Texas people - need info

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PAustin

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PAustin
My wife and I are kicking around moving from Iowa to Texas. We are both looking for warmer days during the winter months and we are both about done with dealing with snow.

Can anyone shed some light on the aviation communities around the gulf coast areas. 50-100 miles inland is ok too. I'm just curious if aviation is strong in the areas and where you guys might recommend looking; and why.

Thanks - Paul


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Aviation is Very Alive and Very Well in Texas.
I would say it is booming relative to what I hear from pilots elsewhere.

Edit: if they don't come across this thread, PM Jay Honeck about the coast and KenJr about inland. They are on the coast / Georgetown respectively
 
What about south east Texas around the coast?


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You definitely need to talk with the Honecks; they moved from Iowa City to Port Aransas several years back, for much the same reasons you are citing. Reach them at www.AmeliasLanding.com

Good news is, there may be no better place for general aviation than Texas - you can go lots of places within a rational flying time, and our aviation infrastructure is outstanding, with a state government which is not only not hostile to GA - it is downright supportive.

It is, of course, hot as a biscuit in the summer (though more steamy than terrible in south Texas, and the actual coastal areas have some reasonable temps because of the ocean).

Business is good, no income tax, although property taxes on homes are not insignificant.

Jump on in, the water's fine!
 
It depends on what you are looking for. We have Desert, Coastal, Hills, Green forest, Big city to small town. The state is very GA friendly. Many fly-in communities if that is your thing.
 
You will get double or so the amount of flyable days in SE TX compared to Iowa. Lots of private fields, lots of public, good access to the gulf, NM, and the inland west.

TX economy is booming. I bought two houses in Houston a little while back and thinking of getting another. The only downside is without getting political is the problem with immigrants. There is a crime wave sort of at low level which remains out of the media eye. Pretty much every miserable crime that's committed outside of the big murders is related to an illegal immigrant(notwithstanding that they are in the country illegally to start with).
 
Down here in Houston, GA seems alive and well. At my local airport, KDWH, there always seems to be someone in the pattern or jets landing. I do think there may be a few hangars available, but I think that may be due to people moving to nicer hangars up the road at KCXO (which also seems to be busy and expanding). On the south side it seems to be busy as well. West Houston (KIWS) has hangar homes so I am sure there is some good community there. I just got a flyer in the mail about another airport on the west side that has lots available for hangar homes so there are alot of options in Houston.

Its an easy flight for me to the gulf coast. I like to fly along the coast and watch the sunset. I will usually head to Galveston from my airport and then fly along the coast till about Matagorda Bay and then head home. I have gone down to Mustang Island (KRAS) a few times. That's a neat area.
 
We are looking for great flying weather, laid back people (for the most part) and reasonable living expenses. And, we do like the coastal areas. We have a fair amount of places to fly to with small airports to visit up here but a lot of them are starting to dwindle off and activity is sparse. We've even thought about an airpark in TX but not necessary.


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PAustin said:
We are looking for great flying weather, laid back people (for the most part) and reasonable living expenses. And, we do like the coastal areas. We have a fair amount of places to fly to with small airports to visit up here but a lot of them are starting to dwindle off and activity is sparse. We've even thought about an airpark in TX but not necessary.
Click to expand...

Housing is dirt cheap here but the property taxes border on rape.
 
What are your property taxes like?


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Not good at math. about 2 and a half percent.
 
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That's pretty comparable to up here. $2500 - $7500 depending on area and house.


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PAustin said:
That's pretty comparable to up here. $2500 - $7500 depending on area and house.


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Click to expand...

ok, I understand in some stales it is like a fraction of a percent.
 
I'd go at least a 100 miles off the coast just for the storm avoidance. I bought stuff west and north of Houston, in a suburb outside the beltway. My insurance is kinda stiff, but doable. Down on the coast, insurance is hard to get and very high.
 
MAKG1 said:
Really?

Even in California, it's barely over 1% assessed value. And the rate of increase of the assessed value is strongly limited in the event of a land boom (which happens regularly).
Click to expand...

I think the tradeoff is what you get for your money here.
I think I would be living in a box in CA for what I paid here.

I'd have to look but think the average here is just under $100/sqft
 
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MAKG1 said:
Really?

Even in California, it's barely over 1% assessed value. And the rate of increase of the assessed value is strongly limited in the event of a land boom (which happens regularly).
Click to expand...

You're talking about Proposition 13, which is another animal completely. But, yes, property tax in CA is roughly 1% of assessed value. Same here in CO.

Every state is going to get their revenue one way or another. Those without income tax often have higher sales and/or property taxes to compensate. Also, property tax rates vary from county to county in TX; I think Bexar county (San Antonio) has some of the highest, approaching 3% of assessed value.
 
PAustin said:
My wife and I are kicking around moving from Iowa to Texas. We are both looking for warmer days during the winter months and we are both about done with dealing with snow.

Can anyone shed some light on the aviation communities around the gulf coast areas. 50-100 miles inland is ok too. I'm just curious if aviation is strong in the areas and where you guys might recommend looking; and why.

Thanks - Paul


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Click to expand...

Rockport has a great GA airport, and is a great place to live if you like to fish and can stand a lot of mosquitos in the summer. Do you want a T-hanger at a public airport? Those are getting hard to find.

Do you want an airport community with a private runway? We have one in the Austin area (Breakaway Point) and there are a number of them around San Antonio.
 
I'm exploring all options right now. I think we would like to stay within a 100 mile arc of the coast - but who knows.

An airpark is not out if the question providing it's not ridiculously expensive. A good ol friendly airport would be good too if I can get a decent hangar.


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We threw around the idea of being closer to the coast, but we decided on Austin, for some other reasons.

I think you're on the right track though and these guys have given you a good area to start in. Jay and Ken will be able to help more, but I think looking in the Corpus Christi / Port Lavaca / SE Houston coastal communities is what you're after.
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
I think the tradeoff is what you get for your money here.
I think I would be living in a box in CA for what I paid here.

I'd have to look but think the average here is just under $100/sqft
Click to expand...

Depends where. Not all of California is ridiculously expensive, but the real nice stuff with a ton of work available is. Salaries tend to be in line, though.

I paid about twice that per square foot, but I live in a resort town. Pacific Heights could easily be 10x that. East Palo Alto is comparable, but I wouldn't want to live there. And you can get $50K double wides in Tulare if you really want that…
 
Corpus is a bit to far south I think. I've been there a few times. I'm thinking the Livingston, Huntsville areas. Also looked at Victoria region but as Docmirror suggested, maybe it would be better to be 100 miles inland for storm avoidance.


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For a non-natives perspective...

I spent a LOT of time working in Texas in the late 90s and got intimately familiar with the eastern 3/5 (about everything east of Abilene).

I like:

The Hill Country.

The Valley (Harlingen, Edinberg, McAllen, etc.).

And Austin.

Other than that....ehhh...I'll pass.

Either too many people, too hot, too flat, too arid, and/or too dirty.

And the Houston area was all of the above! Well except for arid.

Just one more "to each his own" topic though. I'll take snow any day.
 
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Huntsville, Livingston, Conroe is good TX living. Prices are climbing, you aren't too close to the coast, and you have big city nearby. Lots of open space, parks, lakes, plenty of airports, and far enough from the border. I am looking at some property in Conroe now, but the pace of the RE market is blistering. By the time I get to a house, check it out, and get ready to make an offer, the house is usually under contract. Same with Woodlands, and stuff to the west of that. Lots of building, lots of freeways, banking, oil, tech, gas, etc.
 
colojo said:
Also, property tax rates vary from county to county in TX; I think Bexar county (San Antonio) has some of the highest, approaching 3% of assessed value.
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I live in Bexar Co and city of SA. My aggregate rate (total taxes from 7 taxing entities / appraised value) for 2014 was 2.63%. On rural properities I own it is about 2%, which is about as low as you can go without putting some critters on it and getting an agricultural exemptioan. Also, rural appraisals tend to be less, as a % of fair market value, than urban.

The Texas state sales tax rate is 6.25%. Cities and counties can add up up to 2% more, which SA does, so total rate is 8.25%.

Income tax rate - 0%
 
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Check out 11R airport. It's a thriving airport with a great community of flyers.

We are about 100 miles inland, and exactly half way between Austin and Houston.

It's green rolling hills like German farmsteads. In the Spring, the fields cover over with bluebonnet's. People travel from the WORLD over to see it. You will never shovel snow again.
 
+1 on Brenham Texas. They make some great wine Too!!

txflyer said:
Check out 11R airport. It's a thriving airport with a great community of flyers.

We are about 100 miles inland, and exactly half way between Austin and Houston.

It's green rolling hills like German farmsteads. In the Spring, the fields cover over with bluebonnet's. People travel from the WORLD over to see it. You will never shovel snow again.
Click to expand...
 
txflyer said:
Check out 11R airport. It's a thriving airport with a great community of flyers.

We are about 100 miles inland, and exactly half way between Austin and Houston.

It's green rolling hills like German farmsteads. In the Spring, the fields cover over with bluebonnet's. People travel from the WORLD over to see it. You will never shovel snow again.
Click to expand...

I used to fly in just about every Saturday evening. Its a shame the restaurant changed their hours. I still fly in to Brenham about once a month for cheap gas.
 
Texas does not have a state income tax, just the property tax.
 
Both glider clubs in the Houston area are excellent.
 
N2124v said:
Texas does not have a state income tax, just the property tax.
Click to expand...


Yeah, but we make up for it with twice the going rate ...

OP, try to get an agricultural exemption if you come and buy here.

It's easy if you buy some land out of the city limits and produce something, anything really. Your $500,000 McMansion will value for pennies compared to in town. :)
 
Checking out Brenham now. It looks good so far. Housing seems reasonable too. How's hangar rental?

Tony - think you glide your way down there? It's been awhile since we seen each other. I've been keeping up on your posts of FB though. O


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I pay $310/month for a privately owned T-hangar with water/electric and one public toilet.

The city is building new T-hangars right now as we speak.
 
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I'll need to find employment too. How's the job market for Operation Managers in the area?


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T's up here (if you can get one!) are $170/month. These are bare bone 1 light bulb hangars. Can't have a grill, fridge, fuel containers, heaters or anything else in the hangar. And yes, they audit from time to time.

$310 for something with all the amenities doesn't sound bad. I know my wife would like it!


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So what you guys are saying is that my wife and I should jump in the Bonanza and swing down to check it out?


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