Leaving Long Island for Texas

[freebird5825]

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Originally Posted by Nords 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.

No problem.

However...Tolerance...and/or lack thereof can make or break a move such as the one proposed. I saw no plan to visit the area ahead of the final geographical move.

Sometimes it is best to test the waters before diving into the deep end of the pool.

[Gumby]

Do you really want to go on the other side of the river?

[Leonidas]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nords 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...

Enough so to be the first major city in the nation to elect a LGBT mayor. Annise Parker - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[MBAVisionary]

Cool, my neck of the woods. Things have changed a whole lot since the 70s and 80s. Way more congested than it ever was before. Lots of open land converted to homes, apartment complexes and condos. It seems like the roads aren't as well maintained as they once were either.

Also thanks for your insight and background. It's reassuring to know that there are some liberal areas. I'm not much of the waving around rainbow flag types, but just want to some degree of comfort.

Other than to see family members and friends, once I'm gone I won't have a whole lot of reasons to come back here.

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Originally Posted by BarbaraAnne 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... ,

[MBAVisionary]

DART is way cheap compared to LIRR ($300/mo from my zone, as low as $163/mo if you actually live near Penn Station). I'm actually shocked at how cheap it is a month.

Local $65
System $100
Regional $120

It was 90 and very humid earlier today on LI. We usually don't get days that warm, but it was bearable with the A/C on in my car. Cooled off a bit when we got to the beach.

I can do biking, I consider it a great way to exercise. Just no bike rack on my car and it won't fit in the back seat or my trunk. We pretty much keep to ourselves unless someone starts being sociable. I don't think the cultural adjustment would be too intense.

I visited Richmond Va in 09 and outside the city areas were churches everywhere. I felt a vibe that I didn't particularly care for. Maybe it was the sluggishness of the economy / area in general. Compared to NY I suppose most places are a bit slower paced.

I love southern cooking, not gonna lie. Better go to the gym at least 3 times a week otherwise I'll blow up like a balloon. :P

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Originally Posted by Surewhitey 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.

[MBAVisionary]

Thanks for the clarification. I did the research and you're absolutely right with the NYC tax. Checking out civil service jobs in Dallas. I applied for a few in Nassau and Suffolk, one I was told I didn't qualify for after they already took the money out of my account for the exam. Not letting some bad experiences kill my enthusiasm though.

usajobs.gov is a great site though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by raiser 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.

[Telly]

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Originally Posted by rescueme 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

You know it's bad when the guy driving the white-line marking truck falls asleep and runs off the road...

[Telly]

Dallas doesn't have any world-class attractions. But it does have world-class traffic jams. So fly into DFW and experience it yourself! You won't have to go far... You can just take the North airport exit into the Hwy. 114 idling parking lot, or take the South exit and experience the 183 Airport Freeway idling parking lot. Be sure your rental car has a full tank before you leave the rental lot.

If you take the North exit, get out of the car and have someone take your picture next to the toll booth where the woman flew her car up and over the toll booth. It's on youtube somewhere. I think she got tired of waiting in line.

Dallas fire dept. sends two trucks to every freeway accident, no matter how minor. One to service the accident, the other parked a bit upstream to intercept the rear-enders to avoid losing firemen, EMT's and police. The sacrificial fire truck. I kid you not.

[Surewhitey]

mmmmmmmmmm, chili w/chunks....

[rescueme]

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Originally Posted by Telly You know it's bad when the guy driving the white-line marking truck falls asleep and runs off the road...

There was nobody driving the truck. In the Panhandle, the roads are straight and no hills to worry about.

They just put the paint truck in first gear and let it go down the road by itself (not much traffic to worry about, either ).

When it runs off the road, they just back it up and continue painting ...

[scrabbler1]

MBAVisionary, I live in Lynbrook and moved to this western Nassau County (LI) area in the mid-80s from eastern Nassau (pre-Ronkonoma electrification days) to shorten and cheapen my commute to Manhattan and make it a one-seat ride on the LIRR. Would moving to western Nassau help your outlook for the commute?

I bought into a well run co-op which has kept my expenses down, enabling me to save up enough to retire in late 2008 at age 45. It is walking distance to the train station so my car has not been involved with my (former) commute in over 20 years.

I don't bemoan anyone for wanting to move off LI. Many friends and relatives have moved away over the years, including my lawyer cousin who moved to Dallas about 20 years ago. He has since married and has 2 kids.

[martyb]

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Originally Posted by TromboneAl I grew up in Huntington.

There's a Huntington, TX about 10 minutes from where I live now!

[martyb]

In '81, I separated from active duty Air Force & moved to Austin, TX, where I lived for about 7 yrs, working at the local Air Force Base as a civilian. Then, move about 25 miles away to a small town, Bastrop, TX. Lived there till late '95. I really enjoyed living in Bastrop. Small town feel, little traffic(at the time) friendly people, and easy enough to drive to Austin when I needed/wanted to get a piece of the big city (which wasn't so often). In '96, relocated the family to Bossier City, Louisiana, still working for the Air Force. Great place for outdoors minded folks, but takes a little getting used to. People there can seem a little "odd" there till you get used to them. Ever seen the show "Swamp People"? lol...not quite that bad....

In 2008, we moved again, to Janesville, WI. Colder than a witche's *** in the winter!! But...really friendly people & stores & other public places seemed so nice & clean..even Walmart! Only stayed a year though, and got a transfer back to east Texas. Small town called Lufkin, to be exact. It's about 100 miles north of Houston. For the time being, I live & work in Lufkin, TX Monday - Thursday, then travel to Shreveport, Louisiana, where my wife lives full-time. It's a 125 drive each way. We're doing this most likely until I retire, at the end of next year. Kind of expensive maintaining 2 places, but since she loves her job & wants to work awhile longer after I retire, we're biting the bullet for now.

The reason I rambled through all of this was to say that I've enjoyed pretty much everywhere I've lived over the years, even my hometown of Rockingham, NC. That's where I am right now, on vacation. I could be happy spending my retirement years right here. I have lots of family & friends here. I could basically be happy pretty much anyplace. Texas is great, at least the parts I've lived in. East TX, where I am now, suits me well, because I'm not really a big-town guy. I do like to be within an easy drive of the big city for those occasional forays, but I don't care to live there. I hate traffic. My biggest requirement other than a safe, clean place for my family, is that since I love to fish, I need at least one good size lake and/or river close by. Otherwise, I'm easy to please.

If you're interested in relatively low-cost home prices and a small-town family atmosphere, I'd recommend Lufkin & Nacogdoches in east TX. Nice & green, plenty of lakes & rivers, cheap housing & great food. Good luck with wherever you end up. It really will come down to what you make of wherever you are.

I was recently going to move from Long Island to Katy, TX (west of Houston) but fortunately I didn't have to. Summers in the Houston area are always very hot, very humid and very miserable. I believe Austin has similar weather. If I was to move west it would be to Albuquerque, NM or Prescott, AZ.

[Webzter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nords And ponytailed geezer surfer dudes who eat chili laced with meat chunks.

I thought true chili only had meat chunks

As in Chili con carne - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

(I'm a chili renegade though and only make chili con frijoles)

[REWahoo]

Chili con frijoles is nothing more than bean stew. Real chili has no beans.

[martyb]

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Originally Posted by REWahoo Chili con frijoles is nothing more than bean stew. Real chili has no beans.

Roger that! Spoken like a Texan!

[Bestwifeever]

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Originally Posted by martyb Roger that! Spoken like a Texan!

And yet still "tolerant of others... Even ... ponytailed geezer surfer dudes who eat chili laced with meat chunks."

With the love fest for outsiders going on in this thread, Texas might have to edit out the last part of the Texas warning label (posted earlier in the thread, and rumored to now be handed out at the northern borders):

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Texas is infested with scorpions, rattlesnakes, fire ants, crazy raspberry ants, cockroaches on steroids, killer bees, mosquitoes, ticks, chiggers, tarantulas, brown recluse spiders, love bugs, swarming crickets, copperheads, cottonmouths, rabid skunks, wild hogs, alligators, oppressive heat & humidity, bleak desolate scenery, dirty beaches, polluted air, dust storms, drought, wildfires, water shortages, recurring floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, rednecks, huge piles of flaming mulch, spontaneously combusting playgrounds, roads hot as flowing lava, the stench of natural and unnatural gasses, pirate attacks and amoebic meningitis lurking in area lakes, recurring ebola virus outbreaks, flesh eating bacteria, the highest homeowner insurance rates in the US, unbelievably high property taxes, mandatory death sentences for DUI convictions, polygamous religious sects, and, according to at least one forum member, doesn't look kindly towards Yankees.

[REWahoo]

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Originally Posted by Bestwifeever With the love fest for outsiders going on in this thread, Texas might have to edit out the last part of the Texas warning label (posted earlier in the thread, and rumored to now be handed out at the northern borders):

Let me take care of that for you:

Quote:

...and, according to at least one forum member, doesn't look kindly towards Yankees those who put beans in their chili.

[martyb]

lol. Hey REW, whatcha think about deer meat chili?