MAYBE moving to Temple Texas (Houston, Dallas: sales, homes, look for a job)

[lametzger]

Looking for honest answers.

My husband got offered a job in Temple. WE have gotten the sales pitch by the recruiter but need to find out answers from real people in the area. We are in our late 30s and early 40s. What is considered a good area, what is there to do, what are the good and bad about living in Temple? If you had to fly out...what airport do you use? Does it really take 15 minutes from north Temole to the southside.

I also work in tv here in GA. Any tv stations or video production companies that I could possibly look for a job?

I know I can google the info, but I like to hear what actual people have to say.

thanks

[mayhem154]

Temple is a nice community of about 60000 people with all the amenities you'd expect from a town this size. (mall, big box retailers, restaurants. etc.) The major employers are going to be health related. (Scott & White, VA Medical Center, Kings Daughters Hospital). Killeen and Waco will be the nearest cities with airports, but they are both just commuter airports that will get you to D/FW or Houston. All of the television stations are in Waco, with the exception of of the NBC affiliate, which is between Temple and Waco. I think there may be a PBS and Univision affiliate in Killeen. Whatever you decide, Temple is only about 20 miles from Killeen, 30 from Waco and 60 from Austin. Good luck...

[lametzger]

anymore?

[WillysB]

Op, Temple is a sweet bit of a place along I-35, two hours south of Dallas/Fort Worth, and hour north of Austin and two and a half hours from Houston. Though I don't think anyone in Temple really cares.

The city grew as a railroad town and is situated in somewhat of a logical crossroads between southeast and northwest Texas and northeast and southwest Texas. I used to drive from Houston to west Texas and back several times a years, passing through Temple along the way, before there was an interstate or a loop around town. The southern portion of that loop has been under reconstruction and should handle a large volume of traffic when complete. That would be the Houston/west Texas flow.

Just west of Temple is a fairly large lake, Lake Belton. The city of Belton, the county seat, is just south of the lake and abutts Temple at Temple's southwest edge. West of Belton are a few smaller cities and Fort Hood, the largest active army post in the U.S, perhaps on the planet, or outside the middle east.

Yes, it could take 15 minutes or more to travel from the north of Temple to the south of Temple, depending on your route. On the interstate would take maybe five minutes, through town 15, more or less. Many who travel through wouldn't realize this as Temple has neighborhoods that seem to be undetectable to any other than those who live there. And fine neighborhoods they are.

There is an industrial district in the northwest area of town, again virtually undetectable unless you drive a freight truck. Include a large WalMart distribution warehouse. Toyota has been building an assembly plant in that area, last I heard to be opened later this year.

In town there are a few places of entertainment, a fine restaurant or two, an Irish pub... I don't get around there much but really should. The older part of town seems to be somewhat conservative though more ethnic than caucasian. The suburbs seem to be more caucasian. There is a mall with the usual chain stores including the big boxes. The county itself tends to conservative and the local Congressman is Republican and has voted against the recent federal massive bail bills.

There is a large hospital, Scott and White, with statewide repute and has associations with Texas two largest universities, Texas and Texas A&M. There is also a veterans hospital in town.

A previous reply indicates the avail local TV, cable is TimeWarner with a wide range of programming including HighDef and broadband availability. The local phone company would be AT&T.

Housing is available and is reasonable priced. There are older homes in town, newer construction and squarely designed neighborhoods with typical housing in the suburbs. There is housing around the lake as well.

It gets hot here, recently in the 100's, in the shade, sometimes some humidity. There's a bit of a drought going on but there was a nice rain in the area Monday. Winters tend to be mild to light freezes.

In all, if you were just passing through town you probly wouldn't find a reason to unpack and stay. If you lived here a while you'd find it a comfortable fit. The area from Fort Hood to Temple creates a sizeable metro and Fort Hood gives the area a national influence. Due to the proximity of Austin and Dallas, Temple would be good place to spend the week and escape to the bedlam of the big cities for the weekend. There's a sweet little artsy community in Salado which would otherwise be a dusty wasteland, only about 15 miles away.

[RSTX]

Wife and I have lived in Temple since 1997 and enjoy it. We are both 37 and have three young children. Temple leans more to the quiet, family-style of living rather than college town night-life. It is easy to get around and COL is reasonable. The east side of town is considered "downtown" and is a little less desirable for living in, but has many nice stores and some good restaurants. Most of the nicer housing areas are west and south. The north side is mostly industrial.

When we fly we use Austin Intl. Airport. It is easy to get into and out of and takes about and hour and a half to get to.

KCEN is the nearest tv station, located on I-35 about half way between Temple and Waco. KXXV and KWTX are both located in Waco. They are all good and we don't have a preference between them. Whatever channel we land on is what we watch.

Things to do: the mall is small but has most of the stores a person would need (ie: Macy's, Dillards, JC Penny, various other small clothing stores and bookstores). There are some restaurants inside the mall (Fudruckers, Cotton Patch, and the normal food court offerings) and a movie theater (Temple Premier Cinema) that is pretty nice. There are some shopping areas around and several new restaurants along I-35 (BJ's, Olive Garden, Cracker Barrel). I can't say much about the nightlife as I like to sleep at night. The normal sports activities are here such as golf, tennis, swimming, etc. No pro or semi-pro sports though. You'll have to drive to Dallas for that (about 3 to 3 1/2 hours).

I love the fall/winter/early spring here. Winter is very mild and hard freezes are rare (maybe 5 or 10 all winter). The summers are hot and humid and last from late May until late September and sometimes into early October.

The bad: if you are into clubs and bar-hopping you will be bored. A lack of a major college sort of dulls that life (which, as I mentioned earlier, doesn't bother the wife and I since we are pretty pooped at night anyway). There is of course some crime, but it is not rampant and I have never had a problem with anyone or anything. As with any place, mind yourself and keep your eyes open and you will be fine.

We are happy here and do not plan on moving. That said, I would also be happy in any number of other cities, but I tend to be a contented person.

[case44]

Originally Posted by lametzger

I also work in tv here in GA. Any tv stations or video production companies that I could possibly look for a job?

I know I can google the info, but I like to hear what actual people have to say.

thanks

Being a small market, there does tend to be a little more turnover at TV stations there as opposed to a Houston or a Dallas. Just because the economy is down doesn't mean that 6, 10, 25, and 44 aren't hiring. You'd be best off looking up the stations' websites for leads.

[mayhem154]

My wife worked at KWTX-10, the wages they paid were shameful. Their TV market ranks #94 out of 210. If you are in production, you might check into the cable companies (Time Warner or Grande), or the colleges and universities in the area.