Moving Sucks >.<

[Jordana Jax]

My husband and I are moving to Texas. Austin area, to be more precise. While we're looking forward to it, moving just sucks in general. Is anyone here from Texas? Any advice, suggestions?

[Karl Valten]

Several people from Texas are here. I've been living in Fort Worth since June, but heading back to Boulder next week.

All I can say is that the summers are stupidly hot and the terrain is flat.

XD

[Jordana Jax]

Flat and hot. Got it. We don't mind the temps. In fact, I welcome the heat and the mild winters. I can't handle another Central/Midwest winter. My joints will kill me if I force them to stay one more winter.

I've heard nothing but really good and very nice things about most of Texas really so I think that's a good thing. Are there any particular areas we should stay away from?

[Morgan Evanar]

Austin is awesome but it gets incredibly hot in the summer.

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

stick to Austin and DFW. The rest of the state is unfit to be inhabited.

[Halajiin Rabeak]

I live in Fort Worth, but I'm down in Austin once every few months or so, so I might be able to say hi at some point. Sadly I haven't had the time to go and hang out with Karl, this summer. =(

[Jordana Jax]

We have a few friends that live in the DFW area. They told us that they like it so I'm sure we'll end up checking out DFW after we've settled in. There's so many things I can't wait to do and see, though, so I'm sure we'll be seeing much of the state over the years.

My husband doesn't want to live in or near DFW though. He was there before and he said while it was nice to visit for a day or so, he wouldn't want to live there. Which is fine. We also have family in Texas but they're kind of spread out from Kady (I think I spelled that correctly) to Galveston.

We currently live in Iowa and my husband has been here since he was 10 years old, so this is going to be a bit of a change for him. (Though he was born in New York and lived in Arizona for like 8 years). I'm originally from the Chicagoland area.

My next question might seem strange but .... spiders. Do I need to worry about spiders that we don't have in Iowa. Like tarantulas? I've heard that's more toward and in the desert but I want to be sure. I'm terribly frightened of spiders. And when I say I'm terribly frightened, I mean that the moment I see one - even if it's just a tiny one smaller than the fingernail of your pinky finger, I'm near tears and running - yes, RUNNING - into another room or even out of the apartment until my husband has killed it.


What about rattlesnakes? We have a cat (indoor cat) but someone had told me that it might be a good idea to get him a couple of vaccinations once we're down there that he normally wouldn't get up here. (I don't know what those might be so I'll have to find out).

[Halajiin Rabeak]

I've not actually seen a rattlesnake since I've been here, except in a zoo. They shy away from the more populated areas. As far as spiders go, I haven't had a problem with them, but the only one to watch out for is the brown recluse, which typically aren't found in houses.

But, since you're going to be living in Austin, you absolutely need to go to my favorite barbeque joint, The Salt Lick, in Round Rock. Oh my gosh, so good...

And I think the city name you meant is Katy, which is a suburb of Houston. My grandma lives there. =)

[Dasquian Belargic]

I have relatives who were living in Parker County, TX up until about a fortnight ago. We kept trying to organise a trip out to visit them in Texas, but it never happened :(

Now they're living in Newport Beach, CA.

[Jordana Jax]

Halajiin - Oh I know all about the brown recluse. I was bitten by one about ten years ago. It was NOT pretty! Put me on crutches for 6 months and I had to have anti-venom shot. Which I fainted from :( So I keep a close eye for them. We tend to get those in our apartment a lot here in Iowa, which surprises me how often they manage to "accidentally" get inside. And yes, they are definitely brown recluse.

Round Rock is one of the towns near Austin that we're looking into apartments/homes to rent for a year. I've jotted down The Salt Lick! Thanks for the recommendation, too. We finally have a place that specializes in BBQ here in Iowa called Bandannas. Totally O-M-Gee-Good!

We're looking at Round Rock, Lago Vista, Balstrop, Lockhart, Smithville, Dripping Springs, Sun City, and areas just west of Georgetown.