TEXAS: This one is for those who live there now or have lived there

[scfr]

Hello all current or former Texans,

In 2007 we are planning to relocate to Texas. We can choose to live anyplace because we are self-employed (work from home) and can live anywhere. We have decided to relocate to a place where housing is much cheaper and the cost of living is lower, and that is why we decided on Texas.

My first question is one of opinion: If you could live anywhere in Texas, where would you live and why?

My second question is about weather: I noticed that there are a lot of weather-related deaths in Texas. What sort of weather is killing so many Texans?

I also have some questions about sales taxes: Does the sales tax apply to all items, or are some items (such as food) exempt? I read somewhere that there is a Sales Tax Free Day - Is that true, when is it, and does it actually pay off to shop on that day or do retailers just use it to increase sales?

Thanks!

[LuxLiving]

Oh I would want to live somewhere close to Round-Top!!! The bluebonnets are so pretty there! Looks like it would be nice and peaceful most of the year. If you aren't a junque'r then you'd want to schedule your vacations for April and October to miss the antique crowd, but such a pretty area!!

I believe groceries are not taxed in Texas!

~LLFrugalis, not a Texan

[Fizgig]

Hands down - Austin.

It has beautiful rolling hills and a milder climate. The people are happy and friendly, there's lots of local art, music, and culture.

The weather deaths are usually heat related, and sometimes from flash flooding. I wouldn't stress out about either.

The sales tax is not applied to groceries, but it is charged at restaurants and on alcohol. the "Tax Free Holiday" is only for clothing items under $100, and is in early August. It's mostly used to promote back to school shopping, but I don't bother shopping on that weekend. Too crowded.

[scfr]

Originally Posted by Fizgig

Hands down - Austin.

It has beautiful rolling hills and a milder climate. The people are happy and friendly, there's lots of local art, music, and culture.

And the winner is ... Austin! My husband just returned from there this evening (he went to check it out), and he said it is great.

[gackle]

I think you'll enjoy Austin. It has a large bat population which keeps the mosquitos down significantly. And the others are correct - it is very beautiful there with the rolling hills. San Antonio (Sea World, river walk, Schlitterbahn waterpark, the Alamo, etc) is about 1.5 hrs away.
Since we're on a saving money website, I have heard that they are trying to make some of the freeways around Austin into tollroads, which seems to be the norm here in Texas. Even though we pay gas taxes for our roads they don't seem to have enough money for them. But I digress.... Here's what they're trying to do:
More info can be found here.

[scfr]

Thanks gackle - The link did not work tho'.
Are the roads in red going to be the toll roads?

[gackle]

Sorry about that, scfr. Yes, the roads in red are the proposed toll roads. Maybe the link will work this time.

[JanH]

My DD lived in Austin for a time and will probably return there if she is able. My hairdresser also has a vacation house in Austin. They all seem to really love the Austin area. We live on the texas coast and if you love heat, bugs, humidity and hurricanes, this is the place for you. But the Austin area seems like a really nice place to be. You might want to check out what the weather is in the summertime because we picked the job in this part of texas years ago in winter without checking what the summer weather was like. Wasn't prepared for the extremes. Congrats on your move! I think you'd like the area.

[Duchesse]

Are you going to raise cattle or goats? I heard both are great work at home jobs.

[Broken Arrow]

I heard that you don't have to pay state income tax in Texas.

Is that true?

Because, if so, that alone is enough for me to want to move there.

[shengmei]

Texas has one of the highest rates of sales taxes. However, you can collect all of your receipts at the end of the year and then deduct your sales taxes from your income taxes.

The annual Tax Free Weekend is in August. It is tons of fun and retailers always have tons of 75% off clothing to correspond with the event.

I live in College Station. It is a very nice town to live in.

The heat is a killer. The winters are quite mild.

[scfr]

No state income tax; same thing where I currently live (Washington).

Sales tax is virtually the same as where I live now --- very high (over 8%), but groceries are exempt.

Property tax is quite a bit higher percentage-wise from where I live (more than double), but with the cost of homes being about half, we expect to end up paying just a bit more in property taxes.

[scfr]

Originally Posted by shengmei

I live in College Station. It is a very nice town to live in.

College Station is actually a town we looked in to. They were recently rated the most undervalued real estate market in the country. So, shengmei, if that rating is true and you own a house, look for your home's value to shoot up! That is what happened in El Paso a year or two ago.

[gackle]

Originally Posted by shengmei

I live in College Station. It is a very nice town to live in.

Not to mention it is home to the greatest university in the world! Gig 'em Aggies!

[JanH]

I talked to DD last night and she said that she really liked living in the north austin area. There are also nearby communities like Round Rock that are nice. She said that you just have to deal with a lot of traffic, but that can be in all bigger cities.

[normanleonard]

All my x's live in texas