Should I move to Texas?

[helwardman]

Hello,

I'm English and I currently live and work in England. There's a possibility that I might be able to land a job in Fort Worth, Texas in the near future.

I'm interested to know what the good points and bad points are of living in Texas.

:spin

[Carie]

Yes, but I may be biased :)

Do you like fairly large cities? It might be easier if you tell us what you'd like/not like to see in your new home otherwise we're likely to wax poetic about our home state :lol

[ObiwanGinobili]

good:

spurs
BBQ
no state income tax
low cost of living
mild winters
beautiful springs & falls
it's big
mexican food
mexico is right there for all your cheap dental and alcohol needs

cons:
summer is hotter then hell

[Gatita]

Run, run for your life!

[spurs_fan_in_exile]

Upsides: Winter only lasts about 3 months here, sometimes less. Spring and fall are terrific, if a little short. The food is great. Tex-Mex, barbecue, etc. Plus if you're into sports they've got a pro team for just about everything.

Downside: It's hot. Damn hot. And while I don't know how much high culture you're looking for but Texas doesn't possess a whole lot of it, with the exception of pockets in places like Houston and Austin.

So if you can live with great food, hot weather, and a borderline obsession with high school football (the American kind), then come on down!

[samikeyp]

bad points...weather. It can be volatile. You can have rain, snow, cold and hot within a matter of weeks although the climate is usually pretty nice.

good points...lower cost of living, plenty of activities and some of the nicest people you will meet.

[Gatita]

good:

spursBBQ
no state income tax
low cost of living
mild winters
beautiful springs & falls
it's big
mexican food
mexico is right there for all your cheap dental and alcohol needs

cons:
summer is hotter then hell

He might be moving to Fort Worth.
No Spurs, no mild winters, no low cost of living, and no Mexico isn't right around the corner for booze, But, there are plenty of dry counties nearby.

[mookie2001]

ive only been to dallas twice

good sides
wide open spaces
trees
mild winters
mexican food
tejano music
dj screw
good sports teams
the nonyankeeness of it
not too many white people anymore

bad
dallas has a lot of yankees and sooners and doesnt represent texas well in general,
everythings far away, dont expect to take many trips to el paso or corpus
its hot as shit if youre not used to it, for a long time too
there is a shitload of RightWing assholes over here, with the stickered Full Size GM SUVs to match
fort worth (the city of) is a total shithole

[Carie]

What's the winter like where you live? Ours (even in FW) may still be comparitively mild. But yeah, pretty hot. Tons to do in Dallas/Fort Worth though.


Every type of pro and semi-pro team you can think of
family entertainment, I would also say that most tours will come through here
shopping (well, not NYC shopping, but pretty good)
if you don't want to live in the city there are plenty of smaller communities surrounding it
also within 3/5 hours of Austin, San Antonio, Houston
Also, compared to some is a fairly conservative town, not sure if you'll think that's a pro or a con. If you're looking for something a little more liberal though, Austin is a short drive away.

What kind of work are you looking for?

[mookie2001]

Dallas listed as the most liberal town in Texas



we've discussed this many atime before

[MiNuS]

Texas has everything! You want to have fun,we have it.You want to live in the country,we got it.You like the ocean,we have it.You like desert,yes,we got that too.

There's no Manchester United here though.But we have the Cowboys.

Isn't Texas the same size as England??

[helwardman]

As I said.....I live in England so I'll DEFINITELY be looking forward to warmer weather. I like mexican food (or what I've tried so far). The cost of housing is appealing......it sounds a lot cheaper than England.

Are the winters quite cold in Fort Worth then?

[Carie]

Dallas listed as the most liberal town in Texas



we've discussed this many atime before
What? I grew up in Austin and my husband grew up in DFW and then moved to Austin for several years and it was VERY different. Maybe it was where he was from (Arlington)? And every time I visit I notice a profound difference. What have I been missing?

[helwardman]

What is a Sooner??

England is about the same size as Louisiana by land area.

[Carie]

Are the winters quite cold in Fort Worth then?
Depends on what you consider quite cold. The average for December-February is mid-40's. How does that compare to England?

[mookie2001]

the winters are colder than any other part of texas
theyll get ice every now and then

a Sooner is a person from Oklahoma a state that border Texas to the north
they are known for being really dumb, country and ultraconservative and envying Texas in every way imaginable, they really just make it seem like DFW is a part of Oklahoma, which for us residents of South Texas, it might as well be

[Carie]

What is a Sooner??

:lol Oklahoma Sooners http://www.soonersports.com/

Depending on who you ask, not a good thing.

[Vashner]

Come to San Antonio... Dallas and Houston suck.

[mookie2001]

dammit I hate those assholes

[Cant_Be_Faded]

a Sooner is a person from Oklahoma a state that border Texas to the north
they are known for being really dumb, country and ultraconservative and envying Texas in every way imaginable, they really just make it seem like DFW is a part of Oklahoma, which for us residents of South Texas, it might as well be

:lmao

[MiNuS]

reading this thread reminded me of "Emanuelle goes to space" or something like that?

like one of our logos: "Texas,its like a whole other country"

[1Parker1]

good:

spurs
BBQ
no state income tax
low cost of living
mild winters
beautiful springs & falls
it's big
mexican food
mexico is right there for all your cheap dental and alcohol needs

cons:
summer is hotter then hell


I'd move to SA for the no State Income Tax rule alone! Philadelphia has one of the highest. Not only do we get State Income Taxed, but then since I work in the city, I have to pay City Income Tax as well ! :(

[Carie]

dammit I hate those assholes
eh?

[mookie2001]

SOONERS^


people from south texas would go up to lubbock
and be like ehhhhhhhh....
this sucks
people from abilene would go down to Corpus theyd check the map to see where the are then clutch their billfolds thinking a mexicano would rob them

[Shelly]

I'd move to SA for the no State Income Tax rule alone! Philadelphia has one of the highest. Not only do we get State Income Taxed, but then since I work in the city, I have to pay City Income Tax as well ! :(

What you don't pay in state income tax, they get you in property tax. My parents house in CA is 5 or 6 x worth more than mine and I pay more in propety tax than they do.

Oh, and our roads suck! (Thinks fondly of my dearly departed rims...sniff.)

[samikeyp]

the winters are colder than any other part of texas

the panhandle and West Texas get colder.

[Carie]

Yeah. I went from Central Texas to Lubbock, and was like 'ehhhhhh...this sucks'. John went from DFW to Lubbock and was like 'ehhhhhh...this sucks'. Let's just say that we spent many of our week-ends visiting our hometowns. http://spurstalk.com/forums/images/smilies/smilol.gif I was in serious culture shock when I first visited it was so, stuffy for lack of a better word. Everyone looked the same, not a single guy with long hair on a campus of about 25,000 people.

Helwardman, what we're trying to say here is avoid the panhandle like the plague http://spurstalk.com/forums/images/smilies/smismile.gif

[Gatita]

What you don't pay in state income tax, they get you in property tax. My parents house in CA is 5 or 6 x worth more than mine and I pay more in propety tax than they do.

Oh, and our roads suck! (Thinks fondly of my dearly departed rims...sniff.

Bent two in two weeks here in SA. :bang

[1Parker1]

What you don't pay in state income tax, they get you in property tax. My parents house in CA is 5 or 6 x worth more than mine and I pay more in propety tax than they do.

Oh, and our roads suck! (Thinks fondly of my dearly departed rims...sniff.)


We have a fairly high property tax too, especially if you live in the suburbs. But the Income Taxes kill me every time I get my paycheck....I work about 30 hours and they cut roughly 100 some dollars from that! It's insane.

[1Parker1]

Oh and if you ever go to downtown Philly (which is basically where all the cool restuarants, clubs, and bars are) ALL the roads are 1 way and not in the best condition either.

[Carie]

Oh, and our roads suck! (Thinks fondly of my dearly departed rims...sniff.)
What are road elsewhere like? I hate travelling out of state by car because the other roads are so bad. Am I taking all of the wrong roads?

[SWC Bonfire]

Ft. Worth is a nice town. The downtown is small but clean, and if you want to do more upbeat partying, then Dallas is just a (relatively) short distance away.

It does get cold in spells, including a few ice storms now and then, but the infrastructure of the city is good and they can handle it.

I lived there for several years, and enjoyed it. I knew several British ex-pats on my rugby team, so they are around.

[Kip Fanatic]

The people alone in Texas are the best. I have traveled many times up North and the more North you go the more rude people get it seems. I have been to Ft. Worth a lot of times. Its not all that to live in. I'd live somewhere outside of Ft. Worth if I were you. Dallas has a lot to offer. The Metroplex itself has a lot to offer.

The winters in Ft. Worth are pretty good. Nothing too harsh. However, as everyone is stating its gets hot down here in Texas. However, Texas has lots of lakes so that you can cool down. The women here are beautiful. Cost of living is great down here too.
The number one reason is the Spurs though.

[Shelly]

Bent two in two weeks here in SA. :bang

My husband had replaced two of them and they became bent again. (He claims he never did because he knows where all the potholes in SA are :rolleyes). Anyway, he took them to be fixed and they were beyond repair.

Next rims will be forged!

[greywheel]

ive only been to dallas twice

bad
dallas has a lot of yankees and sooners and doesnt represent texas well in general,
fort worth (the city of) is a total shithole

Being as you have only been to Dallas twice, I wonder how you formed these opinions. Especially the comment about Fort Worth. Having grown up in Fort Worth, I must wholeheartedly disagree.
The downtown area maybe underutilized. And with downtown and the lessor desirable parts of the city right off 35W appearances may not be the best. But it is no worse than 35 South of downtown San Antonio.

Also one thing I have not seen mentioned here is allergies. If you have bad allergies you might not like Fort Worth. If you don't have allergies, you will when you get here.

And on a, not meant to be related note, Fort Worth has a great Zoo.

[Gatita]

My husband had replaced two of them and they became bent again. (He claims he never did because he knows where all the potholes in SA are :rolleyes). Anyway, he took them to be fixed and they were beyond repair.

Next rims will be forged!

:lol My man was driving my car when the blowouts occurred. On the street he grew up on to top it off! I was able to purchase both rims on ebay at an incredible price. :tu

[clooneyschick04]

Helwardman, what we're trying to say here is avoid the panhandle like the plague http://spurstalk.com/forums/images/smilies/smismile.gif

GOOD advice Carie! I've only been up there a few times to visit family and everytime I visit the panhandle it makes me realise how lucky I am to be from San Antonio. :spin

[Gatita]

Being as you have only been to Dallas twice, I wonder how you formed these opinions. Especially the comment about Fort Worth. Having grown up in Fort Worth, I must wholeheartedly disagree.
The downtown area maybe underutilized. And with downtown and the lessor desirable parts of the city right off 35W appearances may not be the best. But it is no worse than 35 South of downtown San Antonio.
Also one thing I have not seen mentioned here is allergies. If you have bad allergies you might not like Fort Worth. If you don't have allergies, you will when you get here.

And on a, not meant to be related note, Fort Worth has a great Zoo.

Having traveled to the Dallas area several times a month for a year and a half I was able to see many part of the Metroplex area. I loved it! Las Colinas and many surrounding areas were beautiful. :tu

[Shelly]

:lol My man was driving my car when the blowouts occurred. On the street he grew up on to top it off! I was able to purchase both rims on ebay at an incredible price. :tu


:lol

My rims were discontinued. He had originally sold my stock rims and then had to buy another set of stock to replace the bent ones. I do lay claim to some of the curb rash, though :lol

[Gatita]

:lol

My rims were discontinued. He had originally sold my stock rims and then had to buy another set of stock to replace the bent ones. I do lay claim to some of the curb rash, though :lol

:lol Curb rash. You should see me parallel park. It takes me forever. All in the hopes of avoiding curb rash. :lol

[Extra Stout]

Hello,

I'm English and I currently live and work in England. There's a possibility that I might be able to land a job in Fort Worth, Texas in the near future.

I'm interested to know what the good points and bad points are of living in Texas.

:spin

Good points:
The sun actually comes out
People have adorable Texan accents
Your master bedroom may be about as big as the entire flat you live in now
You can drive your car downtown for free
Taxes are MUCH MUCH MUCH lower
Cost of living is MUCH MUCH MUCH lower
Gasoline is the equivalent of £0.50/liter, yet people gripe about how expensive it is
Winter usually lasts maybe a week or two
If you get DirecTV, you can still watch Footballers' Wives on BBC America

Bad points:
Most people drive enormous trucks or SUV's over 120 km/h all the time on the motorway (aka freeway)
In summer, 40 degrees Celsius is normal. Anything under 30 is "pleasant."
If you don't use your air conditioning, you will die.
If you ask for ale at room temperature, people will refer you to a psychiatrist
Questioning the policies of George W. Bush in public may get you pistol-whipped
Half the population carries firearms -- legally
"Football" refers to the Dallas Cowboys; nobody knows what the Premier League is
There is no Chunnel from Texas to France.

[SWC Bonfire]

You didn't say what you were doing there, but I say go for it. :tu

I lived in Scotland for a while while working and it was great. It's not like you can't go back.

[Shelly]

:lol Curb rash. You should see me parallel park. It takes me forever. All in the hopes of avoiding curb rash. :lol

:lmao Most of mine were from trying to park as close to the curb so I wouldn't get a ding in the door from the person parked next to me! Ya can't win!


To the original poster. Texas sucks from May until Mid-October weather wise (at least here in SA). I will complain about the weather daily during that time period. Our roads aren't the greatest. However, the cost of living is very cheap and I can honestly say that San Antonio has to be one of the friendliest cities I have ever lived in.

[tlongII]

Do you like HOT?

Do you like FLAT?

Do you like DUSTY?


If you answered "yes" to the above questions, then Texas is the place for you!

[Carie]

Good points:

Bad points:

In summer, 40 degrees Celsius is normal. Anything under 30 is "pleasant."
If you don't use your air conditioning, you will die.
If you ask for ale at room temperature, people will refer you to a psychiatrist
Questioning the policies of George W. Bush in public may get you pistol-whipped
Half the population carries firearms -- legally
"Football" refers to the Dallas Cowboys; nobody knows what the Premier League is
There is no Chunnel from Texas to France.
:lmao

This is all so true. Except, surely that many people don't carry weapons! I know the stereotype, but I only know 1 person who actually owns a weapon and he doesn't carry it with him.

And we haven't emphasized this enough, what every single yankee (read: non-Texan :)) has remarked upon visiting us is how friendly everyone is.

And while Fort Worth itself isn't all that big (population of about 500,000), the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex is huge. If you want to buy it, watch it, listen to it, do it, you'll find it there. It's about a 45 minute drive between the two.

And allergies may or may not be a problem for you if this move is not permanent. It took me a dozen years of living here for them to be a concern at all.

[Shelly]

Oh, the allergies!

I've started myself and my kids on our Flonase program just to combat the dreaded cedar season!

[SWC Bonfire]

Well, at least this guy speaks English... maybe he's getting a telemarketing job. :lol

[Guru of Nothing]

Sooner

http://www.jcs-group.com/what/adpicts/osusoonerfan.jpg

[Carie]

Well, at least this guy speaks English... maybe he's getting a telemarketing job. :lol
:lol You're an evil person and I'm going to hell for laughing at that!

[Gatita]

Well, at least this guy speaks English... maybe he's getting a telemarketing job. :lol

But, its the British kind, not the American type. :rolleyes
The accent won't be liked. :lol

[SWC Bonfire]

If I can understand Scots I can understand anybody. :lol

[ducks]

dusty lives in ca not texas

[ObiwanGinobili]

He might be moving to Fort Worth.
No Spurs, no mild winters, no low cost of living, and no Mexico isn't right around the corner for booze, But, there are plenty of dry counties nearby.


ft worth is alot closer to spurs and mexico then.. lets say.. england.
and he doesn't have to live in ftworth/dallas, he could choose a cheap as suburb. a'la china grove.:lol

[batman2883]

obiwan i want my clam chowder

[ObiwanGinobili]

I'd move to SA for the no State Income Tax rule alone! Philadelphia has one of the highest. Not only do we get State Income Taxed, but then since I work in the city, I have to pay City Income Tax as well ! :(


holy shit! :wow
you poor thing! I couldn;t stand getigng taxed 3x's for tyhe same crap! (stae, city & fed) ugh.
I remeber growing uop in Connecticut the state income tax ate my paretns alive..... btu i guess the stae needed it for the $6mill plus snow removal costs every year! LOL!

thank gods there is no snow in texas.

[Boo]

Nah come down to cali

and come visit mah hood

[spurster]

Asking Texans about Texas is a bad idea. Almost as much as California has crazy liberals, Texas has crazy conservatives. They are against almost any kind of tax for almost any kind of public good. It is full of people who actually believe whatever the Bush adminstration says. Your conservatives in England more closely correspond to our liberals than our conservatives or even moderates.

Moreover, Texans think Texas is the next best thing to heaven. Our children pledge allegiance to Texas every day in school.

But as long as you prepare yourself for the shock of Texas political opinion, you should be ok.

[ObiwanGinobili]

obiwan i want my clam chowder


it;s coming bat, it;s coming.
I said DECEMBER.

[spurs=bling]

yes you should.

we have the spurs and longhorns.

[Mixability]

Nah come down to cali

and come visit mah hood
:stfu :idiot

[Carie]

yes you should.

we have the spurs and longhorns.
and the astros
and the texans
and the stars
and the cowboys (booo!)
and the rangers
and the mavericks (double booo!)

[Vashner]

Asking Texans about Texas is a bad idea. Almost as much as California has crazy liberals, Texas has crazy conservatives. They are against almost any kind of tax for almost any kind of public good. It is full of people who actually believe whatever the Bush adminstration says. Your conservatives in England more closely correspond to our liberals than our conservatives or even moderates.

Moreover, Texans think Texas is the next best thing to heaven. Our children pledge allegiance to Texas every day in school.

But as long as you prepare yourself for the shock of Texas political opinion, you should be ok.

Wow you must smoke good crack.....
Texas is the best... you suck.. Bye...

[helwardman]

Well, at least this guy speaks English... maybe he's getting a telemarketing job. :lol

Unfortunately not :lol
I'm an electrical engineer. :spin

[helwardman]

I've spent some time in Louisiana recently and the roads there are REALLY bad. So I guess the Texas roads are pretty much the same.

I think I can cope with the heat and I dont mind flat (it's really hilly where I live). As for location, I think I'd prefer to live in a suburb, I pretty much live in a rural location now.

Thanks for all your comments :spin

[Extra Stout]

I've spent some time in Louisiana recently and the roads there are REALLY bad. So I guess the Texas roads are pretty much the same.Well... Texas roads aren't that bad. In Texas, they fix bad roads. In Louisiana, they put up a sign that reads: "DRIVE CAREFULLY SUBSTANDARD ROADWAY"

[Useruser666]

Don't listen to all the negative spewing posters in here. Check out an atlas or fact book before you listen to some of the over exaggerations you are getting from here. Texas has many different climate, geographical, and landscape types over it's large area. Which I might add, is about 3 times the size of Germany. Texas has dry deserts and badlands to the west. Coastal plains all alonf the Gulf of Mexico. There are large open plains in the northern panhandle and rolling hills along the Edwards plateau. You can find tall pine and other species trees in forests in east Texas and swamps as you near the Lousiana border. As long as you don't drive a lowrider or think you need 1 mm thick tires, the roads are just fine.

[SpursWoman]

I'm not entirely sure what everyone expects from roadways that are traveled by 1.2 million people and a large mass transit system.

:wtf

[valluco]

I've spent some time in Louisiana recently and the roads there are REALLY bad. So I guess the Texas roads are pretty much the same.

I think I can cope with the heat and I dont mind flat (it's really hilly where I live). As for location, I think I'd prefer to live in a suburb, I pretty much live in a rural location now.

Thanks for all your comments :spin
I live in Fort Worth and it's OK. Yes the summers are hot, but I'm from the Rio Grande Valley and it's a hell of alot hotter down there. The winters aren't bad and the roads aren't the greatest (there's always construction going on). As far as suburbs go, there's some nice little places like Benbrook, Aledo, and Crowley.

[Gatita]

Asking Texans about Texas is a bad idea. Almost as much as California has crazy liberals, Texas has crazy conservatives. They are against almost any kind of tax for almost any kind of public good. It is full of people who actually believe whatever the Bush adminstration says. Your conservatives in England more closely correspond to our liberals than our conservatives or even moderates.

Moreover, Texans think Texas is the next best thing to heaven. Our children pledge allegiance to Texas every day in school.

But as long as you prepare yourself for the shock of Texas political opinion, you should be ok.

There is a forum for you to spew you're political shit in :wtf

POLITICAL FORUM.