Calling all current or former residents of FLORIDA, ARIZONA, OR TEXAS.

[kroe1]

We currently live in west Florida on the gulf side south of Tampa. Here are the pros to us:

 

1. We live outside. Every house has a cage and a lanai. It is where we homeschool, swim, read, and hang out with our IPads. All guests always migrate to the lanai. And the outdoor kitchens in most homes help, too.

 

2. It is an outdoor loving community. Recently, there was a thread about how many people one would see outdoors in a 15 minute drive through the neighborhood. We counted 42 people in 7 minutes out walking. And that didn't include the golfers.

 

3. The weather is fabulous. We are on the beach in one location and about 15 minutes from it in another. The gulf breeze keeps the place warm in winter and cool in summer. We are outside at least 350 days a year.

 

4. There is a ton of stuff for kiddos to learn. There is the stand by soccer, baseball, etc., but also, rowing, sailing, theater and opera is huge here for kiddos. We have multiple performing arts schools and sports dedicated schools in the area.

 

5. Kiddos have over 100 summer camps to choose from.

 

6. We are very close to most of the major amusement parks. And, it is impossible to get sick of DisneyWorld. Lol. But, all of these places as well as the zoos and aquariums have homeschool days with teaching opportunities not available anywhere else.

 

7. The culture is one of transplants with most being from the midwest and northeast. It is not quite as friendly as a small Southern town, but easy to find friends. There is more diversity than northern Florida which has a more Bible Belt culture.

 

8. Housing is roughly $200 to $1000 a square foot depending on how close to the beach one wants. Property taxes are roughly $1000 per month for a one million dollar house, but there are no state income taxes. Because of this, we actually saved money by moving here from Arkansas.

 

9. It is Florida, after all. Half the people you meet will speak Spanish, but not nearly as many as southern Florida.

 

10. There is a. Christian church on every other corner. They all have the typical children's programs and youth groups. However, these are not as all consuming as those found in the Bible Belt.

 

Sorry I cannot help you with your other states because I have only visited them. But when considering. Florida, remember that the various regions of. Florida all have different cultures, negatives, and positives.

[Twinmom]

Heather, if I were to move back "home" to Texas, I'd have many of the same requirements/desires that you do. I am from Richardson, TX, an immediate suburb of Dallas. For me, I think the DFW area is fabulous but I'm looking for a smaller town at this point in my life. I'd consider Tyler...lovely piney woods, small but not too small, close enough to DFW to see family frequently. Other great choices in North Texas include many of the far suburbs in the DFW area...for me, Melissa or farther north of Dallas as far as Sherman, Arlington, Ft. Worth area suburbs, etc. If I were to venture further south, I would look at the Hill Country around Austin, though it can be pricey.

 

There are so many choices when it comes to Texas that you just can't generalize...it is HUGE. You've got everything from snow in the panhandle to the hill country to desert like conditions nearer Mexico, big cities, small cities, country living...take your pick. You can even live on the Gulf if you like. Many, many choices. Almost all of them have in common a terrific economy, no state income tax, conservative values, great churches and a vibrant homeschool community. You probably wouldnt have any trouble finding your idea of a great church...in fact, I can suggest a few if you end up in North Dallas. Downsides include the HEAT (Uggh), a lack of four season (depending on where you go), BIG cities (again, your choice), long drives to big mountains (my idea of heaven), and some areas in big cities can be pretty materialistic (I'm thinking of my experiences in North Dallas, Austin and Houston here). However, all in all, I think it is a great place to live if you don't mind the heat!

[City Mouse]

I would suggest looking at some of the towns in the greater Houston area such as Katy, Kingwood, Humble, Cypress, tomball, or even further out such as Hockley, Brenham, Conroe.

 

 

I don't know that I am the best person to promote the Houston area as we moved out of state 2 yrs. ago, but there. Are many things I miss about living there.

 

One thing that no one has mentioned is that Texas does not have the Common Core!

[Happy]

I live north of Fort Worth...I love Ft. Worth because it has a smaller city feel, but with lots of the perks of a big city. The west side of Fort Worth has good housing prices and is minutes from the downtown art district and dining.

 

You might like the college feel of Denton. Other fun places are McKinney, Weatherford, or Grapevine--Middle of the DFW area, but with careful planning you don't have to drive much. Great small town feel, lots of church and private school options.

 

Let me know if I can answer any questions. Not only have I lived here a bunch of years, but we also moved here from Europe. You are wise to plan ahead. Plus I'm in real estate--let me know if I can answer any specific questions.

 

 

[texasmama]

Fort Worth is my hometown. I agree with Happy. We are currently a bit south of FW with some acreage.

[Lisa R.]

No offense to Texans, but I have a very unfavorable opinion of Texas.  I have never had a good experience with anyone I have met IRL from Texas, and usually have had very bad experiences.  They have all been big jerks.  Not to mention that every politician I have been aware of from Texas is a crazy extremist person.  Based on my experiences and perceptions of Texas, I honestly wish it would just secede. 

 

I'd vote for Arizona or NM, if I were going for perpetually warm.

 

Texas is the second most populous state in the United States at over 26 million people. To meet a handful of Texans and to make conclusions you stated about the people from the state of Texas says more about you than Texas. 

 

Not to mention, not every politician from Texas is a "crazy extremist person". 

 

If people hear strange stories from Texas, it's important to realize it is a HUGE state with LOTS of people. Does this even need to be explained?

 

I thought perhaps you were having a bad day and typing too quickly. It happens. Then, you defended you comments. 

[Mommyof4ks]

Wimberley Texas is a beautiful place. It is close to Austin, but still cute and fun without the hustle and bustle of the big city. It is in the Hill Country which is gorgeous. I dream of living there someday. :)

 

I love visiting northern Florida along 30A, but I have never lived there. The people are super friendly, and I love that you can walk or bike to nearly every place you would need to go on a daily basis unless you worked outside of the cute little area.

[kitten18]

We will most likely be moving back to the states two years from now. It actually takes A LOT of planning for "re-entry" into American life and so we are beginning the process. We do not feel tied to any state in particular though our families are in Michigan (we don't plan to ever live there again). But I will need to transfer my education certificates which can take a while and we both need to look for jobs, etc. so we need to get started.

 

We do want to live somewhere with warm weather most if not all year round.

Where my dh, ds, and dd can play tennis all year round.

With really good options for church.

Also good Christian schools.

Hopefully near Spanish speaking cultures since that is my second language and oldest ds is getting much more fluent as well. We want diversity in our lives.

 

 

So we have chosen Florida, Texas, and Arizona as our strongest possibilities.

 

 

If you live or have lived in any of those three states, can you tell me which city you lived in and why you love(d) living there? Thanks!!

What about climate? 

 

Does anyone in your family have allergies/asthma that is better or worse in a dry or humid climate.  We used to live in Kansas and my DH was on year-round allergy/asthma maintenance meds.  When we moved to SoCa (inland, near the desert) my DH's allergies pretty much went away, he takes no allergy med now. 

My BIL used to live on the central coast and he moved to AZ because the humidity made him so miserable with allergies/asthma.

[Chelli]

I agree.  It's got everything she's asking.  The only thing wrong with Texas is that it's not Oklahoma. 

 

This made me LOL! My dh would totally agree with you. It's his home state too.

[Diann]

I would keep south Florida in mind. My father lives in Naples. I visit him 3-4 times/ year and have found it very pleasant. Lots of people outside biking, running, walking, etc. Lots of churches. One thing I don't know about is the schools. The weather is awesome.

 

Diann

[ErinE]

No offense to Texans, but I have a very unfavorable opinion of Texas. I have never had a good experience with anyone I have met IRL from Texas, and usually have had very bad experiences. They have all been big jerks. Not to mention that every politician I have been aware of from Texas is a crazy extremist person. Based on my experiences and perceptions of Texas, I honestly wish it would just secede.

 

I'd vote for Arizona or NM, if I were going for perpetually warm.

If the post begins "no offense, but..." chances are it's pretty offensive. But then, I'm probably a big crazy, extremist jerk (though I wasn't born in Texas).

[Chelli]

Heather, if I were to move back "home" to Texas, I'd have many of the same requirements/desires that you do. I am from Richardson, TX, an immediate suburb of Dallas. For me, I think the DFW area is fabulous but I'm looking for a smaller town at this point in my life. I'd consider Tyler...lovely piney woods, small but not too small, close enough to DFW to see family frequently. Other great choices in North Texas include many of the far suburbs in the DFW area...for me, Melissa or farther north of Dallas as far as Sherman, Arlington, Ft. Worth area suburbs, etc. If I were to venture further south, I would look at the Hill Country around Austin, though it can be pricey.

 

 

 

The first place I thought of that fit Heather's requirement of medium-sized town close to a large city was Tyler, Texas. We have friends who just moved there and I visited for the first time this summer. It was a fantastic town in a great location.

[Heather in Neverland]

What about climate?

 

Does anyone in your family have allergies/asthma that is better or worse in a dry or humid climate. We used to live in Kansas and my DH was on year-round allergy/asthma maintenance meds. When we moved to SoCa (inland, near the desert) my DH's allergies pretty much went away, he takes no allergy med now.

My BIL used to live on the central coast and he moved to AZ because the humidity made him so miserable with allergies/asthma.

Interesting question. I have seasonal allergies and when I lived in Michigan my summers were miserable. But I moved here where it is 90 degrees and 90% humidity every day of the year and I have zero allergy problems. So maybe it is the type of trees/flowers here vs. in Michigan?

 

So I guess I have no idea how I will be in any of those states.

[Chris in VA]

Dallas is notorious for being horrible for allergy sufferers. Pollen flies in low humidity. 

 

Just sayin'...

[ElizabethB]

I was bad in San Antonio, but Abilene is fine for me allergy wise. San Antonio had a ridiculous number of pollen seasons. In November or December my first year in San Antonio, I went to the Clinic and said "If it wasn't winter I would think it was allergies." The PA said, "It's Mountain Cedar season, welcome to San Antonio, have some Claritin." Shortest clinic visit ever.

[texasmama]

In the DFW area, pollen allergies are bad. My allergic son is on Flonase nose spray about six months of the year. Ragweed is bad. The rest of us rarely take any allergy meds, like almost never.

[Guest]

I currently live in Central FL and it SUCKS.  The only thing on that list that it fits is warm weather and churches.  The school systems for the most part are getting worse and worse.  I have many teacher friends here that are beyond frustrated with their jobs the past couple of years.  The cost of living keeps going up while the jobs are disappearing.  Crime rates seem to be getting worse too.  I moved to this small town ( >5000) from a Midwest city of over 200,000.  I swear the headlines here are worse than they were back home.  You can't get me out of FL fast enough.  LOVE my church family, but that is about all.

[Halftime Hope]

So, another thought since several people mentioned Tyler, TX although I don't think either of them lived there.   I had homeschooling friends about 10 years ago, a large family with fairly modern, mainstream tastes, ie not quiverfull or anything else one sometimes associates with really large families.  They moved to Tyler for eldercare issues, and ended up moving back within a year.  The kids in the family went to community college (eldest two), were involved in community theater, sports, and music, so they had a lot of exposure to people from the area.  They could not abide the provincialism and even racism, especially on the CC campus.    So, just that one second-hand anecdote from one family for you to consider.

[Ellie]

Interesting question. I have seasonal allergies and when I lived in Michigan my summers were miserable. But I moved here where it is 90 degrees and 90% humidity every day of the year and I have zero allergy problems. So maybe it is the type of trees/flowers here vs. in Michigan?

 

So I guess I have no idea how I will be in any of those states.

 

Mr. Ellie's seasonal hay fever was much worse in California than it is here in the Austin area. Go figure. :-)

[ktgrok]

I have to agree. We're in Central FL and really enjoy the low cost of living where we're at. We are away from congestion and major traffic. We love it here.

 

I guess it depends on where you are comparing to. Compared to Palm Beach where I grew up it is lower. Compared to where my friends live in GA it is MUCH higher, and from what I can tell we are much higher than Texas. 

[vonfirmath]

I was bad in San Antonio, but Abilene is fine for me allergy wise. San Antonio had a ridiculous number of pollen seasons. In November or December my first year in San Antonio, I went to the Clinic and said "If it wasn't winter I would think it was allergies." The PA said, "It's Mountain Cedar season, welcome to San Antonio, have some Claritin." Shortest clinic visit ever.

 

Austin is also known as the Allergy Capital.

[Susan C.]

Dallas is notorious for being horrible for allergy sufferers. Pollen flies in low humidity. 

 

Just sayin'...

 

And w/humidity mold and fungus is high (but Texas had both high ragweed and very high fungus counts). Texas has a lot of wind, so you get every allergen for the entire inside third of the US. Allergy wise I am faring much better in the SE.

[NotSoObvious]

We are in Palm Beach county, Fl. We've been here for three months. Hmm.

 

1. It's the most religious place I've ever lived. Well, except Utah, but that is a different beast. There is a church on every block.

 

2. It's not that hot. Summer is hot. Fall has been beautiful. You'll be outside year round.

 

3. There are not that many bugs. Everyone in VA kept talking about all the bugs here. It is nothing compared to VA. Nothing. There are millions of lizards everywhere. There are a lot of Mosquitos.

 

4. The ocean is more beautiful than anything else in the country. The water is warm. Like a bathtub!

 

5. It is flat. So, so, so flat. I hate that. You can't see the ocean until you actually get to it.

 

6. The people here are not nice. Individually, yes, but don't expect grocery clerks to make small talk or smile. People in the grocery store will run you over with their carts if you get in the way. Watch out.

 

7. The drivers here are horrible. We used to live in Los Angeles. The drivers here are the worst I've ever seen. I cannot emphasize this enough.

 

8. There are a million things for kids to do. Homeschooling is easy. There are SO MANY homeschoolers!!!

 

9. The economy is picking up. It's a great time to buy a house. I don't think it's outrageously expensive, but I'm from Southern California. You can still buy homes for under $200k here.

 

We almost moved to Austin but chose not to because it felt too far away from everything else, if that makes sense. I felt like it was surrounded by nothing. I like being able to get in the car and be somewhere new in a day's drive. That's why I liked the east coast. So, I'd choose Arizona because you would be so much closer to diverse environments- amazing skiing in Utah, good beaches, Los Angeles, etc.

[SebastianCat]

I live in Tampa, and will admit on the front end that I've lived in FL my entire life, so I have nothing to compare it to.

 

If you are considering FL, I would recommend Jacksonville (south side of town - St. Johns county), Tampa, or Naples.   Stick close to the coast, within about 30 minutes or so.   Yes, it's hot and humid, but more "inland" locations are HOT.   Tallahassee and Orlando regularly get 5-10 degrees hotter in the summertime than Tampa does.  We get a sea breeze every day during summer, which makes the heat very manageable.  Almost every home has a pool, and those that don't usually have a community pool in the neighborhood.   We have tennis courts in our neighborhood, as do many around us.

 

You will find a HUGE variety of churches in Tampa or Jax.   Tampa has a very large Spanish speaking population and Cuban-American culture - not quite as prominent as in S. Fla, but it's easy to find.   Schools and cultural opportunities are easy to find as well.

 

FWIW, if we had to move somewhere outside of FL, Texas is on our short list of places we'd prefer.   Within FL, we declined opportunities to move to Miami (too congested, don't like the atmosphere) and to the panhandle area (lack of opportunities/churches/etc compared to what we have in Tampa) in the past couple years.

[Halftime Hope]

Two more thoughts on this thread. 

 

1) I grew up in Latin America, have "adopted family" still there, and speak Spanish fluently.  I lived in Miami for 10 years from my late teens into later 20s.  I went back for the first time in 20 years last summer and stayed in Miami for two weeks disposing of my parents' homestead.  You could not pay me to live in Miami, or S. Florida for that matter, at this time...no kidding, there is not enough money.  Some of my parents dear, dear younger friends helped us, so kind and generous people can be found, but the overall atmosphere is that of a **pushy** third world country, not of the US.

 

2) About allergies, we were told that anywhere you go, most people will have a grace period of somewhere between 5 and 10 years in a new environment before their bodies start reacting to the local allergens.  That may be why Heather's family isn't experiencing allergies in an area in which there is profuse vegetation with many allergens which one would think would be a problem.  The "rule of thumb" has certainly held true in our family.  In the last five years we have all noticed an uptick in allergy symptoms, and it doesn't seem to matter what the weather is.  Every time the wind direction changes, we notice it.   

[Cinder]

Interesting question. I have seasonal allergies and when I lived in Michigan my summers were miserable. But I moved here where it is 90 degrees and 90% humidity every day of the year and I have zero allergy problems. So maybe it is the type of trees/flowers here vs. in Michigan?

 

Yes, the different vegetation matters. I have always had terrible allergies and before I went far away from home for college my doc said I would likely be allergy free the first year but would start being allergic again the next. He was right--that first year was wonderful. By the second I started feeling allergic. The third year was horrible!

 

[Cinder]

In the Abilene TX area there are a lot of great churches . . .

 

. . .

 

It is not a booming metropolis by any means, but you can get to Ft. Worth in under 3 hours.

 

:seeya:  We used to live in Abilene--a long time ago now. We moved about 15 years ago. It is defintely more like the southwest--very dry, windy, flat, no trees. But the people were wonderful and we enjoyed our time there. Even if all the trees leaned toward the east. :tongue_smilie:

[Parrothead]

My vote is for a suburb of Phoenix, AZ. Or Yuma, AZ.

[JenneinCA]

Arizona is hot, at least the parts near Phoenix are. During the summer you would not want to be playing tennis outside. It would be like being in a very hot oven. If you are seriously considering the area I would very strong suggest visiting during the summer to find out if you and the rest of your family can tolerate the kind of dry heat that Phoenix gets.

[acurtis75]

We are reformed and would want a strong, healthy reformed/presbyterian/reformed baptist church. A good christian school means a school that is not christian in name only and teaches from a biblical worldview and takes the spiritual growth of their students seriously.

 

Jacksonville sounds nice!

I am near Houston and could provide some specific church and school recommendations in a pm if you're interested. There is a really cool university model private/homeschool hybrid affiliated with a reformed church and a small private school that caters to homeschoolers which come to mind right away. While Texas isn't technically the Bible belt there are lots of church options. We are close enough where we are to experience the multi-cultural opportunities and benefits of being in Houston. 

 

There are pretty much unlimited co-op, museum education programs and homeschool resources in Houston.

 

We don't do co-op but there are multiple groups we do classes & field trips with and social type activities. 

[ElizabethB]

Arizona is hot, at least the parts near Phoenix are. During the summer you would not want to be playing tennis outside. It would be like being in a very hot oven. If you are seriously considering the area I would very strong suggest visiting during the summer to find out if you and the rest of your family can tolerate the kind of dry heat that Phoenix gets.

Most of Texas is pretty hot most of the summer...the humid areas have about a month where I would not want to play tennis. Abilene is a bit drier and cools off at night, there are a few decent hours every morning even on 100 degree days.

[acurtis75]

What about climate? 

 

Does anyone in your family have allergies/asthma that is better or worse in a dry or humid climate.  We used to live in Kansas and my DH was on year-round allergy/asthma maintenance meds.  When we moved to SoCa (inland, near the desert) my DH's allergies pretty much went away, he takes no allergy med now. 

My BIL used to live on the central coast and he moved to AZ because the humidity made him so miserable with allergies/asthma.

I have pretty bad allergies which I keep under control by juicing and trying to eat reasonably healthy. I had to spend a few months in Arizona a few years ago and was excited at the prospect of my allergies not being as bad. Unfortunately, dust was just as bad as pollen for me. 

[Bambam]

Being a fan of TX (even Deep East TX which we have not found as bad as some folks paint it), I thought I'd post this article about the most affordable suburbs in America: Please note that four are in TX.

http://www.movoto.com/blog/real-estate-and-more/most-affordable-suburbs/

[La Texican]

As far as allergires go I live in Texas, South of San Antonio, and we get Sinus headaches and when it's bad I give my kids more Claritin or Singulair then I ever thought I would. The Sinuses tend to drip inside, rather than all running out. Too much mucus in the belly gives kids a fever. The allergens here are mesquite, every time it rains it's bad, and mountain cedar, which has the toughest pollen I've ever seen. When we visit my mother in Florida we get exotic tropical allergies, runny nose, and goopy eyes. The economy must be real good here because we have people comming from as far as Louisianna to work in the oilfields. They go home one week a month. I guess the pay is much better to afford that kind of travel for work purposes. For your choice for your family I would guess the type of work you want to do would affect where you want to live. If you're lower on the totem pole the pay here in Texas is higher than most states, and the cost of living is cheap. My husband says if we go anywhere else our money wouldn't go as far, we wouldn't go out to eat so much, or have the everything cable package, or take as many trips. I assume that the city living in Texas is different, but there's not a lot of outdoor activity in town, like at the playground, during the day. There's huge public family parties at the park almost every weekend with live music, food, and tons of kids running around the playground at night. Anytime anyone gets an extra dollar they throw a bbq. They throw expensive parties for two year olds. I just went to a Quiecenara that cost more than most peoples weddings. The whole town is usually invited. The high performing Christian schools here are Catholic. That might just be because I'm so far south (just outside Laredo). The private school choices might be different in the bigger cities. Austin has a reputation for being more liberal/ Democrat. Dallas reportedly has two good public gifted magnet schools. I've never been to Houston, but the way they describe it is mega-city. The hill country around San Antonio is beautiful and scenic. Corpus Christi is coastline and beaches.

[Maeintx]

I would suggest looking at some of the towns in the greater Houston area such as Katy, Kingwood, Humble, Cypress, tomball, or even further out such as Hockley, Brenham, Conroe.

 

 

I don't know that I am the best person to promote the Houston area as we moved out of state 2 yrs. ago, but there. Are many things I miss about living there.

 

One thing that no one has mentioned is that Texas does not have the Common Core!

We left this area last July after 10 years.  We would go back in a heartbeat. Definitely worth looking into based on her list.