Leaving Long Island for Texas

[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]

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.

 

[Tiger]

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]

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]

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

Roger that! Spoken like a Texan!

 

[Bestwifeever]

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):

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]

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:

...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?

 

[freebird5825]

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




Or make BBQ ribs in their crockpot.

 

[REWahoo]

Or make BBQ ribs in their crockpot.

The notion those are "BBQ ribs" is truly a crock.

 

[Webzter]

Of course, Wikipedia (I know, I know) says

Beans (frijoles), a staple of Tex-Mex cooking, have long been associated with chili. The question of whether beans "belong" in chili has been a matter of contention among chili cooks for an equally long time. It is likely that in many poorer areas of San Antonio and other places associated with the origins of chili, beans were used rather than meat, or in addition to meat.

But I don't eat red meat and I don't have any desire to move to or visit Texas so we're both safe for now.

 

[MichaelB]

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

There's "chili" and there's "chili con carne". Both names are Texan in origin (hence the bad spelling) and imply only one has meat. The ingredients in chili are so common that the dish most likely dates back a thousand years. Meat would have been an option for wealthy people back then and also in the early 1900's when chili became popular in the US Southwest.

 

[REWahoo]

There's "chili" and there's "chili con carne".

Yep, there is chili and then there is chili bean soup...

 

[East Texas]

I'm really hungry. This is one time it's too bad Amarillo is far, far away. I'd like a big juicy steak with all the trimmings right now.

 

[eytonxav]

Keep in mind that the actual city of Dallas is pretty liberal while the suburbs and Fort Worth make it more a more conservative metro area overall. In my experience in Dallas, most people are pretty open minded and friendly.

Good luck on your move.

Just don't cut anyone off or if they do it to you flip them bird on the highways, otherwise you could get shot!

 

[martyb]

Just don't cut anyone off or if they do it to you flip them bird on the highways, otherwise you could get shot!

That goes double for Houston!

 

[utrecht]

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.

You mean the fire dept. doesnt do that everywhere?

As far as the traffic, every decent sized city Ive visited the people complain about how they have the worst traffic in the world. In my opinion its pretty much the same everywhere. BAD!

 

[Leonidas]

That goes double for Houston!

You mean they don't do that everywhere?

Hmph, how boring that must be.

 

[W2R]

Texas is a huge state. I lived in College Station, Texas for 12-13 years and liked both Texas and Texans a lot when I lived there. I doubt I would ever want to move back, though. Good luck and I hope you find the opportunities you seek.

 

[haha]

Keep in mind that the actual city of Dallas is pretty liberal while the suburbs and Fort Worth make it more a more conservative metro area overall.

My brother and his wife lived on the SW end of Grapevine Lake, in a moderately upscale suburban development. Their neighbors on one side were a young gay male couple, and on the other a single middle aged lesbian. As best I could tell they were fully integrated into the community. After all, most suburbanites are more interested in property values than they are in sexuality, and gays are always very good for property values. Talk about nice landscaping!

Overall, big Texas cities are very sophisticated and tolerant places, probably more so than many other cities.

Ha

 

[grasshopper]

Hey I moved away from LI (Levittown)......................55 years ago.

 

[MBAVisionary]

Hey I moved away from LI (Levittown)......................55 years ago.

55 years ago? Damn! Do you ever look back and wonder what life would be like had you never left?

 

[Ally]

I guess I probably shouldn't admit that we live in Lubbock. For the most part we like it. (hiding face)