Thinking about moving to Texas

grouch said:

Come on out and Lu and I will take you guys out to dinner at you soon to be favorite Mexican place.

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Thanks! We will take you up on that!

By the way, what are the closest rocket clubs to Arlington?

Tronman said:

By the way, what are the closest rocket clubs to Arlington?

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Probably DARS https://www.dars.org/. Arlington is in an area known as the "mid-cities", midway between the major cities of Dallas and Ft. Worth, aka DFW Metroplex.

Tronman said:

By the way, what are the closest rocket clubs to Arlington?

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DARS www.dars.org

Tripoli North Texas https://tripolinorthtexas.org/


And Art Applewhite keeps a list club launches all over Texas https://www.artapplewhite.com/launches.html

I live in Austin, it's a great place to launch rockets in Texas, however I wouldn't say it it is the rocketry "capital" of Texas, that would probably be a larger city. I know for a fact Texas is the rocketry capital of the US, but if you want bigger motors, go to Nevada. Canada is real soft on rocketry, like their soggy poutine.

We left California over 30 years ago to come home to Colorado. Seems more and more like it is becoming the California we left ...

If we can get the kids and grandkids to join us, we may be loading up the Uhaul and heading south to join y'all.

On a positive note, it got into the 50s yesterday and today, and I got some paint on my Interceptor-E. I do like the low humidity here ...

grouch said:

Come on out and Lu and I will take you guys out to dinner at you soon to be favorite Mexican place.

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TexMex food is truly great food. I am originally from Illinois. I spent a lot of time in Texas with an old girlfriend. I left the girlfriend in Texas and kept on going to California! I apologize to Texas for leaving that woman there! I did like the food though.

Cabernut said:

Possible cons are: rattlesnakes, occasional hurricanes, and I hate large bugs. - yes I'm the guy who jumps when I see a 1" centipede. :y:

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Uh... then I won't mention the size of the roaches. Or that said roaches can remain airborne.

Cabernut said:

This actually would make me feel more comfortable.

The reason(s) my wife and I were looking at Texas were: good economy, low cost of living, home prices that are 1/4 what they are here, mild winters, and OPEN SPACES.
Possible cons are: rattlesnakes, occasional hurricanes, and I hate large bugs. - yes I'm the guy who jumps when I see a 1" centipede. :y:

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I'm a purebred Texan.

Rattlesnakes, never seen em'

Hurricanes, If you live anywhere but near the coast, no threat there. Never been 'Katrinad' never will. Every winter there will be a tornado warning with people scared upon the usual thunderstorm, however it usually never happens.

Large bugs? Our bugs are the same size as any bug in the U.S.

It's the small bugs that'll get ya. Fire ants. This guy fights 'em with fire and molten aluminum.

[video=youtube;IGJ2jMZ-gaI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGJ2jMZ-gaI[/video]

RocketryBill said:

I'm a purebred Texan. - I'm a mid atlantic transplant, so some outside perspective on your comments.

Rattlesnakes, never seen em' - You don't get out enough. Besides the Cottonmouths are way more of a problem.

Hurricanes, If you live anywhere but near the coast, no threat there. Never been 'Katrinad' never will. Every winter there will be a tornado warning with people scared upon the usual thunderstorm, however it usually never happens. - Missed us by 6 miles on Dec 26th. Been within two miles of another one since getting here 8 years ago. The weather here will make you rethink what the bounds of "normal weather" is. Trust me when I say 40+ straight days of 100+ IN A ROW takes some getting use to.

Large bugs? Our bugs are the same size as any bug in the U.S. - Absolutely false. The bugs here are insane in scale, and prolific in number. However, it is the tiny little red ants that are the miserable ones...evil buggers.

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From my 8 years I'll give you my opinion. Tex-Mex good...brisket chili relleno will change your life. BBQ amazing...the best a cow can be (although I prefer Central Carolina whole hog myself). F-ing Tollways...can't get anywhere fast without an F-ing tollway. HOAs are to be feared, I avoided one, but that is difficult near a city, and some of them will crawl so deep in your buisness you will long for a full on police state (I have a friend who is not allowed to mow his own lawn, he must hire an HOA approved lawn care company). The state park system is increadible...they do as much as you possibly could with the landscape being what it is, and strike an excellent balance between accessibility and not completely homogenizing things. The people are different...many times this is a good thing, but you will run into some people who are trying way to hard to be the Cliche Texan...they are best avoided in my experience, but for the most part the people are friendly. The state is BIG, REAL BIG...like drive all day and still be in Texas big, seriously, 10 hours south or west of me is still in Texas. The cost of living, particularly housing is astoundingly low Although, DFW property values are going up rapidly, 10+% year over year in many burbs...still stealing by north eastern standards. It gets hot...really, really friggin hot...I can't emphasize enough how startling 110 degrees is the first time you experience it. Sunblock IS NOT optional, although long sleeves and a wide brimmed hat are my prefered methods. Alergies are no joke...I don't know Why had alergies until my first spring here...I think your plan to visit in March is a good one on this front.

In general, based on my experience and where I have lived in the past, I would return to NC in a heart beat if given the chance...MD, PA or WV, not so much. In the end I have a good job here, and my kids are settled in, so looks like I'll be staying for the forseable future.

Good luck with your decision, and if you come on down I'm sure we'll cross paths at a launch. That reminds me, lots of good rocket people and clubs and launches. Besides the one's mentioned already it is only 5 hours north to get to Pawhuska, OK where they have a real nice launch, "High Frontiers" put on by Tulsa Rocketry I believe.

Barkley said:

Uh... then I won't mention the size of the roaches. Or that said roaches can remain airborne.

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I wasn't going to mention the flying roaches! I've seen flying swarms of them. They are substantially sized bugs. I'm not squeamish at all. But I have seen kids freak out in a cloud of flying roaches.

The worst when it comes to bugs is panhandle Florida. Those darn love bug clouds are a pain to wash off your car. You can drive a white car to work and it will be black when you get there.

4kids49 said:

I wasn't going to mention the flying roaches! I've seen flying swarms of them. They are substantially sized bugs. I'm not squeamish at all. But I have seen kids freak out in a cloud of flying roaches.

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My ex-wife (Dallas-born and Texan through-and-through) used to call them Palmetto bugs, as if giving them a nicer name would make it better. Me--I used to hunt roaches in my apartment when I was a poor college student. No more of that--get yourself a lizard...

Yep, roaches the size of your fist. Attic rats like rottweilers. Fire ants that will wreck your yard and make you say very bad words at a very high volume in public ! :wink:

samb said:

Yep, roaches the size of your fist. Attic rats like rottweilers. Fire ants that will wreck your yard and make you say very bad words at a very high volume in public ! :wink:

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Don't forget cricket season!

Jim

JimJarvis50 said:

Don't forget cricket season!

Jim

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Oh my, like a Biblical plague !

samb said:

Oh my, like a Biblical plague !

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You have to learn how to use insecticide, especially Amdro. You need to cultivate a dense carpet of Bermuda and defend it from all creeping, crawling and kawking thing. Also, if like most neighborhoods in the North Dallas (or mid-Cities area for that matter), surround your domain with slat-fence and drive right into your garage with perfect remote-control timing not even winking at a human in any direction on your street. Then retreat to your air-conditioned "castle."

P.S. From a guy who used to live in Tony Dorsett's old neighborhood behind a heavy security gate and guard shack.

You guys have to remember he'd be coming from CT. Anything would be an improvement!!!

You folks are trying to scare me, aren't you? :y:

grouch said:

You guys have to remember he'd be coming from CT. Anything would be an improvement!!!

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What the heck does that mean?!? CT is halfway between Boston and NYC!!!

I love when the best attribute of CT is expressed as its proximity to cities outside of CT. Also saw recently that Hartford, New Haven, and Bridgeport each made the top ten cities in the U.S. for 'most crime in cities under 200k population'.

I've been here seven years, moved from Atlanta. I pretty much agree with most of the good and bad that's been said so far. Top of the list-allergies- it's year round. Have not seen a lot of palmetto bugs where I'm at (Plano/Frisco) but the June bugs will take your head off in the evenings. TOLLWAYS-ENOUGH SAID !! Traffic is as expected in a city but the drivers outright suck here, yes they are worse than Atlanta !!! Tailgating is a way of life--they think they are drafting I guess? Summers are hot but tolerable and winters are mild overall--it's 75 today.Did I mention the wind? The wind might go rushing down the plains but it ends up in Texas. Storms are entertaining !! If you like to fish there are plenty of places to go.It's not Georgia but it will do in a pinch. If you like to eat, your in luck. ANYTHING, ANY TIME, ANYWHERE !!And it's good !! The park systems and walking paths are outstanding--the best I've seen. Plenty to do on any given weekend--really I'm not kidding--it's hard to make a choice sometimes. Rocketry is a challenge if your a lone ranger--Talk to samb at DARS. If you like golf, there seems to be a course on every corner.Speaking of every corner, I have yet to see a Waffle House--SUP WITH THAT? The native Texans are nice , straight forward folks. The Trees are small, I call them shrubs, but it makes for a great sky at night to check out the stars ! Get used to Grackles,Coyotes, and Bobcats, I think the Grackle is the state bird, if not it should be ! All in all it's not a bad place to lay your hat. Deb and I will retire to south Georgia(Lake Seminole area) , but we are here to stay until then. PM me when you get moved in , you can come over for one of our Race day cookouts----Bill

For tall trees, head to east Texas and the Piney Woods. For wide open barren spaces, head anywhere west of Fort Worth.

Size comparisons:

Connecticut 5,443 sq. mi.
Texas 268,581 sq. mi.
DFW Metroplex, (Dallas, Tarrant, Denton, Collin and Rockwall Counties) 3,799 sq. mi.
Gasoline $ 1.36.9 in Sherman on 02/10/2016

OK, lets see if there are some old school Texans here. If I was "going to the ice house to get a soda water" what would I be doing? queue final Jeopardy music.

bill2654 said:

OK, lets see if there are some old school Texans here. If I was "going to the ice house to get a soda water" what would I be doing? queue final Jeopardy music.

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You'd be headed to the liquor store to pick up beer.

Whenever I see a bug, I unleash the Kraken - that is my cat. He will squash anything, play with it for 5 minutes, the lick it, and sometimes will eat it. If it happens again I will be sure to post a video, it's pretty hilarious.

I lived in Texas (Rowlett) for about a year in my early 20's. The one thing that struck me odd was 'dry counties' that did not sell alcoholic beverages?! Coming from Wisconsin, that blew my mind...

But yet, a pistol on your dash and open intoxicants --in your vehicle-- was legal?!

Oh, and if ya weren't doin 95mph on the highway, you best get the $&£€% outa the way!

Maybe it was the people I was with, but those people are crazy nuts down there!!

The best Texas story I've heard was when I was back in Toronto and a friend of mine came down here for a sailing event. At the end everyone went out to a beverage, where the bartender said 'in here the house rule is that we put our guns on the bar"... and my friend's mates pulled out revolvers (of which he was previously unaware) and put them on the bar. Of course my friend wasn't carrying, so he just sat down... and got absolutely glared at. "Maybe I wasn't f*!$ing clear, put your f*#$ing gun ON THE BAR." One of the other crew said "he's Canadian, he's not allowed to get one". His demeanor changed completely - and said "awe, sh*t, I'm sorry - want to borrow one while you're here?"

dixontj93060 said:

You'd be headed to the liquor store to pick up beer.

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Wrong Tim but you are going somewhere to get a beverage, just exactly where and what kind of beverage?
This was a common phrase for natives back in the 60's and 70's. I think it went away around the 80's cause we got tired of
telling all the new Yankee immigrants what it meant.

bill2654 said:

Wrong Tim but you are going somewhere to get a beverage, just exactly where and what kind of beverage?
This was a common phrase for natives back in the 60's and 70's. I think it went away around the 80's cause we got tired of
telling all the new Yankee immigrants what it meant.

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Well I was definitely a Yankee immigrant... I thought I remember my ex-wife's aunt/uncle (who were big drinkers--had the J.R. Ewing bourbon decanters all over the house) using the phrase "ice house" when they had to drive across the Trinity River to pick up alcohol... Guess not though...