What's not to like about Texas?

Seriously, we've got EVERYTHING..........except Disney World, but there are rumors about that!

We've got coasts, deserts, woods, lakes, caves.........what do you want?

We've got every sport possible in a warm climate.

Heck, we even truck in snow and ice to set up a winter fun time once a year!

We've got Chipotle, Rainforest Cafe, Pappadeaux...........................

We've got great schools, great stores and malls, great weather! I like it hot in summer, and we get cold, but just not huge ice storms for weeks on end or below zero temps.

I'm sure anything I've forgotten was mentioned in the other threads I didn't read yet.

Don't forget Taco Cabana!!!