I have a potential job opportunity in this area. I know nothing about the area and I would be interested in any information about suggested living locations, schools, culture, Aggie network, etc. I have an 8 yr old daughter so elementary and middle school options would need to be good and is a priority. Also looking at Aggie groups and church recommendations to get plugged into to make friends and get involved. My preference would be to live on the West or Southern areas of Tyler. That is solely due to all of my family and connections being in Houston and San Antonio so making that drive as short as possible would be nice but not a requirement. Just need somewhere to start looking.

Thanks and Gig'Em

Bullard or Hollytree are common responses to your requirements. I wouldn't suggest Lindale since it is too far north. Azalea district is nice but the houses are old. Nice town, fairly quiet with enough stuff going on and places to eat. Wouldn't want to live here in my 20s right out of school though.

Typical large Baptist / non-denom churches abound: Grace (multi-site), green acres (multi-site-ish), bethel (multi-site), south spring. Smaller liturgical and mainlines (and former mainlines) exist downtown and around. If you're not Baptist then consider how far you'll want to be from them if you intend to center your life around it.

If you want church school integration there are two large privates (all saints episcopal, Grace Christian). Otherwise Bullard is a smaller town feel for schools where people want to live in the south.

Prepare for traffic if you live south and have to go into town. I prefer living right near the loop over south and head to downtown for going out due to people and crowds but to each their own.

And welcome!

Based on what you are saying, I'd start with Bullard and Whitehouse for the schools.
If you want in Tyler ISD, look around the areas that feed into Jack Elementary and Owens Elementary.
Anywhere in south Tyler will be near loop 49 which can get you to Hwy 69 and Hwy 155, which would be your arteries that lead you to Houston or SA. However, if you live in South Tyler, you really don't need to hop on the loop to get to Houston or SA. Tyler's not that big. We use 49 just to get to I-20.

In terms of the city, Tyler's great. You can be pretty much anywhere in about 20 minutes, depending on where you live and traffic. Of course there's morning and evening traffic, but lunch time can be a pain. My wife and I joke that it must be illegal to take your lunch to work because everyone seems to eat out.

There are several hospitals - with one of them becoming a teaching hospital next year.
UTTyler and LeTourneau offer concerts and professional theater. TJC has a theater dept. and they do a pretty good job. The civic theater is good for what it is. You're 1:30 from Dallas. if you need to go. Most sports coverage focuses on the Rangers, Mavericks, Cowboys, and tu. Get used to being overlooked. However, there are lots of Aggies in the area. There are periodic happy hours and there is a Smith County Muster.

Know this, east Texas does not get in a hurry. Get used to it. But folks are nice, and it's a good place to live.

We moved here in 2019.

Depending on where your work is, would determine where to live

We live just inside the loop, on Southside. Several homes have gone up for sale recently. Neighborhood is a gem, with well build homes thst only need facelifts from 1980's decor.

Our kids go to st Gregory, a great small Catholic school. Grace and All saints are big name private schools.

Broadway traffic is miserable, and we avoid it like the plague. Other than that everything g is close, people are nice and community is close knit. Lots of thriving young families.

Welcome to area.

SoulSlaveAG2005 said:

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We moved here in 2019.

Depending on where your work is, would determine where to live

We live just inside the loop, on Southside. Several homes have gone up for sale recently. Neighborhood is a gem, with well build homes thst only need facelifts from 1980's decor.

Our kids go to st Gregory, a great small Catholic school. Grace and All saints are big name private schools.

Broadway traffic is miserable, and we avoid it like the plague. Other than that everything g is close, people are nice and community is close knit. Lots of thriving young families.

Welcome to area.

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Whoops! I forgot the Catholic school. It was accidental, I promise.

AGC said:

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SoulSlaveAG2005 said:

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We moved here in 2019.

Depending on where your work is, would determine where to live

We live just inside the loop, on Southside. Several homes have gone up for sale recently. Neighborhood is a gem, with well build homes thst only need facelifts from 1980's decor.

Our kids go to st Gregory, a great small Catholic school. Grace and All saints are big name private schools.

Broadway traffic is miserable, and we avoid it like the plague. Other than that everything g is close, people are nice and community is close knit. Lots of thriving young families.

Welcome to area.

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Whoops! I forgot the Catholic school. It was accidental, I promise.

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Lol. It's okay. We like to keep it low key.

Thank you everyone for the input. How's the food?

Lots of chains.

Stanley's bbq
Rubys tacos
Javis Mexican
Tiba- Greek

Are a few of our favorites

Jucys is a pretty good hamburger.
2nd vote for Ruby's
Mamas is good Mexican breakfast
The Diner
4-way Cafe is very good.
Bella is good Italian

I will add…. Tyler ISD is not bad. Lots of great educators in TISD

True Vine and ETX Brewery are nice little places to visit as well!

My wife and I just moved from a Dallas suburb to south Tyler (69/49) last Fall. We have loved the change of pace and friendliness relative to Dallas.

Concerning traffic: I drive into downtown from that location every day and can make it in 17 minutes if leaving by 7:15 am. A far cry from my 50 minute commute in Dallas. Even if you hit traffic on Broadway, I would call it more "congestion" relative to stop and go traffic in Dallas. But I'm biased.

We are in a neighborhood located in the City of Tyler but feeds into Whitehouse ISD, which I believe is considered to be one of the better ISDs around. While I do feel Tyler is growing pretty rapidly to the south, I have noticed a handful of newer houses sit empty in my neighborhood for months at a time.