Where would you live in Texas?

[G-reef]

One things for sure... all your choices are in GODS kingdom!!

 

[Brew12]

Too bad San Antonio isn't an option! I think that is my favorite city in Texas. Love the River Walk area.

 

[cmcoker]

I grew up, and still live, in DFW. My ranking would be Plano, Austin, Houston. Honestly though, if I didn't have family here, I would probably live in another state... I do like this pic to illustrate "driving across town" in dfw. The outline is the size of the state of Connecticut

 

[Humblefish]

Thank you everyone for all the input & suggestions. You are helping me more than you realize. :)

My wife & I are planning a "Texas road trip" soon to visit all 3 cities before making a decision.

 

[Diesel]

Thank you everyone for all the input & suggestions. You are helping me more than you realize. :)

My wife & I are planning a "Texas road trip" soon to visit all 3 cities before making a decision.

See ya then!!

 

[bump3rb33tl3]

Let me know when your in the Houston area, I'd be happy to help show you around!

 

[Annette Garcia]

I agree with Jimbo662 I live in Houston before moving to Austin my job relocated me. I also live in Round Rock.

 

[Humblefish]

Plano is off the table (as per the employer); so only Houston or Austin are left. Wife & I will try to make a trip to both this weekend.

 

[Lionfish Lair]

In Houston you'll be able to catch ghost shrimp.... you need Houston. HOUSTON FOR THE WIN!!! Segrest just sold their business and they are a big source of ghost shrimp in the industry. Maybe they continue on as business as usual, but maybe not...

I need large amounts of shrimp for my owm project.... go to Houston please :-)

 

[bump3rb33tl3]

Houston is great for harvesting. We go down to Galveston periodically to harvest shrimp, silversides, and other local critters :-) i have a couple of amazing Galveston nems in my tanks!

 

[Brautumn]

We lived outside Houston in Cypress Texas for 4 years on a transfer for my husbands job. We are not big city people but we did enjoy living there and the area we lived in exploded with growth and keeps growing. You can buy a lot of house depending on what you are looking for. I'm not sure about houses in the city of Houston but there are a ton of suburbs set up around the areas. Also be mindful of the areas in Houston flood when the areas have got hit with the heavy rains back to back.
Austin is definitely a more laid back area and quite pretty but housing is more expensive there. I know quite few people would choose Austin but seeing the places and driving around getting familiar is the best thing you could do. Also EZ pass for the freeways is a must and there are a lot of HOA's in the areas.

 

[Humblefish]

Segrest just sold their business and they are a big source of ghost shrimp in the industry. Maybe they continue on as business as usual, but maybe not...

Oh no! :eek: Segrest is who I was planning on buying all my live blackworms from.

I need large amounts of shrimp for my owm project.... go to Houston please :)

Renee, you're wanting me to wade through a ditch to find you some ghost shrimp? :p

 

[Lionfish Lair]

Houston is great for harvesting. We go down to Galveston periodically to harvest shrimp, silversides, and other local critters :) i have a couple of amazing Galveston nems in my tanks!

Yes, that's exactly what I'm talking about! We can tell you where to go to catch them easily!

"Houston! Houston! Houston!" Everyone chant with me now... "Houston!"....

You also don't want to be investing in expensive houses at this point in your life. I could buy so many houses in Texas for the price of mine in California. It's a big reason for wanting to leave here, so I can't recommend running into an "inflated market".

 

[FarmerTy]

Plano is off the table (as per the employer); so only Houston or Austin are left. Wife & I will try to make a trip to both this weekend.

Good call, while Plano is nice, its like a sprawling suburbia to me. I grew up in Houston and Dallas, currently reside in Austin. There is no better town in Texas and I can base that on living in all 3.

There's pluses/minuses to every location of course and plenty of people have chimed in already and mentioned those.

I understand people focusing on Austin's traffic as a con but from living in all 3, its more because I find the people in Austin more focused on complaining about traffic because its one of the few things you can complain about living here.

Honestly, spending 30-45 mins in rush hour traffic is no fun in any city, but I did that all the time in Houston and Dallas as well. The difference is the fact that the same 30-45 mins moves you a much shorter distance than Dallas or Houston. Total net time in traffic is the same to me in all 3 cities for your commute if you have to go through rush hour, the big difference is in Dallas or Houston, driving in the traffic moved quicker though you had to go a longer distance, so net drive time is still 30-45 mins. In Austin, you'll drive less miles to get home but it'll take the same amount of time, 30-45 mins. That's probably what makes people complain about the traffic in Austin, the frustration of knowing without it, you'd be home in 10-15 mins, whereas in Dallas or Houston, even with no traffic it always took me 15-20 just because of distance traveled alone. Enough about traffic though, it'll be mostly a moot point if you decided to live in North Austin(where I live), Round Rock, Pflugerville, or Georgetown as your wife will he close to work.

I don't think I need to say too much about the job growth and large numbers of tech companies here in town and moving into town, but its nice to know that. As well, the population is expected to double in the next 25 years so if you get into Austin early and get some property, you'll get some prime real estate before it gets even more expensive... And, yours will appreciate quickly as well. Mine goes up $30,000/year currently.

Yes, we do like to keep it weird around here, you'll get less weirdness the more you move away from downtown or parts of south Austin but the individuality is welcomed and appreciated here in Austin. Like Jimbo said, the music scene is one of the best in the country as there is always a live band playing somewhere so watching is not a huge event like it is with some major cities. You can literally pull up and park, go in, grab a seat and a drink, and you're listening to live music.

Food is great with the high end eating crowd as well as the trailer food crowd, which is huge in Austin. There's some kind of event going on every weekend here so there's always a ton of things to do if you wanted.

I just love the small town feel in what is considered a large city. Everyone is super friendly and just chats with you. I got that some in Dallas, more in Houston, and much less in Los Angeles, but that's expected.

Anyways, not sure when you're hitting up Austin but happy to show you around when you're here if schedules work out. I have time Saturday but will be pretty wrapped up Sunday with the Frag Swap in San Antonio that day. Even better, I'm a Realtor so can fill you in on the City while I'm at it and show you some of the better areas of town to focus on.

Doesn't hurt that I'm a complete reef nerd as well. You can see the tank I've been hiding in Austin all these years. [emoji4]

https://www.reef2reef.com/index.php?threads/207702/

Hope I made your decision easier. [emoji12]

 

[Lionfish Lair]

Oh no! :eek: Segrest is who I was planning on buying all my live blackworms from.



Renee, you're wanting me to wade through a ditch to find you some ghost shrimp? :p

It's supposed to be "business as usual", but maybe YOU can become the "live food king".

You don't even have to get wet to catch them. Just swoop the net from the shore and you'll have 1000s.... LITERALLY.

 

[Humblefish]

So we're gonna make a trip to Houston (on Saturday) and Austin (on Sunday). Just to get a feel for the areas. From the looks of things, HPE is near Willow Run/Rolling Oaks in Austin & not too far from Tomball in Houston. So we will primarily focus our "search" in those areas for the time being. For example, we will be needing to find an extended stay hotel (or similar) nearby until we can close on a house. At the end of the day it will be my wife who decides which city, where we live, which house to buy, etc. You married guys know where I'm coming from. ;)

@FarmerTy Thank you for the very detailed post. I will be in touch with you if we choose Austin and need a realtor.

 

[Humblefish]

So, I think we've worked out an arrangement which will allow us to start living in Houston (beginning Dec 1), but visit Austin on the weekends. This will allow significant time in both cities before making a final decision. :)

Once again, I just want to say thank you to everyone for giving advice.

 

[FarmerTy]

So, I think we've worked out an arrangement which will allow us to start living in Houston (beginning Dec 1), but visit Austin on the weekends. This will allow significant time in both cities before making a final decision. :)

Once again, I just want to say thank you to everyone for giving advice.

You came down to a pretty rainy Houston and Austin I'm sure. Hope you guys had a good time in both towns!

 

[Humblefish]

You came down to a pretty rainy Houston and Austin I'm sure. Hope you guys had a good time in both towns!

We actually didn't come down this weekend. The co. is going to let her work in Houston (beginning Dec 1) for a couple of weeks; while we visit Austin on the weekends, before having to make a final decision.

 

[FarmerTy]

We actually didn't come down this weekend. The co. is going to let her work in Houston (beginning Dec 1) for a couple of weeks; while we visit Austin on the weekends, before having to make a final decision.

Oh even better! You get to play in both towns during the holiday season! Get ready for some Zilker Trail of Lights in Austin! We'll have to sync up one of those weekends you're in town sir and I'll show you around. Make my pitch for Austin. [emoji6]