Tyler, Texas: Quality of Life

5,747 Views | 12 Replies | Last: 5 yr ago by TOM-M
Thomas Sowell, PhD
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8:01p, 10/5/19
AG
Potential job interview in the mental health field plus a private practice in Tyler. New In-laws live in Dallas and 3 sisters/nieces/nephews are one hour north in Pittsburg, so this puts us 60 to 90 minutes from relatives versus the 4-5 hours currently in Houston area.

This would be a place to finish my career in theory.

Thoughts on quality of life issues? Could live in the city or get small acreage slightly out of town.

Edit to add: I currently live near The Woodlands. Have no children and won't so school quality isn't an Issue. I'd be a professor so I'd want to stay to get tenure. I don't drink but I'm happy to go to cultural events, visit Starbucks regularly, shop at Macy's or Dillard's, and not have to deal with the panhandlers of big cities or higher crime. Can easily stay at in-laws in Dallas on weekends to experience Dallas (where I lived and worked at Parkland in psychiatry). I detest heavy traffic. Love camping and I can easily morph to get along with rednecks as required. My new Asian very conservative wife works at a hospital but is a complete Tom boy who loves the country and can out-fish and outshoot 95% of men (I won't shoot with her anymore due to my ego and those males competing with her).
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SoulSlaveAG2005
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9:22p, 10/5/19
AG
WE just moved here in January. We are enjoying it.

We rented our first 6 months and then bought a home just inside the loop in July.

Tyler has everything in a larger mid size town we are looking for: Catholic schools, lots of parks and recreation areas, close to family (central Texas) plenty of food establishments, some local brew pubs. Only thing we really miss is HEB. Only brookshires and Walmart. That part really sucks.

Both hospitals are good, and everyone seems real nice. We have acclimated well.
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spud1910
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9:22p, 10/5/19
AG
Depends on what you like. I am from a small town near Tyler. Tyler has everything I need, but wouldn't want to live there because it is too big. If you are from Houston, you will probably think it is boring. If you like living in the country and the slower pace of life, buy a place out in the country and drive in. It is great. But if Houston or Dallas is what you like, you will probably hate it.
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Josepi
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9:56p, 10/5/19
AG
We moved here from a big city before we had children, and we were absolutely bored within 6 months.

Now that we have a family and our perspective has changed, we absolutely enjoy living here. There are certainly things we miss from the larger cities. However, there are other aspects that I would absolutely miss if we moved back to a larger city. Real estate is very inexpensive here compared to Houston. I also have several friends who all live in nice areas in Houston, and they all complain about the theft issues there. Wheels stolen, tailgates stolen, kids bikes stolen, packages stolen. One friend even had new landscaping that he had just put in stolen in the middle of the night. Maybe I'm sheltered or lucky, but I just haven't experienced or heard of that here.

Also, don't necessarily believe people if they tell you Tyler public schools are bad. They are night and day better now than they were 10 years ago. I'm not saying public school is right for every child/family, however, people who throw out a blanket statement saying Tyler schools are poor are misinformed.

If you love the hustle, bustle, and energy of a big city, you may get bored here. It's definitely a slower pace. It just depends on what stage of your life you are in, and what's important to you.
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BMach
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In reply to SoulSlaveAG2005 • 12:02p, 10/6/19
AG
Definitely miss HEB, however Fresh is a good alternative
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Thomas Sowell, PhD
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In reply to BMach • 2:32p, 10/6/19
AG
What is Fresh?

I lived in Commerce, TX for a few years long ago. It's university made it bearable as I got an MBA at night while working full time. Later spent 2.5 years in a cornfield town up north with no college and 1/3 the size of Commerce. I'm not a fan of large cities like Houston or Dallas except to visit, so basically I think Tyler is just the right size (only downside is it lacks the international medical scene of the Houston Medical Center) - a bit of a hassle to visit but well worth it IMHO. Tyler puts me within 90 minutes of 10 relatives and that becomes more important as I'm no longer in my 20's or 30's.
There's only one professor position open so this is a long shot although I could move there and just focus on a private practice.
Thanks for all your input. I'm 60% country boy so believe me the panhandling crime infested inner city or really hip pub and eateries aren't a huge draw.
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SoulSlaveAG2005
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2:55p, 10/6/19
AG
It is owned by brookshires.

Fresh is like an upscale/boutique grocery store. It is where you go when you want to get something hard To find, but it comes with a price.

We like going there on occasion as they have a place for kids to play and is less crowded than other areas
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RockOn
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8:05p, 10/6/19
Specifically about quality of life... I don't think you're going to find a better city in Texas for quality of life potential.

I say potential, because you could ruin it by living outside of town and commuting in 45 minutes each way every day and spending all your free time in the ChicFilA or Andy's drive through madness.

On the other hand the cost of living is extremely low, can easily live close to work with zero commute, all the authentic tacos you could want, plenty of volunteer opportunities, and great outdoor activities to keep active and stave off heart disease.
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Owlagdad
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3:33p, 10/7/19
Out on point near Lake Tyler East dam, there is a Mediterranean Villa for sale for measly 2.2 million. Great quality of life, and lake living only 25 minutes to town.
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TOM-M
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In reply to Josepi • 10:42a, 10/10/19
Josepi said:

Also, don't necessarily believe people if they tell you Tyler public schools are bad. They are night and day better now than they were 10 years ago. I'm not saying public school is right for every child/family, however, people who throw out a blanket statement saying Tyler schools are poor are misinformed.

I wouldn't necessarily say they were poor, but TISD isn't exactly great either.

For instance, '18 TEA accountability rating is C....lower than most surrounding districts. While there has been improvement from '17 to '18, STARR results were lower in nearly every testing category than state and region 7 averages. Teacher turnover rate is roughly 35% higher than the state avg. The before said, granted, the economically disadvantaged graduates of TISD are roughly 7% higher than the state avg., which helps paint more of a picture.

https://rptsvr1.tea.texas.gov/cgi/sas/broker?_service=marykay&year4=2018&year2=18&_debug=0&single=N&batch=N&app=PUBLIC&title=2018+Texas+Academic+Performance+Reports&_program=perfrept.perfmast.sas&ptype=H&level=district&search=district&namenum=tyler&district=212905&prgopt=2018%2Ftapr%2Fpaper_tapr.sas

Point being, misinformed can go both ways. And no, I'm not saying you are, but reality is what it is - TISD is nothing more than average pretty much any way one could think to look at it so far as state mandated quantifiable results are concerned.



Where TISD has truly excelled the last decade (or two) is....love 'em or hate 'em....passing bond elections. IMO.
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gigemhilo
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10:12a, 10/17/19
AG
Tyler is a great mid-sized city to live in. Very friendly, lots of good people. Real estate is not outrageous (unless you are trying to live inside the loop).

My only complaint living there was traffic on Broadway on the weekends - but that is also easily avoided.
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Strong Men Armed
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12:06p, 10/24/19
Have lived in Lindale, a bedroom community of Tyler, for several months. Do most of our shopping in Tyler. We like it... has most of the amenities we need. I will second the praise for Fresh... every bit as good as a Central Market. Do miss HEB, though. Two good hospitals. There aren't many shooting ranges, though.
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tx.agg.96
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In reply to TOM-M • 9:45a, 10/29/19
AG
TOM-M said:


Point being, misinformed can go both ways. And no, I'm not saying you are, but reality is what it is - TISD is nothing more than average pretty much any way one could think to look at it so far as state mandated quantifiable results are concerned.


Speaking of misinformed with state mandated quantifiable data, Tyler ISD is actually a "B"

Tyler ISD accountability rating moves up to a B for district

TEA hasnt posted the most current data.

Truth is, other districts around Tyler don't have the same scale nor face the same challenges with socioeconomic diversity as TISD and not a great comparison. But if you look around the district there are great schools. So much depends on what parents are looking for though. Schools like Jack, Caldwell and Birdwell. Even Andy Woods has a waiting list of parents trying to transfer their student into it.

While there is accuracy in historical quality of the district being below average to average, TISD has improved dramatically over the last 6-7yrs.
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TOM-M
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In reply to tx.agg.96 • 3:53p, 10/30/19


Good news. Glad to hear it. And by the way, I did point out a fact regarding the socioeconomic diversity consideration. I also didn't intend to belittle recent improvement...beg your pardon if my above comments came off that way.
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