Contemplating relocation from HI to TX

[Van-Guard23]

DW and I, both early retirees (I retired in 2013 at age 44 and DW last year at 51) currently reside on Oahu, HI. We've lived here for close to 7 years (less the year-long all expense-paid trip to Afghanistan courtesy of Uncle Sam) and decided to stay put after retirement from the US Army.

Lately, we've been seriously considering a relocation to a 55 and over active community on the mainland, one in San Marcos, TX in particular. We've grown tired of noisy environs (sirens day and night from mostly ambulances, loud vehicles, illegal fireworks, dogs, etc.), ineffective and seemingly apathetic local politics, increased travel costs for family visits, and worsening homeless crisis just to name a few. The higher CoL isn't a major concern as we've managed to keep our personal CoL relatively low.

Has anyone done a move from Hawaii back to the mainland, Texas in particular, and can share some insights? DW and I are both active, healthy, prefer temperate/warmer weather, engage in outdoor activities like hiking, biking, running/walking and swimming, and like some culture (plays, occasional opera, symphony) and vibrant foodie scene. We also prefer closer proximity to military bases and facilities (i.e. Medical) which somewhat limits our options.

 

[Big_Hitter]

Have you ever been in central TX (SA/Austin) in the summer?

 

[Idnar7]

San Marcos is a nice town on I 35 midway between Austin and San Antonio. It is a college town and has a river for tubing and canoeing. There are trails along the river. I think there is a major Medical base in San Antonio. Won't be like Hawaii, but otherwise meets your criteria. Also not too far to the Gulf - Corpus Cristi, Padre Island, etc.

 

[braumeister]

REWahoo will be along shortly with some advice.

 

[Van-Guard23]

Have you ever been in central TX (SA/Austin) in the summer?

Yes...I've been to San Antonio during summer...that was over 20 years ago, though

 

[meierlde]

San Marcos is a nice town on I 35 midway between Austin and San Antonio. It is a college town and has a river for tubing and canoeing. There are trails along the river. I think there is a major Medical base in San Antonio. Won't be like Hawaii, but otherwise meets your criteria. Also not too far to the Gulf - Corpus Cristi, Padre Island, etc.

Actually San Antonio has two major military medical facilities Brook Army Medical Center and Willford Hall Air Force (BAMC is a level 1 trauma center for the region). Both BAMC and Willford Hall are the largest medical facilities in their respective services.

 

[brucethebroker]

A friend just moved there from DC area. Career military and retired. Loves San Antonio. One of his criteria was the fab VA medical care in that area.

He grew up in the north. Prefers the summer heat to frozen "rain" 4 months of the year....

Housing seems a little high for the Midwest, but certainly cheaper than the coastal areas and where you currently live.

 

[Big_Hitter]

Yes...I've been to San Antonio during summer...that was over 20 years ago, though

If you can take the heat then the hill country can't be beat.

 

[REWahoo]

REWahoo will be along shortly with some advice.

Ya beat me to it.

I will add that San Marcos was a great little town. Sadly, the world found out how nice it was and success is choking it with growth, congestion and traffic.

Among Texas cities with a population larger than 50,000, San Marcos ranked as the fastest-growing. Its population grew by 31 percent from 44,894 in 2010 to 58,892 in 2014, making up almost a third of the population of Hays County, which is among the fastest-growing U.S. counties.

Nationally, San Marcos was ranked as the fastest-growing city in the nation for the third consecutive year.

https://www.texastribune.org/2015/05/21/interactive-texas-population-growth-2010-2014/

 

[Van-Guard23]

Ya beat me to it.



I will add that San Marcos was a great little town. Sadly, the world found out how nice it was and success is choking it with growth, congestion and traffic.







https://www.texastribune.org/2015/05/21/interactive-texas-population-growth-2010-2014/

Thanks...good to know. We plan on doing our recon this coming spring to see if it would suit us.

 

[meierlde]

Consider also Seguin which also has Texas Lutheran University, east of San Antonio as well. (not on the i-35 corridor next to Austin so not growing quite so fast)

 

[eleighj416]

Also, consider Kerrville and Bandera which are south and west of San Antonio.

 

[REWahoo]

Also, consider Kerrville and Bandera which are south and west of San Antonio.

Actually they are both Northwest of San Antonio.

Kerrville does have a small college, Bandera has only cowboys.

 

[rdy2go]

If you are looking at the Kissing Tree community, it is still in the stage where they are doing the dirt work, underground utilities and such. It will be some time before it will be ready to move into a home there. It was raw land until last summer, so it will take time to develop. I live up the road a bit from San Marcos and am there frequently. If you need photos of anything there just ask and I can take some for you.

 

[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.

 

[Van-Guard23]

Consider also Seguin which also has Texas Lutheran University, east of San Antonio as well. (not on the i-35 corridor next to Austin so not growing quite so fast)

Also, consider Kerrville and Bandera which are south and west of San Antonio.

We have considered Seguin and even Cibolo but intrigued by the idea of living in a 55 and over community of like-minded active people

 

[Van-Guard23]

If you are looking at the Kissing Tree community, it is still in the stage where they are doing the dirt work, underground utilities and such. It will be some time before it will be ready to move into a home there. It was raw land until last summer, so it will take time to develop. I live up the road a bit from San Marcos and am there frequently. If you need photos of anything there just ask and I can take some for you.

Thank you! Yes, that is the community we are looking at and understand it is still being developed...which would fit into our timeline since my wife doesn't turn 55 until after a couple of years...although they might have some provisions allowing a certain percentage of residents to be under 55 (we still don't quite know the answer to that question we already posed to someone working for the developer). We plan on visiting this coming spring to do some reconnaissance...thanks for the offer to take photos.

 

[Big_Hitter]

And it's often hard to get any Texan to move out of that state.

there are a bunch of us here; we miss the food, live music and our sports teams but that's about it

if you like the outdoors (and not sweating), ID is difficult to beat

 

[ponyboy]

There are more tigers in captivity in the state of texas than exist in the wild. Texas is a messed up place.

Have you ever thought about moving to one of the other hawaiian islands? Oahu is a mess. That would be the last island I would recommend to people visiting for the first time.

 

[Ready]

I've been contemplating a move from Southern California to the Big Island for years now. We just visited two weeks ago and every time I leave I really miss it.

Ideally we would have a home in both locations, but the overhead of maintaining two homes, and especially one on the Big Island, is more than we are comfortable with.

I agree that Oahu is too busy for me personally, but it just comes down to whether you like to live in a city. If you're a big city person, Honolulu is a big city, and anywhere you live on the Big Island is going to feel very slow and far away. I love it that away, but it's not for everyone.

 

[Van-Guard23]

There are more tigers in captivity in the state of texas than exist in the wild. Texas is a messed up place.

Have you ever thought about moving to one of the other hawaiian islands? Oahu is a mess. That would be the last island I would recommend to people visiting for the first time.

We considered Maui or even the Big Island but as stated earlier, this could be our last move and want close proximity to military facilities for medical and such.

 

[MRG]

Yes...I've been to San Antonio during summer...that was over 20 years ago, though

There's summer and then there's August!

 

[tfudtuckerpucker]

There are more tigers in captivity in the state of texas than exist in the wild. Texas is a messed up place.

.

Interesting claim, since it's apparently difficult to get an accurate assessment. Almost half of the U.S. states have no ban on exotic cats. At least in Texas a permit is required, whereas in 7 other states not even a permit is required . Texas currently has only 47 permits on record for tigers owned outside accredited groups like circuses, laboratories and zoos, so the amount of private owners does not seem so inordinate, based on the population and size. Your second claim, of course, is a matter of opinion.

 

[Koolau]

Never seriously considered moving back to the mainland, though I second Van-Guard23's assessment of Oahu (the "bad" stuff about Paradise). Texas is one of the states I would consider if I were to ever move back. I haven't spent a lot of time there, but I love the concept of freedom that Texas seems to exude. I doubt there is a state as "different" from Hawaii (mostly in a good way) than Texas - but I'd get political if I expounded.

My only suggestion would be to try other parts of Oahu. Small as it is, you can still find dramatically different living conditions here. Kaneohe or Kailua are really laid back compared to Honolulu proper. Hale Ewa is a different world from Honolulu. Honestly, every place has good points and bad. Trying to find the perfect place is probably an exercise in futility. Still, if one has enough money, one can typically find a place that satisfies. I think I'm there though I will always keep my options open.

By the way, Van-guard23, thanks for your service! Aloha, brah!

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

There are lots of folks that love Texas and that's great and all, but for me..I couldn't wait to get out. I lived in NW San Antonio from 2006-2012 and it although I enjoyed it the first couple of years, the last 4 were purgatory for me. The population density was much too dense for me and crime was a lot worse than I thought it would have been. Granted, this was San Antonio, which is NOT Seguin or San Marcos, or even Bandera. One thing I never got used to was the mass of people at the grocery stores and restaurants. It wasn't uncommon to have to be on a wait at a popular restaurant any day of the week. I understand it being busy on Friday or Saturdays, but waiting for a table for 45 minutes on a Tuesday is crazy to me. And the heat? Wow. It was terrible. I am from the south, so I am used to the heat and humidity and even spent sometime in SW Oklahoma (which gets damn hot!) but nothing compared to misery that was a San Antonio summer. Lastly, one thing that bothered me a lot was some of the mentality of the military. It is a military town...a HUGE military town and I often saw an entitlement mentality from some of the mil members (before you flame me, remember I spent 22 years in the military!) and it was annoying. I know, I am nitpicking, I get it.

As far as military health facilities, BAMC is pretty good but my DW had spinal surgery there and while we thought it was great (it was performed by a mil doc that was the "pre-eminent neurosurgeon for the military" that actually set up the first TBI hospital in Afghanistan) her follow up surgeon here in Atlanta was NOT impressed with his work and said it was borderline "malpractice". Long story short...I stay far away from any military hospital..that is what Tricare Prime is for. Also, Wilford Hall doesn't really do anything that is inpatient anymore. The ER has been closed for a while and they don't do any overnight surgical stuff anymore.

LAST Thing..I SWEAR! IF you happen to have a need for handicap parking, be aware of the very liberal policy of granting handicap placards. For a military member, the only qualifier was something in the neighborhood of a 30% rating. You can get that rating by having like sleep apnea that while *is* a handicap, it usually doesn't preclude someone walking from a normal spot. I can't count how many times I saw someone with missing lower extremities traversing a large parking lot because all the handicap spaces were taken. Sounds dumb, right? I know...but in all honesty, if I had a debilitating handicap, I would NOT want to live in San Antonio!

Oye...sorry about the diatribe. I just wanted to get out a dissenting view of the San Antonio area. I know folks love it there...and I don't fault them for it...not at all. It just wasn't my cup of tea.

If I had to live in that area again, I would have been farther out from the city; Bandera or perhaps Castroville (out west about 25 minutes on Hwy 90). But San Antonio? No way, no how.

Edit: Oh, last thing. The City Data forum for that entire area is pretty active, so you might get additional intel there.