Best place to raise a family in Texas (Houston, Dallas: low crime, house)

[Guingirl]

I would check out north of Fort Worth. A little slower pace than Dallas, but very family friendly and lots of activities for the kids. Its not as humid as Houston or Austin from my experience. Might look in Keller, Southlake, Haslet (its a little more country with horse property) and there seem to be a lot of Baptist Churches.

[210]

Look into Cibolo, TX.

A small town 19 miles northeast of San Antonio where one could get a really nice home for 175,000-200,000 dollars. San Antonio is a family town, it has Six Flags, Sea World, Splashtown, the Riverwalk and Alamo, the Zoo, etc.

[Rossd2073]

Wow, Is everyone in Texas as nice as you guys??!! Thanks for all of the responses!

[210]

Ross, I'd be happy to PM you some pictures of SA.

[neddy]

Gotta second 210 in saying San Antonio. Have two boys 3.5 yrs and 6.5 yrs and we love it. Great weather all year round, lots of stuff to do, good schools public and private. Like it here

[deeptrance]

Originally Posted by Rossd2073

Wow, Is everyone in Texas as nice as you guys??!! Thanks for all of the responses!

I've lived in a few states and I must say that Texas tends to be friendly, but not ALL of Texas is. There's a popular expression here, "Texas friendly." It's part of the culture of the state and a lot of people participate in the friendliness , but we've got millions of mean people too if you need 'em .

One thing I beg people to do, if you move to Texas, is to DRIVE Texas-friendly. That means paying attention to the needs and safety of others, not just your own convenience and time. Let people cut in front of you, let people pass you, do what you can to keep this place friendly. It's growing fast and the population pressure is making it less and less friendly, but if we each take personal responsibility for doing nice things for others then we'll help keep it a fun place to live. Plus, the kindness you show to a stranger doesn't end right there. It usually puts them in a bit of a better mood, so they pass it along to the next person.

Kindness and cruelty are both contagious. Choose kindness and KEEP TEXAS FRIENDLY!

[BobTex]

Take a look at Sugarland, Texas.......all the kids activities and driving distance to watch pro teams in 3 sports. Crime is dependant on what areas you are in.......some areas dangerous and others safe. I like being an hour out of major cities myself but that would decrease the ORGANIZED childrens' activities. My kids fish in the local ponds and streams, we live and learn about nature (Dad is their teacher), we ride 4-wheelers, and generally are growing up in the outdoors. The only organized activities they are presently in outside their church is Taikwondo twice a week (we drive 30 minutes for that). You might consider getting out of major city life......I personally think it is better for the kids! JMHO!

[txbuilder]

I really second that motion! We have had out of state visitors that have stared open mouthed when a slower Texas driver will ease over onto the shoulder on smaller highways to let people by when there is no passing area.

Yes, we all know that this does not agree with the Tex Dept of Public safetl but it will be a reality for a long time especially in less populated areas. Some of the small highways ,like state highways have next to no visability to pass in the hilly forested areas.

The other day I was behind a slow driving telephone talking driver on a looonnngg rural highway. I flashed my lights at her and she immediatly pulled over to the easment long enough to let me by. Then she waved!!!

On waving. It is common curtesy in Texas to return all waves by people collecting their mail in the rural mail routes. Also there is the texas wave which is 1 raised finger off of the steering wheel to each other as you pass on a dirt road!

Gail

[deeptrance]

Originally Posted by txbuilder

On waving. It is common curtesy in Texas to return all waves by people collecting their mail in the rural mail routes. Also there is the texas wave which is 1 raised finger off of the steering wheel to each other as you pass on a dirt road!

I love Texas! It's interesting to drive in and out of the state on different routes and see where the waving tradition stops.

It's not just dirt roads where you wave. I pay a lot of attention to this because I'm really into the raised finger wave (though I often use 2 or 3 fingers and I see some people using their whole hand) --- what I've noticed is that it has a lot to do with whether you look like a local and how much traffic is on your road. If you're on a busy rural highway it's ridiculous to wave so nobody does. But you get on some of the less-travelled rural roads, even though they're paved, and lots of people wave. The most likely waves will happen between pickup truck drivers who are male. I don't get much response from female drivers or anyone driving a small car, but pickup trucks driven by men wearing cowboy hats, they're a sure bet!

What's it all about? I don't know. I hope it's not some hidden code saying "howdy, white male" --- I'd hate to think the friendliness is based on sex and race. I'm a white male so I have no way to know if that's part of the basis for being kind and waving. But I'm going to stay optimistic and friendly and keep on waving. It's the Texas Friendly tradition.

[Trainwreck20]

My out-of-state in-laws were quite surprised recently with a tradition I had never thought about - pulling to the right onto the shoulder of a two-lane road to let a faster car pass. Technically illegal, but I have NEVER seen anyone get in trouble for it. If there is a clear line of sight, it is quite safe, and much safer than making someone pull into oncoming traffic to pass. It should garner you a full hand-waggle (really a wave) as they pull back in front of you.

My wife loves the two-finger salute (or tfs, as she calls it, as opposed to the infamous 1-finger salute). It doesn't have to be just car to car...most of my neighbors give a tfs as they cruise down the subdivision street to all the folks on the sidewalk. She also gets one from the farmers/ranchers as she cycles through the hill country (as opposed to the people who try to run you off the road in NE Austin)

Personally, I think that it really is a good release from potential road rage. If you force yourself to wave or give a tfs, it is hard to stay too angry. Goes well with a deep breathe every now and then.