Should I move to TX (Instead of AZ??)

[1stFreedom]

I'm thinking about packing up from NY and moving out to Texas. But before I consider moving out there, I want to make sure I'm not moving to another Kalifornia or New York.

What is the political climate like? Is it conservative? Republican?

What are the philosophical undertones of the population? Conservative? Liberal?

How about the faith of the population? Is there a large Catholic [faituful] population?

How are the gun laws? Open carry?

Income tax? Corporate Tax?

Is the State homeschool friendly?

How organized are Freepers out there?

What is the best place to find employment for IT workers?

What is the best place to move to avoid allergies?

Is the state moving towards the left?

Is it as dry as Arizona?

[Lanza]

I can't forget the Arts. The Houston Grand Opera is wonderful. Renee Fleming just recently performed here. We have a wonderful theater district where I just saw MaMa Mia at our new Hobby Center.

Then there's sports. The Houston Astros, Texans, Rockets. The Superbowl is coming too.

Finally, you haven't been to anything until you go to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. It goes on once a year for about two weeks. I saw Elvis there in 5th grade.

[mylife]

The whole State looked neat as a pin.
????

This is not one of TX's Strong points. 'nuff said

[cubreporter]

Actually, Texas and Arizona both have wonderful qualities. So does Santa Fe but very expensive. We liked Santa Fe becuase of the closeness of the community. Felt very good there. I think you have to spend some time in places before you can make such a big decision. Unless you were military like we were...then you just up and went and learnd to cope and fit into the community who usually welcomed us with open arms. We were always skeptical of our new assignment but when it was time for us to leave that assignment...we were sad and once again skeptical of the next assignment. Whichever one you choose, go into it with a positive attitude and the idea of learning about the history and cultures and go see as much as you can to really get to know the state. Good luck on your final decision.

[Porterville]

Depends;

Don't move to east Texas...there ain't nothin' there; consider the towns outside of Austin or San Antonio; College Station only has bars, Dallas only has malls and bars.

Consider moving to Flagstaff if you're headed to AZ, Phoenix is a pretty smoggy town.

[RichardW]

We moved to Palestine, Texas two years ago from southwest Missouri in an effort to get away from the snow and ice in the winter. It gets marginally hotter here but I don't mind it. Right here the price of real estate is very reasonable but I expect that will change once the word gets out.

Tyler is just up the road and as I recall it was ranked #3 on the best small cities in the U.S. Personally I like Dallas over Houston which is so big it might as well be Los Angeles. Dallas is like a wide spot in the road compared to Houston. But I like small towns and this is why we retired here, to a town of 18,000. The whole county is only 55,000 and there is beautiful scenery everywhere. Just mind kind of heaven on earth. I'm never leaving.

We been all over the U.S. and considered the West but it is simply too expensive and cold in the winter. I visited the New England states but couldn't see what all the fuss was about and couldn't say it was any prettier than the Ozarks where we lived for 26 years.

West Texas of course is different but a long way away from here. But nobody lives there as the rainfall is too sparse.

As I stated, we made a terrific decision to move here and ain't going anywhere.

[Walkingfeather]

LOL! Me too.

[Torie]

The advantage of Prescott is that it is a cute town (Flagstaff is a mess), and just an hour's drive down to Phoenix if you want the big city (Flagstaff is a longer way to anywhere urban), or your toes get a bit too cold in the winter and your need to warm them up. Add an extra hour or two for Flagstaff. Plus Flagstaff is colder in the winter. Prescott is only about 5,000 feet elevation (just enough to cut the summer heat without getting too cold in the winter, while Flagstaff is 7,000 feet, and a bit farther north). Plus Flagstaff is more liberal, for those who care.

[snopercod]

I lived in AZ for a few years and thought it was like a police state. Highway Patrol every few miles on every road in the state, handing out speeding tickets as fast as they could write them.

I have lived in a number of states and always had a good driving record until I moved to AZ, then I got three speeding tickets within two years. (Like I was a danger to society going 65 in a 55 zone out in the open desert or something...)

[Liberal Classic]

Having lived in Arizona and Texas, I liked them both. Arizona, dry heat up to 120 in Phoenix 20-40% relative humidity. It's rare to get over 110 in Houston, the humidity is 80-90 percent. Arizona has two major climates, desert (Phoenix, Tuscon) and high forest (Flagstaff). Texas as several different climates, the gulf coast is a temperate zone that sometimes feels tropical, western Texas has some desert similar to Arizona, and northern area has high plains like Oklahoma, and lots in between. I don't know much about the religious demographics, except to say Mesa, Arizona has more Mormons than any place outside of Salt Lake City. Both I would consider are somewhat conservative states, both typically cast electoral votes for Republicans, but both have their liberal areas. Arizona seems to have the more Democrats in Tuscon, and Austin Texas seems like a little piece of California sometimes. Both Arizona and Texas are gun-friendly states, both have concealed carry, and as far as I know Arizona still has open carry. Hope you like it hot! :)

[texpat72]

I live in West Texas, and we're lucky if we get 2 inches of rain per year!

[1stFreedom]

I visited my dad while he was at the SGM Major academy there. It was an absolute oven.

[firewalk]

.

[Walkingfeather]

LOL .... and "FIXIN TO.."

[Liberal Classic]

I forgot to add that Arizona has a state income tax which is a percentage of your federal. Texas has no state income tax.

As far as the IT industry goes, Phoenix has grown a lot since I lived there. I imagine there may be some work there, but IT has taken a dip everywhere. America West is based in Phoenix and Continent is based in Houston. I am pretty sure that Texas has a bigger economy than Arizona though, and there are lots of oil companies and IT companies in Texas. Houston has the Texas Medical Center, Austin is a little silicon valley. Dell is in Austin and Compaq is in Houston. Arizona has ASU and UofA with some computer jobs. Texas has UT which is a big school.

Good luck!

[oldtimer]

Texas is a great place to live, but it (like Arizona) is as hotter than the hinges on the doors to hell in the Summer. It has distinctly different climates, different regions, and there is a nest of viper libs in the Austin area fed by the University of Texas sytem.

In Texas we are trying to foster the Hispanic vote because of family values, religion, pro-life, and there are hopes of connecting the dots vs the welfare bs.

I know Arizona pretty well too, both Texas and Arizona have a lot of rednecks, and Arizona has Senator John McLame.

Bottom line for IT Professional any major City in Texas if you can stand the summers.

In Arizona Tucson, Prescott or if you could find a job there: Flagstaff for the cooler climate.

[catherine of alexandria]

>What is the political climate like? Is it conservative? Republican?

I'm in SE Texas. Orange County. Yellow-Dog Democrats, generally conservative. Right next door is Jefferson County, with Beaumont and Port Arthur. Highly liberalised/Democratic.

>What are the philosophical undertones of the population? >Conservative? Liberal?

Since I'm in a one horse town, it's highly Conservative. Churches damn near on every corner.

>How about the faith of the population? Is there a large Catholic >[faituful] population?

There's quite a few of us.

In my county, we don't have quite so many Hispanics as there are Cajuns. Most of them are Catholic. But of course, there are plenty of NO English Masses available in all parishes and quite a few parishes have Spanish Mass. Catholics don't get a lot of flack here in Texas, as they do say in the Deep South. And here you aren't so much in fear of being evangalised to to join the Church of What's Happening Now just because you are RC.

>How are the gun laws? Open carry?

It's kind of weird. CCW lisences available, but you can get into big trouble if you carry a hand cannon. Crossing county lines is a grey area that I have yet to get a good answer on. Some say you can pack heavy going across county lines then others say you can't.

>Income tax? Corporate Tax?

already covered

Is the State homeschool friendly?

already covered

>How organized are Freepers out there?

HAT is one. There are the North Texas Freepers, too, IIRC.

I'm just too far in the sticks to get to organised stuff.

>What is the best place to find employment for IT workers?

already answered

>What is the best place to move to avoid allergies?

Arizona ;)

>Is the state moving towards the left?

Only if you go to a large city and have to mingle around there.

>Is it as dry as Arizona?

I wouldn't know. The furthest I've ever been west in my life is 610 Loop at Bellaire.

If you do decide to come on down, let us know, though. And promptly get thee one of those "I weren't born in Texas but I got here as soon as I could" bumper stickers. And practice the use of "y'all" before you get here. To use it wrong can land you in some serious social trouble.

[Publius6961]

I still have liberal friends and I can chat about the arts and literature.

Damn!
Conservatives aren't allowed to talk about art and literature in Texas?

[Torie]

West Texas in places sort of reminds me of what a landscape might look like after an atom bomb hit it. Totally featureless and lifeless, and monocromatic, with howling winds to remind you of angry gods, corporealized in detached tumble weeds blowing to and fro.

[DeaconBenjamin]

Where?

[Endeavor]

You are way too bright to move to Texas. Please, move to Arizona.

PS: Do your own homework.