Thinking of Texas as winter retreat/residency

[The Heretic]

I was talking to someone at work about feral pig hunting and he asked where I would hunt.

I answered Texas was one state that had a lot of feral pigs.

For a while now I have been thinking about "snowbirding" when I retire in 5 years.

I strongly prefer warm weather and sunny skies, and I plan on traveling south when I retire, but still maintaining property here in Oregon, if not residency.

Besides the weather, the other reasons for having legal residency elsewhere are:

1) Taxes. If I am going to be gone from Oregon the majority of the time, and Oregon is going to increasingly restrict my Second Amendment rights, then I don't see why I should pay income taxes here. Plus, I won't be working here and I will be on a relatively fixed and lower income that will come from investments. Texas has no income tax.

2) Firearms. If I am a resident of another state, and that state has relatively "reasonable" gun laws, especially with regards to buying/selling firearms (no waiting period, no background checks for private sales, no registration, etc.) then I would prefer being a legal resident of that state instead of Oregon. If I am a legal resident of Texas, then any firearm I own could be sold/traded to someone else in Texas in a private transaction and there is no way for Oregon to prove otherwise, therefore no easy legal way for them to insist on registration or eventually confiscation or that I prove that I sold it or insist on me providing info on who I sold or gave the gun to.

I do have plans to buy more guns.

Further - of all of the states in the USA, I see Texas as one of the least likely to go down the road that Oregon and Washington are going down, much less that of California.

Thoughts?

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[Joe13]

Half Texan here...

Texas is a big dung hole.

But it is huge so your sure to find some peace somewhere.

Huston is humid.

Austin and the hills around it are nice but full of hipsters (Whole foods first store is in DT Austin).

Dallas/Fort Worth is crammed full of people and is full of crime.

As long as your not Mexican you shouldn't have any issue with LEO.

Half my family is scattered over that state - I don't talk to any of them anymore.

I can understand the gun laws but the culture is 100% different then here, I would take a few vacations there first.

 

[Dapapadon]

I lived south of Dallas for 18 years and loved it.

Texas isn't warm in the summer, it's hot. Your utility bills will be higher in the summer than the winter. Most summers were highs near 100. Overnight temps were mid 80s. I drove to work a lot of mornings with the A/C on. When the sun went down the humdity came up. Expext low 90s by mid-morning.

No tent camping in the summer. No window in the tent that will support the A/C unit.

Should mention the rain & thunderstorms. By Texas standards it doesn't rain in Oregon, it sprinkles. Think I'm kidding? Think of leaving your garage door open while it rains. No big deal, right. In Texas, do the same thing and you might find the only dry areas are the ceiling and maybe the front corners by the door. Did I mention tornados? I noticed west coast people get _______ when the pretty blue ski turns gray & black, the massive clouds roll in and the wind goes from calm to gusty all in about 15 to 30 minutes.

Almost forgot the hail. If it's small don't worry about it. Unless you get a 1/2" or more, then the roads can get slick. If the 1" to 2" stuff hits the ground/pavement and smashes you should be ok. If it bounces like pingpong balls expect auto damage, broken windows roof damage.. The larger stuff, well...

Winters can get really cold.

I left in 1999. I don't remember anyone talking about hog hunting, other than Ark. hog. Most Texas hunters I knew were deer hunters. Texas white tail are on the small size. But I ate a lot of fine deer sausage, Czech version of Klobas'. Also, I grew up in the midwest. Never heard of a deer lease till I got to Texas.

I liked the people in Texas. Thinking back they may be a little more direct. But they are not being direct to be rude.

All joking aside a vacation to the area you are considering may be a good idea.

Don

 

[Certaindeaf]

I think I heard that 95% or something of Texas land mass is privately held.. whereas in the West, it's almost the inverse.

 

[Oregonhunter5]

Deer hunting sucks there. Unless you have money. Need a lease or land.
Storms? Bring it! I love nasty storms.
I lived in Kansas.
Since I'm a huge JR Ewing fan from WAY back, I would live there.
In the country.

 

[edslhead]

I don't think I could ever be a Cowboys fan. My friends went there on a hog shoot and had a blast.

 

[Medic!]

'' If I owned Texas and Hell. I would rent out Texas and live in hell''

Philip Sheridan 1866





I spent Three months down there training for the Army.

Dude. It's Hot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You have no Idea how hot!!!!!!!!
Sure. You can keep your guns. You just can't touch them without an oven mitt!

 

[albin25]

A few years back My wife and I were down there getting my daughter set up at Texas State (end of Aug).
My first morning there I exited the motel room at 7:30 AM...It was 91 degrees and there was a heavy dew still on the cars in the parking lot!!!

 

[The Heretic]

I wouldn't be there in the summer, I would be here. I like the PNW from spring to fall, but right now I would prefer to be somewhere else altogether.

I would spend some time between November and April outside of Oregon someplace where it is warmer and drier and sunnier that time of year, but not oppressively so.

Also, I would be retired, so I wouldn't be spending any time near a large city.

I was thinking the hill country north and west of San Antonio. IIRC I've been to San Antonio and it was actually kind of nice what little I saw of it.

I don't go places to absorb or observe culture or people, I go places to see the countryside where there are no people. I am fine living by myself and isolated - I prefer it that way.

 

[Dapapadon]

Texas winter weather may not be what you think. Mid-December thru the end of Feb. can get in the 20s & teens with a 30 MPH wind. I grew up in Indiana, cold but generally calm wind in the winter. Texas by far is the coldest place I've ever worked. They get ice storms that rival the ones here.

We were working in a silo penthouse one evening. Think of a building on top of silos a 100 feet in the air with open grate floor. What looked like clouds rolled in under the floor. I'm like??? One the guys says looks like the cold front they forecast is here. Temp dropped 20 deg. in the 30 minutes it took us to finish up & get the tools down, mid 50s down to mid 30s.

Pick a location near where you plan to move and check out the temps this winter. Factor in the wind as well. US weather patterns have changed so I'm not sure how it is anymore. Just talked to my sister in IN this evening. She said they had 80s a week ago. And it's still not cold.

Anyway, not trying to tell you not to do it. Just that it may not be the weather you think. Worth checking out since you have a few years to decide.

Don

 

[albin25]

I own a 2story 3br unattached condo in San Marcos that our daughter is rattling around in while attending Grad school at Texas State. Homes and property are certainly reasonably priced, gas is around $1.80, but l think property taxes are kinda high as is electricty...
but, that stuff averages out with most other places .
Wichita Falls is a nice area, usually real nice weather from Thanksgiving to Easter, it does occaisionally get snow though ( but then so does Ryhad every century or so ). my peeves are mainly humidity, wind, hubs of hell heat and humidity...oh yeah, and the wind.



But I've become a weather wuss....my daughter likes it there

 

[Caveman Jim]

I have family in the Ft. Worth area and down in Brownwood. I have been there many times during my life and I would not want to live anywhere near a big city!!!! Too mush Riff Raff and illegal aliens everywhere who hate all white people!!!
I am contemplating a snowbird retirement also but it will have to be in my RV with a few RV lots in different places. I hate the "tied down" feeling I've had all these years settled in one place.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[B5Ben]

I think AZ might be more what you are looking for between November and April. You will want to leave by May as its usually in the low 100's by May but its nice during the winter. You wouldn't be the first to be a part year resident down there. Gun laws are relaxed and its a Red state historically. I would stay away from Phoenix, but the outskirts aren't bad. Also areas like Show Low, Pinetop, & Payson are pretty nice areas with a slower pace and don't get deathly hot in the summer.

 

[45alive]

I have family in the Ft. Worth area and down in Brownwood. I have been there many times during my life and I would not want to live anywhere near a big city!!!! Too mush Riff Raff and illegal aliens everywhere who hate all white people!!!
I am contemplating a snowbird retirement also but it will have to be in my RV with a few RV lots in different places. I hate the "tied down" feeling I've had all these years settled in one place

Good luck with your decision.

I agree, a nice 5th wheel and a ''FORD'' Heavy Duty 350 DIESEL 4X4 and you will be comfortable and have the best travel options as well. Don't know much about Texas, but I like Arizona and they have smaller Javalina wild pigs there or Nevada is a snowbird getaway also. I know what you mean about the hate White people attitude by not only Hispanics but many other so called minorities. There is a view of Nationalism in the Southwest and White people are not welcome by the ''Locals'' I try to get along with all people of the Human Race and I am not Racist . I have been discriminated against because I am ''White'' when I tried to get along with other than ''White'' Ethnic groups. My wife has African American as well as Native American Ancestry and I Love her , she is my Wife. Funny how that works.

 

[The Heretic]

Arizona is closer, dryer and has constitution carry.

And no trees where it is warm - just cactus

I spent a year in eastern WA in the USCG and I did not care for the desert.

I've been to both Arizona and Nevada. Both places my parents snowbirded. I didn't care for either one - it was warm, but boring to me. AZ has a nice area up north with trees, but it gets cold in the winter there too. North of Reno can be nice - I drove through there once - but I don't know the weather and it is a relatively small area.

I do plan to visit whatever area I would like to take up residency in - during the season I would be there - before I would move there.

 

[The Heretic]

Just to be clear, I have a one ton Dodge 4x4 with an 8x12 flatbed I am converting into an RV. I plan to be moving around, not just go live in one place. But it would be nice to have a couple of acres with a well and septic system I could park the RV on.

That said, I can probably work something out in a "free" state with low or no income taxes.

 

[Caveman Jim]

Just to be clear, I have a one ton Dodge 4x4 with an 8x12 flatbed I am converting into an RV. I plan to be moving around, not just go live in one place. But it would be nice to have a couple of acres with a well and septic system I could park the RV on.

That said, I can probably work something out in a "free" state with low or no income taxes.

That is what I'm talkin about, I have an 08 F350 and a 10'-6" truck camper and an 18' boat for up here. Down there I'd have to opt for a Troy Landry type of boat......
I am looking into some small properties for a change of scenery and hunting venues. I love waterfowl hunting and will travel to the Midwest & the South for some real "GOOD HUNTIN"....
Might as well enjoy doing something you love besides sitting in a lazyboy and reading a boring book, think old Huck Finn here......

 

[Joe13]

Who is Huck Finn? I can't find him listed as an operator or instructor in my everything you need to know tactical picture pop up book...

 

[Caveman Jim]

He is the very handsome adventurous type plying the waterways in his favorite craft and trusty survival knife, you sure you can't find him? Better look again... Ryan by the cave....

 

[Joe13]

Off topic, but it's a darn shame they banned that book...