Small town living

12,620 Views | 56 Replies | Last: 3 yr ago by cevans_40
vander54
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My wife and I are looking to get away from the city and move our family to a small town. I've been wanting it for years so I'm thrilled

Now we are trying to find a good town that has good schools and is around 3 hours from Austin (family). Oldest is 15 and youngest is 10.

Any suggestions?
AsburyAg
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First - how small is small to you?

You want a one A school? AA? AAA? AAAA?
vander54
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AsburyAg said:

First - how small is small to you?

You want a one A school? AA? AAA? AAAA?


I personally don't care but I'm pretty sure my wife is good with A or 2A as long as a larger town is close by.
cevans_40
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Fayetteville was my dream town. Lived in Bellville and loved it but couldn't afford land in that area. Ended up in East TX on 12 acres and am very happy.
vander54
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cevans_40 said:

Fayetteville was my dream town. Lived in Bellville and loved it but couldn't afford land in that area. Ended up in East TX on 12 acres and am very happy.


End goal is to get a little acreage but not until kids are out of school.
AsburyAg
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3 hours of Austin? That's a pretty wide-open space.

In that plot, La Grange is a nice town. Giddings seems to be, too. Round Top is pretty country.

I've known a lot of nice folks who live in Caldwell, Franklin, Lexington, Madisonville, and Navasota.

Camp Creek Lake outside of Franklin is very nice if you have that kind of budget.
Owlagdad
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There are no Mayberrys anymore.

Sometimes small towns are so tight they are difficult to live in. Sometimes they are full of fools who have come back home to live in trailer house on Mom and Dads place because they have failed elsewhere.

Do your homework-- I did not. One place 3 of the seven on school board were Highs school dropouts.

Consider your kids ,what they want to be involved in, and is it available. Sometimes, what is good for you, is not good for the kids. Check your school test scores, go on line and look at pics of school and people, and faculty. Are their good churches? Stores? Pharmacy? Big town nearby? The above towns seem large enough, and people move in and out with ease. I would say a town of 6,000 to around 15000 would be best. Even a county seat or town with hospital, that attracts people with some sense.

Good luck!

vander54
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Owlagdad said:

There are no Mayberrys anymore.

Sometimes small towns are so tight they are difficult to live in. Sometimes they are full of fools who have come back home to live in trailer house on Mom and Dads place because they have failed elsewhere.

Do your homework-- I did not. One place 3 of the seven on school board were Highs school dropouts.

Consider your kids ,what they want to be involved in, and is it available. Sometimes, what is good for you, is not good for the kids. Check your school test scores, go on line and look at pics of school and people, and faculty. Are their good churches? Stores? Pharmacy? Big town nearby? The above towns seem large enough, and people move in and out with ease. I would say a town of 6,000 to around 15000 would be best. Even a county seat or town with hospital, that attracts people with some sense.

Good luck!




We've been doing our research but trying to get more ideas. There are a lot of towns out there and we are trying to get ideas.

Schools are probably the most important factor and a lot of towns are easy to eliminate because of this.
Dro07
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3 hrs from Austin Palestine and anything less than that isn't east Texas
YouBet
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Does it need to be East Texas? You could be on the coast 3 hrs from Austin.
vander54
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YouBet said:

Does it need to be East Texas? You could be on the coast 3 hrs from Austin.


I would have to sell my wife on it
YouBet
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vander54 said:

YouBet said:

Does it need to be East Texas? You could be on the coast 3 hrs from Austin.


I would have to sell my wife on it


Don't get me wrong; I love East Texas. I'm from Longview.

Just throwing out another option. I'm biased but you could look at a place like Rockport-Fulton. It's in your size parameters and is 30 minutes from Corpus so you have a big city nearby.

Great town. If you like to fish or be outside it's even better.
vander54
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My wife and I have researched and discussed and so far we're thinking Willis/New Waverly or Lufkin.

Of course we still have a few months u til we need to get serious.
FriscoAggieFan
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Research Bullard and Athens
Adding Lindale and Mineola
My wife and I love Mineola
Crockett is also cool - to me at least
Aggie09!
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I will forever think of this when I hear Lufkin.

https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/state/article/Lufkin-planner-fired-for-calling-the-city-an-1357911.php

Quote:

The Lufkin Daily News reported that Cantrell tweeted in March, "Lufkin is an armpit." Months before, he tweeted, "Just waiting for the heat to leave for good. Of course, Deep East Texas will still be a (expletive) hole."
wilhunting
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My wife and I did this exact thing - we wanted out and happily exited the metroplex after 21 years. We moved to ETX and are building a house on Hideaway Lake. Our girls will attend Lindale ISD. We are blessed to be able to do it and happy with the much slower pace and small town environment.
Who?mikejones!
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Nacogdoches over lufkin. Sfa makes it feel bigger than it is. Central heights for school.
vander54
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Wife and I are going to try to make it down there this summer. We'll probably check out both Lufkin and Nacogdoches to get a feel

My only issue is Lufkin is already 3.5 to 4 hours from my parents (Leander) and we were trying to keep it to around 3 hours
cevans_40
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vander54 said:

My wife and I have researched and discussed and so far we're thinking Willis/New Waverly or Lufkin.

Of course we still have a few months u til we need to get serious.
My bad, I thought you said small towns
vander54
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Yeah I know. I wouldn't consider Lufkin a small town either but it may work out. We'll see
PeekingDuck
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You might consider Bullard. It's just outside 3 hours from Leander, but it probably meets all of your criteria and isn't far from Tyler or Dallas.
vander54
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PeekingDuck said:

You might consider Bullard. It's just outside 3 hours from Leander, but it probably meets all of your criteria and isn't far from Tyler or Dallas.


It was recommended to my wife as well. We definitely will have to check it out.
vander54
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So Palestine may be an option. 3 hours from my parents and 3 hours from my mother-in-law.

Any issues with Palestine?
ptothemo
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Near constant conflict with Israel.

Oh wait....wrong Palestine.
vander54
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I knew I should have specified which Palestine.
ptothemo
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(I apologize up front for the derail.)

In the fall of 2003 when Adrian Peterson was getting big time coverage, it was great fun listening to all of the reporters pronounce Palestine incorrectly. I vaguely remember one time where the reporter or whomever it was said Palestine correctly the first time but then couldn't commit to it and went back to pronouncing it like the Middle East Palestine the next couple times he/she said it. People mostly figured it out once Peterson got to OU and on from there, but the experience of him bursting on the national scene was rough on some reporters.
cevans_40
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vander54 said:

So Palestine may be an option. 3 hours from my parents and 3 hours from my mother-in-law.

Any issues with Palestine?

Schools aren't very good.

As far as the city goes, its a decent sized town that has everything you need. We go quite often to go to Lowes.
vander54
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Why aren't the school not very good. Everywhere I've ready has said they are decent. Maybe not excellent but we are coming from Burleson and schools are decent here.
cevans_40
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vander54 said:

Why aren't the school not very good. Everywhere I've ready has said they are decent. Maybe not excellent but we are coming from Burleson and schools are decent here.

Just look into the data and you will see.
vander54
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cevans_40 said:

vander54 said:

Why aren't the school not very good. Everywhere I've ready has said they are decent. Maybe not excellent but we are coming from Burleson and schools are decent here.

Just look into the data and you will see.



I have and I see nothing alarming except for the percent of bachelor degrees in the town. They are around the state average in test scores have an exceptional graduation rate, have a great CTE program, have a very strong college readiness score and overall schools are rated above average. Now if you're talking about Westwood ISD things are a little different.
Aggie09!
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Bullard is a good option. You may also consider Lindale if you are considering Bullard. Straight shot from I-20 to Dallas.
DavisGary88
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We are leaving San Antonio for Lufkin. Hudson school district.
vander54
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That's our plan if we move there
DavisGary88
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Our realtor was really amazing to work with. Let me know if want her info if and when you make that decision.
tdog7ag
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Hallsville
Sulphur Springs more northeast Texas
Arklatex Pleasant Grove
Paul Pewitt
Spring Hill
White Oak
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