Advice on the best place to live in Texas?

Question

I am looking for somewhere the stays warm year round, affordable homes, great jobs with a large universiy, close to lakes,
low crime, golf, good diversity. Any advice on a place where I can go in Texas. Thanks

Answer 1

You're basically describing Austin.

Warm year round-check, but it does get alittle cold sometimes in the winter

Affordable homes-check, most of Texas is relatively affordable with the exception of some pricey neighborhoods in Dallas and Houston.

Great jobs with a large university-Austin is tech hotbed plus there's UT right in the middle of downtown. Plus, the state government provides plenty of work from clerk jobs to state commisioners and politicians (of course).

Close to Lakes-Lake Travis, Town Lake, and a couple of others

Golf-pretty sure they got top notch facilities considering the education level overall in Austin plus those politicians living there need something to do.

Diversity-hmm...check I guess. The town is mainly Anglo but Texans of all ethnicities live in Austin. Plus, Austin is definitely "the weirdest" city in Texas. Ironically, the capital of Texas is probably the most "unTexan" city in the state.

Go with Austin if you can find a job here. The jobs are awesome but the market is very competitive b/c grads from the huge UT campus pour out every semester.

Answer 2

Austin is a great town. It's the state capital, so there is a lot going on in the city. It has some nice lakes, golf and has UT Austin. The pay scale in the Austin area is a little higher than many other cities in Texas. Dell computers is there, so you have the high tech industry playing a part in the mix. As far as warm all the time...well, this whole area was just shut down for a couple of days because of the ice storm this week. So while is is pretty warm most of the time, we do have an occassional cold day.

Answer 3

You will be looking in the Dallas Metro area with your criteria. Check out Richardson and Plano which are suberb cities of Far North Dallas.

Richardson is home to a number of golf courses, including Canyon Creek Country Club which is within a half mile of University of Texas Dallas (UTD). This or the Plano location (they are side by side) are within 30 minutes of 3 lakes and within 60 of many many more. Each of these cities boasts low crime, diversity, golf, fishing, much higher scores than the national average and best of all, still have great values on home prices.

Also, unlike Houston, Austin and San Antonio, these areas of metro Dallas have much lower humidity and pretty nice temps all year long.

Answer 4

I think that you would like Plano, TX it has everything you are asking for UNT at Dallas and there are several lakes from a less than an hour to just a few hours away. The homes are also very affordable right now. Golf is also right around the corner in Addison 5 minutes away and jobs are still increasing

Answer 5

Corinth, Texas. Close to everything. Lake Lewisville is very close for those who like fishing and water skiing. Very low crime rate, one of the three lowest in the country.
We moved here from WNC and love it. My health improved within 30 days after moving here.
Great colleges and Universities in near by Denton and Dallas/FW area.
Housing prices are very reasonable.
Can't say that it is warm year round but heck if you don't like the weather in Texas , stick around a day or so , it'll change.

Answer 6

Bryan/Copllege Station
Austin/Round Rock/San Marcos
Corpus
San Antone/New Braunfels
Kerrville/Bandera
Huntsville (north of Houston)
Ft. Worth/Mineral Wells

Check out Texas State at San Marcos- you're close to Austin which is a hub for everything

Answer 7

Define "diversity?"

If you want a warm but not too sticky climate, affordable living, a very low unemployment rate, low crime, a large university (Texas A&M), golf, and lakes I'd recommend College Station, Texas. Nice, friendly people who say "Howdy" to everyone.

Answer 8

Take a look at the San Marcos area around Texas State University. That would be my first choice. Or Stephen F. Austin University. Or Baylor in Waco, Texas. In addition there are campuses of Texas A&M in areas like Galveston and some UT campuses around the state.

Answer 9

Theer is not a city in Dallas that does not have seasonal weather changes.
The only city that meets everything else you want is Denton or Little Elm with Lake Lewisville and UNT. I'd pick up a tract home at Savannah. Play my golf at Plantation. Shop at Stonebriar. Go to the games at UNT GO MEAN GREEN BTW
Good Luck

Answer 10

Austin is Awesome!! I've been here almost 10 years and love it. We have one, maybe two cold spells a year (I haven't seen snow in 10 years). The University of Texas at Austin has about 60,000 students, and there are several other Universities and Colleges in the area. Plenty of jobs--check out yahoo hot jobs or monster.com, or look in our local newspaper, austin360.com. Outdoor recreation is awesome--numerous lakes and rivers in the area. It's just an awesome place with friendly folk. We'd love to have you for a neighbor. Come on down, the water's fine.

Here are a few links you might find interesting:

http://www.austinlinks.com/reference.html

http://austin.about.com/

http://austin.citysearch.com/

http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/police/currentcrimeinfo.htm

http://www.schoolmatters.com/

http://moving.move.com/move/Tools/SalaryCalc.asp?poe=homestore

http://austin.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2006/09/18/daily41.html?b=1158897600^1350598&surround=etf

http://www.news8austin.com/content/your_news/default.asp?ArID=171463

http://austin.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2006/10/23/daily6.html?b=1161576000%5e1364972&surround=etf

http://www.statesman.com/search/content/business/stories/realestate/10/24/24homesales.html

And, by the way, I'm a Realtor® in Austin, so if you need any help relocating, contact me. Look for me on ZipRealty.com (find an agent-Doug Cook)

Good luck on wherever you decide to relocate.