DO NOT GO TO EL PASO. El Paso is not Texas. It is California. Or maybe Mexico. Seriously. You will find no more conservatives there than in Seattle. (To give persepctive, El Paso is closer to San Diego than Houston.)
It's not even in the same time zone as the rest of the State.
If you are looking for low humidity, think Lubbock or Midland (home of George and Laura). Do not be put off by the lies regarding sand storms. They happen twice a year, in the Spring. It gets hot, but a dry 100 is a wet 80. Most of the year is moderate. 320+ days of blue sky.
If you want trees outside the city limits, go to a suburb of San Antonio or somewhere else in the hill country.
Dallas is expensive.
Austin is pretty, but makes Seattle look like the founding location of the John Birch society, it is so liberal.
Houston is so wet and hot, it is oppressive. Plus, it is the uglist city in the world.
East Texas is OK, lots of trees, not as hot as Houston, but jobs are scarce (compared to the rest of Texas).
Thinking further, Plano, or one of the towns North or East of Dallas (say Granbury) might be good.
This area is very expensive for Texas(probably not by Seattle standards), relatively temparate, and has a huge metroplex (DFW) close by.
But, taking Midland for example, you could get a 4,000 sq newish construction house, with all the frills (granite kitchen, Viking ovens, 3 car garage) for less than $300,000 in a great neighborhood. Same thing near Dallas would be $500,000. In Houston suburb (not "in the loop"), t would be $400,000.
I'd agree with you on the first, but not on the second. Properly, "Houston" is about 40 miles square, and you can find all kinds of pretty areas all over, as well as ugly areas best driven by quickly.
For ugly, I'd pick El Paso first and San Antonio second. How SA has managed to sell a shallow, dirty drainage ditch as a "Riverwalk" is beyond me. However, it's also home to a wonderful "San Antonio Folk Life Festival" which I'd strongly recommend.
You forgot to mention cicadas in Lubbock! Are you getting them this year? The cicadas were out when we took our oldest son to orientation at Texas Tech. The whole campus was humming -- almost vibrating. It was eerie. I think they only come out every seven years. It was sort of neat.
I'll second that. The Piney Woods are beautiful but there's nowhere to work. And the payscales are rock bottom.
The exception to that is if you are a nurse or doctor.
There are many affluent retirees out here who need health care.