What do you love about Texas?

[ladylove]

I grew up in TX and really want to get DH onboard about moving back. He just complains about the heat and lack of outdoor activities (which is not true - the activities are just different than in the NW).

So, what do you love about living in TX?

If you could leave TX, where would you move to and why?

[AFWife]

I love that the winters are fairly mild in comparison to other states.

The amount of pride that Texans take in their state is fairly neat as well.


Things I hate: fireants

I loved living in Colorado...fall was beautiful

[almadianna]

I love the freedom to be a homebirthing, homeschooling hippie.

We have very lax laws when it comes to homeschooling, and we have a great many homebirthing midwives in the state. I like the weather though it is AWFUL for my allergies.

I would actually move to the PNW if I left Texas because I love the mountains and the climate (yes I really do like it).

[Tangled Hill]

I love the ease of homeschooling in Texas.

If I could move anywhere in the US? Oregon - rocky beaches and real forests <swoon>. Still, down here, the winters are generally mild, and that's nice. Also, we live in the Austin area, so we're surrounded by a lot of like-minded folks. That counts for a whole heck of a lot.

[AFWife]

Originally Posted by almadianna

I love the freedom to be a homebirthing, homeschooling hippie.

Totally. We have Reasons of Conscience vax exemption

[ps4624]

I'm really new to Texas, but so far I love the libraries, parks and recreation and the rumors of really excellent public education. I also loved the snow this winter

[ShwarmaQueen]

Originally Posted by ps4624

and the rumors of really excellent public education.

I'm not sure who misinformed you but we have one of the highest dropout rates in the nation...

Not to mention an extremely conservative board of education that is trying to warp the US history to their agenda- http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/14/ma...history&st=cse


OP- I'm a native Texan and I love it. There's so much history and access to parks anywhere you live. Texans are friendly (mainly) and the food is good too (TEXMEX ).

[almadianna]

Originally Posted by ps4624

I'm really new to Texas, but so far I love the libraries, parks and recreation and the rumors of really excellent public education. I also loved the snow this winter

yeah sorry... but those rumors are just that.

[jenniferadurham]

~I love the homeschooling as well.

~the pride that Texans have for their state

~I love the heat...and I love how mld our winters are..hate cold

~I love that considering how crappy our government is going, if we(texans) wanted to....we can become our own country.

~I love how country it is here, and then you can drive for 30 minutes and it's city

I would never move anywhere else

[AFWife]

If you're a Conservative then Texas is the state for you!

And yeah, the rumors of great public ed are rumors...There are only a few really good schools in the state (and one may be close to you so I can't judge)

[ladylove]

Thanks, ladies!

I think the schools can be quite good (as a graduate of one myself), but it can really vary so much. Just for fun, I know quite a few successful TX public school students. Harvard MBA, Stanford PhD, a few MDs, professional engineers, and a slew of successful lawyers. So - it can be done.

The food...I forgot about the food. If only DH liked enchiladas!

DH works long hours and my family is in TX and sometimes I just really need their support. Week after week of being the only parent 24/7 is hard, esp since I SAH. That alone isn't a good enough reason for him though.

[almadianna]

Originally Posted by ladylove

I think the schools can be quite good (as a graduate of one myself), but it can really vary so much. Just for fun, I know quite a few successful TX public school students. Harvard MBA, Stanford PhD, a few MDs, professional engineers, and a slew of successful lawyers. So - it can be done.

What part of texas are you specifically looking at? I can assure you that the schools are not what you went to when you were young. I too went to Texas schools and while I am what most would consider successful and have post graduate degrees and went to good universities I still would not call texas schools good. In fact I think I might be on the of the only people who have a degree past a bachelor's in my graduating class and I went to a good high school.

Of course I live in Houston, so YMMV if you are in another city of course. We are homeschooling because there is not a school in Houston that I am comfortable sending my kids to. Hence why I looooove how easy it is to homeschool!!

[ShwarmaQueen]

Originally Posted by almadianna

I can assure you that the schools are not what you went to when you were young.

This is absolutely true. I went to good public schools, but especially with the arts being taken out of schools and the widespread writing deficiencies, it's hard to say for sure that DD will have a good education. I had a REAL recess in elementary school, music class, hatched eggs into baby chicks, art class, etc. School was so fun; there was no TAKS (or whatever it is now) to stress us out. I didn't have homework until close to middle school. Things have certainly changed since then (and I'm only 28), my best friend's kindergartener has homework already. Ridiculous!

One other really awesome thing about Texas is it's festivals. We have music festivals, food festivals, etc. nearly year round. Here's a place to find them www.festivalsoftexas.com

[Ann-Marita]

I like the mild winters. I love the beautiful springs, even the thunderstorms. Especially the thunderstorms. Love those incredible fall days where the sky is a dome of clear blue. I know it's a joke, but I like that the Texas weather can change (sometimes dramatically) in a matter of days or even hours.

(I hate, Hate, HATE the intense heat of summer. Last year was the WORST ever. That's one time of year when the weather never changes.)

I like that the Austin area definitely leans more liberal than the rest of the state, and has more diversity in general, probably because of the universities.

I like that homeschooling is well-protected and easy.

I've lived all over Texas, and (when I was attending) the public schools varied wildly in quality. Some were excellent. Some were average (in spite of having loads of money). And some were terrible. The overtly conservative board of education can really muck things up, and has been doing so for more than 30 years.

The colleges can be good. UT is a world-class university. A&M is the place to go if you want to be a veterinarian. Texas Tech, well, Tech is really big on parties (there's little else to do in Lubbock).

If I were to leave Texas, where would I go? Pacific northwest springs to mind, but I would have concerns about the weather. My family lived in Alaska before I was born, and I might want to try it, but if Sarah Palin is any indication, I would have to really consider the political climate. Maybe I could live there just during July and August (when it's SOOOoooo hot down here).

I dislike that it is so very easy to hire someone as a "contractor" but treat them as an employee and not pay the taxes that would be due for employees. This has repercussions in all kinds of ways, including lower wages in many areas, shady businesses get ahead, etc.

By the way, it is Texas Independence Day today (March 2). I love the rich history of Texas, and the many cultures that are found in the region.

Love much of the food. Can do without chili and barbeque (I'm vegitarian). But, yum, gimme a cheese enchilada with verde sauce.

I like that there is so much variety in the land - from the Davis Mountains and Big Bend to the piney woods of east Texas, to the wind-swept high plains, to the grassland prairie. I wouldn't want to LIVE in some of those areas, but it's nice that we have so many places to visit.

[puddle]

What types of outdoor activities is he thinking he'll miss? I live in Austin, and there are millions of trails for hiking and biking. Seems like there's a park in every neighborhood. There's always something going on--a kite festival this weekend! There are zoos and the wildflower center, outdoor concerts and movies, springfed pools, lakes, and public pools that are open for outdoor swimming year round. The outdoor stuff is one of the reasons I love it here!

I love that you can wear flipflops and sundresses about 10 months out of the year and that no one here knows what a snowbrush is. I love that the town pretty much shuts down if there is snow or a lot of ice. I love that the economy here is still relatively strong compared to a lot of the country. I love that everyone in Austin is so supportive of local businesses. I know this post is all about what I love about Austin instead of Texas, but after living a couple of other places in Texas, this is definitely my favorite area.

As far as the heat, he's got you there--but we have great air conditioning too!

[maptome]

I moved back to Texas a couple of years ago from southern California. I love how housing costs are so much lower in Texas. In Austin, I feel like you get a lot for your money. People here are lovely.

[fresh_veggie]

I love Lower Greenville in Dallas...did you guys hear about the fire? So much history lost. Not to mention amazing food. I'll always have the memories, I guess.

I miss Texas. I've been in Utah for 3 years. I miss the outdoor activities (where has your dh been? lol). We also spent a lot of time on the coast and going to state parks.

The state pride is amazing when you meet someone from Texas outside of it. It gives me strength

[Georgetown HB Mom]

Originally Posted by ShwarmaQueen

This is absolutely true. I went to good public schools, but especially with the arts being taken out of schools and the widespread writing deficiencies, it's hard to say for sure that DD will have a good education. I had a REAL recess in elementary school, music class, hatched eggs into baby chicks, art class, etc. School was so fun; there was no TAKS (or whatever it is now) to stress us out. I didn't have homework until close to middle school. Things have certainly changed since then (and I'm only 28), my best friend's kindergartener has homework already. Ridiculous!

I live halfway between Leander and Georgetown. My kids go to the Leander school district. We LOVE it. My oldest is in the 8th grade and we have been here since she was in first grade. This is one of the best school districts in the state if not the country. Arts are very much alive and well here. She was in art class all through elementary school, she also had music class, did the hatching egg thing etc. She had true recess every day. She loved elementary school. Now she is in junior high. She has had a slew of electives to choose from. She did choir in the sixth grade. She has had two years of spanish and that will count for a full highschool credit of language. There is yearbook staff, the newspaper staff, band, art, computer lab, theatre, cheerleading and dance to choose from among other things. She has been on the dance team for the last two years. This year she is an officer. It has been a wonderful experience for her. One of her teachers has a PhD and sat on the admissions board for Harvard. And regardless of what you hear I have not known any kindergartener with tons of homework. My oldest did not have much homework until this year. She is a straight A student, scores off the charts on the TAKs test and is currently in all the top classes. Her math class is a highschool level math class and has been for the last two years. She is doing more advanced math than I did in my freshman college class. She will also be attending the IB program in highschool. This program is only offered at 46 highschools in Texas. The school has to apply and meet the requirements of the IB program. You can read about it here: http://www.ibo.org/. Following highschool she hopes to attend Harvard or Yale.
So, just like anywhere you need to research the area and the school before moving there but we have been extremely happy with our kid's education and I think she is getting a far better education than her homeschooled peers.

Lisa

[ladylove]

Thank you all for the different perspectives.

We lived in Austin pre-kids and loved it. The Eins ISD is the area we would look at. Unfortunately, the job opportunities are more limited in Austin than they would be in Dallas (my 2nd choice). I think parts of Dallas can be really nice.

I agree that there is so much to do outdoors, just not camping/hiking in the heat of the summer. He wants to be near the mountains.

[Emmeline II]

I'm in the NISD and as far as I can tell our schools are as good as my district in NY. Plus, Texas has the largest number of charter school in the country (read that once, don't have a source), and we have applied to one for ds.