For those of you who live in TX Where to live in TX)

[ThoughtExperiment]

Like I said before, I like Houston a lot. Yes, it's humid. But you also have milder winters and more rain, which means more trees, flowers, etc. -- just everything more green. And anything that close to the gulf is going to be humid.

You don't have to be near there, but it's the only really big Texas city close to the water.

I think your question is what kind of land do you want? If you like tons of trees, you can get that north to northeast of Houston. (Personally, I love pine forests like in that area.) If you want more open, pasture-type land, you can get that west of Houston. In fact anywhere SW down the coast from Houston is going to be more open.

 

[ThoughtExperiment]

It varies from county to county, but here in Lubbock county, you can shoot on your own land out in the country but you can't hunt unless you have 10 contiguous acres.

I missed this the first time, but wow. I had no idea. I can't imagine that if you have 9 acres you can't shoot a deer on your own property. Is that common in Texas (or other states)? What is the logic behind this?

 

[Scot]

Like I said before, I like Houston a lot. Yes, it's humid. But you also have milder winters and more rain, which means more trees, flowers, etc. -- just everything more green. And anything that close to the gulf is going to be humid.

You don't have to be near there, but it's the only really big Texas city close to the water.

I think your question is what kind of land do you want? If you like tons of trees, you can get that north to northeast of Houston. (Personally, I love pine forests like in that area.) If you want more open, pasture-type land, you can get that west of Houston. In fact anywhere SW down the coast from Houston is going to be more open.

It sounds like Houston is a haven for liberals. Which is exactly what I'm trying to escape in Los Angeles

Everything else sounds favorable. But moving from a city full of liberal retards to get away from them to another city full of them is not an option for me

 

[ThoughtExperiment]

Dude, Houston couldn't be further from LA politically. Sure, in any big city center you'll have your small pockets of wannabe sophisticates that are liberal. But where you'd be it would be the complete opposite. Suburban Houston is going to be way on the right, and any place with 10 acres even more so.

Maybe you were thinking of Austin? It's always tried to be very liberal (Keep Austin Weird) and it's had a ton of Californians moving in the last several years that have made it even worse.

 

[Scot]

You are probably correct in that I mixed it up with Austin as the liberal hotbed.

Thanks for clearing that up. I can't wait to move away from L.A.

The liberalism here is like a disease that if left unchecked spreads rampant. It continues to get worse yearly!

 

[Scot]

Dude, Houston couldn't be further from LA politically. Sure, in any big city center you'll have your small pockets of wannabe sophisticates that are liberal. But where you'd be it would be the complete opposite. Suburban Houston is going to be way on the right, and any place with 10 acres even more so.

Maybe you were thinking of Austin? It's always tried to be very liberal (Keep Austin Weird) and it's had a ton of Californians moving in the last several years that have made it even worse.

I just had to laugh. Right after I read your post I started up a podcast.

I was listening to one of the many Cowboys podcast where they were interviewing Hollywood Henderson and he specifically said that Austin was a "Liberal Enclave" back in the 70's

So apparently Austin has been that way for awhile now. Thanks for the heads up. I sure as shit won't be moving there. Although I will visit for the BBQ

 

[peplaw06]

I have a question for you Pep

What are the differences in taxes between CA and TX? Since you have lived in both I figured you would be the best person to ask.

I read that there is no State income tax and no state property tax. But it seems that there is a local property tax or something similar

Can you tell me the main tax differences between the states?

Sorry, man, I just saw this 9 months late.

So I lived in CA for three years, but I was a student there only. I never had enough income in my part time jobs to file a state income tax return. But from what I remember, the state income and property taxes were so bad in CA, that I knew I couldn't live there long term and buy a house, etc. nearly as fast as in TX.

Yeah, there's local property taxes in TX, but I read about people who lived in SoCal when I was there who had owned their house outright for years, having been passed down or whatever, who were being forced to sell, because they couldn't afford the property taxes. I haven't heard about that happening to any sort of scale in TX.

I can't really speak to CA now, but I seriously doubt they've cut back on their taxes given the political climate there.

 

[Scot]

Sorry, man, I just saw this 9 months late.

So I lived in CA for three years, but I was a student there only. I never had enough income in my part time jobs to file a state income tax return. But from what I remember, the state income and property taxes were so bad in CA, that I knew I couldn't live there long term and buy a house, etc. nearly as fast as in TX.

Yeah, there's local property taxes in TX, but I read about people who lived in SoCal when I was there who had owned their house outright for years, having been passed down or whatever, who were being forced to sell, because they couldn't afford the property taxes. I haven't heard about that happening to any sort of scale in TX.

I can't really speak to CA now, but I seriously doubt they've cut back on their taxes given the political climate there.

My property taxes were protected until I refinanced

They went from $437 a year to over $5300 a year

Any idea what property taxes might be in TX on a $300k to $400k house?

Just for comparisons sake

 

[Doomsday]

Any idea what property taxes might be in TX on a $300k to $400k house?

Just for comparisons sake

That depends on exactly where in Texas, it is.

 

[Iamtdg]

I missed this the first time, but wow. I had no idea. I can't imagine that if you have 9 acres you can't shoot a deer on your own property. Is that common in Texas (or other states)? What is the logic behind this?

There are a few reasons. Lots of cattle to accidentally be shot. A lot of hunting is done with long rifles, so there is the chance of hitting someone else's house/car/etc.

It is kind of silly because you can target shoot with less than 10 acres, but you can't hunt.

 

[Bob Sacamano]

Only steers and queers live in Texas...

 

[Scot]

That depends on exactly where in Texas, it is.

We still haven't decided yet. But we seem to be leaning towards the south/southwest part of the state

 

[Doomsday]

Any idea what property taxes might be in TX on a $300k to $400k house?

Just for comparisons sake...

We still haven't decided yet. But we seem to be leaning towards the south/southwest part of the state

Well... Property taxes are a function of the tax appraisal, which can be a lot less or a lot more than the market value of the property, depending on what taxing district it's in. You just have to study. Many of the appraisal districts in Texas have everything available in a public database - since by law in Texas all property ownership is public record. (Exceptions are for pols, police/fire, Judges, prosecutors, etc. and ONLY if those apply for the exception.)

So, once you focus on a area, find out if their appraisal district has a website. If it does, you can investigate online, the taxes on comparable properties in the district you're looking at. Then figure on the Homestead Exception in Texas - which shields you from certain taxing entities such as public school districts if you qualify (Qualification being, if it is your primary physical residence) but again, this must be applied for and you must prove your eligibility.

If they don't have it online you can go to the tax office of the county you're looking at, and investigate. Or even just call them and ask some questions.

Meanwhile I found you a chart that shows tax rates for the most expensive counties in Texas:

This shows the rates per $100 of valuation of ONLY the county taxes. This doesn't count city, and some others. The valuations also vary widely depending on the appraisal.

For contrast, here's a local example, my own tax bill:

2016 Tax Rate
ENTITY - Rate per $100 valuation (And this is appraisal valuation, NOT market price. In Texas we do NOT calculate property tax based on market price - ONLY on appraisal valuation.)

COUNTY - 0.4147
CITY - 0.4650
LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICT - 1.2600
COUNTY WATER DISTRICT - 0.0075
COUNTY HOSPITAL DISTRICT - 0.0745

That adds up to $2.2217 per $100 of valuation. Buuuuuut... I have the homestead exemption so I don't pay for the public schools. That makes my taxes $0.9617 cents per $100 valuation.

So, if I have a $120,000 appraisal on my property, I am paying $1,154 annually in property taxes.

What the above shows you is, what you wind up paying depends greatly on how many entities are taking a bite out of your wallet in the spot your property is in. So there's no way to answer your question, it's way too general. You gotta get specific on a county and a area within that county, and study.

Good example in Amarillo - a house which just sold for $2 million has a appraised value of only $750,000 - that means they pay taxes annually based on the appraised value, not what they paid for the property. The market price of the property isn't relevant to the taxes levied.

 

[Scot]

Thanks Dooms!

That is extremely helpful and I really appreciate you putting in the work on that post

 

[Doomsday]

That is extremely helpful and I really appreciate you putting in the work on that post

Some might find it ironic that as a Homestead exempt property owner you don't have to pay for our public schools, even if you have kids attending them. It's landlords and business landowners who pay. Also one reason the rate is so much higher than the other entities.

But you would be surprised the millions of property owners who don't have the exemption and don't even know about it - you don't get it automatically and they don't advertise its existence. It's a whopping extra $1,500 annually in my example above, for a $120,000 appraisal. So yeah the exemption is a big deal, important information.

 

[Scot]

Thanks again Dooms. All this info helps

 

[Scot]

In dealing with these high 90's and low 100's here in CA recently I'm wondering about what the weather is like in Texas.

I know most of Texas is hot as fuck in the summer. But is there any part of Texas that isn't in the 90's-100's all summer long?

We just got back from Seattle and I must say it sure was nice having it be 82 at the hottest part of the day during the hottest part of the summer.

 

[Doomsday]

In dealing with these high 90's and low 100's here in CA recently I'm wondering about what the weather is like in Texas.

I know most of Texas is hot as fuck in the summer. But is there any part of Texas that isn't in the 90's-100's all summer long?

We just got back from Seattle and I must say it sure was nice having it be 82 at the hottest part of the day during the hottest part of the summer.

Do you want dry heat, or humid heat in your summer? If you want the dry heat get above the Cap Rock, up in the Panhandle where the elevation is around 3000 feet above sea level. If you want a swamp, it'll be anything SE of that. If you want just a low desert, directly South you have the Permian basin and further South, you have the Big Bend area out by Marfa where they filmed "No Country for Old Men."

There is a MASSIVE difference between 100 degrees and 10 percent humidity, and 100 degrees and 80 percent humidity.

Yes it gets 100 degrees in summer here. Keeps the riff-raff out.

 

[peplaw06]

This week has been unusually cool for early August. We've had rain and mid 80s in the DFW area. But yes, normally we would be in low 100s with 40% humidity.

 

[Scot]

I would prefer low humidity because my wife has Asthma and the humidity makes it worse

But it sounds like that will take me further away from the gulf for my fishing trips