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Old 05-30-2011, 08:36 AM   #21
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Austin is a great place and would be my first choice of Texas cities too. I'm the only one on my side of the family that does not live in Texas. But I lived in Dallas for 3+ years and my sister still lives the metro area, nothing at all wrong with Dallas either - great place and just a (very) little cooler less hot. And way better than Houston (way hot & humid), San Antonio or any of the other options IMO...I think you'll really like Dallas!
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Old 05-30-2011, 08:41 AM   #22
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I volunteered for Nam to get out of Texas (Lubbock - West Texas Panhandle)....

Make your own conclusions...

BTW, here's a view of what I "gave up"...

reese afb texas - Street View, Photos and More
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Old 05-30-2011, 08:49 AM   #23
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I'm the only one on my side of the family that does not live in Texas.
Are you on parole or did you flat out escape?
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Old 05-30-2011, 08:53 AM   #24
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Are you on parole or did you flat out escape?
...

While I'm sure that those in Texas have a nice place to live, and enjoy the TexMex cruisine, I (being a Northern Boy) have little use for what I lived through, in my 18 months there.

I'll admit, some have a preference for another "landscape". If we didn't, we would all live in Hawaii ...
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Old 05-30-2011, 08:55 AM   #25
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Are you on parole or did you flat out escape?
Escaped, jobs have taken me to 4 states since we lived in Tejas...but we always enjoy visiting.
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Old 05-30-2011, 09:00 AM   #26
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Counterpoint:

Other than that, Texas is a great place to live.
No Texans on that list.
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Old 05-30-2011, 09:05 AM   #27
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I grew up near Huntington NY and moved to Texas in the 1970's after college.

Everything you say about NY and LI are all too true...I would never move back. I even dread visiting family members there.

We have lived in the Dallas area for over 30 years and the opportunities are great here. Dallas proper is quite liberal and there is a large gay population. You would be very comfortable here. The suburbs are more conservative, but Dallas itself is a great place to live with lots of restaurants, theater, concerts etc and has a positive upbeat feeling. Make sure to visit the Oak Lawn, Uptown, M Streets and East Dallas (near White Rock Lake) neighborhoods.

We were able to do well financially because we moved here....I think you will find it to be true as well. Had we stayed on LI, we would never have been able to retire early...


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Old 05-30-2011, 09:39 AM   #28
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I lived in Dallas (Richardson) from 99-07. Liked it there, cost of living pretty awesome for a city. Home cost $145k (2200 sq ft) and 3-4 streets from a nice golf course. $4k in prop taxes total. BUT, no income tax!!!

Spring, Fall & Winters are nice, Summers suck...humid & hot. We stayed in from June thru Aug.
Not a ton outdoors to do, unless you like sailing (good windy lakes all over); maybe good for biking as its pretty flat. Just a short 4-5 hour drive to Hot Springs AR or 7 hours to North AR (beautiful).

Lots of room & decent DART transportation. I used to pay like $50 / month to train / bus to work. Not sure how much it is now.

We only left for some awesome job opportunities in So Cal...we'll likely move back there one day.

People there are relatively nice and neighborly, they are conservative in my opinion, but if they don't like you, they just leave you alone vs. making trouble.

Commuting is like most cities, so really think about that while deciding on where to live. Restaurants galore and great food if you like to go out. We do not anymore as food here in Cali is sub-par at best. We were spoiled by TX food.
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Old 05-30-2011, 02:30 PM   #29
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Yup. The highlight of the weekend is going to Amarillo. Some of you young 'uns (and non-Texicans) may not remember the tornado that went through Lubbock in about 1969. It left an imprint on one of the tall bank buildings.
Speaking of Amarillo...
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Old 05-30-2011, 02:39 PM   #30
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I grew up in Huntington.
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Old 05-30-2011, 02:43 PM   #31
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Most of the jobs if I were to stay here are in New York City. Many of the readers here may or may not know that New York City has a 4.75% city tax which LI does not. This money is used to cover all types of government provided services. I'd imagine that covers the water supply, electricity generation, public roadways, teacher salaries, etc.

-Have some type of pension, or earn enough where I foot the bill for my own pension
You only pay the NYC income tax if you live in the 5 boroughs. So your numbers are off.

Don't hang out in Amityville and Huntington Station if you are worried about getting shot. Those areas are some of the worst parts on the Island... besides Wyandanch.

Id personally choose Austin over Dallas if moving to Texas.. everyone is much more friendly and laid back.

If you do stay on the island check out Suffolk's Civil Service website for tests. If not USAJOBS.gov for a federal job.
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Old 05-30-2011, 04:05 PM   #32
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I think one grows through different life experiences. I have lived in several places in the U.S. and have found something to recommend each....started out life in a western PA steel town, college in Manhattan, then Hampton, VA, Bayside Queens, Syosset (Nassau Co)-LI, Columbus, OH, Monterey, CA and now suburban Pittsburgh, PA.
Hands down favorite was Monterey although I am very fond of LI, too. I have spent a total of one week in TX...Houston, Feb. 2010 visiting old friends. I could definitely live there like my friend lives there....big house in the 'burbs with maid, no kids, hubby goes off to work early, sleep late, meet friends for lunch, shop all afternoon, throw in a little volunteer work and music lessons for variety. She is used to the heat and humidity having grown up NOLA.
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Old 05-30-2011, 05:47 PM   #33
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Come on down, OP, the water's fine.

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Some of you young 'uns (and non-Texicans) may not remember the tornado that went through Lubbock in about 1969. It left an imprint on one of the tall bank buildings.
I remember. May 11, 1970, an F5 went through downtown. (I moved to Lubbock two years later. Underground tornado shelters in backyards were still a booming business.)
The 271-foot (83 m) tall Great Plains Life Building was actually twisted by the tornado, and was damaged so badly, many thought it would collapse; several radio towers on the roof were twisted or broken off. Much of the plaster in the stairwell walls between the 4th and 16th floors had cracked, and 60% of the building's windows were shattered. A foot of permanent deformation damage occurred at the steel frame on the south side, and three of the building's four elevators were damaged with the support rails bent. In spite of the severity of the damage and amid cries to demolish, the owners chose to repair it instead, and it still stands; this building is believed to be the tallest building to survive a direct hit from an F5 tornado.

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Old 05-30-2011, 06:22 PM   #34
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In spite of the severity of the damage and amid cries to demolish, the owners chose to repair it instead, and it still stands; this building is believed to be the tallest building to survive a direct hit from an F5 tornado.
Wow. Not the kind of award a facilities manager wants to win. Must've been a wild ride for some very scared occupants.
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Old 05-30-2011, 06:24 PM   #35
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Well, Harry - I stand corrected. Good job!!!
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Old 05-30-2011, 06:31 PM   #36
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Back about the time Lubbock got slammed more tornadoes were hammering Texas. One when through.... Pampa.... and hit a large mobile home park head-on. After the air cleared, a single mobile home was standing in the midst all the carnage. The news folks couldn't get there fast enough - it was in the news for weeks. I think that was when the Texas legislature mandated tie-downs on mobile homes. The tie-downs were the only thing that saved it. It was absolutely weird to see.
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New London School Explosion
Old 05-30-2011, 06:45 PM   #37
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New London School Explosion

And the reason odor is added to natural gas (see how many things you can learn from Texans?)
Quote:
NEW LONDON SCHOOL EXPLOSION

In 1937 New London, Texas, in northwest Rusk County, had one of the richest rural school districts in the United States. Community residents in the East Texas oilfield were proud of the beautiful, modern, steel-framed, E-shaped school building. On March 18 students prepared for the next day's Interscholastic Meet in Henderson. At the gymnasium, the PTA met. At 3:05 P.M. Lemmie R. Butler, instructor of manual training, turned on a sanding machine in an area which, unknown to him, was filled with a mixture of gas and air. The switch ignited the mixture and carried the flame into a nearly closed space beneath the building, 253 feet long and fifty-six feet wide. Immediately the building seemed to lift in the air and then smashed to the ground. Walls collapsed. The roof fell in and buried its victims in a mass of brick, steel, and concrete debris. The explosion was heard four miles away, and it hurled a two-ton concrete slab 200 feet away, where it crushed a car.

Fifteen minutes later, the news of the explosion had been relayed over telephone and Western Union lines. Frantic parents at the PTA meeting rushed to the school building. Community residents and roughnecks from the East Texas oilfield came with heavy-duty equipment. Within an hour Governor James Allred had sent the Texas Rangersqqv and highway patrol to aid the victims. Doctors and medical supplies came from Baylor Hospital and Scottish Rite Hospital for Crippled Children in Dallas and from Nacogdoches, Wichita Falls, and the United States Army Air Corps at Barksdale Field in Shreveport, Louisiana. They were assisted by deputy sheriffs from Overton, Henderson, and Kilgore, by the Boy Scouts, the American Legion, the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army, and volunteers from the Humble Oil Company, Gulf Pipe Line, Sinclair, and the International-Great Northern Railroad.

Workers began digging through the rubble looking for victims. Floodlights were set up, and the rescue operation continued through the night as rain fell. Within seventeen hours all victims and debris had been taken from the site. Mother Francis Hospital in Tyler canceled its elaborate dedication ceremonies to take care of the injured. The Texas Funeral Directors sent twenty-five embalmers. Of the 500 students and forty teachers in the building, approximately 298 died. Some rescuers, students, and teachers needed psychiatric attention, and only about 130 students escaped serious injury. Those who died received individual caskets, individual graves, and religious services.

Three days after the explosion, inquiries were held to determine the cause of the disaster. The state of Texas and the Bureau of Mines sent experts to the scene. Hearings were conducted. From these investigations, researchers learned that until January 18, 1937, the school had received its gas from the United Gas Company. To save gas expenses of $300 a month, plumbers, with the knowledge and approval of the school board and superintendent, had tapped a residue gas line of Parade Gasoline Company. School officials saw nothing wrong because the use of "green" or "wet" gas was a frequent money-saving practice for homes, schools, and churches in the oilfield. The researchers concluded that gas had escaped from a faulty connection and accumulated beneath the building. Green gas has no smell; no one knew it was accumulating beneath the building, although on other days there had been evidence of leaking gas. No school officials were found liable.

These findings brought a hostile reaction from many parents. More than seventy lawsuits were filed for damages. Few cases came to trial, however, and those that did were dismissed by district judge Robert T. Brown for lack of evidence. Public pressure forced the resignation of the superintendent, who had lost a son in the explosion. The most important result of the disaster was the passage of a state odorization law, which required that distinctive malodorants be mixed in all gas for commercial and industrial use so that people could be warned by the smell. The thirty surviving seniors at New London finished their year in temporary buildings while a new school was built on nearly the same site. The builders focused primarily on safety and secondarily on their desire to inspire students to a higher education. A cenotaph of Texas pink granite, designed byDonald S. Nelson, architect, and Herring Coe, sculptor, was erected in front of the new school in 1939.
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Old 05-30-2011, 08:11 PM   #38
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Disclaimer: I've never lived in TX, but I have been there on several occasions when I was w*rking. I always enjoyed my visits.

Fact: I am a native Noo Yawker, born and raised in Rockland County NY. I am female and hetero.

I have to say that there are some locality and lifestyle factors you 2 guys need to take a serious look at. Follow me?
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Old 05-30-2011, 08:44 PM   #39
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Pictures of you at the party are all over the web!



I will admit you can get away with some stuff in your part of the world that might cause lead poisoning in TX - outside of Austin, of course.
Actually I wished I was that thin.... :P
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Old 05-30-2011, 08:49 PM   #40
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Fact: I am a native Noo Yawker, born and raised in Rockland County NY. I am female and hetero.
I have to say that there are some locality and lifestyle factors you 2 guys need to take a serious look at. Follow me?
After thinking about this for a while, I have to say that I disagree with your assessment of the situation. My daughter's experiences at Rice have been different from your inference.

Houston's the 4th largest city in America. It may only be a quarter of the size of NYC but I'm sure that even among Houston's denizens there are people who can be tolerant of others...

... from the state of New York.

Even blatant female heterosexuals. And ponytailed geezer surfer dudes who eat chili laced with meat chunks.
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