Is Texas GA friendly?

This is now. Saturday afternoon. You should see rush hour; it is simply breathtaking.
 

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SCCutler said:
Someone above noted it - Austin has steadfastly refused to anticipate its growth with infrastructure, and the piper has called for payment. Austin's traffic makes the worst in Dallas look like child's play. There are no workarounds - you're just... stuck.

At this point, Dallas-Fort Worth's traffic is much (and I mean profoundly) less burdensome than Austin's. It's terrible.
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They probably have the same attitude that a certain county up here has - "if you build more lanes, you'll bring more people and that will cause even more congestion and pollution. Spend the money on public transit and FORCE people to ride it". smh
 
I've lived in Tyler, Texas for 17 years, moved here from San Antonio and before that lived in Dallas. Tyler is opressively humid all year round, nice winters usually, but May thru September is horribly hot, rainy and humid. Dallas is just too big and busy, not quite as humid but even hotter than Tyler.

If you like to hunt and fish, and like the heat and humidity, it's hard to beat East Texas. I don't hunt or fish so it's not my cup of tea, but many folks do enjoy the area and the medical care is excellent. Hangar space is reasonable and avgas is cheap.

I agree with previous posters that the best climate in Texas is probably the Hill Country, West of Austin and North of San Antonio. Less humidity and nice winters, still hot in the summer though.

My wife and I are thinking of retirement in Prescott Arizona or the Reno Nevada area for a dryer and cooler climate.

I also agree that Texas is very GA friendly.
 
I'm sure I'm just dumber than a box of rocks. But when I moved from SoCal to Dallas in 1999 I built a house of similar price to the one I sold in CA. (sure, it was over twice as big)

No ugly state income tax to worry about. (Mythbusters should get on this one)

Holly ****! I couldn't believe how much "no state tax" costs in actual taxes paid.
 
Rykymus said:
Lot's of replies, thanks. To meet the requests for further clarification, more details below:

I want out of CA because of the state income tax, and all the property taxes on aircraft, boats, etc... (I have to pay $1200/yr to the county plus $800/yr to the state for my plane!) I don't mind paying taxes, but CA spends money like drunken idiots on stuff I don't agree with. I'm also tired of all the liberals (mostly young people) who want everything to be free and for it to be paid for by those of us who work for our money. CA is a beautiful state, but it's politicians are out of control. Next up...single payer health care. (Don't get me started.) Overall, I'd call us social liberals with a closet conservative slant, but definitely fiscally conservative.

We currently live in Stockton CA, and the weather here is acceptable to my wife. She is not a big fan of the 100+ summer days, but it's not very humid here. (She cannot tolerate high humidity at all.) She was born and raised in the Ukraine, and would like someplace with more pronounced seasonal changes, although she is afraid of having to drive in the snow. While I easily adapt to anyplace/anyone/anything, my wife is far less adaptable. She is a challenge, in the sense that she wants green, but doesn't want snow and rain. (Uh, not sure how that works.) She wants to be someplace that is more centrally located in regards to the US, so that we can reach travel destinations more easily by small plane.

We are looking to buy a few acres outside of a city that is big enough to have all the basic shopping needed, but small enough that traffic is not an issue. (Probably under 300k pop.) We'd also like to be within an hour or two drive of a major city, for those times when we want what big cities offer. Our goal is to build a 3600 sq/ft custom home (that we designed) and create a sort of "stay-cation" paradise. We're not terribly social people (my wife almost anti-social). We pretty much just want to live our lives in peace and quiet. My wife wants to work (she works part-time as a bookkeeper and enjoys that), not because we need the money but because she feels better working. (It's a mental thing.) I am self-employed and work from home, and all I need is a small office with a good internet connection. Budget isn't really the issue, although I'd like to keep things as reasonable as we can. I'm not as much concerned with the cost of land acquisition/construction as I am with ongoing operational costs, as although business is booming for me, you just never know.

I'd like for an airport and golf course to be nearby, and I'd love if there was an ice rink with adult recreational hockey within an hour's drive. (But the later is not a deal breaker, as I don't see myself continuing playing hockey for more than a decade at this point.)

Oh, and my wife is natural disaster adverse. See my problems?
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Except for the population and ice rink you are describing Tyler Texas. We are 1 hour (100 miles) east of Dallas.
 
If your wife doesn't like humidity, don't bring her to East Texas!

Although housing is generally cheaper in Texas don't expect to make money on the sale of your house like many areas of California. With a few exceptions, home values in Texas tend to remain stable. They don't appreciate really fast nor do they depreciate fast. Austin and a few pockets in the larger cities do have rapidly rising values. The rest of Texas not so much. After 17 years my house appreciated under 3% per year, just barely paying for the major maintenance.

As in most areas of investing and finance, do your homework!
 
This isn't really an investment, as it is wanting to build someplace that we'll want to stay the rest of our lives. CA is headed in the wrong direction for us.
 
My wife and I are closing in on retirement and unfortunately my family is entrenched in California between Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo. Not many places in the world with that nice of weather. It's really tough visiting family and returning to Texas and especially East Texas humidity. We desperately want the weather they enjoy but not the taxes, high cost of living and politics.

Reno/Carson City or Prescott seems to be as close as we can come to having similar weather and taxes with a Texas like cost of living. We still have a few years to go and are voraciously researching other opportunities.
 
SCCutler said:
This is now. Saturday afternoon. You should see rush hour; it is simply breathtaking.
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Yikes!


To be honest, I spend a lot of time in the Dallas (including the burrow of ft worth) and Houston. Not much in Austin. Guess all of Texas has been growing.

Sounds like the OP needs to consider Little Rock. No ice skating and you will need a functioning AC in all seasons to pull the water out of the air. But I'm cleaning an A35, preparing it for annual while I'm watching a Piper do touch and goes on the grass strip. All just outside a sleepy class C.

It isn't a lot, but they do get you with the personal property tax on the airplane though.
 
Grew up in Texas, lived here for 25 of my 43 years on earth. Short, 20 year career in the Air Force kept me from staying all my life.

The effective tax rate in Texas will be much lower than in CA. Not to dissuade you, but you should also consider a place like Knoxville, TN.

Texas has one season, summer, unless you live in the panhandle. Your choice is whether you want humidity or not. If you want green grass, you get humidity. If you want dry, you get desert.

The weather in Stockton can't be found anywhere in TX. My daughter in law is from Stockton and still has family there. Whenever they visit, they wilt. And these are sturdy, active folks.

If seasons and weather are important to your family happiness, you need to look elsewhere. Follow I-40 across the nation and look 50-100 miles north and south for the places that meet your criteria.
 
The best way to see Austin is to fly into San Marcos and summon an Uber. (Now that our governor has overruled Austin's ban on ride sharing, Uber and Lyft are back -- hooray!)

No traffic headaches, no hassles, relatively cheap ride down to 6th Street, where you can stay at the Driskill Hotel (or, cheaper, La Quinta) and walk to all the bars where you will usually find world class blues guitarists playing for tips.

It's gritty and real. If you're not used to real people at real bars, 6th Street isn't for you, but we love it. This is where Stevie Ray Vaughan and others cut their blues guitar teeth.

For a cultural shift, walk a few blocks down and have a beer and a brat at one of the oldest original beer gardens in America, Scholz Garten. Being German-American, we feel right at home.

Like all government towns, all that ill-gotten money has attracted hundreds of cool ancillary businesses to Austin for us to enjoy. Just don't discuss politics and enjoy them.

Note: Unless you're a 20-something who likes man buns and maroon corduroy, avoid the hip new area North of town called "The Domain". We stayed there last month, looking for something different, and found thousands of fake, plastic people and miles of brand new women's clothing stores. It felt like a bad movie set.

Sent from my SM-T700 using Tapatalk
 
For your wife....humidity is a fact of life...how do we handle it? Simple, turn the A/C colder and stay inside. We have windows in our house that have not been opened in twenty years. My wife has a lot of health problems and the heat really zaps her. Me, I grew up without AC so I can handle it fairly well (still hate the humidity). Cedar Park has hockey. Sounds like a little to west and NW of Austin would fit fine. Lampasas etc. If she wants green then she will have to be wet. Brenham, College Station, Huntsville, etc.

Waxahatchie and Mexia are easy to pronounce...try to get Refugio correct and then your a real Texan.
 
Many folks are forced to live in a particular place because of a job or they are chained by family/friends ties. If you are free of such things that bind you to a location, why accept living 6 months of your life (or your wife's life) indoors because of heat or humidity? Life is too short! Live where you are comfortable and enjoy a climate that enables you to enjoy life on your (and your wife's) own terms.

Despite the politics, taxes, and high cost of living, I would live on the central coast of California if I could afford it. Life comes down to "usable days", days that are not too hot, not too cold, not too rainy, and not too humid. Live where you will have the most usable days you can afford.
 
TigerGene said:
Many folks are forced to live in a particular place because of a job or they are chained by family/friends ties. If you are free of such things that bind you to a location, why accept living 6 months of your life (or your wife's life) indoors because of heat or humidity? Life is too short! Live where you are comfortable and enjoy a climate that enables you to enjoy life on your own terms.

Despite the politics, taxes, and high cost of living, I would live on the central coast of California if I could afford it. Life comes down to "usable days", days that are not too hot, not too cold, not too rainy, and not too humid. Live where you will have the most usable days you can afford.
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My two sons are at Cal Poly. We really enjoy visiting them and staying in Avila Beach.
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
Every. Single. Road. Forever. Absolutely drives me crazy
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I-35E between Denton and North Dallas is under major construction and okay during the day. But night is down right dangerous since they keep changing where the construction barrels are, it isn't lit properly, no warning sings, and lane changes happen unexpectedly.

But yes, Texas is very GA friendly. Night time automotive... nope.
 
@Rykymus ... places that meet your location criteria can include much in the west side, including Justin, West Lake, Haslet, Ponder... just about anything along FM 156.
 
Rykymus said:
Lot's of replies, thanks. To meet the requests for further clarification, more details below:

I want out of CA because of the state income tax, and all the property taxes on aircraft, boats, etc... (I have to pay $1200/yr to the county plus $800/yr to the state for my plane!) I don't mind paying taxes, but CA spends money like drunken idiots on stuff I don't agree with. I'm also tired of all the liberals (mostly young people) who want everything to be free and for it to be paid for by those of us who work for our money. CA is a beautiful state, but it's politicians are out of control. Next up...single payer health care. (Don't get me started.) Overall, I'd call us social liberals with a closet conservative slant, but definitely fiscally conservative.

We currently live in Stockton CA, and the weather here is acceptable to my wife. She is not a big fan of the 100+ summer days, but it's not very humid here. (She cannot tolerate high humidity at all.) She was born and raised in the Ukraine, and would like someplace with more pronounced seasonal changes, although she is afraid of having to drive in the snow. While I easily adapt to anyplace/anyone/anything, my wife is far less adaptable. She is a challenge, in the sense that she wants green, but doesn't want snow and rain. (Uh, not sure how that works.) She wants to be someplace that is more centrally located in regards to the US, so that we can reach travel destinations more easily by small plane.

We are looking to buy a few acres outside of a city that is big enough to have all the basic shopping needed, but small enough that traffic is not an issue. (Probably under 300k pop.) We'd also like to be within an hour or two drive of a major city, for those times when we want what big cities offer. Our goal is to build a 3600 sq/ft custom home (that we designed) and create a sort of "stay-cation" paradise. We're not terribly social people (my wife almost anti-social). We pretty much just want to live our lives in peace and quiet. My wife wants to work (she works part-time as a bookkeeper and enjoys that), not because we need the money but because she feels better working. (It's a mental thing.) I am self-employed and work from home, and all I need is a small office with a good internet connection. Budget isn't really the issue, although I'd like to keep things as reasonable as we can. I'm not as much concerned with the cost of land acquisition/construction as I am with ongoing operational costs, as although business is booming for me, you just never know.

I'd like for an airport and golf course to be nearby, and I'd love if there was an ice rink with adult recreational hockey within an hour's drive. (But the later is not a deal breaker, as I don't see myself continuing playing hockey for more than a decade at this point.)

Oh, and my wife is natural disaster adverse. See my problems?
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Sounds to me like you're looking for Tulsa, OK. If you want details, I can provide, but there are some Tulsans on POA that can give more insight.

Not that it matters much, but my sis-in-law is from Orange County, CA and she loves Tulsa.

R.L Jones airport is a bustling GA airport.

Very green. Lots of lakes around.

A little cooler than east Texas in summer, but still pretty humid.

Winters are easy peasy.

There is hockey.

You can probably buy or build your own airport in Oklahoma with Cali money.
 
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OkieFlyer said:
Sounds to me like you're looking for Tulsa, OK. If you want details, I can provide, but there are some Tulsans on POA that can give more insight.

Not that it matters much, but my sis-in-law is from Orange County, CA and she loves Tulsa.

R.L Jones airport is a bustling GA airport.

Very green. Lots of lakes around.

A little cooler than east Texas in summer, but still pretty humid.

Winters are easy peasy.

There is hockey.

You can probably buy or build your own airport in Oklahoma with Cali money.
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Wow! (TIC) that is NOT my recollection of the ten plus years I spent there. Incredibly hot and humid and windy in the summer - why is the Severe Storm Laboratory there? Winters? Snow, Ice, windy. Property taxes are low and the roads show it. Income tax is very high. I would pay almost a full months salary just in state income tax. No real football (well OU but they are the finest Texas kids money can buy) PS...I live in the Austin area and HATE the university of Texas.
 
MD11Pilot said:
Wow! (TIC) that is NOT my recollection of the ten plus years I spent there. Incredibly hot and humid and windy in the summer - why is the Severe Storm Laboratory there? Winters? Snow, Ice, windy. Property taxes are low and the roads show it. Income tax is very high. I would pay almost a full months salary just in state income tax. No real football (well OU but they are the finest Texas kids money can buy) PS...I live in the Austin area and HATE the university of Texas.
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Just trying to help. My apologies.
 
From what I understand the problem is people are moving from CA to TX to escape the high taxes and over regulation. Then once in TX they start voting for the same type of people who caused the problems in CA.
 
Rykymus said:
Wife and I are looking to move out of CA to escape both its state income tax and its general insanity. We're seriously looking at Texas with an eye on the greater Austin area.
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I've lived in the North Austin suburbs for 17 years and am trying to leave. Austin is like California-lite. Abort. Other parts of Texas=better.
 
MD11Pilot said:
Tongue in cheek
Oklahoma gave me my wonderful wife. It's a Texas thing...you have to poke each other across the area River
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Well, I didn't know if this was a Red River Rivalry kind of thing or not. I'm with ya now.

You mentioned living in Austin, so I thought you might just be one of them hippie Texifornian liberal goobers. In which case, I'd rather just slip slowly out of the room.
 
Rykymus said:
Wife and I are looking to move out of CA to escape both its state income tax and its general insanity. We're seriously looking at Texas with an eye on the greater Austin area. (We want to buy an acre or two outside of the city and build.)

Anyone know if the state is GA friendly? It doesn't look like they charge property tax on personal aircraft.

Also, any recommendations on best areas for climate and humidity in Texas would be appreciated.
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Austin, not friendly so much, unless you want a long commute. Other than that, TX as a whole is pretty GA friendly, and no taxes on personal planes.. No state income tax, but state sales tax is 6.25% and the cities can add on up to a total of 8.5% for their revenue. In addition, homeowners have property taxes to all sorts of entities, first and foremost the County, any city, and the school district, with schools being the biggest share. Drainage, flood control, Utility districts and EMS/FIRE taxing districts round out the laundry list.

You get much more house and land for your dollar than just about anywhere else. Depending on your occupation you might do very well compared to cost of living.

Its hot. Its humid. Summer is 90-100 degrees with >80% humidity. Heat indexes go to 105-110. Sickly people die here without AC. But winters are mild.. and in many places they dont even get a hard freeze in the winter.. particularly along the gulf coast.

The hill country is beautiful scenic.. but there are some serious problems coming down the pike. Austin and SA (as well as pretty much all the rural folks) get their water from wells into the aquifer. The stress on those aquifers in the central texas region isn't abating any, as Austin and SA grow by leaps and bounds. That is one of the reasons I've stayed in the Houston region rather than relocate to the beautiful hill country. However, salaries in my occupation are at a premium here and in Dallas.. so... I am kind of "stuck" for now.
 
For you, Pecan Plantation in Granbury; golf course and airport, ice rink 1:15 away.

For her, look at Abilene. High enough elevation to get a break in humidity, big enough to have all your basic shopping/business/medical infrastructure, 2 hrs to Ft Worth, and on the edge of the green (look E and S, its brown to N and W; look at satellite photo and zoom out).
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
My property taxes are almost 3% of the total home value. It's crazy
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Wow. $30k/year on a $1m property. That's insane.

TX and WA generally is ranked equivalent in tax rates (last year the two states were 33rd and 34'th highest in the nation respectively), but based on that statement I'm starting to think WA should be ranked as lower than TX:
  • Neither state has income tax.
  • Sales tax in most places in WA is around 8.8% - Texas seems to be around 8.25%.
  • But WA property tax is 1% vs. 2% to 3%! in TX.
Anyway, love it. I have a very conservative brother-in-law who lives in TX and keeps giving trying to give me a hard time about "those liberal states that steal your money". I had no idea the TX property tax rate was that much higher than ours. Gonna be a fun thanksgiving this year :biggrin:.
 
Personally, I'd investigate some of the towns NW of Austin like Brady, Llano, Lampasas.

Or around the Brenham/College Station areas, some of the towns near there.
 
deonb said:
Wow. $30k/year on a $1m property. That's insane.

.
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I paid about $12K per year in San Antonio on a property that was worth about $400K. No income tax, no car/personal property tax.
 
pmanton said:
Why on earth would someone go all the way to Texas from CA when Arizona is right next door is beyond me. :eek:
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"She wants to be someplace that is more centrally located in regards to the US, so that we can reach travel destinations more easily by small plane."
 
OkieFlyer said:
Well, I didn't know if this was a Red River Rivalry kind of thing or not. I'm with ya now.

You mentioned living in Austin, so I thought you might just be one of them hippie Texifornian liberal goobers. In which case, I'd rather just slip slowly out of the room.
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Thats a good one. I think Rush Limbaugh is a liberal!
 
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