Best place to raise a family in Texas (Houston, Dallas: real estate, crime)

[Rossd2073]

Moving from North Carolina to Texas and have a 4 year old and 2 year old. We are looking for a safe place with great schools and a community with lots of things to do for the kids, any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

[KewGee]

Texas is a huge state. Do you have any idea in what region you'd like to live?

Panhandle Plains
Big Bend Country
Hill Country
Prairies and Lakes
Piney Woods
Gulf Coast
South Texas Plains

I'm wanting to leave TX for NC or some place in the mountains? From what area in NC do you live? Maybe we can swap houses.....just kidding!!

Thanks!

[neddy]

What kind of job do you want/have right now? That might help narrow down your choices

[deeptrance]

The opening question in this thread is really important, because some places in TX have HUGE problems with crime and drugs. For example, of the small towns that surround the Austin metro area, you can find idyllic places with good schools and you can find falling-apart towns that have been destroyed by crystal meth and alcoholism.

I'd try to help by listing the "best places" but Texas is HUGE so it would be helpful to know some other needs ---
* how big a city or town do you want?
* what type of weather do you like?
* do you prefer pine trees, oak trees, grassy plains, desert, or scrub brush?
* close to the coast or inland?
* snow or no snow?
* price range and size of house needed?

I could continue that list for many other topics to help narrow down your choices, but maybe you should pick what's most important to you.

[Rossd2073]

Right now we are in Asheville in the western part of NC. I am in Real Estate, but can't wait to get out of it. Previously was in law enforcement for 8 years and wife was in the phara. business before kids. Ideally we'd love, SAFE, affordable (175K-225K house), great schools, lots of things to do for the kids, lots of younger families with kids,great neighborhood for kids (sienna plantation looks great, but I think Houston area is too muggy and too much crime) warm climate but not muggy. City size really doesen't matter although I would want there to be lots to do for the family.Sports (youth leauge, college and some pro) are really big to us, as well as a great baptist church. My little boy who is 4 thinks he's a bull rider and little girl loves horses!

Hope this helps, and I would be willing to trade some property in Asheville for something in Texas.

Thanks for all of your responses!

[deeptrance]

Originally Posted by Rossd2073

Hope this helps, and I would be willing to trade some property in Asheville for something in Texas.

I LOVE ASHEVILLE!!! Want to trade? I have a house on 4.5 acres near Lockhart, TX, setup for horses, it has 2 cabins on it that can be rented out...

I'm mostly kidding about doing a trade because I don't think the location of my property fits what you're looking for, and I wouldn't seriously consider moving to Asheville right now. But I do love the southern Appalachians! One of the most underrated places in the USA in my opinion.

North of Dallas there are suburbs that fit what you're looking for. I dunno, this state is so vast with so many possibilities, yet nothing here is as beautiful as the area where you're living. Why do you want to move?

[deeptrance]

p.s. --- I have a friend in Austin who was a real estate broker in Asheville. His name is Travis (I'll leave it at that) so if you want to talk with him then PM me and I'll put you in contact. He can talk Asheville, Texas, and real estate.

[Rossd2073]

Originally Posted by deeptrance

I LOVE ASHEVILLE!!! Want to trade? I have a house on 4.5 acres near Lockhart, TX, setup for horses, it has 2 cabins on it that can be rented out...

I'm mostly kidding about doing a trade because I don't think the location of my property fits what you're looking for, and I wouldn't seriously consider moving to Asheville right now. But I do love the southern Appalachians! One of the most underrated places in the USA in my opinion.

North of Dallas there are suburbs that fit what you're looking for. I dunno, this state is so vast with so many possibilities, yet nothing here is as beautiful as the area where you're living. Why do you want to move?

Sometimes change is good, we've been in Asheville for all of our lives and would like something more for our children. Housing is crazy high for the wages, not a lot of jobs, and his place has turned into freakville of the the south!

[deeptrance]

Originally Posted by Rossd2073

...and this place has turned into freakville of the the south!

That's why I loved it!

You might be interested in my Lockhart place, which is FAR from freakville. And a freeway will soon be built near the property that will make it a 30 minute drive to Austin and 45 minutes to San Antonio!

Well, we're already on PM's so you can ask more if interested. I have no idea what I would do with a place in Asheville. Maybe move there! Life could be worse. The thing I don't like about that area is the smell of the timber mills and the lack of air circulation. It seems like there's no wind and it's constantly hazy or foggy. Is that accurate? Austin's air is so clear and clean, and there's almost always a nice breeze even in hot weather.

[KewGee]

Originally Posted by Rossd2073

Right now we are in Asheville in the western part of NC. I am in Real Estate, but can't wait to get out of it. Previously was in law enforcement for 8 years and wife was in the phara. business before kids. Ideally we'd love, SAFE, affordable (175K-225K house), great schools, lots of things to do for the kids, lots of younger families with kids,great neighborhood for kids (sienna plantation looks great, but I think Houston area is too muggy and too much crime) warm climate but not muggy. City size really doesen't matter although I would want there to be lots to do for the family.Sports (youth leauge, college and some pro) are really big to us, as well as a great baptist church. My little boy who is 4 thinks he's a bull rider and little girl loves horses!

Hope this helps, and I would be willing to trade some property in Asheville for something in Texas.

Thanks for all of your responses!

I'm just curious as to why you chose Texas.

Trust me, the heat about anywhere in this state is miserable. We have hot and humid summers for 6 months of the year. It isn't unusual for the temperature in Central Texas to be in the triple digits for weeks on end. Even at 11 p.m., it's 98 degrees and about 82 degrees at 5 a.m. never cooling less than that. The comfort level for my area is 24 as is Houston, Austin is 22, and Asheville is 44. What that means in a nutshell is a combination of highest summer temperatures and humidity to indicate the uncomfortable effect it will have on people. I'm actually surprised Houston is lower than Austin. I'm guessing the temperature doesn't get quite as high as Austin thereby making it only a tad more bearable. I'm just speculating on that.

About the only place where it's dry but still very hot is west Texas like Odessa, Pecos, the Davis mountains and El Paso. I don't think you'd want to live out there though; there isn't anything there. It it so ugly and the landscape makes it looks like one is lost on the moon. I'm sure the panhandle is dry too but extremely barren and unappealing and full of dust.

Remember too that Texas is filled with illegal aliens who think because this area was once Mexico's, it still is. I don't have a problem with that, but some people might. It's just the ignorance that they have and therefore, have had these school walkouts, etc. It isn't their fault; it's just how they were taught either by their folks or definitely in their TX history classes, but of course, it's taken out of context.

I would say the Austin area is better than the rest of Texas but not in Austin itself. The Hill Country is pretty and there are lots of great smaller cities near Austin where I think would be better to raise your little ones. Bull riding, horses, Baptist Churches, youth, college, and pro leagues are plentiful anywhere in Texas. This is just my opinion on Austin as I like the Hill Country. Oh yes, remember we have tornadoes too, much more than the Asheville area.

East Texas (Piney Woods) is pretty too but you won't cool off there either.

I live in smalltown Texas (on the outskirts of one) and it's becoming too populated for me. Although I want to live near Asheville, I want to be away from the maddening crowd so therefore, I can't swap homes with you. I'm longing for a mountain home "away from it all".

There is a really good website for information on crime, cost of living, median housing costs, etc. I don't think I can give you the link as I've had links removed from my posts in the past, but just do a search on google for best places. There is another one for crime, area connect. Also regarding schools, this one is excellent, great schools. I hope these names aren't removed from my post even though they're not links per se. They've been very helpful for me in my hunt.

All the best to you and yours as you contemplate your move.