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?

[Arkinsaw]

Basically, they just screw up the area that the locals have been happy with for the last 300 years.

Isn't that the truth. Thats where you end up with all those no flag, no fence, "paint your house the color I like", rules.

[U S Army EOD]

Matter of fact, I do have a little Creek blood in me.

[Diddle E. Squat]

What a load of baloney. You have no idea what you are talkng about.

[U S Army EOD]

Plus chain the dog.

[asneditor]

I wouldnt be so sure of that if I was you.

[RikaStrom]

... 'Sides I got Texicans that'll vouch fer me, don't I bro. ;)

If the bribe is of first quality, of course we will. ;-)

[wireplay]

New Mexico is beautiful but it depends on what line of work you do. New Mexico is also more Democratic in mindset but again, I wouldn't say it was liberal.

If you are looking for a better place to live, I owuld suggest Colorado Springs which is ultra-conservative and a great place to live and raise a family.

A number of years back I just said "I don't want to live in the cities anymore". I picked my town and made the work happen. Been happy ever since. I live in Woodland Park, Colorado and moved here from Dallas (and Austin prior to that).

[cowgirlcutie]

As a third generation Texan, I can tell you that Texas has changed ALOT in the last 20 years. There are more liberals here now than there used to be. I homeschooled our daughter for 9 years and can tell you that it is basically friendly towards homeschoolers. With all of the people that have moved here in the last 20 years, traffic has gotten ALOT worse. If you're looking to avoid allergies, you'll have to go to West Texas (Midland for example). My husband and I lived out there for a year and my allergies NEVER acted up while we were there. We don't have state income tax, but every now and then I hear rumors that some idiot in Austin is talking about it. However, my property taxes have gone up EVERY year since we've been here. If you don't want a high auto insurance rate, don't move to the Tyler area. I asked my husband why it is that even though we have had no wrecks and no tickets, our auto ins. rates keep going up and he said that this area has the worst driving record out of all of Texas. Basically, people are friendly. HOWEVER, some of the smaller towns can be a bit clannish. Hope some of this info helps.

[AEMILIUS PAULUS]

Texas is hell! Pure humidity! One swims to work and play.

[buickmackane]

Brilliant idea; hope you won't mind if I steal your thunder long enough to start a thread myself because I'm in a similar boat. Best of luck with your decision!

[Blue Leader]

"Plus you are still moving to an area that will soon be under Mexican control."

That statement is completely false and has no basis in truth. I should know, I live on the border and not far from the Rio Grande.

Texas and America lost control here long ago and the amount of control wielded here by Mexico and the Government of Mexico would defy belief in other parts of the country. This territory is already lost. Prepare a defensive line along the perimeter of any territory still in American hands.

And for all of you Liberals out there........this isn't a joke.

[Kowdawg]

Nothin north of the Red River is close enough. Texans are southern by geography alone. We are a culture unto ourselves.

If it grows, it'll have thorns.
If it crawls, it'll bite.

[FITZ]

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

That depends on what part of Texas ---the area I'm in is very very democrat and very socialist. The Catholic areas are more socialist for some reason.

[sparkydragon]

Thanks in large part to the influx of Mexicans, Texas has a thriving Catholic population.

No state income tax.

The laws are extremely homeschool friendly. The school district cannot require you to test your children to prove that they are learning. They have no authority to approve, or disapprove, or your curricula. You are not required to notify the school district of intent; however, if the truancy officer comes by you do you to provide a letter assuring them that you are educating your child. Obviously, in some places districts like to try to make things difficult, but there's always someone trying to be a pain.

Like all capitol cities, Austin attracts your usual "what can I get the gov't to do for me" types, but so do many large cities and most of the state is pretty conservative.

Pick your climate. If you like trees, try east Texas, the panhandle if you want to ever see snow, from Austin south gets you a excessive heat upwards of 100 most of the summer (from May through Sept.), and west Texas gets you all the sand and cactus you could ever hope to see in your life. All of Texas is a steambath.

I love Texas, everyone should live here.

[dgallo51]

As a life long resident of the People's Republic Of Minnesota, I do travel frequently to DFW to visit. The summers are hot and pretty humid and the storms can be bigger than life, as my car will testify to after taking a pounding of 2-3 inch sized hail, but I have found the people warm and outgoing, and the Liberals tend to cluster around the larger metro areas. Arizona is less humid and I believe you'll find it's climate more politically conservative as there are still a few Great Society Democrats in Texas, I would recommend a few field trips to check for yourself.

[AEMILIUS PAULUS]

Besides Texas is humid! California went about ten years ago.

[walden]

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

Quite conservative, Governor Perry is Republican, but our Democrats are more like Republicans anyway.

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

Conservative in the suburbs and rural areas, liberal in the cities.

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

This is the bible belt. There are plenty of Catholics, but all faiths are represented (within 5 miles of my home in the 'burbs south of Houston, we have Catholic, Episcopal, Lutheran, Methodist, Mormon, & a couple of others. Mega-churches (mostly evangelical) are popular, but I would guess Southern Baptists are most numerous.

"How are the gun laws? Open carry? "

Shall issue concealed carry, after a short training course.

"Income tax? Corporate Tax?"

No income tax individual or corporate, minimal registration tax on corporations (I forget what it's called), property tax is at local level, sales taxes about 8.25% plus lottery funds state.

"Is the State homeschool friendly? "

Seems to be, we've had several such families in my smallish condo complex.

"How organized are Freepers out there? "

Don't know.

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

Austin is good, Houston is good, don't know about elsewhere but would guess Dallas is also good.

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

Don't know. Houston area seems to be bad for a lot of allergic people.

"Is the state moving towards the left? "

No way.

"Is it as dry as Arizona?"

Only in West Texas.

[U S Army EOD]

I actually lived on a boat for seven years. I wished I had never moved off.

This is actually the solution. Live on a boat. If you don't like where you are at, untie the dock lines and take off.

PS. A leaky basement can be a serious problem.

[MatthewViti]

Australia sounds good right now. The US is rapidly turning into a immigration cesspool.

[FITZ]

That's the truth --- Texas is so big that people in the conservative areas don't realize how close they are to getting a state income tax ---the border area is for the most part in the control of Mexico ---you've got welfare rates of about 50% in many of the border counties ---and that figure is climbing fast.