Contemplating relocation from HI to TX

[stephenson]

Been following the responses ...

Second the College Station comment ...was an NROTC instructor at Texas A and M in 1980-1981... I loved the place ...except that it was so freaking hot! I'm from the panhandle of Florida and have traveled extensively ...other than the Mid East, it was the hottest place I have ever lived.

Hot!


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[Big_Hitter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by stephenson Second the College Station comment ...was an NROTC instructor at Texas A and M in 1980-1981... I loved the place ...except that it was so freaking hot! I'm from the panhandle of Florida and have traveled extensively ...other than the Mid East, it was the hottest place I have ever lived.

Used to be that you had to be in the corp to attend A&M

[MBAustin]

As others have mentioned, Central Texas summers are miserable due to the combination of heat and humidity. Arizona is just plain hot, but there are days here that are 103+ and 40%+ humidity which is like a sauna. Some summers are worse than others, but even the milder ones are worse now than 15 years ago when we first moved here.

If I was moving to this area "from scratch" I would prefer someplace away from urban heat sinks (that's a big part of the issue close in to Austin now), and with hills/trees. This gives some relief overnight, which we don't get near the city now. However, at least here when you are in the shade you feel some relief, in AZ, not so much

[Breedlove]

I guess we must have got used to it , we live in Houston at the moment . It is just like living up north . When the rough part of winter hits you stay in a temperature controlled area .

[Big_Hitter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Breedlove I guess we must have got used to it , we live in Houston at the moment . It is just like living up north . When the rough part of winter hits you stay in a temperature controlled area .

I lived in htown about 40 years and never got used to it.

there is a reason for the tunnel system downtown...js

summer is a time to get out and enjoy the outdoors, I could never do that in houston between may and September, inclusive

[fasteddie911]

I've lived in both Honolulu and Houston. Your concerns regarding Hawaii are valid, but you also mention having an active outdoor lifestyle, and Texas, even the hill country, cannot even compare to what Hawaii has to offer. Why are you interested in Texas? The largest advantage Texas has is the lower COL, but if you have that under control in Hawaii, then you'd probably be ok financially almost anywhere. For me, I consider Texas a nice place to work and live with it's low taxes and COL, but I wouldn't really consider visiting or retiring there. As an outdoor person myself, I never found it very attractive or exciting as far as outdoors go. Hawaii for me is the exact opposite. While you can't do much about the cost of travel to/from hawaii, the local culture and mindset (apathetic politics, homeless, etc.) is how it's always been and always will be. I think it kind of goes hand in hand with the laidback vibe there. If that type of culture and mindset bothers you enough to want to move, then staying there may not be healthy for you in the long term.

[Koolau]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fasteddie911 While you can't do much about the cost of travel to/from hawaii, the local culture and mindset (apathetic politics, homeless, etc.) is how it's always been and always will be. I think it kind of goes hand in hand with the laidback vibe there. If that type of culture and mindset bothers you enough to want to move, then staying there may not be healthy for you in the long term.

Well said. We checked out HI several times before moving and knew the politics and other "bad" stuff was manageable before we moved. There is a piece of me that has never felt completely at home here (in HI). I think it is precisely because of the "bad" stuff about paradise. However, to us, it is still worth it. YMMV

[Van-Guard23]

Just an update. My wife and I were able to make it out to Central Texas' Hill Country and checked out San Marcos and surrounding areas. At this point, we think we've narrowed our choices down to a 55+ community in San Marcos and another community (not age restricted but as one of the posters suggested, "self selects" into one) in Kerrville, TX.

[Kimo]

I sold my Makakilo house and moved back to my Reno house. (I had rented it) While I do have a very nice house in the middle of 17 acres which I could never have had in Hawaii I really, really miss the plate lunches, sushi for diner and the weather. (did I mention weather) LOL!

[griffithee]

Your situation is so surreal. I retired from Pearl Harbor in 2013 at the grand old age of 44 as well. Also, the wife retired in 2015 from Hickam. We moved from Waikele end of 2015, had a house built in Cypress and love it. The Lonestar state really takes care of us veterans.

[Van-Guard23]

Wow! That is something else! I had to look up where Cypress, TX is and it looks to be NW from Houston...hope you guys are OK from hurricane Harvey. Saw some images of flooding in your AO.
If you don't mind, we might send you a message to get lessons learned from your relocation.

[griffithee]

We are set up pretty high so the flooding was not an issue. A lot of others got slammed a helluva lot worse than we did. We are very lucky.

No worries, mate. Send as many questions as you got. We've been on station since 1 April 2016 so have at least a year's + worth of feedback. Standing by to assist

[Bamaman]

Glad you have finally narrowed down your search.

Now, go for it.

I've been looking to move an hour north in Tennessee. Comparable homes are $100k higher. Nashville area is another $100k more.

We will just stay where we are, as my wife's being SS disabled waives property taxes. We are in perhaps the cheapest housing market anywhere, and for that we are very thankful.

[meierlde]

Note that kerrville is on the edge of the well settled part of tx. Even the western part of Kerr County is very thinly populated. The next town west with a Wal-Mart is Fort Stockton 250 miles west. Edwards and Real counties, although quite scenic have less than 2 people per square mile meaning they fit the nineteenth century definition of Frontier. Kerrville is 60 or so miles from San Antonio and 100 from Austin (just go to Fredricksburg and take a right on 290 and you will go to Austin). Note that Comanche Trace is with Kerrville City Limits so you will pay 25% more property tax than living outside the city limits.

[WestUniversity]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bamaman Living in a medium size city outside two large cities would be a very good place to be. And the weather in the middle of Texas is not too cold in winter. I can certainly live with the Summer hot, though. Something has got to be said good about a state that has given us two great things: Tex Mex food and chicken fried steak. And it's often hard to get any Texan to move out of that state.

I have traveled all over the US, Canada, Europe, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. Have seen a bunch of amazing places and met so many wonderful people. That said I don't see myself living anywhere else...

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bamaman Something has got to be said good about a state that has given us two great things: Tex Mex food and chicken fried steak. And it's often hard to get any Texan to move out of that state.

Would you believe that I lived in Texas for just short of 13 years, and I have never once tasted Tex Mex? My ex was from Southern California and felt that Tex Mex was almost sacrilegious; he would not eat it, so we never went to Tex Mex restaurants. As far as food goes, I think Texas BBQ is amazing and absolutely top notch.

What I loved about living in Texas, was the down to earth, hard working, friendly, reliable, responsible, independent, good hearted people that I knew there. Granted, many of them were Aggies since I lived in College Station; generally they were top notch. Also the wild flowers were amazing.

I would say that Texas is my third favorite state in the nation, after Louisiana and Hawaii.

But not every aspect of Texas is great. I didn't love College Station summers, which were the hottest and most horrible that I have ever experienced. Also I didn't love the property/school taxes which were enough to make your eyes water and give you screaming nightmares.

And I have NEVER seen fire ants as bad as they were in Texas. My first weekend there, I got over 500 fire ant bites, each of which turned into a pus-filled pustule because I apparently was sensitive to them. I was a mess. What happened was that I was swimming in Lake Bryan, and didn't know about fire ants at all, much less how they make "islands" floating in the water. And then I couldn't get them off me! Welcome to Texas.

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2R I didn't love Texas summers, which were the hottest and most horrible that I have ever experienced. Also I didn't love the property/school taxes which were enough to make your eyes water and give you screaming nightmares. And I have NEVER seen fire ants as bad as they were in Texas. My first weekend there, I got over 500 fire ant bites, each of which turned into a pus-filled pustule because I apparently was sensitive to them. I was a mess. What happened was that I was swimming in Lake Bryan, and didn't know about fire ants at all, much less how they make "islands" floating in the water. And then I couldn't get them off me! Welcome to Texas.

Keep up the good work!

A few more posts like this and we'll see about getting you on the payroll.

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo Keep up the good work! A few more posts like this and we'll see about getting you on the payroll.

And the best part is that it is all true, and there is more (did I mention the spiders? The arsenic in the water from the cotton gin there in BCS? )... and yet Texas is my 3rd favorite state. Go figure.

[Surewhitey]

Property taxes are relative. We pay $6,700 on a value of $282,000. Not being retired yet, I'm not paying income tax, which could be much more in most states. Heat is bad for a few months, but winters are refreshingly mild.

Live 1 mile from the lake that has a 10 mile bike path around is a big plus too.

Living here is easy, but I don't think I'd want to retire here. It's easy to travel from, so maybe make it a "home-base"...

[audreyh1]

Texas summers are hell. And it's even worse in the middle of the state than down here we here we are a bit drier and windier.