Is Texas GA friendly?

If you are concerned about summer weather now is the time to visit. It's as hot and humid as it will get. I live south of Houston and have offices in the Dallas - Fort Worth (DFW) area. I don't handle humidity well so I find Houston pretty miserable from mid-June to mid-September. We will not be retiring here.

The DFW area gets warmer but has much lower humidity so it's more comfortable to me. DFW also has several days of ice each winter and between all the elevated roads and the lack of removal equipment those are good days to stay off the road. Finally, DFW sees tornados once in a while. They seem a lot more rare when you get as far south as Austin.

I've only been to Austin a few times and don't know enough about it to comment on the humidity. It felt low to me but coming from Houston that doesn't mean much. They do have signs all over town that say 'Keep Austin Wierd' and seem try hard to live up to that. Like most places in Texas the people are very friendly if you are.

The area is very pretty but the traffic is pretty bad during the morning and afternoon rush. It's seems worse than most parts of the Houston - DFW area. Going through downtown Austin during the morning and afternoon rush is a lot like trying to drive on the 91 in the LA area during the same time of day and there aren't any good options I've found to get around the traffic. Other than the rush hours I didn't think traffic was bad the few times I've been there.

Housing is very affordable. My property taxes are the same percentage that I paid in Missouri but house prices are about 25% less than I paid in Missouri and 33% to 50% less than what I paid in California. You get a lot more house for the money here than anywhere else I've lived.

There are a lot of airports in Texas. It's a great place to own a plane.

Gary
 
I'm a fifth generation Texan, and have lived here most of my life, excepting about 16 years all over the world while I was in the Air Force. For about the last 16 or 17 years I've been a member in an equity flying club operating out of Bergstrom (KAUS) in Austin.

First to the weather. Central Texas weather isn't too bad except for July and August. There's no getting away from the extreme heat. This summer has been comparatively mild, where 'mild' means temperatures haven't often exceeded 102F due to more than average thunderstorm activity.

Since I don't much like flying single engine at night I only fly enough to keep IFR current in July and August.

It's been a long time since we've had a major hurricane, but having owned property in Rockport on the Gulf Coast for several years I promise that hurricanes are something you have to think about before moving close to the coast. It's almost as hot along the coast as it is in central Texas, but the humidity is much higher along the coast, especially in late afternoon

If I didn't own part of a business in Austin I'd figure some way to spend July and August somewhere near Canada.

Once past Labor Day central Texas becomes much more tolerable, and October and November have a lot of perfect days for any outdoor activity.

Central Texas suffers from an acute lack of T-hangers. In about 1999 the old Muller airport had 200 T-hangers. When it closed and Bergstrom opened there were only 52 T-hangers. Our club got two of them on opening day, and a third several years latter when a member vacated a T-hanger with his personal airplane and we were standing there to snatch it up. The hangers at Bergstrom are about $550/month now. There are only two or three GA planes permanently tied down at Signature Bergstrom, but there is plenty of room for more on the ramp, and I think the costs are more reasonable. Gas is not reasonably priced at Bergstrom. ATC is GA friendly, but if you pay by hobbs meter the very long taxi routes hurt.

There is a private airport north of Austin near Leander. A friend is building a hanger there. I haven't been there, but it's supposed to be a nice operation. As mentioned by others, there are three good airports around Austin, Taylor (T74 - cheap gas, no available T-hangers, possibility of flooding), Austin Executive (KEDC, deluxe FBO, about to get a tower, there are T-hangers and hail sheds, where are always full. There is a shared hanger that might have space. Gas prices are not outrageous, and FBO service is outstanding), and Georgetown (KGTU). Over the last few years KGTU has turned into a super busy training airport, with several very busy flight schools. Of course all the T-hangers are always full. There is some shared hanger space. KGTU has reasonable gas prices and the tower controllers have the patience of Job.

If I were to move into the 'centex' and needed to work in Austin I'd locate south of Austin, somewhere convenient to San Marcos KHYI. KHYI is a very GA friendly airport, gas prices are reasonable, and there are several good maintenance and avionics shops there. I'm not sure what the hanger situation is at KHYI, but it can't be worse than that around Austin.
 
I don't think the OP will have much trouble with the Texas heat as he lists his home airport as Stockton, CA, which is inland. It may not be quite as hot, and definitely not as humid as Texas, but it's not as if they are coming from the coast.
 
Everskyward said:
I don't think the OP will have much trouble with the Texas heat as he lists his home airport as Stockton, CA, which is inland. It may not be quite as hot, and definitely not as humid as Texas, but it's not as if they are coming from the coast.
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The difference is that if you live in Stockton, the much cooler climate of the bay area is a 30 min drive away, an easy escape for the day or weekend. From central Texas cooler weather is well over 600 miles away, escape is not as easy.
 
After more research and discussion with my wife, we have concluded several things:

> First, and most important, is that the humidity in Stockton (where we currently live) is only slightly less than that of the greater Dallas metroplex. Also, the temps and humidity in the Dallas area are very similar to those that she grew up with in the Ukraine.
> The greater Dallas area has Russian/European grocery stores, so she could still get the foods she loves.
> She is interested in the McKinney area, and that's fine with me.
> I'd be able to see NHL games in Dallas, and there is plenty of recreational mens hockey and golf courses in the area.

So, I'm hoping to get insight into the McKinney/Greater Dallas area now.

Thanks
 
Well, McKinney is a great place to be as far as GA is concerned. KTKI (they calling it McKinney National, now?) is a very good field, owned by a town that appreciates the value of an airport. Plus, I soloed there. :)

A little west, you find Aero Country, which in my mind is surrounded by farmers' fields but, of course, is now surrounded by homes, but also a great little field. Has some new airport-specific development on its east side, including hangars with residential condos on top. Pretty sweet - wish I had bought one back when.

More options a little more to the north, but that's enough to start with, I think.

If you need help and guidance when you come this way, post-up - there are a lot of very considerate and sharing pilots in the area.
 
McKinney is a great area and it is growing fast. Get a house now while they are still affordable.
 
I've been away from that part of the Metro-mess for a while but am currently working in Frisco most weeks. Very different now.

@SCCutler - my first solo was at TKI too... When taxiway B was the runway.
 
Ravioli said:
- my first solo was at TKI too... When taxiway B was the runway.
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SCCutler said:
KTKI (they calling it McKinney National, now?) is a very good field, owned by a town that appreciates the value of an airport. Plus, I soloed there. :)
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Small world ain't it? Looks like I'm the third one here to solo at McKinney; Jan 1985 in a TSmith Aviation Cessna 150. Was a wee bit smaller then, a 4000 ft runway with trees down the east side, a few T hangars and a itty bitty FBO office. I don't even recognize the place these days...
 
I did some training out of Addison recently, and used TKI a lot for pattern work. It's a nice airport, but the tower controller is grumpy.
 
jbDC9 said:
Small world ain't it? Looks like I'm the third one here to solo at McKinney; Jan 1985 in a TSmith Aviation Cessna 150. Was a wee bit smaller then, a 4000 ft runway with trees down the east side, a few T hangars and a itty bitty FBO office. I don't even recognize the place these days...
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Was that Smitty?
 
deonb said:
Wow. $30k/year on a $1m property. That's insane.

TX and WA generally is ranked equivalent in tax rates (last year the two states were 33rd and 34'th highest in the nation respectively), but based on that statement I'm starting to think WA should be ranked as lower than TX:
  • Neither state has income tax.
  • Sales tax in most places in WA is around 8.8% - Texas seems to be around 8.25%.
  • But WA property tax is 1% vs. 2% to 3%! in TX.
Anyway, love it. I have a very conservative brother-in-law who lives in TX and keeps giving trying to give me a hard time about "those liberal states that steal your money". I had no idea the TX property tax rate was that much higher than ours. Gonna be a fun thanksgiving this year :biggrin:.
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If your property is $1 million I'd hope that has a lot of acres in it... and if you have a lot of acres they typically can be in agricultural use and have a fraction of the taxes...
 
Doggtyred said:
If your property is $1 million I'd hope that has a lot of acres in it... and if you have a lot of acres they typically can be in agricultural use and have a fraction of the taxes...
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Right there in your own hometown of Houston there's a number of neighborhoods north of the city up around The Woodlands and on over to Spring, that have $500-$750K properties on standard suburban sized lots, aren't there?

$1M isn't going to buy much land unless you're rural in Texas.
 
McKinney used to be a distinct city, but today it's become very suburban. It's mile after mile of cookie-cutter houses on tiny lots. You can still find acreage north of McKinney, but it's expensive because the Dallas sprawl is rapidly growing in that direction.

I would suggest looking into the area around Greenville where I live, east of Dallas. We picked this area for pretty much the same reasons on your list.

1. Our airport is awesome. It's got a gigantic runway, a part-time control tower, an ILS and almost no traffic. It has a lot more infrastructure than most small-town airports because a major defense contractor operates here.

2. It's a small town, around 30,000 people. Traffic isn't an issue. The suburban sprawl hasn't reached us yet and probably won't hit with full force until many years down the road.

3. There's still lots of inexpensive land available here. You can buy acreage and build your dream house where there will be peace and quiet for the rest of your life.

4. You can be in downtown Dallas in about 45 minutes. We're just 51 miles from downtown, with speed limits of 75 mph most of the way.

5. It's very green here. We get four seasons with a long summer, gorgeous fall, mild winter (usually a couple of days of ice/snow) and stormy spring. It's humid here in North/Northeast Texas, but not as bad as in South/Southeast Texas.

It's a great place to live. And we'd like to keep it that way. So please promise you'll never vote for folks who'll turn this place into California! :)
 
TigerGene said:
My wife and I are thinking of retirement in Prescott Arizona or the Reno Nevada area for a dryer and cooler climate.
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Moving to Reno for a cooler climate!? Holy crap!
 
Y'know, Greenville is a pretty nice place. Hadn't thought about that...
 
Greenville might be a little small for our needs. My wife really likes that there is a Trader Joe's and a Whole Foods in the McKinney area. And she was born and raised in a city of 3 million, so she needs to have a population of at least 100k to feel comfortable. (And let's face it, she's the boss.) She also wants to find a part-time bookkeeping job, which is something she excels at because she's very detail-oriented and honest as the day is long. We don't need the second income, but she's happier when she has a part-time job, and I work better when she's out of the house. So, a little urban sprawl might make it easier.

I was looking at real estate (both homes and bare land) and it looked easily affordable to me. (About half the cost of the same in Stockton CA.) However, we will definitely add Greenville to our list of areas to check out when we visit Texas in September.

And don't worry, the people and politics of California is tied with taxes as our reason to get out. We will leave them behind and never look back!
 
Problem with Austin...all the kids who graduated from an Austin high school left, few come back. All the kids who graduated from other high schools in Texas and go to Austin for college never leave. I spent 4 yrs in Austin, 7 in Houston, still have family in Dallas.

Texas in very friendly to GA. On the other hand, the politics have gone so far to the right since I lived there, I could never go back. Wait, I will go back. I'll be buried in the family plot in a little town south of Dallas.
 
Yeah, it's definitely more rural out this direction!

Another place you might want to look: Heath, next to Rockwall on Lake Ray Hubbard. It's closer to Dallas. A bit more suburban. More upscale. They've got a lot of nice houses on big lots. Not quite "acreage" in most cases, more like 1-acre lots, but still more of a quiet country feel than the crammed-together suburbs.

We almost moved there.

The Lovejoy area near Allen and McKinney is similar. Bigger lots, more of a country feel, but very close to Whole Foods territory.
 
Lachlan said:
You should move to Colorado. Everyone from from California and Texas already did...
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And I'm looking to leave the Denver area - grew up in Phoenix, grad school in Tucson, so Prescott is looking better and better. Nice airport, Costco, jr college so I can get a part-time teaching gig, same elevation as Denver, etc.
 
MD11Pilot said:
Property taxes are high as is the sales tax but nothing like CA.
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Not sure what that was supposed to mean, but property taxes in CA are suppressed by an ancient proposition that limits their rate of growth. Since Texas accepts a lot of Democrats (and used to have a Democrat governor who was mostly famous for crying on TV), there's lot of wasteful spending, which is mostly covered with property taxes. Long story short, the house in Tracy, CA that yielded $3k/year in taxes is going to be about $6k/year in unincorporated area (2.1 rate) near Rt45/Rt130 turnpikes junction, and $8k/year (2.75 rate) literally across the street in Pflugerville proper.

If you're building on 2 acres way out in the sticks, you're somewhat safe for now.
 
@TexasAviation; We'll add those to our list. Not looking for more than an acre. Just don't want to be elbow to elbow with neighbors. Our minimum requirement land wise for our home/landscape plans is about half an acre (relatively square). Probably don't really want to go above an acre, as we're not going to use it and would just be paying taxes on the unused land. We have seen a few gated communities north of McKinney that sell 1 acre lots, which appeal to my wife. (We live in a gated community here, and she likes that she can go for a walk in the evening and feel relatively safe.)
 
I guess it depends on what people mean by GA friendly. I don't consider the hangar accessibility and affordability problem of the 4 most populous MSAs in Texas as fitting my description of GA friendly. As always, it comes down to how much money you can afford to swing on this hobby.
 
I lived in San Antonio for four years when I was assigned to Ft Sam Houston. We found it extremely humid, especially having moved from a somewhat dryer climate in southwest Oklahoma. Lawton, to be specific. Lawton had insane heat with 60-80 consecutive days of 100+ degree F temps every summer. For being semi-arid, we thought it as humid until moving to SAT. Other than heat, we loved San Antonio. Easy to make trips down to Port Aransas/Mustang Island (Jay Honeck's stomping ground) which is fun. Winters were extremely tame, rarely requiring a jacket. Thirty-two degrees was a local emergency for many. I recall sitting on the curb in our Cul-de-sac with neighbors, drinking beer and watching the kids play on Christmas Day...wearing shorts and t-shirts.

The GA community is SAT is pretty active. EAA Chapter 35 always had a big turn-out for meetings and most activities. There were lots of folks from outlying areas who would come it. I kept my plane at 8T8 San Geronimo Airpark west of San Antonio. There are numerous small GA airports and airparks around there. While no state income tax, the property tax is higher than many places. IIRC, I paid about $5,000/year on a $170K house 2000-2003.

I never spent much time in Austin proper. Expensive and liberal. Good music scene if that is something you enjoy. Traffic is a nightmare. For six month prior to my family moving from OK to TX (kids in school/school teacher wife), I commuted back every other weekend. I quickly found that I-35 through Austin was virtually impossible on a Friday afternoon. It would take 2+ hours to get through and back up to anything other than a crawl. I quickly stated using US-281 straight up and west of Austin. I found the Burnet, TX area nice. Close enough to both Austin and San Antonio, but far enough away to not be totally wrapped up in them.

We left Texas in 2003 for Tennessee (I grew up about 70 miles north) and ended up back in cruel humidity conditions much of the summer. Lots of pretty weather, but severe thunderstorms are an ever present danger almost year round, but especially bad in spring, summer and fall. I'm not a huge fan of Memphis, where I work. I live 30 miles outside a couple of suburbs away.

Not sure where we will land when we retire, but we are looking and trying to decide. Still have a handful of years before we call it quits. Kids, weather, flying will all be considerations. Eastern TN at higher altitudes are nice in the summer for low humidty and temps, but the winters can be brutal. Neither of us are cold weather fans.
 
Jay Honeck said:
It's gritty and real. If you're not used to real people at real bars, 6th Street isn't for you, but we love it.
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My biggest impression of the area was how nervous and ruthless the police is in keeping the waste products of society that are based north of 6th from visiting south of 6th. As soon as a bum dares to set foot beyond the Stadler station, a street circus starts. In San Francisco they are let free to roam all over Union square and whatnot, but I guess the city hall of Austin really do not want the Convention Center stinking of urine like the UN Plaza.

Jay Honeck said:
Note: Unless you're a 20-something who likes man buns and maroon corduroy, avoid the hip new area North of town called "The Domain".
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The Domain hosts the eastmost Whole Foods, so it's an unavoidable shopping area for anyone from the 130 axis, let alone the Cross Country airpark. And it looks exactly like any gentrified area in any other city from San Francisco to Albuquerque. The only thing that makes The Domain different from e.g. Albuquerque's EDO is that there aren't as many bums yet. It takes them a while to migrate and start roosting in the area.
 
zaitcev said:
My biggest impression of the area was how nervous and ruthless the police is in keeping the waste products of society that are based north of 6th from visiting south of 6th. As soon as a bum dares to set foot beyond the Stadler station, a street circus starts. In San Francisco they are let free to roam all over Union square and whatnot, but I guess the city hall of Austin really do not want the Convention Center stinking of urine like the UN Plaza.


The Domain hosts the eastmost Whole Foods, so it's an unavoidable shopping area for anyone from the 130 axis, let alone the Cross Country airpark. And it looks exactly like any gentrified area in any other city from San Francisco to Albuquerque. The only thing that makes The Domain different from e.g. Albuquerque's EDO is that there aren't as many bums yet. It takes them a while to migrate and start roosting in the area.
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Are you in Texas now, or still in ABQ area?
 
Rykymus said:
> The greater Dallas area has Russian/European grocery stores, so she could still get the foods she loves.
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Sounds like a plan.

One thing I should add is that when I talked to pilots who are current to Austin in 2017, they bitterly complained how bad they had it, compared to Dallas/FTW. They were envious of all the hangar-building in Dallas area. Supposedly Georgetown is bursting at the seams, and Austin Exec has waiting lists for years ahead. Two of 3 suggested San Marcos way out south as the only GA airport with hangars still available anywhere near Austin (unless we're talking about extreme measures such as buying a plot at Liberty Hill).

Now to be sure I never talked to anyone from Dallas, and I'm almost afraid to find out that they complain how terrible Dallas is, and think that Austin is GA-friendly :) The nearest I've been to Dallas was Granbury, where I bought my Mooney. That airport has 4 courtesy cars! Yeah, Dallas does look GA-friendly.
 
murphey said:
Are you in Texas now, or still in ABQ area?
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I'm in the process right now. I decided not to buy Pat's house in the airpark, so I'm going to find refuge in Georgetown or Taylor for the time being.
 
murphey said:
And I'm looking to leave the Denver area - grew up in Phoenix, grad school in Tucson, so Prescott is looking better and better. Nice airport, Costco, jr college so I can get a part-time teaching gig, same elevation as Denver, etc.
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I left CO last October after moving there back in '97. Too many people, especially the last few years. Sold our house in two hours, though, so that was good. Live alongside a 3000' grass airstrip now, parents down at the other end. I'd recommend everyone live rural if they could. Local population: 614 humans.
 
pkuhns said:
Moving to Reno for a cooler climate!? Holy crap!
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Never under estimate the affect humidity has on comfort. I prefer the dry conditions of Reno over the humidity of East Texas.

Been raining here daily for the past 10 days. Much too wet for my taste.
 
TigerGene said:
Never under estimate the affect humidity has on comfort. I prefer the dry conditions of Reno over the humidity of East Texas.

Been raining here daily for the past 10 days. Much too wet for my taste.
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Ya know what Noah had to say about that don't you?

....and just last year you complained about the drought....
 
Sam D said:
Where in CA did you move?

(I was born and raised in CA. Contrary to popular opinion, I kind of like it here!)
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I moved to San Francisco, in the Outside Lands (outer Richmond). I had been going back and forth between my home in Colorado and this one for a while and I had to make a choice. Since I want to do a lot of traveling, this place is much easier to leave unattended. It's a condo. It's also closer to... everything. I lived in the sticks in Colorado. If I wanted to do anything in town it was at least a 30 minute drive.
 
Everskyward said:
I moved to San Francisco, in the Outside Lands (outer Richmond). I had been going back and forth between my home in Colorado and this one for a while and I had to make a choice. Since I want to do a lot of traveling, this place is much easier to leave unattended. It's a condo. It's also closer to... everything. I lived in the sticks in Colorado. If I wanted to do anything in town it was at least a 30 minute drive.
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That's a great area! You're sandwiched between two parks with museums and all the restaurants on Clement. Enjoy your new home.
 
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