life changing decision

[Langanobob]

No. It is the best state. OK... it could use some more good roads and some rain.

You may be right.  Seems like there are a few states in that same general area and category; Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico.  I get them mixed up and never can remember which one is which...

[fastwin]

The roads are great on the way from lake Travis area and beecaves if you're riding in town to work everyday. They are scary as hell though at night with the deer all over the place!

True that! Big ass Hill Country deer that love to lurk on the shoulders of the roads at night.

The best state is the one you live in that makes you happy to be there. I like Texas (I'm a native... and yes it needs twistier, cooler roads!) but I'm tired of my home town of Dallas. When junior gets out of high school we will be looking to escape... but still in TX. 

Austin was great in the 70s for me and it still is for those that live there now. But it's not the same Austin, it's grown a lot. But if you have no 1970s memories of Austin (like wow, goovy man... what's a 70s memory? ) to compare it to then living there right now would be awesome. I have to admit, it's the coolest part of the state to live in. Me? I'd go for the Hill Country but wouldn't live in Austin city limits. But you guys should. Gotta beat the hell out of NY city. And I don't mean to offend any DMF New Yorkers. Just saying cokey is tired of it.

[Dirty Duc]

I'll add one more to the "avoid the military" bandwagon.  I'll leave out the bitterness, though and just say that it will be really hard for you and your family.

Another thing to consider when moving is that nearly nowhere in the southwest (you texans just get to be lumped into that regardless of what you think  ) is the cost of living as high as in NY.

[cokey]

Whats consider hill country on the map?  Cheaper isnt the word..  my1500 3 bdr 2 n a 1/2 bath is considered a great deal, in brooklyn..  in the city i work in apartments smaller then my living room that are 2300-3500 a month.   When we were looking at houses in austin, about 20 miles or less east, found a 5 bdr house with 2acres of land for 140k...  i dont want to live directly in the cith.. at least 20-30 min out of it..  suggestions? 

[ManaloEA]

True that! Big ass Hill Country deer that love to lurk on the shoulders of the roads at night.

The best state is the one you live in that makes you happy to be there. I like Texas (I'm a native... and yes it needs twistier, cooler roads!) but I'm tired of my home town of Dallas. When junior gets out of high school we will be looking to escape... but still in TX. 

Austin was great in the 70s for me and it still is for those that live there now. But it's not the same Austin, it's grown a lot. But if you have no 1970s memories of Austin (like wow, goovy man... what's a 70s memory? ) to compare it to then living there right now would be awesome. I have to admit, it's the coolest part of the state to live in. Me? I'd go for the Hill Country but wouldn't live in Austin city limits. But you guys should. Gotta beat the hell out of NY city. And I don't mean to offend any DMF New Yorkers. Just saying cokey is tired of it.

Austin huh... Isn't there a bar in downtown Austin called Eddie's? I have this IZ_ memry of a DJ offering free buckets of Rolling Rock beer if you show your...

[Le Pirate]

True that! Big ass Hill Country deer that love to lurk on the shoulders of the roads at night.

The best state is the one you live in that makes you happy to be there. I like Texas (I'm a native... and yes it needs twistier, cooler roads!) but I'm tired of my home town of Dallas. When junior gets out of high school we will be looking to escape... but still in TX. 

Austin was great in the 70s for me and it still is for those that live there now. But it's not the same Austin, it's grown a lot. But if you have no 1970s memories of Austin (like wow, goovy man... what's a 70s memory? ) to compare it to then living there right now would be awesome. I have to admit, it's the coolest part of the state to live in. Me? I'd go for the Hill Country but wouldn't live in Austin city limits. But you guys should. Gotta beat the hell out of NY city. And I don't mean to offend any DMF New Yorkers. Just saying cokey is tired of it.

I love riding out in the hill country...around Kerville, follow the river out west, then south to the Frio. My wife's family has a cabin out there on the Frio. Hard to find a nicer place to be in the middle of the summer than swimming in freezing cold water and drinking a beer when it's 115F outside 

of course....thats only when there's actually water flowing (i.e., not this year) 

Whats consider hill country on the map?  Cheaper isnt the word..  my1500 3 bdr 2 n a 1/2 bath is considered a great deal, in brooklyn..  in the city i work in apartments smaller then my living room that are 2300-3500 a month.   When we were looking at houses in austin, about 20 miles or less east, found a 5 bdr house with 2acres of land for 140k...  i dont want to live directly in the cith.. at least 20-30 min out of it..  suggestions? 

Hill country is...well...anything west of Austin, and north of I-10. I guess thats the best way I would describe it. All the way out to Junction. Some other Texans might correct me here.

If your going to live outside the city, I like west and south of Austin better than east. East is kinda flat. North of Austin is alright because there are a lot of jobs (Round Rock, Georgetown, etc). My brother-in-law is in the home renovation business and does a lot of high end work in on the north end...no shortage of money to be had down there.

[IZ]

Whats consider hill country on the map?  Cheaper isnt the word..  my1500 3 bdr 2 n a 1/2 bath is considered a great deal, in brooklyn..  in the city i work in apartments smaller then my living room that are 2300-3500 a month.   When we were looking at houses in austin, about 20 miles or less east, found a 5 bdr house with 2acres of land for 140k...  i dont want to live directly in the cith.. at least 20-30 min out of it..  suggestions?  

Like I said..Lakeway (Lake Travis area)..also Beecaves, Dripping Springs, Oak Hill, are all out in the hill country.  There's a master planned community out by the dam that's nice.  Westlake is also a great area with excellent schools.  More expensive though.  You can't go wrong with any of those areas Cokey.  

[pitbull]

I felt like I won the lottery when I was hired as a professional ff 18 years ago...... and I still feel that way today. And it really is a lottery in the sense that luck has more to do with it than anything else, so get your basic qualifications and get your resume in. Research the departments you apply to and figure out what they look for on their exams and interviews and prepare for them. Texas A&M (i believe) has and excellent 12 or 16 week firefighting course that cost a few bucks but gets many of their people hired.


when it comes to quality of life and time with family, it's an almost impossible occupation to top.

The only down side at the moment is the attack of public workers unions in your country by sneaky politicians.

best of luck in whatever you decide.

[muskrat]

BeeCave will be expensive.  Anything West towards Marble Falls is pricey as hell.  Stay North or East of downtown for your better "bang for the buck."  Austin traffic is some of the worst in Texas BTW.
Also, Fastwin lives near congested downtown Dallas and it takes him an hour + to shuttle out of the city.    East of Dallas are some fine roads along with SW, N and NW.     Let us know how we can help.

[lethe]

BeeCave will be expensive.  Anything West towards Marble Falls is pricey as hell.  Stay North or East of downtown for your better "bang for the buck."  Austin traffic is some of the worst in Texas BTW.
Also, Fastwin lives near congested downtown Dallas and it takes him an hour + to shuttle out of the city.    East of Dallas are some fine roads along with SW, N and NW.     Let us know how we can help.

although..... pricey and bad traffic may be relative terms compared to what he's used to I'm sure 

[cokey]

Ill ride my bicycle. No traffic worries lol..  yea I hit some traffic when I drove to Austin almost 2 yrs ago. It's not too bad...  can you lane split legally?

[muskrat]

legally?  NO, but if you don't get caught anything is legal. 

[bikeguy57]

Check out Wilderness EMT certification, and maybe move where they have an active search and rescue crew. Its fairly hardcore stuff. These places tend to have great roads too.