Abilene folks please tell me what you think of your city (Dallas: rentals, houses)

[Sonshine]

Hello again y'all. My husband and I have been bouncing around all over the map trying to decide where to move to when we sell our home in NRH. We want 20 + acres somewhere w/in 15 minutes of a semi-large city. We've discovered that probably isn't going to be possible for us to find right here around the metroplex, unless we want to pay 6000k per acre or more. My husband is going to go to Abilene this week to check out the area. I have a few questions for any of you who live (or have lived) in Abiliene:

What's the weather really like?
Does it cool down when the sun goes down?
Is it unbearable in the summer time?
I know the humidity is almost 10% less there than DFW but don't know if that "feels" much different than here. Do y'all have days on end in the summer where it feels like a sauna outside?

Are people friendly and welcoming to newcomers?

Are there any good grocery stores that sell organic/health foods?

We are considering opening a small car lot that sells cheap cars, would there be a good market for that?

Thanks a bunch!
Sonshine

Ok y'all, surely there are more of you who could help me out with info about Abilene. I posted the other day and only got one response.

I would like to get some opinions of the city. And here are specific things I'd like to know:

I am not a big fan of the heat here in TX, but I deal w/it b/c I love TX. I see from the city data that Abilene has less humidity and colder/longer winters than the DFW area. Could anyone compare the summertime weather between the two? Does it cool off in Abilene in the evenings? Does it feel any cooler there during the day than it does here in the metroplex?

I also read that there are dust storms in Abilene. What are they like? How often do they occur?

What areas of Abilene should we avoid if we decide to look at property there? I've read that south Abilene is better than north, is this true? Where are the "bad" areas of town?

My husband is interested in buying houses and renting them out. It seems there'd be a good market there for rentals, considering the military base and colleges. But we realize a lot of others may have this idea. Does it seem like there is an overload of rental properties or would this be a viable option for making an income there? Also, used cars - same question.

Can anyone help me out? Whether you love Abilene or hate it - please reply!

Thanks,
Sonshine

[lifertexan]

What's the weather really like?
Does it cool down when the sun goes down?
Is it unbearable in the summer time?
I know the humidity is almost 10% less there than DFW but don't know if that "feels" much different than here. Do y'all have days on end in the summer where it feels like a sauna outside?

If by NRH you mean the Dallas suburb,then Abilene will not be much different than that,maybe a little less humid.

Are people friendly and welcoming to newcomers?

Yes,as long as you are friendly yourselves.

Are there any good grocery stores that sell organic/health foods?

Good luck on this one.There are probably some smaller specialty stores that do.Health food in these parts is a steak with most of the fat trimmed off and a loaded bake potato,followed by a light beer.

We are considering opening a small car lot that sells cheap cars, would there be a good market for that?

With 3 universities and a large base full of young airmen there is a market for this,but there is also a lot of people who have this same idea.Competition will be tough.Lot's of pay by the week carlots.I wouldn't sink a lot of money in this.