[maxwell]

Oh and as long as you're asking, should I move to Texas or New Mexico?

Don't mean to steal yer lime-light, bud, I'm just looking for some genuine opinions...

[twntaipan]

Texas is conservative, by and large, but avoid Austin if that is your precondition (liberal free area--Austin is pretty liberal).

[Dog Gone]

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

How could you not know this already? Seriously.

[AEMILIUS PAULUS]

Texas is more humid than New York. Plus you are still moving to an area that will soon be under Mexican control. This will be an adventure! The whole S.W. is in the process of going under Mexican control.

[DeSoto]

Great questions, I would really like to hear the answers too.

BUMP!

[firewalk]

bttt

[Aliska]

It's too hot down there in the summer. You might miss the changing of the seasons in the north.

[Larry Lucido]

Is it as dry as Arizona?

I hear Galveston gets a few inches of rain a year.

[Sen Jack S. Fogbound]

Texas has no state income tax. It also has Concealed-Carry Gun Law.

The property tax is kinda high. The total Sales Tax in Austin, TX is 8.25%.

Utilities varies but generally reasonable.

Texas has four different climates. Tropical, Plains, Deserts, and Forests. Just stay away from West Texas!

[Pukka Puck]

Yes, move to Texas.

Dallas, Houston, or San Antonio are all good places to live.

There is no hassle from the State to home school your kids and getting a permit to carry a gun is not difficult.

The people are generally friendly, although they do not drive friendly in Houston.

The summer is long and the winter is mild.

The Governor, Senate, and House are all Republicans and even the Democrats are not usually overly liberal.

You can live your live the way you want to live it without a lot of interference from other people.

[U S Army EOD]

Where ever you move, make sure and don't bring New York's problems with you. We have a lot of influx of people from up North in my area in the South. They claim they are trying to get away from the over regulation where they came from.

However as soon as they get here, they try to get on the local city and county boards and recreate the nightmare they came from.

They start with zoneing laws to support the value of the house they have just built and it mushrooms from there. They don't like low income housing being built near them and they want all the ammenities that they left which creates new taxes. They want to increase the standard of living for the area just to satisfy themselves so they can have it just like they left.

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

[Pukka Puck]

Lots of Mexicans, so lots of Catholics.

There are traditional Catholic churches (Latin mass) in Dickinson, TX and Sanger, TX that I am aware of.

[The South Texan]

yes,more later.

[Arkinsaw]

I lived in Dallas for 6 years....I came back to Arkansas. That should tell you something.

Seriously, I would avoid Dallas. I found it to be one of those "screw anyone for a dollar" places. And the traffic was terrible. I found Fort Worth to be a lot better if you are still wanting that area and rural Texas even better still.

[wireplay]

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

Mostly conservative but you have Austin which is fairly liberal. However, Austin has suburbs and they are very conservative. All in all, you will find a conservative population pretty much everywhere. Some hispanic areas are democratic but I wouldn't call them liberal.

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

See above.

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

There are catholics everywhere but the state itself is mostly baptist except in hispanic areas.

Income tax? Corporate Tax?

No income tax. Very high property taxes (but you live in NY).

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

Dallas or Austin.

What is the best place to move to avoid allergies?

San Antonio, definitely not Dallas, Austin, or Houston. Get the shots...they work.Look for cedar and ragweed to be very high. Mold I assume in Houston.

Is the state moving towards the left?

Not a snowball's chance in hell

Is it as dry as Arizona?

Parts are such as El Paso and possibly sw of san antonio. State is pretty humid in Austin, Dallas, and Houston.

[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.

[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!

[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.