Calling all Texans! What is great about living in Texas?

There are good parts to living in Texas, as well as some less appealing aspects, as with any state. Actually the economy in Texas is reasonably strong, and could be considered very strong compared to the remainder of the US. Those who live in Texas are noticing some increase in prices, but they are minor by comparison with other areas of the US. Number 1 and 2 choices for best city to live from a cost of living and job potential aspect are Austin and San Antonio. These two metropolitan areas actually join each other near San Marcos which is only a few miles from New Braunfels. The New Braunfels area is nice, I I used to live outside New Braunfels, in the Canyon Lake area, and enjoyed the Comal County area very much. However, the detractor is that if you work in San Antonio, and for many activities you will need to drive into San Antonio. We found that on only one of our cars we put over 100,000 miles in less than 3 years commuting. The other car averaged around 25,000 miles a year. With the increased cost of fuel, that may be expensive for you. I have several friends who live in Comal County and now have to plan their trips much more carefully, and even try to carpool more to save costs. Since there is no mass transit from the outlying metropolitan areas, and the only mass transit in the city is the VIA bus system, most people commute in automobiles. The San Antonio?Austin entertainment corridor and dual metro areas provides all the shopping, dining and entertainment you could ever want. The only things which you might miss would be professional football, our baseball team is a minor league team, as is our hockey team. However, the local NBA team, the Spurs, have been moderately effective in the past decade. As far as weather, it does get hotter in the summer with the average July temps being about 10 degrees warmer than the Detroit area. However, in winter the San Antonio area averages lows around 40 and highs in the 60s most of the time Dec through Feb. The Spring and Fall have very nice weather. And the semi-tropical climate makes outdoor activities possible almost all year. Housing in the San Antonio area is very reasonable, with the average new home constructed averaging $166,000. In New Braunfels, the homes in the city are a little higher in some areas, with a 3,000 sq foot home costing between $215K and $280K, while it would be a little less in San Antonio.

Alas, Texas is no more,..it has become a suburb of Mexico, or el Norte Mexico as they refer to it unofficialy in Mexico City & at Capitol Hill. And greatest thing about moving from Michigan to North Mexico is that you get even closer to old Mexico-the biggest U.S. problem today-and you got even more of those "Illegal Inmigrantes" darlings there- and even lesser chance to find a job for your husband-....(aay-myy...is there no end of this plague?...)

I've lived in Texas my entire life with the exception of a couple of years in Arkansas and Kentucky when my dad was in the service. If your family is in Michigan you'll miss them a lot. That would probably be the worst part of moving to Texas. New Braunfels is a beautiful area of the state, but I have no idea how the economy is doing down there right now. It's not great anywhere to be honest. The weather in Texas will certainly be different than what you are accustomed to. It's VERY hot here during the summer, but the winters are generally pretty mild. Texas has some of the nicest people you would ever want to meet, but we also have more than our share of jackasses living here, so be prepared. Some are especially resentful of northerners moving here to better their quality of life, and can be quite obnoxious about it. I guess they forget that few of us are really native Texans beyond a couple of generations back. I think you would probably like it here, once the initial homesickness wears off and you make new friends. Good luck with whatever you decide!

You may not miss the snow. You have a lot of great foods. You can experience beachs at South Padre Island and climbing rocks at Big Bend. There are festivals and Texans love to celebrate anything we have an economy that is growing in medical/ computer communications fields. The pace is very fast but laid back. One warning though Texans are not good drivers. I lived in Indiana, California and Germany. Texans are sweet but the driving ouch:)