OT Cutoff at the knee's. Thinking about relocating to Texas

bsaride · Post by **bsaride** » Mon Jun 28, 2010 11:23 am

Well, my customer/employer for the past 16 years wants me to work at half my rate and put in 37% more hours
(I have been working 25 hrs a week because of a bad back). I am a senior electro-mechanical designer and can
work in the electronics or manufacturing markets. I have over 30 yrs experience and no idea if I'm employable in
today's market. I can perform manual drafting, 2D and 3D CAD design. This feeling I have is that the new operations
manager wants to get rid of me, sucks.

I was busy all weekend (amateur radio Field Day) and only last night did I get a chance to look at job postings.
Just finished updating my resume and noticed several likely jobs in Texas. I'm sick of California! So, if I had the
opportunity for a job in Texas would you good-ole-boys accept me? Which metropolitan (large cities) are better
as far as hunting and fishing opportunities, political climate, living expenses and all that?

I would be interested in knowing which other states would be worth considering.

BTW I'm 50 and broke

vancelw · Post by **vancelw** » Mon Jun 28, 2010 11:30 am

bsaride wrote:I'm sick of California! So, if I had the
opportunity for a job in Texas would you good-ole-boys accept me? Which metropolitan (large cities) are better
as far as hunting and fishing opportunities, political climate, living expenses and all that?

I would be interested in knowing which other states would be worth considering.

BTW I'm 50 and broke

We'd love to have a refuge from our own country!

Austin is probably the least gun-friendly. Even so, it has lots of guns store and shooting ranges.
If you can find a lower paying job in a smaller city (50,000 or less) you can more than make up the salary difference in lower porpperty taxes and insurance. I could make 20 or 30 k more by going to Dallas, but I think I'm better off where I am. (and I can hunt off my back porch if I want.)

If you own a home is CA, you can probably buy 3 to 6 times the home for the same money here.

Hillbilly · Post by **Hillbilly** » Mon Jun 28, 2010 11:38 am

I am told that Austin is close to good hunting and fishing. The problem is ... there is very little public land in Texas. Leasing or falling in with some folks with a lease is about the only way to hunt Texas. Oklahoma is nearly as bad for lack of public land.

There is a lot to do in Texas. Dallas/Ft Worth has some world class stuff .... opera to Reining and Cutting horse shows. Houston is busy too... but very humid most of the year.

Most of Urban Texas won't notice your from someplace else... the cities are full of folks from someplace else. Small town Texans will keep and eye on you for a little bit. Especially if you keep talking about "how things work back home".

I'd figure on taking a possible pay cut... and expect to see some anti labor sentiments disgused as "rugged individualism" when you get out this way. that being said... I'd expect to make more money in Austin, Houston or DFW in most professional occupations than I would in OKC or Tulsa.
City real estate is spendy compared to outlying rural... and the expressways in DFW are as hectic as any city I've been in

bsaride · Post by **bsaride** » Mon Jun 28, 2010 11:40 am

vancelw wrote:
bsaride wrote:I'm sick of California! So, if I had the
opportunity for a job in Texas would you good-ole-boys accept me? Which metropolitan (large cities) are better
as far as hunting and fishing opportunities, political climate, living expenses and all that?

I would be interested in knowing which other states would be worth considering.

BTW I'm 50 and broke
We'd love to have a refuge from our own country!

Austin is probably the least gun-friendly. Even so, it has lots of guns store and shooting ranges.
If you can find a lower paying job in a smaller city (50,000 or less) you can more than make up the salary difference in lower porpperty taxes and insurance. I could make 20 or 30 k more by going to Dallas, but I think I'm better off where I am. (and I can hunt off my back porch if I want.)

If you own a home is CA, you can probably buy 3 to 6 times the home for the same money here.

The idea of a smaller city really apeals to me, just not sure there would be many jobs. Would hate to relocate and not keep a job.
The ex screwed up my credit before passing 10 yrs ago and I went from the top of the credit rating to the bottom with the bk that
goes off later this year I don't expect to be able to buy anything. I'm willing to change jobs as well if needed to pay the bills.

Lefty Dude · Post by **Lefty Dude** » Mon Jun 28, 2010 11:43 am

Texas has many opportunities for your field of expertiese.
My oldest Son has lived & worked in Texas for the past 15 years. He lived in Austin for almost 10 years and worked for Applied Materials. He now lives in Grapevine, Tx. and Works for Bell Helicoptor in Hurst, Texas. (DFW area). Bell is a division of the Textron Corp.

We visit Tejas often, you will feel very much at home there. A slower pace than Kalifornia, with wonderful friendly folk. Lots of Hunting & Fishing available also. And a very Gun friendly place to live.

Good Luck!

BTW; you might also consider Idaho.

bsaride · Post by **bsaride** » Mon Jun 28, 2010 11:47 am

Lefty Dude wrote:BTW; you might also consider Idaho.

Well, might consider that, what do they do when that white stuff is on the ground in winter?

very moderate weather here, seasons are rain and summer.

bdhold · Post by **bdhold** » Mon Jun 28, 2010 11:51 am

San Antonio is the choice by far.
I live in Bulverde, in the hill country north of SA - I'm 20 minutes from the southernmost tailwater trout fishery in the US

20 minutes in the other direction gets me into warmwater wade fishing for endemic river bass

80 minutes gets me to the headwaters of three different rivers

I'm 2-1/2 hours from the salt

and if I must have a native Rio Grande cutthroat fix, I'm 12 hours from wild fish in NM.

there's lakes everywhere, but I never think about those, because boat fishing gets too hot by 9am...

hunting - we have little hill country white tails, big south Texas scrub and coastal marsh white tails, turkeys, javelina, feral hogs (who doesn't), bob white, west Texas blue top quail, ducks in the coastal marshes.

brno602 · Post by **brno602** » Mon Jun 28, 2010 12:00 pm

Not from Texas not from the U.S but I would go nut's if I did not have Snow

A life with no snow I could not do it!
Snow makes the world go round how the heck can you play hockey if the ponds do not freeze?

bsaride · Post by **bsaride** » Mon Jun 28, 2010 12:07 pm

Bulldog, looks mighty tempting.

brno, I would likely survive the stuff, just not much experience except when skiing as a teen.

bdhold · Post by **bdhold** » Mon Jun 28, 2010 12:12 pm

$200,000 will get you a very decent 2000 sq ft. house on an acre.

vancelw · Post by **vancelw** » Mon Jun 28, 2010 12:17 pm

bsaride wrote:
Lefty Dude wrote:BTW; you might also consider Idaho.
Well, might consider that, what do they do when that white stuff is on the ground in winter?
.

They freak out! Close schools, stores, gov't offices (at taxpayers expense). Luckily, it doesn't happen much. The farther east and south you go in Texas, the less snow you get. I am near Paris (third county from the NE corner) We get less icy weather than Sherman and more than Texarkana - and about the same as Dallas, maybe a little less.

bsaride · Post by **bsaride** » Mon Jun 28, 2010 12:48 pm

Lefty, just spotted a job posting in Grapevine

Charles · Post by **Charles** » Mon Jun 28, 2010 12:53 pm

Texas is pretty cosmopolitan these days and you will be accepted where ever you go. Go where the opportunity is. You will find plenty of outdoors activities anywhere you land.

bdhold · Post by **bdhold** » Mon Jun 28, 2010 12:57 pm

bsaride wrote:Lefty, just spotted a job posting in Grapevine

for fishing, you wouldn't be too far from Lower Mountain Fork, OK, or Lake Texoma and fishing stripers below the Dennison dam.

Fishers I know who have moved that way from the hill country, though, to a man, would come back here in a heartbeat...

Lefty Dude · Post by **Lefty Dude** » Mon Jun 28, 2010 1:00 pm

bsaride wrote:Lefty, just spotted a job posting in Grapevine

deerwhacker444 · Post by **deerwhacker444** » Mon Jun 28, 2010 6:25 pm

I worked for Northrop-Grumman/Vought Aircraft for a while straight out of college. One area where I saw people lacking was in the electronics repair end of Maintenance and Facilities. In the plant I worked in, some of the machines might have been 50 years old and the electronics hadn't been updated. Some of the stuff was so outdated that nobody knew how to work on the stuff properly. The guys that did know how to fix stuff had been brought up in the vacuum tube era and had a good feel for how stuff worked. There's lots of manufacturing around the Dallas area, you might start by looking in that arena.

bsaride · Post by **bsaride** » Mon Jun 28, 2010 6:53 pm

A quick job search shows CA and TX as the two top spots with a few here and there
(NW, MW, NE, E) and I'm liking the idea of TX. Will have to talk to the family and make sure
they are good and will talk to the property manager and see what it would take to break the lease
otherwise it will be next spring.

wecsoger · Post by **wecsoger** » Mon Jun 28, 2010 7:46 pm

Last week I was just in the DFW area, with a side trip to Abiliene, a couple of hours west of Ft' Worth. I love the area. Dallas and Fort Worth are nice when you're outside of them, traffic it is terrible. But not as bad as CA. Grapevine is a nice little town. it is caught up in that whole DFW sprawl.

I really liked Abiliene, what I saw seemed like a nice town. Actual trees and such (sort of) and a nice outdoorsy feel to it.

I've spent several trips to southern CA. Hate the state more every time I go.

bsaride · Post by **bsaride** » Mon Jun 28, 2010 7:59 pm

wecsoger wrote:Last week I was just in the DFW area, with a side trip to Abiliene, a couple of hours west of Ft' Worth. I love the area. Dallas and Fort Worth are nice when you're outside of them, traffic it is terrible. But not as bad as CA. Grapevine is a nice little town. it is caught up in that whole DFW sprawl.

I really liked Abiliene, what I saw seemed like a nice town. Actual trees and such (sort of) and a nice outdoorsy feel to it.

I've spent several trips to southern CA. Hate the state more every time I go.

Thanks for the info wescoger,
Wouldn't have thought Grapevine was a small town, lookin at my state map. Weren't any job postings for me in Abiliene.

I hate CA more and more and why of the two states (CA & TX) I REALLY want to head east young man.

2ndovc · Post by **2ndovc** » Mon Jun 28, 2010 8:18 pm

Sorry to hear about your problem.

I fell in love with North Texas when I was there in Feb. Much greener than I expected.
Temps were in the upper 40's. Sweat shirt weather for me.
I'd love to re-locate down there but can't convince the "Boss Lady" to go.

Anyway,

Hope things get better for you!!!

jb

rimrock · Post by **rimrock** » Mon Jun 28, 2010 8:29 pm

you can find a few inexpensive hog hunts, sometime for free if you get in good with a rancher right after hogs mess up his stock tank. There are many public lands managed by the PWD where you can get a cheap permit, but many times the animals will be sparse. most places where deer hunts are available are too costly for me.

stay away from places where Public Improvement Districts or Municipal Water Districts supply any part of utilities--many developers actually own these and charge too much for the services provided. There's plenty of inexpensive land about 30 minutes to an hour outside of most large towns. Besides Houston, DFW, San Antonio, Austin, Lubbock, Amarillo, & El Paso, check the next smaller tier of towns such Waco, Temple/Belton, Tyler, Longview, or San Angelo.

rimrock

bsaride · Post by **bsaride** » Mon Jun 28, 2010 8:49 pm

rimrock wrote:you can find a few inexpensive hog hunts, sometime for free if you get in good with a rancher right after hogs mess up his stock tank. There are many public lands managed by the PWD where you can get a cheap permit, but many times the animals will be sparse. most places where deer hunts are available are too costly for me.

stay away from places where Public Improvement Districts or Municipal Water Districts supply any part of utilities--many developers actually own these and charge too much for the services provided. There's plenty of inexpensive land about 30 minutes to an hour outside of most large towns. Besides Houston, DFW, San Antonio, Austin, Lubbock, Amarillo, & El Paso, check the next smaller tier of towns such Waco, Temple/Belton, Tyler, Longview, or San Angelo.

rimrock

Rimrock,
thanks, not sure how to look up the utilities for an area unless looking on city website would tell me.
Looks like i should get the bike runnin and look for a place outside the big cities, don't want to live
in a big city unless I really have to. South Orange County to the north end of L.A. is continuous and
really not looking for pavement but a job I can get to without too much trouble.

shooter · Post by **shooter** » Mon Jun 28, 2010 9:14 pm

There are many great places to live in TX, and I've lived in several of them. Hands down the Texas Hill Country would be my first choice, probably further toward San Antone than Austin. Austin's got some great stuff, but is too liberal for my tastes. Boerne, Bullverde, Bandera, Seguin are all nice places, at least the last time I was in any of them.

If you're leaning more toward the DFW metro, I would much rather live around Ft. Worth than Dallas. Ft. Worth has a different atmosphere than Dallas, more laid back. I live a little east of Dallas, and you couldn't pay me to get any closer. The only reason I don't get further away is because I make better money where I work than I can anywhere else I know of. I don't have the necessary schooling to do for someone else what I do at my company. The further out of Dallas you go, the cheaper the housing as a general rule.

20cows · Post by **20cows** » Mon Jun 28, 2010 9:21 pm

Come in over!

I prefer the not quite so cosmopoliton part of state. Abilene, Midland/Odessa. Heck, don't forget El Paso (but we're talkin' cosmo again).

Griff · Post by **Griff** » Tue Jun 29, 2010 9:21 am

I grew up in CA, the OC to be exact, then after traveling the country from '68-'70 on my thumb, I went in the service, joined the workforce in '74 and worked out of Santa Ana & drove around for a living much of that time. Offered a job in Dallas and bailed. Worked from '90-'95 in downtown Dallas. It was a 28 mile commute, took 35-40 minutes door-to-door each way average. Dallas rush hour is just that, an hour. Except for Houston, SA when it rains, El Paso & Austin on I-35, traffic in TX is nothing.

Remember no state peronal income tax.

Grizz · Post by **Grizz** » Tue Jun 29, 2010 2:04 pm

As a visitor to TX I should point out that there is wet_Tx and dry_Tx.

The humidity in E and S TX is a killer for me. Some love it. But I've seen the locals complaining about it.

But Texas has some of the most polite people, generally, of anywhere I travel. Men don't race women to get thru the door first, they race to hold it open. To some degree, chivalry is not yet dead in Texas. I love it, but I can't live in that climate. Winter time is very comfortable. Plus, Texas is the heart of America, about equadistant from either coast. Great base of operations.

Grizz

bdhold · Post by **bdhold** » Tue Jun 29, 2010 2:19 pm

I thought you were talking about the droughts and monsoons.
My house got a 23-inch overnight rain in 1997.
I saw the Guadalupe River 8 miles from my house stop flowing last year (first time since 1955 - of course, there is a Lot more drain on the aquifer now).

madman4570 · Post by **madman4570** » Tue Jun 29, 2010 2:56 pm

Consider Pennsylvania as well

Jobs listed below are located right on the Pa/NY border.
Live in Pa and drive say 1-5 miles to work.
Nice house on 1 acre around $75000-$85000 (not so nice $40,000-$60,000)
Some of the best Hunting/Fishing around to be had!
http://jobs.careeremploymentjobs.com/a/ ... eering+CAD

Only my thoughts below--------------
You have not been canned yet!
Get your back straight before leaving that present job!
Work within your Doctors recomendations and be pleasant and let your HR Dept be advised you indeed have a real valid injury.Get all your required treatments while in their employment.They might not be able to "just can you" until you either are well/cannot be cured/or maybe really they dont want to can you.
Check with your options under the Family Medical Leave Act as you might be able to gain some help there.
If you cannot end up working a full time job in the future/might have to go on some type disability???

Last thing you want to do is do this big relocation expense thing(you said your 50 & broke?)only to find out that you start missing work after just starting your nice brand new job with the back issue??????
If you leave be cautious about signing any severance agreements(many want you to give up ERISA pension/vested rights or other type rights.
Normally if you have not signed away your rights only thing your new potential company can be told from your old company canning you is "yes,you worked for them" period.(you will want to verify this as truth)
Signing away rights for a few bucks(that they will tax the stuff out of anyway)??all bets off.
Again,this is only my opinion and I am not a legal consultant in any way,so anything before you sign(get a good Employment Lawyer to give it a very good look over and recomend you accordingly)That's money well spent!
Good Luck!

Pete44ru · Post by **Pete44ru** » Tue Jun 29, 2010 3:19 pm

[BTW I'm 50 and broke]

Uh-oh - That sounds like you're 100% American, and unqualified for public assistance !

The new boss syndome sucks, but the company might not have much choice, what with the shift of US & global electronics manufacturing offshore to the likes of India, China, Vietnam, Africa & Eastern Europe.

The workers over there seem to not only work for peanuts, but just to say they're "working" - although they all talk like they have their eye on the prize.

I'd for sure get out of the PRK if I were you, in any event.

.

willygene · Post by **willygene** » Tue Jun 29, 2010 10:39 pm

well if you come to Texas welcome glad to have you. good luck and i hope you get out of PRK soon.

Mutt · Post by **Mutt** » Wed Jun 30, 2010 12:05 am

I was born in Texas must north of Austin. Town called Georgetown . It was pretty much all open country all the way around for many a good mile. Not today though . Too many folks like that hill country also.I have a son & family in Austin , and many , many kin through out the area. But today I live about 25 miles from the gulf as the crow fly's. . Waiting on the go or no go about a new storm right now tonight . We that live in places like this , storms are a usual thing .
Oil is the main thing making a average paycheck. Lots of sub companies to help support the refineries. Nuclear plant , also in the area .
Plus a lot of folks from some place else. Heck even a bunch from elsewhere were at at the Alamo . But they called Texas their home.
Might as well join the group . I have liked most of Texas all my life . Don't care to live any where else. But It would be nice if it wasn't so darn hot is the summer.
...................Mutt

Post by **Ysabel Kid** » Wed Jun 30, 2010 6:50 am

bsaride -

Sorry to hear that. Cost of living in SC is very reasonable. Not sure about work though - we've got the 3rd highest unemployment rate in the country. Still, moving further east - out of CA - is going to be a good start no matter what. Just don't stop in Chicago, or the northeast!

bdhold · Post by **bdhold** » Wed Jun 30, 2010 8:03 am

Mutt wrote:... today I live about 25 miles from the gulf as the crow fly's. . Waiting on the go or no go about a new storm right now tonight . We that live in places like this , storms are a usual thing .
...................Mutt

close to Baffin Bay, bro?

piller · Post by **piller** » Wed Jun 30, 2010 10:23 am

Grapevine is a pretty nice place and convenient to most of the Metroplex. I would suggest to look for a job in Corsicana. They have a surprisingly fast growing town there, lots of manufacturing, and lots of hunting and fishing in the area. Corsicana is pretty convenient to Waco, and is about 45 minutes away from the bottom side of the Dallas side fo the metroplex. It seems to me that you can't go wrong moving to Texas. Yes, public land is sort of tough to find and it has a pretty fair amount of hunting pressure, but that seems to be the way it is everywhere anymore. Leases are a fact of life in Texas as they are a major source of income for ranchers when the market for beef goes down or when there is a drought. I know that in some states leases are not done, but don't get mad at someone for finding a way to make enough money to keep their land.

Hope to see you at one of the get-togethers sometime.

O.S.O.K. · Post by **O.S.O.K.** » Wed Jun 30, 2010 8:05 pm

Well, we'd love to have you. Texas has more non-natives than natives these days, so don't worry about being accepted. East Texas has all of the best public hunting and lots of fishing in resevoirs. Coming from Cali - you will find that your money will go a much longer way in Texas for land/house, etc. No state income tax either.

You might consider looking north of Houston - to commute into Houston for work... or just see if there's a job in an East Texas city...?

Austin is a good place to find that kind of work though - and you can find decent housing for as little as $125K or just buy a few acres in the country and put a trailer on it!

Regardless, you will love the people/political climate.

shooter · Post by **shooter** » Wed Jun 30, 2010 11:08 pm

The part about there not being that much public land to hunt isn't that bad if you really think about it. There are pros and cons. Having lived in New Mexico, I have experienced a state with 90% or so public land. It is great for varmint hunting or just pulling off the road and shooting, but IMO, it is not ideal for big game. The seasons are 4 days long for most species, and that's IF you draw out. Depending on how many species you put in for, you end up paying several hundred dollars, and you can only spend a limited number of days hunting. That's if you have the vacation days available. I still put in for an out of state Mulie hunt every year, but I have to burn vacation days to go out there. I wouldn't hunt there still if my dad wasn't out there.

In TX, even though there isn't much public land, you can hunt year round if you're on a good lease. You are limited to the species that are on the lease, but most decent places you will find lots of deer, most places have pigs these days. There are coyotes, rabbits, and other small game. If you luck out and get a decent place in west Texas, there are Mulies and Pronghorn to go with the Whitetail, and also javelina. Just find a decent size place that allows year round access, and you don't have to worry about drawing out. It is a little more expensive, as most places start out around $1500 a year, but to me it's worth it if you've got the money.

N40W111 · Post by **N40W111** » Thu Jul 01, 2010 7:42 am

Can't blame you for wanting to get the H**L out ot the Peoples Republic of Kalifornia...I'm actually surprised that they are still a part of the Union. They ought to belong to Venezuela or China or some other communistic state. You can't use the restroom without making sure politically it doesn't affect the GLBT community, etc., etc. And let's not even start talking about guns...my brother-in-law lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and he's amazed at all the red tape over anything that is taken for granted in the other 49 states. In my state we execute the incorrigibles by firing squad. It would NEVER happen in nearby California...too messy sez they. Better to let 'em live forever on the taxpayer's dime.
Off the stump now

Never lived in Texas but it's a great place to visit. Good luck with the job hunt.

TomF · Post by **TomF** » Thu Jul 01, 2010 5:02 pm

Not many mentioned Southeast Texas. Your work would be welcome here as there are many company's HQ'd here. Houston to Beaumont is the PetroChemical hotspot. Further south, Freeport and Corpus Christi also have much to offer.
East Texas has much public land, rivers, lakes and inexpensive hunting leases.
It is GUN FRIENDLY.

TomF

rimrock · Post by **rimrock** » Thu Jul 01, 2010 7:58 pm

[/quote]
Rimrock,
thanks, not sure how to look up the utilities for an area unless looking on city website would tell me.
Looks like i should get the bike runnin and look for a place outside the big cities, don't want to live
in a big city unless I really have to. South Orange County to the north end of L.A. is continuous and
really not looking for pavement but a job I can get to without too much trouble.[/quote]

you have to ask real estate agents specifically about these hidden business arrangements, and they show up when the title work is done on a purchase. some subdivisions will post signs saying "here is the boundary of a P.I.D", etc. they are hidden for a reason--unending tax increases with very little protection for the home owner.

rimrock

octagon · Post by **octagon** » Fri Jul 02, 2010 4:48 am

I left So. Cal for Texas shortly after 9/11. Best dang move I ever made! I will not leave again, not ever.