possible relocation to san angelo, opinions?

[poisonedapple]

My husband was offered a position in San Angelo, TX. I've been scouring the web since he text me the news, but I really want to know what MDC mamas think of the area.

We are midwestern, homeschool, breastfeed, do not vax, and one daughter is on a lactose free diet due to acid reflux.

So I wonder if anyone is familiar or lives there, if it'd be hard to fit in, if there are homeschool groups there, if organic choices are hard to come by, and if it'd be a good move basically. I've only been to Texas once, Dallas area when I was 8... I rocked out to New Kids on the Block with my cousin, and was warned about fire ants until I was deathly afraid of them.

[dimibella]

It's a pretty small town, so maybe not the most progressive, but I have only been there to visit a few times, so I am totally not an expert. Hopefully some other mamas can give you some real insight.

[mom2annika]

There's a large(ish); large for the area anyway---public university there, maybe that's y'all's connection? It's affiliated with the Texas Tech system now---recent change. Used to be called San Angelo State or "Angelo".

We just moved back to a major metro area from Abilene, about an hour and a half from San Angelo and a little bigger. Abilene is VERY conservative, as in Christian conservative; the three universities there are all church-affiliated. San Angelo might be a little less conservative but it all depends on what you compare it to. Since it's a public university there it should be less so than Abilene. Still, it's a small West Texas town. If you don't mind an uber-religious slant to your homeschooling group, you'd have no trouble finding one. Vax exemptions are pretty easy to take care of in Texas.

I don't know if you'd have trouble finding special dietary items for your daughter or not in San Angelo. Surely lactose-free would be straightforward enough? :headscratch But don't count on finding organic produce or products out there. There are a few natural-food places in Abilene (I think, 2?) My experience was that most people seemed to think of organic as some weird fad from the big cities. I didn't tell people we cloth-diapered either, but when the post office lost my package (of brand-new dipes! ) they didn't believe me when I told them what was in it.

I felt like I didn't fit in out there (meaning W. Texas) and mourned the fact there was no real yoga. (I didn't think fitness yoga was real yoga.) We had problems with fire ants too. There was a LLL meeting in Abilene but it doesn't have a leader right now. I don't think there are any others nearby, unless you drive to Midland maybe. It was a very family-friendly place though, with a very low crime rate, almost no pollution, and very little traffic.

We were there 2 1/2 years. I don't regret living out there but it was a difficult adjustment, to say the least.

GL with your decision!

[darlintxmomma]

Ive lived in san angelo for the majority of my life....moved there when i was 2, moved away at 22 when i got married, moved back at 24 and just moved to san antonio a few months ago for DH's job. all of my family is there and to me, san angelo is HOME!

we cloth diapered my son there, but i made my own diapers or got them off the net. the organic food choice kinda sucks. its what they carry at HEB and walmart mostly. there are 2 nice little health food stores that can order a lot of food items for you if they dont already have them in stock. (i worked at one for 4 years).

i was actually homeschooled myself just for my senior year. i went to a private christian school for most of my schooling but had family health issues and i was able to help out a lot during that time and also still graduated early. there is a homeschool association but i was never a part of it, i just know it does exist.

i have seen women breastfeeding there babies on the benches throughout the mall, but that was also way back in the day. i really havent heard of anyone being against it there (like businesses or shops), but thats just me.

we also did not vax my son and he had the greatest pedi who was willing to not bother us about it. our first ped fired us for not vaxing and i had a fellow military momma recommend Dr G. (at CMA) so i made an appt and he was awesome. hes also who told me (in a round about way) about the exemptions you can get from the state (but i didnt mention i had already ordered mine =) )
he never gave us any grief about not vaxing, was always available when i had a sick kiddo, not an alarmist doc by any means, but still cautious enough to take me seriously when i had a concern.

as for the fire ants...yes they are there but they are NOWHERE near as bad in san angelo as they are in san antonio. i never expected to move down here and have my car invaded (by millions) when i would park in a parking lot or my driveway. that is a little disheartening.
my parents have lived in the same house there for over 15 years now and every year they do put out fire ant killer and it seems to keep things under control. i dont like to put out poison but fire ants are just one thing i dont mess with when having little ones.

all in all it is a GREAT town to raise a family in. low crime, friendly people, the town is growing. its not SMALL...but nothing overwhelming either. counting the small surrounding towns within 10 minutes or so, the population would be right around 100,000.


if you have any other questions let me know. i'll be glad to give you any info i have about the town.

michelle

eta, it is just a 90 minute drive to abilene which has a nice little zoo that i LOVE going to and out west its about 2 hours to midland (another 20 minutes to odessa). its 3.5 hours to san antonio which is close enough for a weekend getaway. i really enjoyed living there.

[paintedmamacita]

My father's side of the family is from San Angelo. And actually my parents met there at the college doing their undergraduate degrees. As a result, I have to occasionally go there for weddings, grandmother's birthdays, funerals, etc. It scares me to death. I'm sorry. I hate it. Now keep in mind, I live in Austin and went to boarding school in London. What I'm saying is that we grew up progressive, liberal, free thinking and traveling. I actually used to drive there and back in the same day (3 hrs each way) just to not spend the night. Maybe it's just my relations, but they think we are crazy for cloth diapering and our planned home birth. It just doesn't make sense to them. Lots of churches there.....I know I don't live there and it's only my opinion. I really don't want to offend anyone from there. Good luck.

[poisonedapple]

Thanks for the responses. We turned it down. It didn't seem like it was going to be a good fit from the responses here, research I did, and so forth.

Thank you all for taking the time to respond, it meant a lot to get perspective from those that are of similar mind.

[mom2annika]

Originally Posted by darlintxmomma

as for the fire ants...yes they are there but they are NOWHERE near as bad in san angelo as they are in san antonio. i never expected to move down here and have my car invaded (by millions) when i would park in a parking lot or my driveway. that is a little disheartening.

eta, it is just a 90 minute drive to abilene which has a nice little zoo that i LOVE going to and out west its about 2 hours to midland (another 20 minutes to odessa). its 3.5 hours to san antonio which is close enough for a weekend getaway. i really enjoyed living there.

How awful to have your car invaded by those mean little ants! Gives me the shivers just thinking about it.

I miss the Abilene zoo too. DD was so disappointed to learn that most zoos WON'T let you feed the giraffes.

[mom2annika]

Originally Posted by poisonedapple

Thanks for the responses. We turned it down. It didn't seem like it was going to be a good fit from the responses here, research I did, and so forth.

Thank you all for taking the time to respond, it meant a lot to get perspective from those that are of similar mind.

Good luck finding the right fit!