Texas....Love it or Whatever!

[REWahoo]

We are looking to have a condo paid for in San Antonio by the time we actually retire. Is anyone else ERed in San Antonio? I am from there originally, but havent been back since my pre-military/college days almost 18 years ago. I'm thinking its a good place due to the low cost of living (we are in central coastal California right now---anything is cheaper!) and nearby military bases.

cmonk, you poor devil. Are you ever in for an unpleasant surprise.

This place has gone to hell in a handbasket and California imports (even Texas expats) have found living Texas in general and San Antonio in particular to be a miserable existence. I'd recommend you stop short of any attempted eastward migration before it's too late. Life in AZ or even NM is an improvement over what you'll find here.

I don't want to subject you to any further public ridicule regarding your misguided plans to retire in San Antonio, so PM me if you want more sordid details of what life is really like here in Northern Mexico.

REW

 

[Wags]

We are looking to have a condo back in San Antonio paid for by the time we retire. We will have our military pension (that keeps up with inflation) and a thrift savings plan annuity to keep us in the black until any social security payout at 62. I also have an Roth IRA, but I have stopped contributing funds there because of all the penalties for accessing this when I retire. Right now I am 42...looking to retire at 48.

--- --- ----- ---- ---- ----- ----- ------- ------ ----- ---- ----- -----
Do you already own a condo in San Antonio? Or are you thinking of buying one?

I am a fellow Texan who retired in early March 06 after 26 plus years of military and civilian (Army) service. My family (3 kids) and I moved from NY to TX because of the high cost of living and to take care of my parents.

We ended up settling in a small West Texas town.

During my time we did not save as much as we could but we invested the $$$$ in our family and I saved enough $$$$ to pay cash for a house, get it renovated and buy a new 2007 truck (in aug 06). For us the life in a small town is just what the doctor ordered. Neither my wife and I have worked since my retirement and we live a modest life. We do not have a house note or a car note and our only expense is a credit card which we are paying off.

I have relatives who live in San Antonio and they love it. My sister, an E-8 in the Army, will be retiring in San Antonio because of the health care facilities, the commissaries, etc.., etc.. that are available to military retirees. There is also the universities which will allow her to finish her master's degree. Then there is also all the AF and Army bases which might be a source of employment if one chooses to work.

GOOD LUCK AND GOD BLESS

 

[REWahoo]

.... I am in Houston and man it is crazy on the roads now.... and going to a mall or anyplace is just crazy... but, it doesn't work, y'all keep coming....

They keep coming because few people will step up and spread the word about the lousy (and buggy) quality of life in TX. Out of stater's don't seem to understand that the myth of "wide open spaces" around here is just that - a myth.

Here's an example of what can happen to those who move here from California and elsewhere:

A couple from out of state bought a lot down the road from us and built their dream home. After a few months of scorpions, rattlesnakes, killer bees, mosquitoes, ticks, chiggers, tarantulas, copperheads, cottonmouths, rabid skunks, wild hogs, oppressive heat & humidity, bleak desolate scenery, dirty beaches, polluted air, drought, wildfires, water shortages, recurring floods, rednecks, ebola virus outbreaks, flesh eating bacteria, and unbelievably high property taxes they evidently snapped. One day a large UHaul truck appeared in their driveway and it and the couple were gone the next day, leaving a "for sale" sign in the front yard. That was almost a year ago and the house remains unsold. Rumor has it they moved to DC, preferring the two-legged varmits found there to the multi and no legged variety found here.

I only tell this story to illustrate what can (and does) happen to those who don't heed the warning about "living" in Texas...

 

[REWahoo]

REWahoo hates all the people that keep coming to Texas...

Just so there is no misunderstanding, I don't hate the poor, misguided souls who move here. What I do hate is the fact they didn't know any better.

 

[greg]

They keep coming because few people will step up and spread the word about the lousy (and buggy) quality of life in TX. Out of stater's don't seem to understand that the myth of "wide open spaces" around here is just that - a myth.

Here's an example of what can happen to those who move here from California and elsewhere:

A couple from out of state bought a lot down the road from us and built their dream home. After a few months of scorpions, rattlesnakes, killer bees, mosquitoes, ticks, chiggers, tarantulas, copperheads, cottonmouths, rabid skunks, wild hogs, oppressive heat & humidity, bleak desolate scenery, dirty beaches, polluted air, drought, wildfires, water shortages, recurring floods, rednecks, ebola virus outbreaks, flesh eating bacteria, and unbelievably high property taxes they evidently snapped. One day a large UHaul truck appeared in their driveway and it and the couple were gone the next day, leaving a "for sale" sign in the front yard. That was almost a year ago and the house remains unsold. Rumor has it they moved to DC, preferring the two-legged varmits found there to the multi and no legged variety found here.

I only tell this story to illustrate what can (and does) happen to those who don't heed the warning about "living" in Texas...

Mr. Wahoo:

You forgot to tell folks that it's even worse than you say: none of the wayside rests in Texas have washrooms, so even passers by will have a miserable time while passing thru that state, i.e. go thru Arkansas--or Nebraska--when driving cross country. Canada is a better option too, by far. If you can't hold it for 1200 miles, go elsewhere.





Psst: How was that? Not to rain on your parade.

--greg

 

[REWahoo]

Psst: How was that? Not to rain on your parade.

Not bad...

However, you failed to mention that not only do our wayside rest stops lack restrooms, most also lack trees or shrubbery. And the few that have utility poles offer scant privy privacy.

 

[Martha]

On the other hand. . . .


We have been in Texas in March and April. Big Bend state park is amazing. You can ride for miles and see no one. You can view petroglyphs and see birds you see no where else in the US.

If west Texas is to brown for you, there is east Texas in the spring. The dogwoods are amazing. The campgrounds are lovely with great trails and a lot of space. There is electricity so Al wouldn't have to listen to generators.

 

[REWahoo]

Martha, those pictures are from New Mexico and Arkansas.

Don't be messin' with people....

 

[Nords]

... scorpions, rattlesnakes, killer bees, mosquitoes, ticks, chiggers, tarantulas, copperheads, cottonmouths, rabid skunks, wild hogs, oppressive heat & humidity, bleak desolate scenery, dirty beaches, polluted air, drought, wildfires, water shortages, recurring floods, rednecks, ebola virus outbreaks, flesh eating bacteria, and unbelievably high property taxes...

I figure you have this text saved to your hard drive as filename "Welcome to Texas", so I thought you'd want to add flaming mulch piles to the list. That made a huge impression on this ol' Hawaii boy...

 

[martyb]

You forgot to mention man-eating alligator gar.

 

[Fireup2020]

Have visited TX (Houston area & El Paso) and had the "experience" of driving across the state (I thought 16 hrs to Disneyland from NoCal was bad!)

Like the Chinese car, I'll pass on living in TX - to each their own O0

(this from a crazy CA blonde who voluntarily lives in overpriced NJ!)

 

[HFWR]

Not bad...

However, you failed to mention that not only do our wayside rest stops lack restrooms, most also lack trees or shrubbery. And the few that have utility poles offer scant privy privacy.

And if you're brave enough to whip out Mr. Happy under those conditions, you might end up with "a chigger on your trigger", so to speak...

 

[REWahoo]

I figure you have this text saved to your hard drive as filename "Welcome to Texas", so I thought you'd want to add flaming mulch piles to the list. That made a huge impression on this ol' Hawaii boy...

Even though some might say you are easily impressed, I'll take your suggestion up with the board of directors down at the Texas Anti-Chamber of Commerce.

 

[greg]

And if you're brave enough to whip out Mr. Happy under those conditions, you might end up with "a chigger on your trigger", so to speak...

There has to be a joke somewhere about Texas Copperheads and Cottonmouths.

 

[Texas Proud]

That was almost a year ago and the house remains unsold. Rumor has it they moved to DC, preferring the two-legged varmits found there to the multi and no legged variety found here.

I only tell this story to illustrate what can (and does) happen to those who don't heed the warning about "living" in Texas...

Hey... where is it at and what are they asking for it? Might be a [-]wonderful[/-] horrible place to live...

 

[REWahoo]

Hey... where is it at and what are they asking for it? Might be a [-]wonderful[/-] horrible place to live...

It's possible that one persons dream home is another persons nightmare...

REALTOR.com: Find a Home - Listing Detail

 

[Nords]

It's possible that one persons dream home is another persons nightmare...
REALTOR.com: Find a Home - Listing Detail

Whew, tough sell. Which should they add first, another bathroom or another bedroom? And what does "Area: 2400" mean?

I'm pretty sure those clouds in the background are burning mulch smoke. They claim that the fire is out but heck, some of those Pennsylvania coal-mine fires burned for decades...

 

[73ss454]

Area 2400 means you don't want to live there. Yuck!

 

[REWahoo]

And what does "Area: 2400" mean?

That's something that was never mentioned around here until all the real estate disclosure laws were enacted. It seems it was the WWII version of what is now known as "Area 51" out in Nevada.

I'm pretty sure those clouds in the background are burning mulch smoke...

Maybe. More likely just another "Area 2400" side effect.

 

[Leonidas]

There has to be a joke somewhere about Texas Copperheads and Cottonmouths.

There is the old golf joke about the guy who was playing golf when the urge struck and he got bit on....

Never mind, that one has been done to death.

Not much to joke about with Copperheads. My wife spent the day yesterday with a trio of girlfriends from her school days. She was just telling me how one of them nearly died from a Copperhead bite she got while clearing brush from her home near Argyle, Texas. She said it was so painful that on the way to the ER she was begging the paramedic to amputate her arm.

I will have to admit that REWahoo should have an easier time keeping yankees and Kaliforneeans away from SA with the bad weather there. In Houston the weather hasn't been too bad, 101 with 94% humidity - it must have been really miserable in San Antonio. Of course, they don't have anywhere near as many alligators as we do.

 

[REWahoo]

Area 2400 means you don't want to live there. Yuck!

Hey! Many of my neighbors are nice people...even though most don't have all their teeth.

 

[whitestick]

I figure you have this text saved to your hard drive as filename "Welcome to Texas", so I thought you'd want to add flaming mulch piles to the list. That made a huge impression on this ol' Hawaii boy...

Nords, you might have mistaken our school playgrounds for the mulch piles - here is a story from the Dallas Morning News last week about a school in the Dallas Fort Worth area, similar to SA
"Spontaneous fire closes playgrounds
Arlington ISD: Wood chips will be replaced with gravel; heat, decomposition sparked blaze
12:00 AM CDT on Tuesday, August 14, 2007

By JEFF MOSIER / The Dallas Morning News
jmosier@dallasnews.com
ARLINGTON – The sudden heat wave has brought something more menacing than sunburns and higher electric bills. The latest sign of summer just might be spontaneous combustion.

Arlington schools Superintendent Mac Bernd announced Monday that he would replace all the "engineered wood fiber" material on the district's playgrounds after one burst into flames last week. A review of footage from a surveillance camera determined that no one was around to start the fire – either accidentally or intentionally.

"It was like a perfect storm," Deputy Fire Marshal Keith Ebel said.

He said the fire Thursday at Anderson Elementary apparently started from heat generated by decomposition of the wood chips and high temperatures from the recent heat wave. Marshal Ebel said this might not have happened without the rainy first half of the summer followed by high heat."

We couldn't make this stuff up if we tried.

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

The river floods from time to time in San Antonio. Unfortunately, it runs through the center of town.

 

[REWahoo]

The river floods from time to time in San Antonio. Unfortunately, it runs through the center of town.

Ed, I'm going against the grain and actually say something positive about Texas (you still don't want to live here). Truth is the city of SA has spent many millions of taxpayer dollars to construct dams and diversion tunnels channeling flood waters around and under downtown. Even with the recent torrential rains and flooding in the area, the river downtown never got anyone's feet wet.

BTW, if you've ever seen the the Riverwalk, you'll know the river is hardly more than a large creek, so the flood prevention efforts are not as massive in scale as would be required for a "real" river.

 

[Fireup2020]

Don't forget the red ants - was attacked by them in 1989...bites all over and even on my eyelid, which was swollen shut for 3 days (this was 10 miles east of Dallas) - had to pull over for car trouble