Moving to Temple from Chicago in October '11 (Houston, Dallas: real estate, apartments)

[WhiteW0lf]

Hello all! (or should I say howdy?)

I may be relocating for a job to downtown Temple in early to mid October and was hoping to get some input as to where to be looking for housing.

I'm more of a pedestrian and cyclist than a driver, so I would be looking within the city limits or in areas served by the HOP (maybe Belton or Nolanville, if not Temple proper).

I live alone, so school quality is not an issue. I'm looking for a 2-3 bed, 1-2 bath house to rent. I've lived in a town with a population less than 200, so I'm not concerned with the culture shock of leaving Chicago.

I've seen other threads regarding moving to Temple, but they are several years old. Any and all information/suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

WhiteW0lf

[Willsson]

WhiteW0lf, there may be some days for biking to work but generally it'll just be too damn hot!!! That's not just this summer which is an all time record setter for blazing heat but every summer does get hot. It may reach 100 daily but until the over night low remains in the mid-80's, it's not really hot. You've been warned. Excepted for a hard freeze in February, it hasn't rained in Temple since last September, until one day last week, for about ten minutes. Bring water.

There's plenty of in town housing from 2 bed bungalows to 3+ room ranch houses. Older construction is inside Loop 363, newer homes south and/or west of 363/36. In town, along 31st street is on high ground, outside the loop is lower ground. Temple is a railroad central so the town is fairly chopped up geographically by the railroads coming and going. Amtrak does make a stop downtown, daily. If I seen a quality rental I'll try to get a pic to post for you.

You can search homes on the usual real estate website, zip 76501. For older and smaller homes I'd suggest west of 31st and south of Avenue H. Or, fairly north of downtown, west of N 3rd. For newer construction, outside that loop 363/36. 363 is the loop, 36 is a state highway NW to SE (west Texas to Houston). Of course I-35 is from San Antonio and beyond to DFW and beyond. Those two routes form an X that goes just about anywhere in Texas. Thus the railroad.

I'll be glad to answer any questions you have. There are a couple of other Temple'ers who sometimes respond here.

Travel safe.

[WhiteW0lf]

Thanks for the insightful feedback tofurkey. I'll be visiting early next week for an interview and I plan to scout around Temple. Can you tell me about the town itself? Where to go and what to do (and maybe more importantly where not to go and not to do) regarding safety/crime, seedy areas vs. havens, etc.. I'm a fairly conservative SWM in my 40's not a typical hard-core liberal Chicagoan, but I'm pretty sure I'll stand out because of my Chicago accent (so I am told) and lake of suntan. Will I be getting odd, distrustful glances? (Look out! Here comes that darned Yankee again...)

I've researched most areas of town through Walk Score's website, and it seems as if most of retail shopping and dining establishments are situated in the area around the hospitals near 31st. How is the area west of 31st and north of the Dodgen Loop?

I've visited other areas in Texas (Corpus, College Station, Galveston) as a visitor and I've not perceived any bias, just lots of smiling faces and friendly voices.

I've been looking on various realty sites(homes.com, realtor.com, mynewplace.com) and see plenty of apartments in Temple, but the majority of houses I find are located in Killeen or Harker Heights. I noticed a post you made a few years ago regarding the difficulty you had establishing contact with a realtor. Have you noticed any change in that since? If so, I'd love to get a referral or two.

Thanks once again.

[WhiteW0lf]

Originally Posted by tofurkey

If I seen a quality rental I'll try to get a pic to post for you.

You can search homes on the usual real estate website, zip 76501. For older and smaller homes I'd suggest west of 31st and south of Avenue H. Or, fairly north of downtown, west of N 3rd.
Travel safe.

I guess you answered the question I just asked regarding West of 31st/North of Dodgen...

Sorry; I should have looked at the Google map before I asked.

[Willsson]

The reality isn't going to offer any promises... Temple and surrounding area is historically small towns/cities which have been fairly remote to big city. Most of what I know about the area is from having driven through on 36 several dozens of times over the last fifty years. I did move here in '07 but I don't get out much. As was most of Texas, the area was mostly Democrat until that party dropped of the left end. Most of Texas is fairly conservative but not in your face. No one around here cares what your leanings are but the local Congressman is a Republican. With Fort Hood nearby and the Scott/White Hospital, there's people from all over the country passing through. Someone may take note of any accent, but then they'd just think you were from Dallas.

There's a mall at 363/36 and 31st with the usual shops. A Lowe's nearby and a WalMart just down the block. South of 363/36 is the newer part of town. Just across Dodgen from the mall is Scott/White Hospital, a fairly large place of state wide repute with affiliations with UT and aTm.

There's a pub or two downtown - O'Brien's - you'll have seen from the Walk Score. At the intersect of I35 and 363/36 are a couple of restaurants and burger places, Target, Best Buy and Home Depot. There's a few pretty good steakhouses and Tex-Mex places around town.

Until you have a social set going, those are about the only places to go to see other people in daily interaction... other than work. Belton abuts Temple but it's even quieter than Temple.. In about ten years this is going to be a major intersection for state travel. You will see military folk at WalMart and other places around town.

For a change of pace, Fort Hood is about 15 miles west of Belton in a town called Killeen. This really was a dust in your face waste land until Hood built up. My dad grew up in this area. The Hood to Temple area is now a metro of something towards a couple hundred thousand. Next to Fort Hood is Harker Heights where every door opens to a honky tonk or sports bar. And a gentlemen's club.

The real entertainment is about an hour away in Austin. This past weekend was the ACL event - Austin City Limits music fest. Austin bills itself as the LIVE music capital of the U.S... and as being weird. The only really weird thing about Austin is that a bridge over the downtown lake houses a few thousands bats which can be seen at their daily launching for evening snacks.

[Willsson]

Originally Posted by WhiteW0lf

I guess you answered the question I just asked regarding West of 31st/North of Dodgen...

Sorry; I should have looked at the Google map before I asked.

West of 31st and south of Ave H is an okay area. The further south you get the more modern the residential becomes.

Then south of the loop things start looking pretty good. Nice neighborhoods, a bubbly little creek and hidden streets with nice homes. Understand to start.. that Temple is a very plain place, until you get south of the loop. This is a part of the state that unless you're a local or have a reason, not many people have ever cared much about.

I biked around Dallas for a few years so I'd ride bike anywhere around this area.

[JoninATX]

Whitew0lf Temple is a town of 70,000 with a metro of over 400,000 called the Temple-Killeen metropolitain area which is also one of the fastest growing metros in Texas. The area is layed out similiar to the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Things to do around here, shop we have 2 malls 1 here in Temple the other in Killeen, you can Bar hop, do night clubs, sky dive, muesums, ect all in Temple, theres also a big lake just west of the city which is nice.

[WhiteW0lf]

tofutrkey, regarding the steakhouses...

Any one in particular?

[WhiteW0lf]

Thanks Jonintax!

[WhiteW0lf]

Another thing I've gotta ask... what about "critters?" Not the pet variety, but scorpions, snakes, and spiders/tarantulas.

Will I need to be shaking my shoes out every time before I put them on?