Thinking of selling my house and moving to Texas

[Oz-of-Cowboy-Country]

Chemical operator. I operator blenders

LOL-- Now you're going to have the less than knowledgeable thinking you're a bartender.

 

[catiii]

Just remember this about Texas seasons:

No real seasons unless you're in ther panhandle. No fall colour. (No one plants maples and sweetgums like New England.) Looong HOT summers. Also everything in TX is SO spread out. Nothing is close unless you're in a small town. It can take 1-2 hours to get across DFW or Houston and the traffic now is like rush hour all day. If I had the money I'd move to New Zealand and never come back. In fact, on my holiday there, I may decide not to use the return ticket.

 

[Rockport]

In a few years. Does anyone know any good operator or chemical operator jobs there? I have three years of experience. I’m Looking for a fresh start in Texas.

I sold my house and got the hell out of that place. Lots of those jobs in the Houston area but that’s the worst part of the state.

 

[csirl]

I live in Dallas and my property tax bill is 23k this year....and is supposed to go up next year 10%.
.

That's unreal. With property taxes that high, if you had income tax everyone would be btoke!

 

[VaqueroTD]

I'm thinking of moving away from Texas. I've lived here my entire life and at 50 I'm ready to live the second part of my life someplace else. Texas is a good state with good people but it has a lot of problems ranking 36th economically, 48th in health care, and 33rd in education. We're more interested in removing books than teaching kids how to read them here.

Also for the second biggest acreage state in the U.S. we rank an insane 45th in public land access with only 4.2% of the total state. Texas boasts itself as a great outdoors state but that's only true if you can afford to hunt and fish on private land. The very small portion of public land access we have is in the form of overcrowded state and national parks run by a gestapo parks service. New York has more public access land than Texas.

The weather sucks. You get two seasons here only. Summer, which is blazing hot, dry as a bone, and searing wind. I've had 70 days over 100° this year so far and have had a total of 7.8 inches of rain for the year. Then you have winter which is pretty much the same except it gets down to around 50°. When we do get the rare winter storm it shuts our state down entirely, people die, and our elected officials all point fingers at each other and change nothing.

It's a big state and getting anywhere takes time. I'm 6 hours away from my son going to school in Nacogdoches, 5 hours from Dallas, 4 hours from Austin, 6 hours from Houston, 7 hours from El Paso, and 5 hours from Amarillo. I have to add a travel day to my itinerary just to get to an international airport and leave my state.

There's obviously a lot to love about Texas. It's the best foodie state in the U.S. period. The culture is fantastic with a great mix of Tex, Mex, German, and Asian communities throughout. People really are friendly and willing to help out a neighbor here. Lastly we've got an HEB and a Whataburger on every corner and every Cowboys game including preseason is televised.

I don't mean to dis the state I've lived in my entire life, these are just some of the things that bother me as a resident and that you should consider before moving. They say everything is bigger and better in Texas but it's simply not. I'm personally looking at Boise Idaho where we spend a lot of time or north eastern Arkansas as places I can best escape what I despise most...other people.

Just say NO. To Texas.

I was considering moving back one day but when you put it like that….

I do hate those hot summers and you’re right that urban planning is a huge mess there everywhere. Just another LA now in Dallas and HTown, and Austin has copied all the wonderful problems of Seattle and Portland without the great scenery.

 

[Rockport]

Yeah, Jersey kills their residents with all sorts of taxes.

Texas does have really high property taxes though.
The huge workaround is if you get property and put a couple of animals on it, then taxes go WAY down as you get the "farmer" discount.
Of course, no income tax is very nice.

I live in Dallas and my property tax bill is 23k this year....and is supposed to go up next year 10%.
You do get a homestead exemption, which helps some.
When my youngest is out of high school (and my oldest finishes up at U of Texas) we are moving out to the country or to another state.

That must be a multi-million dollar house.

 

[Cowpolk]

Texas is closed. Please don't move here.

If I decide to move back can I do that?

 

[Hardline]

If I decide to move back can I do that?

How do you vote?

 

[Cowpolk]

Sounds like it's a pretty big state.

We did not have Lakes here so We built them I live in Oklahoma now but it use to be part of Texas So I am still a Texan

 

[Cowpolk]

How do you vote?

 

[Cowpolk]

Just remember this about Texas seasons:

No real seasons unless you're in ther panhandle. No fall colour. (No one plants maples and sweetgums like New England.) Looong HOT summers. Also everything in TX is SO spread out. Nothing is close unless you're in a small town. It can take 1-2 hours to get across DFW or Houston and the traffic now is like rush hour all day. If I had the money I'd move to New Zealand and never come back. In fact, on my holiday there, I may decide not to use the return ticket.

I moved to Idabel same results Aint nuthin close to big city life happening here

 

[CouchCoach]

Yeah I’m ready for something new. I’m tired of the people in my area. Plus I want lower taxes.

I moved and voila, found out those people I was tired of had family where I moved. AND I suspect in-breeding.

 

[Longboysfan]

My wife and I have talked about moving to Texas as well. I am retired and she is getting there. We want a low tax situation. I live in NJ, and trust me, you do not know what property taxes are until you live in the NY/NJ area. NJ has the highest median property tax collected and the highest average tax rate. Plus, home prices are very high so the taxes are outrageous. We also have high sales taxes, income taxes, inheritance taxes, taxes on gas, booze, and just about anything else that exists. Property in general is cheaper in Texas.

I have visited Texas on business a bunch of times and it is visually different than where I live now. For one thing it is very flat and open. You don't have winters the way we do, although I was there once when there was an ice storm and it was pretty awful. No offense but you guys are not prepared for that the way we are in the North East.

NJ has it points, but they are few and outweighed by all the negatives. We will definitely move one day, but choosing the place to go has been difficult.

I moved to Texas from N.J. about 9 years ago.
Best area like Jersey is East Texas.
Summers are not a beast in the East.
Yes. Ice storms but gone in a few days. At best only one a year.
Love it here......
Taxes way lower....
Sell house there get bigger house for same $$$ here.

 

[Runwildboys]

I moved to Texas from N.J. about 9 years ago.
Best area like Jersey is East Texas.
Summers are not a beast in the East.
Yes. Ice storms but gone in a few days. At best only one a year.
Love it here......
Taxes way lower....
Sell house there get bigger house for same $$$ here.

That sounds perfect!

 

[Longboysfan]

We’re paying close to 14 grand property tax in Bergen county.. It’s crazy!

Same for me - I still own home there.

 

[Longboysfan]

That must be a multi-million dollar house.

Yes. Our home is 2600 sq. ft. 4200 in taxes.

 

[Creeper]

Same for me - I still own home there.

I am in Bergen county too. We would be looking to downsize, not get a bigger house. But the taxes in NJ, the highest in all 50 states, are really bad. It is just silly to keep paying them after retirement.

 

[Longboysfan]

I am in Bergen county too. We would be looking to downsize, not get a bigger house. But the taxes in NJ, the highest in all 50 states, are really bad. It is just silly to keep paying them after retirement.

Can't you lock in your tax on the house sometime - If your still the primary resident?

 

[Flamma]

Southeast Texas and Southwest Louisiana have a lot of industrial plants. So work shouldn't be hard to find in those areas.

Texas does not have state income taxes, but they have property taxes. Louisiana does not have property taxes, but they have state income taxes. So there are a couple of people that stay in Louisiana, but work in Texas. Just something to think about.

Now I know where to retire.

 

[Creeper]

Can't you lock in your tax on the house sometime - If your still the primary resident?

Not sure what that means. My town is actually one of the ones with lower property taxes. But they are still much higher than other states. I hear people complain they are paying $6000 in property taxes and I laugh. I would literally move out of state to reduce my taxes to $6000. But we also pay a top rate of 10.75% in income taxes, over 6.625% in sales taxes, we have annoying and expensive tolls on our highways and bridges. It is absurd how much we are taxes in NJ. Where does it all go?