Art & Inspiration Living in Texas

They will get theirs...well, they will get yours...in the end.

 

I'm a baby, the summer heat here has been getting to me for years......plus it's CROWDED. I'm going to do the opposite and move to a cooler (read some snow during winter) state. I hear there's A LOT of people from here moving to Texas......just be careful, some former Californians have odd ideas that they take with them (like having HOAs and no plastic straws ).

 

I retired from Fort Lauderdale to Fort Worth 8 years ago, grandkids. Truly an awesome place. I would certainly suggest the south, southwest and western areas. We live in the Aledo area, just country enough. Weatherford and Granbury are real nice. The car community in the area is awesome.

 

I realized today that since this whole thing started last year and I retired in April that I’ve experienced more stress than I have in the last 20 years.
I did well with my retirement package but being locked out of crossing the US border and now the BC border is nuts.
We can’t visit Jan’s kids and grandkids etc.
I thought retirement was supposed to be fun.
This has been my only outlet, having my heated garage and soon I’ll get about 3 months to drive it

 

My Texas experiences have been limited to Ft. Bliss (El Paso) for basic training (so you don't want to hear my opinion of that) and the East side (Houston to the Looozyanna border. I like that part of the state, but humidity... they've got that part down pat! Good food, the closer you get to Looozyanna. (Actually, good food anywhere I've been in TX.)
But... It sounds like more than anything, you're suffering from COVID-itus, in other words, this time of limited travel and activities is grinding us all down. Having said that, you may want to step back and determine if pre-COVID life was OK for you and your wife. If so, staying put and travelling when you want to visit kids/grandkids may still be your best option. On the other hand, a happy wife means a happy life. In the mean time, take your roadster p/u for a spin and clear your head!

 

Absolutely right, we shall see how this all plays out, surviving it is the key

 

I married a Texas gal almost 52 years ago and lived there for 8 years. Most of the people are great unless they think you are a Yankee or from California. Being from Alberta probably gives you a cool factor though .
I'd agree with picking a smaller town outside of the DFW metro area. Maybe Stick a pin in a Texas map were each of heir children live and other family members and pick an area somewhat central to that.
Being from Alberta you are most likely used to making 150 mile or so one way jaunts to one day events and being home before bed time. Miles don't mean much to Texas rodders compared to hours to get there.
I lived in McGregor about 15 miles west of Waco and it wasn't unusual to make a trip to Houston or the DFW area for a one day event and be back that night.

 

Being a Canadian, I'm a bit leery about all those people packing guns.

 

You're aware that 99.999999999999% of people "packing guns" are doing so to protect themselves, and you, if the need arises, right? No matter what they tell ya

 

I’m totally comfortable with that, I grew up in a military family and guns were a part of my life from a very young age with hunting and all that.
If I was legally able to carry I’d be one of them

 

Cool on you !

 

Absolutely right.

 

Come on down. We would love to have you. Pick a small town a few hours away from your family and enjoy life.
Close enough to run over and visit, but not so close that it is an everyday thing.

 

Kinda a no brainer - if she's happy being by her kids/grandkids - that can only be a helper to your happiness. The heating/cooling issue will be a trade off.....and if it helps - not to much snow to shovel !!!!

 

Funny...my first house I bought in 1975 and still own was the price of a new Vette that year and the price I hope to sell it in 2022/23 is the price of a new Vette....but hope to get a certain roadster -if it can be found....

 

I've never been to Texas (not really many places at all really), but I definitely want to check it out. This is the Reverend version, and since he's a Reverend you know he couldn't be lying

 

I am a long time resident of Arlington which is in Tarrant county, the same county as Fort Worth. I agree with those who have said west or southwest of Fort Worth are nice places if you are retired. You probably want to stay close to Fort Worth though for medical, car event, shopping, etc. You can easily drive down US 281 to go to events in the Hill Country which are mainly west of Austin. This is a great advantage interstate travel can get pretty crowded here. Places in Fort Worth or Arlington especially older neighborhoods are nice places to live but I would not move there from Canada. I have lived in Abilene, Dallas, Tyler, and others and they are all extremely different. You will want to take time to visit places for yourself. As far as the weather though, I prefer places west of Fort Worth with lower humidity like Abilene. But there are fewer people and thus car activities. As a roadster owner myself, not every day is roadster weather. There is a lot of variability in the weather from day to day here. But if you stay close to home, every sunny day is roadster weather. Even in the mornings or late evenings in the summer months. Rain, wind, sunshine all work against long range roadster driving in Texas. If you have a closed car you can participate in many more of the car events and you can install air conditioning for year round activities.

 

Guns and booze...that sounds like a winning combination! LOL

 

Well, I can speak to this....don't go. You'll really miss the stints of -40, the blowing snow, the months of endless winter, watching bc'rs wading in the surf knowing you got two more months of cold, you can't get that in texas.
Seriously, I'm 66, I retired by accident at 55, I planned to work in the city of vancouver till I was 68 so I could make full pop, but we found the perfect property here in princeton, it was shit or get off the pot, so we bought it, I couldn't live in two places, so I told my boss that I was done and a scary month later, we changed our entire lives.
BEST thing I ever did, so, to you I say this......if you're thinking about it, get the fuck outta there now, at 66, you don't have time to doddle, the end is not far off, change your situation, move now, make your woman happy, make yourself happy, but I really think you'll regret leaving all that cold and wind, especially when you can toss a glass of water in the cold air and watch it not hit the ground. GO.

 

We don't, have to shelve sunshine off our driveways in Texas

 

You did this year didn't you?

 

I have been to Houston , huge place , expensive , and hot . I went in December , in the 80s laying by the pool like a lizard is my best explanation . I hate winter more and more every year , I worked in the elements for 35 years and it does take its toll on you . You do know the old saying “ Happy Wife , is a Happy Life “!

 

It is a proven fact that you are more likely to survive the trauma of being shot if you are severly drunk.
It is also more likely that you will suffer a gunshot wound while you are severly drunk.
Sort of evens itself out...................

 

I have an uncle and aunt who lived first in Decatur, then in Bridgeport for more than 20 years total. My wife, daughter and I visited them a few times. Beautiful part of the country! Their second place was on Lake Bridgeport and I was into fishing at that time. So I really enjoyed it.
My uncle had a sweet 50 Chevy pickup then.

 

Pick a place that has weather you can survive.

 

I love Texas! I've spent a lot of time there for work, at one time I worked 1 week each month, and covered mostly the central to southern part of the state, but have also spent a bit of time in DFW area as well. The best thing about TX is the people, IMO. Good, salt of the earth type of people. People that will give you the shirt off their back if you're in need, with the only expectation is you'll either return it when you can, or pass it on to someone else in need. I like the spirit of individualism and independence; people know how to take care of themselves and not rely on others, but they come together when needed to do what needs to be done. My kind of people.

Somebody above said something about them not being good to people from CA, that was NOT my experience. Sure, they'd rib me for being from the land of fruits and nuts, but I get that from people all over the country (and who can blame them?), but that aside I always got along just fine with everybody I met and worked with there (probably because I'm not a Godless America hating leftist commie). If my wife was agreeable I would've moved there 12 years ago. I would've bought myself a nice piece of land somewhere in the hill country, and settled down there for life. Since I didn't do that, a coworker of mine out of Baltimore did. He took the territory and worked it for years and ended up retiring there and loves it.

As you know, Texas is HOT! But, thank God for air conditioning. Phoenix is hotter, and plenty of people have moved there. You get acclimated to the heat and learn to deal with it. You'll probably leave the top on the hot rod in the summer time for some shade.

Another great thing about Texas is the food! The best barbecue in the country is found in Texas, IMO. Damn that's good stuff! And the Mexican food is muy bueno! Texican style is a little different from what we get here in CA, but still really great, authentic Mexican food, yumm!

 

If you are trying to escape the current unmentionable situation in Alberta you won't find happiness in Austin. I'm from Oklahoma so I have a natural aversion to Texas, especially during football season but there are some great small towns and beautiful rural property scattered all over Texas.

 

Come on down, Tyler would welcome you.

 

Texas is a suburb of Oklahoma......