FE Power Forums
FE Power Forums => Non-FE Discussion Forum => Topic started by: Diogenes on February 08, 2021, 06:28:38 PM
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I am currently exploring possibly moving to Texas and am trying to do some research, specifically cost of living, taxes, license and plate fees, etc. Someone who is a transplant from Ohio would be ideal, as comparative knowledge would be great.
Any and all information would be greatly appreciated.
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No state income Tax
Property Tax and School Tax are on the same Bill,by County ,but are not normally referred to that way. Most city’s also add some tax. School Tax can be pretty high because the state is full of Independent School District's San Antonio has IIRC 9 Districts with different tax rates.
Vehicle registration for my 2013 F150 is $77 per year . My 68 Mustang is classic registered for about $75 total for 5 years no vehicle inspection. My wife’s DV registration is $3.00 year.
All vehicles must have annual inspection at $7.00 for non emissions inspection (sniffer) county’s.
Sales tax is city/county specific as well,about 8 1/2% .
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That's about it. But it's very area specific. In Houston, outside the city in Harris County you can have several extra bills over the city/county/school including street lights, local water district, HOA (you'll be hard pressed to find any place without) and such. So it pays to investigate. Dallas County will be different than Tarrant County than Denton County than were I live. And the different districts inside will have different rates per 100/valuation. And different exemptions.
You can research property and tax info on the county Tax Assessor's web site. Example: https://taylor-cad.org If you are looking at a specific property, most of the web sites will have taxes assessed and paid on the data page. If the county has GIS, you can usually use that to peg a property, get the ID and look it up, or link directly to the info from the GIS.
As an example: Tax rates for my area
https://taylor-cad.org/data/_uploaded/file/taxinfo/Tax_Rate_info/2020%20Tax%20Rates%20Website.pdf
City of Merkel, Merkel ISD specifically
You may need to visit other sites or call to get any homestead exemption information for a specific district. IIRC, ours is 25K of value, ISD exemption only. There are a zillion other exemptions, limits, waivers etc.
New cars carry a two year inspection, after that it's yearly. $7 to the test location, $7 added on to your license fee. Moving and registering, best look over the DPS web site - note Texas DMV and Texas DPS are NOT the same people.
https://www.dps.texas.gov/section/driver-license
https://www.txdmv.gov/motorists/new-to-texas
https://www.txdmv.gov/motorists/register-your-vehicle <--fees
http://twostepsonesticker.com/
Also of note - Texas does not tax Social Security income either. Unlike NM.
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Housing and taxes and insurance for cars and house outside Bexar county is a consideration. Bexar is a bear on taxes unless you are a service disconnected veteran with a 100% P&T rating, then homeowner taxes are waived. Joe-JDC
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Thank you for all the information, I've obviously got some homework to do.
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Talk about irony. I'm from Ohio and am getting tired of winters, so I was looking at warmer states with no income tax. Texas is one, and having been there on several occasions (visited San Antonia area several times) I liked the state. Not just because of the warmer weather and taxes, but also because of their ideology of independence and personal freedom, although that seems to be changing somewhat with the immigration of illegals and their voting rights, and Californians moving there. Not trying to get political, it's just a fact.
After doing some reading on no-income-tax states, there are some down sides (just from what I've read). Cost of goods and services are usually higher (no surprise there), and local taxes are usually higher. Job growth is also usually lower in no-tax states, for a variety of reasons.
I am most definitely NOT a city person, so a country residence is all that I would consider (not trying to steal Diogenes thread, just adding to the conversation). So how do rural areas pan out? Are rural properties hard to find and/or afford? I realize that's a partly loaded question, seeing as how Texas is such a big state, so that leads to questions like; are there poor areas to avoid? Ohio has areas where unemployment is a real issue, partly due to location, partly to cities that have lost major manufacturing jobs over the last couple of decades. Are you able to avoid local city taxes with a rural residence? What are average fuel prices?
Traveling through Texas on several occasions (all being back in the '80s though), I noticed many small communities and areas of isolated rural living that seemed more to my liking, but wondered how life would be in areas such as that (reality can be a real head knocker when you go in blind). I'm pretty self reliant, I have tools to do pretty much anything I'd have the need for, so the draw of being independent, without having to spend weeks gathering firewood to survive winters is pretty appealing at my age...lol Not to mention not having to hibernate for 1/5 of the year.
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Fracking has taken over much of the south and western part of TX, and unless this administration stops it, much of that land will be useless for housing. We used to be able to drive out west, or down south and enjoy the scenery. Now, there are literally hundreds of trucks and heavy equipment on every road imaginable, and traffic is a snail paced with the workers and job site water tankers, sand trucks, oil trucks, maintenance trucks, electrical towers installers, wind turbines haulers/installers, road building vehicles, and all those "snow birds" with their million dollar motor homes or travel trailers. It is no longer beautiful nor peaceful to drive anywhere south of I-20 and west of 87. IMO. Joe-JDC
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Not everyone small town Texas born and raised are bigoted. God saw fit to preserve all the races we have now through the flood. No man made political agenda, it's a fact.
I have noticed that the cost of living compared to Roswell, New Mexico is 20-25% higher than Waco, Texas. Food, gas, housing, building materials, ect. Our .33 acre & home in Waco has gone from some $2000 a year to over $2500 in the past 7 out of 11 years we have owned it. Compared to our $56 a year for our property in Dexter, New Mexico. While my mom's taxes in Teague, Texas Freestone County are still just over $200 a year for her home and 1 acre. I spoke with a man in New Jersey last week. His country 2 acre & home taxes cost (if I remember right) $16,000 a year while his separate 15 acre farm cost about $200 a year.
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I hope you are not implying I am bigoted. I live with two black neighbors next door, an Asian on the other side, and a Jehovah Witness on the last side. San Antonio is over 51% hispanic, and I am the minority everywhere I go. Texas is a diverse population, now, but the great living conditions of yester year are quickly going away with the influx of those wanting what has been so great about Texas in the past. We are no longer a German or English state. That is not bigoted, it is just a fact of life. I am a 14th generation American, and everything I believe in is being erased by the liberal left so fast it makes my head hurt. Joe-JDC
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I hope you are not implying I am bigoted. I live with two black neighbors next door, an Asian on the other side, and a Jehovah Witness on the last side. San Antonio is over 51% hispanic, and I am the minority everywhere I go. Texas is a diverse population, now, but the great living conditions of yester year are quickly going away with the influx of those wanting what has been so great about Texas in the past. We are no longer a German or English state. That is not bigoted, it is just a fact of life. I am a 14th generation American, and everything I believe in is being erased by the liberal left so fast it makes my head hurt. Joe-JDC
No sir I wasn't. Sometimes our Northern neighbors guesses about us are as uneducated as our fellow Southerners guesses are about Northerners.
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Not to try and violate any "politics" rules, but in general for your info that larger cities - Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, San Antonio, El Paso will be your "bluer" areas. This trend mirrors other larger population center trends in other states and doesn't necessarily involve people coming from CA or other places. It just is. South Texas has always hosted a significant Hispanic population and that has been growing for many years. Counties outside of those areas - maybe the larger ones a couple of counties outside - will be your more "red" leaning areas. All the demographic/voting data and maps for the entire state is readily found online.
Note that in west Texas is not uncommon to have less than 4000 people in 1000 sq/miles. For the privilege of not having anyone anywhere close to your lawn LOL you will be driving. As an example of more rural west Texas, I live in Taylor County, city of Merkel. About 2600 people. Decent town more or less. We're 20 miles west of Abilene, which has a population of around 120,000. In 1960, it was around 100,000, so growth is very slow, ebbs and flows. With that info, consider that Merkel is the 2nd largest town in Taylor County. The county coves 919 sq/miles and had a TOTAL population in 2010 of just over 130,000. You'll see similar big town, bunch of little towns around cities like San Angelo, Midland-Odessa, Snyder, Lubbock, etc. Pretty easy to find a lot of room to live in the west side. You could sell a 2-1 dump in California and buy a ranch with the proceeds in Texas.
Rural issues - I said Merkel is the 2nd largest town in the county. We have a small police department and a volunteer fire department. We do not have local ambulance support nor first responders. Our tax base can't (or won't) support it. The training and certifications required pretty much rules out "volunteer" work. These people need to be paid to be on standby. It'll take 30 minutes to get someone to our house, assuming the service in View is not already on a call. They have two busses, last I looked. If you're older, this is a bad situation. Lots of smaller town have these issues so if health issues are a concern, look into this also. Its a concern for us and may force a move.
Larger cities will have significant traffic issues. Depending on where you house and where you work, you can be looking at 30~1 hour or better one way commutes. We lived in Houston in the 90s and my 20 mile commute was right at 60 minutes in the AM and 75~85 minutes in the PM depending on when I left the plant. (out here, the 20 mile run is maybe 20 minutes, less if I wanna).
Distance - some things are a "fer piece". From Abilene, it's 2.5 hrs to Fort Worth, 4 hours to Austin, 6 hours to Houston, about same to San Antonio. Look on the map, it's 453 miles from Abilene to El Paso. And we're 200 miles west of Dallas which is 180 miles from Texarkana. For some LOL, Corpus to Texline is 764 miles. El Paso to San Diego CA is only 744 miles. Consider that as the crow flies, it's 711 miles from Washington DC to St. Louis. In non-pandemic times, it's no big deal to jump in the truck on a Saturday and run over to Fort Worth to do some shopping, maybe stop at Uncle Julio's for dinner and run home. About 400~500 miles in a day trip. People run to the Oklahoma casinos for day trips or the weekend all the time. If you live rural, expect to put some miles on your vehicles. Distance is just part of living here.
Car stuff - we have a very active car scene around here with several car clubs. Lots of cruises and shows during the year. Again, a lot of those are 50~60 miles from here to there, so stuff like my 4.56 gear street/strip car would be trailered. Cruisers no problem. Lots of freeways and good quality state highways to places. 75 MPH (80 real deal) on the interstates, 70 MPH on state roads with few exceptions. The climate is dry west of Fort Worth which is good for storage, finding cars no rusted to hell and preservation of tools and such.
Midland/Odessa - it was a mad house for a long time. Until Russia and the Saudis got in a piss fight which killed the price of oil. Texas needs barrel prices in the 50~60 range for fracking to work economically. They are there now, but a lot of consolidation has already occurred. West Texas is home to 1000s of wind turbines and that industry also has some good paying jobs. Life in the oil patch is limited and everybody knows it. Still, we sit on more reserves than the largest fields in the world. One note - we're sloppy about it. Recent surveys show that west Texas is leaking enough methane into the air from equipment, uncapped wells and misc stuff to heat at least 2 million homes/year. That's just bad business.
Texas you pay more in property tax but no tax on your working income or SSI/retirement. Most food items are not taxed, fast food is taxed. State sales tax is 8.25%, maybe .25% more in places. 2% of that is retained local. Auto purchases are taxed at 6.25%. If you own a business, you will pay Business Personal Property Tax on things, you'll need to see the Assessor forms for details. We pay tax on a race car and some misc equipment since we work that as additional income.
Couple of words on NM
State highways are 65 MPH (we're faster!)
Property taxes are indeed lower. HOWEVER - they tax you on EVERYTHING. Food, fast food, income, SSI/retirement income, etc, etc. Everything is taxed. In looking to relocate for retirement, Texas property tax vs NM property tax with est tax on SSI/retirement income is nearly equal. So you don't necessarily get something for nothing.
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Great information. Thanks to all. It's the details like that that must be heavily weighed when considering such a big change, and it's the hardest information to figure out unless you have good people to help you out, like we have on this forum.
When I was in San Antonio in the '80s, it had a big Hispanic population then. No surprise since Mexico is the nearest neighbor. And it seemed that 'everyplace' was at least 4 hours away...lol We went to Laredo and crossed the border a couple of times. That was fun, but don't think I'd do it in this modern age. Things were a lot different back then. The most amazing sight was driving back at night and seeing the glow of San Antonio in the clear night sky....and we were still 2 HOURS AWAY! Being a rural kid from Ohio, that just amazed me. I loved the open roads, and they were all in very good shape. That is most definitely not the case in Ohio!
Yes, cities always lean blue, rural areas almost always red. It's the huge rural areas of Texas that keep it mainly blue. It's kind of sad to hear about south/west Texas being taken over by oil companies, but fossil fuels is a huge business. That is going to change as the years progress.
The medical aspect isn't a big deal to me. You have 2 choices: 1; you fight to live as long as you can, and in the process degrade until you have Alzheimer's and/or lose all ability to care for yourself, or 2; you take life and death as it comes and accept it for what it is (within reason, of course). Having seen several people deal with parents under option 1, and having to deal now with that issue myself, I personally choose option 2. I don't want to end up in a home or be a charity case in my old age (when I get there). Just depends on how you look at things, and that is not to say anything negative about anybody who chooses differently. Health issues, if you or a loved one has any, would/should be a part of that decision.
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Well, San Antonio is a medical city for sure. It seems there are more hospitals, clinics, rehabilitation centers than any city I know of with the population of ~1.7M. Sometimes I start to think that the driving force in money is the medical centers and all the hospitals available. We used to have 8 or 9 military facilities around the city, now we are down to 5 active duty sites. Lackland/Median/Security Hill AFB combined, Randolph AFB, Fort Sam is now Joint Forces Medical Center, and Camp Bullis. Kelly AFB is now Port San Antonio, with Boeing depot maintenance, and ANG attached to Lackland. We have several Veterans Hospital/clinics here. We have Catholic/Methodist/Baptist/University Hospitals in just about every sector of the city. We designate them by East, North, North Central, West, Central, Downtown, Southwest, Southeast and even by medical center locations. Loop I-410 is 54 miles around the city center, and Loop 1604 is 108 miles around the city, and the 35 years ago, I was in the county, but now the city has spread to the point it is ~70 miles across from one side to the other. I can buy everything I need, shop, get medical attention, all within a 7 mile radius of where I live. Oh, we also have Sea World, Fiesta Texas, the Alamo, Alamo Dome, and River Walk, Mercado mall, Windsor Park Mall, malls galore, etc.. I would move, but to sell my property now, I would not be able to come close to replacing what I have at another location for what I would get for my property. Joe-JDC
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On the medical, I'm more specifically talking about sudden issues such as bad injury like fell off your shop roof or ran over by your own hot rod, heart attack, etc. 30 minutes to wait or a $25,000 chopper ride to a trauma center 20-30-60 miles away is sub-optimal. Regular and preventative care is usually readily available. We have a clinic local in a remodeled grocery store. I don't use it, but the family doc is only a 20 minute drive.
Lots of the small towns tend to fold up after 9 or 10 PM. If it's 6:15 here and I need a prescription, it's a 20 minute drive one way. If it's 9:15 and I need an onion to complete this dish, it's a 45 minute round trip. You learn to plan ahead LOL. But that's OK with me.
> It's the huge rural areas of Texas that keep it mainly blue.
LOL, think you meant to say mainly red. It's the increasing population in places like DFW, Austin, etc that are eating away and the political influence of the rural areas. As I noted, our county population is 130K. Tarrant County - 2.1million Dallas County 2.6m Travis County - 1.2m Harris County 4.7m etc. The DFW area includes 11 counties and hosts 7.5m people. That's "a lot".
The "West Texas Region" is about 22 counties with a total of 662,500. For fun - Borden County has 909 sq/miles and a population of 654. If you want to really get away from it all, try Loving County. 677 sq/miles - 169 population. Lots of space between neighbors in these parts LOL.
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Which explains a "joke" - when we moved here, people say "Where you from?" "Me just moved here from Houston." (population 2.3m at the time) "Oh! Do you know so-and-so? They are (some relation) and live down there. " I'm like "wut" and confused, no, in the 2 gazillion people down there I didn't bump into them. Until - we learned that it's small town Texas and you run into everybody sooner or later. You check out at Lowes and may see your cashier at the market, your doctor at Taco Bell, people from work at the hardware store, etc.
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Talk about irony. I'm from Ohio and am getting tired of winters, so I was looking at warmer states with no income tax. Texas is one....
Thanks for spurring more details CJSHAKER, I'm on the exact same page as you, with the same mindset. I'm looking for open spaces, and a state that seems to be more oriented to following the Constitution (though lets be honest, it has NEVER been fully followed). I must stress the word "seems", because that has a way of changing. I'm just damn tired of having my money STOLEN in order to fund that which works contrary to my values and interests. Ohio has many problems, not the least of which is its weather and rinos, but cost of living is relatively cheap compared to many areas of the country. Hell, my collector car plates cost me around $50 back in 2004-2005, and the plates are good until 2050, I've transferred them to other cars multiple times.
I'm not a fan of high heat and all the critters and bugs that Texas probably has to offer, but there are always trade offs.
Defund the government.
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There is a mileage sign on I-10 at Orange TX stating that El Paso is 879 miles on I-10. It takes a very long day to drive across TX. Joe-JDC
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> It's the huge rural areas of Texas that keep it mainly blue.
LOL, think you meant to say mainly red.
Oops, went colorblind for a second..lol
Joe, Randolph was the reason for my visits. Had a brother-in-law in the Air Force at the time. I did like the River Walk, and I'm a big American history buff, so the Alamo held some interest for me (although it's hardly what it originally was, and being in the middle of the 7th largest U.S. city at the time made it seem a tad 'touristy'). And the absolutely HUGE country bars there were hard to believe (a "single" bar that had 5 fully stocked bars in it, and what I swear was a 1/4 mile oval for a dance floor!). But for being a big city, I found the people very friendly there, with typical southern hospitality. But that was over 35 years ago, and bars ain't in my future..lol.
One thing is for sure, you need air conditioning in the summer time. Fire ants and scorpions aren't too friendly there either, but being able to go for a walk at night in a t-shirt and shorts, in January or February, was something that I could definitely live with.
There is a mileage sign on I-10 at Orange TX stating that El Paso is 879 miles on I-10. It takes a very long day to drive across TX. Joe-JDC
I got a dose of how big, the first time I drove there. It took 12 hours to get from my house to Texarkana (the Texas border). It took another 12 hours to get from there to San Antonio. Yeah, it's a big state!
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75* here today. Short sleeve weather for sure. Supposed to get cold later in the week. Joe-JDC
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Be sure to watch out on the property taxes even in the same county, school and MUD9 (water, sewer, & trash) taxes can be a real deal killer. The last time I checked areas around Katy, the tax rate was approaching $5 per $1000. I don't know if all counties do, but you can freeze the tax rate on your homestead at a certain age, 65, I think. The school district website will have a host of information about the area it encompasses.
Talk to you car insurance person too. Harris county is high. I understand two counties away in any direction gets a lot better.
Check the elevations of where you want to be since flooding can be a big issue in some areas. Home owners insurance will be high on the coast..... have you been through a hurricane?
No Scorpions to deal with in Houston, but plenty of other flying critters.
You didn't mention what type of terrain you're looking for either. The east side of the state will get you plenty of trees and flat areas. The farther west you go the tougher the trees get to survive and hills. The north end of the state does have some hills and nice trees. Padre and Mustang Island have nice beaches, Galveston does does not.
You want seasons? Houston has pre-summer, summer, post summer, and winter. Winter starts later this week and runs through March!! I see on the news that our neighbors to the north get all 4 season.
When all else fails street view on google earth can provide a lot of details. Along the bottom of the screen will have the date of the imagery. From aerial view, there is a way to see different points in time for the same location.
I remember riding in the truck to San Antonio as a kid and there not being a lot of traffic at the time. Those days are gone now and that stretch of I-10 is always busy. Find a Buc-ee's, there's all kinds of stuff.... don't let your wife go in!!
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I was transferred to the Houston area in '89 as my company moved here from Cal. We've been here ever since except for a 3-year stint on an overseas assignment. With no state income tax, property taxes are a big deal. However John is right, the biggest element is frozen at age 65. Most housing subdivisions have deed restrictions which dictate the type of buildings, property size, etc. Otherwise I don't believe there are any other zoning laws in the state. That can be good or bad but the idea is that an individual's property rights are respected.
It goes without saying Tx is a big state with a wide variation in lifestyle, terrain, and weather. You've got lots of choice at reasonable prices especially outside the urban areas. We have a sensible state Govt. which can be our last line of defense if you know what I mean. I paid $1.95/gal. last week for unleaded regular although I see its gone up about 15 cents this week.
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There is a mileage sign on I-10 at Orange TX stating that El Paso is 879 miles on I-10. It takes a very long day to drive across TX. Joe-JDC
LOL, the exit sign at 610 Loop and I-45 N in Houston just says "Dallas" and and arrow. 250 more miles, there you are.
Otherwise I don't believe there are any other zoning laws in the state. That can be good or bad but the idea is that an individual's property rights are respected.
Yes, there are - but you being in Houston where they didn't - or don't - means you don't see it. Houston is famous for a grocery store, mechanics shop, horse stall, biker bar and a house in the same block. Which is why nearly EVERY subdivision there has an HOA, to prevent that from happening, because the county never bothered. They all have water districts because the county doesn't do that either. Or didn't when we were there. And street light funds, maybe street repair assessments, etc. Elsewhere, there are plenty of zoning restrictions and such. I had to get a variance here to build our shop because of the size I wanted. Same in NM, if you want to have a pretty decent sized accessory building you better look for R-1 zoning. Cities are typically heavily restricted in accessory building sizes in both appearance, sq/ft, height and percent of lot size, and some counties do the same. Code enforcement and permits are required. If you intend to do the car guy thing of a 1200 sq/ft house and a 1400 sq/ft garage, better check your intended landing zone first. Or don't land in larger cities, land on a 1/2 acre or better outside of town.
Hot dry west of Fort Worth and trees get scrubbier as you go west, hot muggy east of Fort Worth also greener and bigger trees towards the Piney Woods area, not as hot and super gummy Houston south. Winter in Houston means you only need to mow every other week. Here in the middle west it's normal to have 30 or so days above 100 in summer. It was 70 on Sunday here, freezing rain today and it'll be 9 this coming Saturday night. In spring, 40+ MPH winds here in the west does not mean there's a storm, it just happens. You can lose a windshield in a day out in Midland. The big wind turbines have software controls that will feather out the blades when the wind speed gets too high. In Amarillo you should probably invest in a wind turbine as the wind blows constantly and there is only a barb wire fence between there and the Rocky Mountains, and the fence is down.
And yes, most things bite, scratch and generally annoy you. Cut a Mesquite and the next branch that grows will have 1~2" long thorns that go through leather (and tires, boots, shoes, etc) like a surgical needle. Somebody killed a rattle snake about two blocks over last week. We live in town, not in the country BTW. We've had a big one on the back porch, so you don't just glide out the door without looking first. Wasps are an annoyance to me, but send others into anaphylactic shock. Brown reclusive widow makers and copper mouth water rattlers are just part of the landscape.
No place is perfect - it's the people that make life good. And good people are everywhere IMHO.
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No place is perfect - it's the people that make life good. And good people are everywhere IMHO.
That's a true statement, but being a car guy and trying to be self reliant does not sit well with most 'good' neighborhoods. I'd be kicked out of a HOA before I even got a single truck unloaded...lol Not that my property is trashy, I try to keep things tidy, but self reliance and a sparkling clean property do not typically go together.
The last place I lived at was in the country, FIVE MILES outside of a very small town (about 1000 pop. max). It had one out building that was surrounded by 2 acres of farm land that was purchased with the house. I wanted to let the land settle for a couple of years so that I could plant grass and trees and make a drive to the outbuilding for storage. I also had 2 vehicles HID BEHIND the out building, that you could just barely see from the road, which was about 100 yards from the building. Being a very old farm house, I did quite a bit of landscaping around the house, improving its looks by quite a bit. No matter....after less than 8 months of letting the farm land settle, so the land would be smooth and much easier to mow without beating my tractor to death, I get a letter from the local zoning commission saying that if I didn't mow the land and get rid of the vehicles, that I'd be fined X amount per day, taken to court, and that they would mow it and charge me for it. It was a HUGE mistake on my part by assuming it wasn't zoned since it was so far removed from any local town. There were some real a-holes that sat on the zoning commission, and they didn't give a squat as to what my plans were, even if it would have made the property much more valuable and eye pleasing. I sold the place as soon as I could and got out of there. Live and learn! ::)
Funny ending though, I sold the place to a family that consisted of 3 generations of welfare recipients under the same roof. Within 2 years, they lost the house and it sat idle for several years while the property went to hell. The commission probably still blames me, which just makes me smile...lol
I understand the desire for HOA and zoning commissions, but I hate 'em.
If I did move, I'd have to sell off most of what I had, otherwise it'd take 10 semis to move everything. A lifetime of about 20 hobbies adds up to a lot of stuff. Narrowing that down to just a few is what I'm currently doing, still got about 6 cars to sell that are very savable, but selling off my Dads and mines collection of car parts is going to take at least a few years. Lots of '40s-'60s NOS and used car parts to deal with that would not be conducive to moving.
Anyway, thanks to everyone for the input, and I hope Diogenes isn't upset for me taking over his thread. Hopefully some of that info helped him as well.
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Be sure to watch out on the property taxes even in the same county, school and MUD9 (water, sewer, & trash) taxes can be a real deal killer. The last time I checked areas around Katy, the tax rate was approaching $5 per $1000. I don't know if all counties do, but you can freeze the tax rate on your homestead at a certain age, 65, I think. The school district website will have a host of information about the area it encompasses.
Talk to you car insurance person too. Harris county is high. I understand two counties away in any direction gets a lot better.
Check the elevations of where you want to be since flooding can be a big issue in some areas. Home owners insurance will be high on the coast..... have you been through a hurricane?
No Scorpions to deal with in Houston, but plenty of other flying critters.
You forgot Deer Season, when you were listing seasons in Texas. I am in Montgomery County North of Houston, West of Conroe. if you want to be somewhat close to Houston, check Montgomery County and Grimes County
You didn't mention what type of terrain you're looking for either. The east side of the state will get you plenty of trees and flat areas. The farther west you go the tougher the trees get to survive and hills. The north end of the state does have some hills and nice trees. Padre and Mustang Island have nice beaches, Galveston does does not.
You want seasons? Houston has pre-summer, summer, post summer, and winter. Winter starts later this week and runs through March!! I see on the news that our neighbors to the north get all 4 season.
When all else fails street view on google earth can provide a lot of details. Along the bottom of the screen will have the date of the imagery. From aerial view, there is a way to see different points in time for the same location.
I remember riding in the truck to San Antonio as a kid and there not being a lot of traffic at the time. Those days are gone now and that stretch of I-10 is always busy. Find a Buc-ee's, there's all kinds of stuff.... don't let your wife go in!!
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maybe another reason to move to Texas
https://kylebiedermann.com/?ref=email-link&link-id=2990143
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Falcon67 / Chris, thanks for clarifying the zoning. I'm glad to hear other parts of the state have it. I've lived in Harris County and now Montgomery County; neither have zoning outside of the deed-restricted areas.
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Yes, the HOA notes are just to make sure you ask. There are places "in the country" where you can't do everything you like. Ask for deed restrictions, covenants, check the county web sites for zoning info. Other country issues are water availability, sewer or septic and power. A well and septic can easily hit $20K and you can't poop or drink it yet. Lots of wells here (ours - but we're on city water) are high in nitrates which require reverse osmosis to remove for safe drinking. That's not a universal problem. In Wise county, we had good water at about 120'.
You are correct - most HOAs won't cotton a lot of things. You can't change the house paint colors, roof color, etc without approval. Some are more hard-ass than others. I have no problem with the neighbors or code enforcement here, but I keep things clean and don't "circle track" any engines at 11 PM LOL. There is a Jr Dragster guy about a mile away that will text when he hears the dragster start up. When getting a permit for a building, use words like "barn" "storage" etc. Don;t use words like "hot rod" "car repair" "race cars' etc. Every city prohibits almost all sorts of private business in a residential area, with few exceptions.
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All this talk about moving TOO Texas,how about moving FROM Texas TO Colorado.
Cibolo Tx to Canon City Co.
It’s a little late,,house will be done in May...
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maybe another reason to move to Texas
https://kylebiedermann.com/?ref=email-link&link-id=2990143
Yeah every once in a while someone takes it to the extreme. Having guns is something most country folks have and need from time to time. Assault rifles is another thing. A civilian has no need for such a weapon. All they are good for is killing a lot of people quickly. That is it there is no other reason for them to exist. When they get in the wrong hands people die needlessly. Is your personal preference or personal convenience more valuable than someone's life? People have and will continue to own shot guns, pistols and hunting rifles. No one is taking them away and the proposed gun laws I read suported no such thing. Don't let the extremist sway you otherwise without doing your own research.
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"maybe another reason to move to Texas
https://kylebiedermann.com/?ref=email-link&link-id=2990143
Yeah every once in a while someone takes it to the extreme. Having guns is something most country folks have and need from time to time. Assault rifles is another thing. A civilian has no need for such a weapon. All they are good for is killing a lot of people quickly. That is it there is no other reason for them to exist. When they get in the wrong hands people die needlessly. Is your personal preference or personal convenience more valuable than someone's life? People have and will continue to own shot guns, pistols and hunting rifles. No one is taking them away and the proposed gun laws I read suported no such thing. Don't let the extremist sway you otherwise without doing your own research.
[/quote]"
Personally, I think it is a great reason to move to Texas, though unfortunately the bill won't go anywhere.
1. Define "assault weapon".
I only own "defense weapons", regardless of their configuration. There are many things that need to be defended, and some of those things may need to be defended against those that abuse authority and manipulate language and documents in order to achieve their own self-righteous and nefarious ends. These creatures tend to direct those with "assault weapons", and they are the extremists (those who do the directing). Perhaps you may want to investigate the definition of the word "extremist" as well. I'm certain individuals who once wore red coats thought those wearing blue coats were extremists; similarly, those in brown shirts vilified those who tried to resist them as extremists as well. I guess it all depends on which side of the equation you are on, the offender or the offended.
A flag is not sacred, the ideas purportedly represented by a flag are what is truly sacred.
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Well said Diogenes!
It isn't up to others to tell me what I may or may not possess, as long as I am not harming anyone else. The laws on the books from many years ago have served us well, and would continue to do so if they were followed indiscriminately.
I will add that we do not "need" 600-700 HP engines that could harm a family of 5 or 6 in the wrong hands. So we may need a law for assault weapons for engines while we're at it.
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Well said Diogenes!
It isn't up to others to tell me what I may or may not possess, as long as I am not harming anyone else. The laws on the books from many years ago have served us well, and would continue to do so if they were followed indiscriminately.
I will add that we do not "need" 600-700 HP engines that could harm a family of 5 or 6 in the wrong hands. So we may need a law for assault weapons for engines while we're at it.
I figured someone would say that. Look guy's I have my own faults, that is why I try to live by the principal of for the common good. It does interfere with what I want at times but it was written in our manual thousands of years ago and does not change. Check your history of cities and world powers that were destroyed for their ways. If they were never to be inhabited then that is the way it is and still is to this day. Our short 300 year on this continent has no bearing on what the principal we are expected to live by. I tend to get a irritated when someone reads a Facebook post or a web site and assumes Texas is a bunch of gullible and unreasonable gun toters. It is my home state and I am not ashamed to live there. If you guys go out and meet folks in person you'll see people in this country are basically the same.
Most of us have spent our time in jail for breaking the laws of the common good and this is no different. If people refuse to do what benefits everyone they need to be made to do so.
EDIT: I'll quit now.
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If people refuse to do what benefits everyone they need to be made to do so.
EDIT: I'll quit now.
That is one messed up statement. So who decides who is "made" to, and who "everyone" is? You?
You should have quit the sentence before that statement, because you just threw out the entire Bill of Rights in that statement.
And I'm not going to get into your definition of "assault weapon", because it's ludicrous and uneducated. If you want to bring Christianity into it, then what you're suggesting is that we should just let another country walk in and take over, because "Thou shalt not kill"...right?
I imagine this thread will be locked now, and probably rightfully so.
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I imagine this thread will be locked now, and probably rightfully so.
Yep. No politics or religious topics here, guys...