tdog7ag said:

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Hallsville
Sulphur Springs more northeast Texas
Arklatex Pleasant Grove
Paul Pewitt
Spring Hill
White Oak

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Spring Hill is Longview and is 80k people. Might be bigger than what OP is looking for. Hallsville and White Oak are essentially Longview as well with development having closed the gap between them. Just drove through Hallsville last week. That place is booming, but there are some properties with lots of land out there.

My brother lives in Sulphur Springs. Their downtown is actually really nice and they have gotten pretty strong in sports at the local high school. Housing in short supply though.

YouBet said:

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tdog7ag said:

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Hallsville
Sulphur Springs more northeast Texas
Arklatex Pleasant Grove
Paul Pewitt
Spring Hill
White Oak

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Spring Hill is Longview and is 80k people. Might be bigger than what OP is looking for. Hallsville and White Oak are essentially Longview as well with development having closed the gap between them. Just drove through Hallsville last week. That place is booming, but there are some properties with lots of land out there.

My brother lives in Sulphur Springs. Their downtown is actually really nice and they have gotten pretty strong in sports at the local high school. Housing in short supply though.

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Correct on wanting a smaller town. Also there have been a lot of great suggestion but some are 4+ hours away from my parents and sadly we can't do that

Hideaway Lake in Lindale is the best

+1 for Lindale. It's a bit over your 3hr limit but worth the extra time I think. Also, Tyler is close by.

Have you looked at Groesbeck, Franklin or Cameron?

When you go to bullard don't just look in town...Emerald Bay and Eagle's Bluff neighborhoods on Lake Palestine are in that school district.

We moved to Palestine in 2008 from Dallas based on location - 2 hours from everyone we need to get to quick - my in-laws, mom, etc.

We didn't have kids in school here, but know plenty of people that work & are very involved with PISD. There is also Innovation Academy or https://palestine.uttua.org/ & several of our friend's kids have gone thru there & on to college.

We lost our big box stores (JCP, Beall's, etc) recently - through no fault of the City - but there seems to be a lot of new development on the horizon.

There are some nice, locally owned restaurants & nationally known pie! Overall, we really like it & the people.

Wife and I are coming to town 7/30 to check it out in person. Any recommendations?

We obviously want to check out the housing and grocery stores but what else should we check out?

vander54 said:

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Wife and I are coming to town 7/30 to check it out in person. Any recommendations?

We obviously want to check out the housing and grocery stores but what else should we check out?

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That's a little tricky to answer. What's most important to you? Recreations? Churches? Food? Entertainment?

I would think twice about putting my child in Palestine ISD.

tdog7ag said:

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I would think twice about putting my child in Palestine ISD.

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Why?

Does anyone live in Lumberton, Kountze or Silsbee?

Google Palestine High School incidents then make your own mind up.

tdog7ag said:

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Google Palestine High School incidents then make your own mind up.

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Are you talking about the inappropriate text incident?

There was a shooting and a near fatal fight, never been a real safe environment. But it is just my opinion.

tdog7ag said:

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There was a shooting and a near fatal fight, never been a real safe environment. But it is just my opinion.

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The shooting was 5 years ago and involved a Teaque resident in town for a playoff game that had nothing to do with Palestine except being played there. The fight was 4 years ago and appears to be isolated.

Research Fort Bend ISD shooting, happened last year. Hate to say it but this kind of stuff happens a lot all over the country. If you Google most decent sized school districts you'll find issues.

Also one thing I have never heard about Palestine ISD is that it's dangerous. I've heard not the best schools but the data says they are above average.

If any of the towns outside of Tyler don't work because Tyler is too big, I would look at Nacogdoches. It is a good, clean, college town, with some really nice neighborhoods. Central ISD has a good reputation.

Unfortunately Nacogdoches is out due to it being too far from family.

Llano (west)
Bellville (East)

Great small town is Huntington, Texas. 10 miles or so east from Lufkin, 25 or so to Nacogdoches. I have a friend who retired and bought 40 acres about five miles east of Huntington and loves it. Lufkin has large regional hospital and medical facilities, great restaurants and other services to go to. SFA is a short drive away for any interest in performances...great Music program. You would be within 30 minutes of great fishing and boating and also hunting and camping if that's your thing. I lived nearby for many years and always thought it would be a great area to retire to.

Sorry, didn't see the near Austin comment. If you want quieter and near a city, think about the south side of Lake Somerville where there are some really nice homes. Anywhere south of Lake Somerville off of Hwy 36 to Brenham would fit your needs. A few miles to Brenham and only about 40 miles to BCS. Four or five miles to Somerville with a few restaurants, health cliinc and Brookshires grocery. Some nice parks around the lake. I would live south of Lake Somerville without reservation.

I know a number of persons who retired to the Burton area and love it. 15 miles to Brenham east and Austin to the west.

vander54 said:

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Wife and I are coming to town 7/30 to check it out in person. Any recommendations?

We obviously want to check out the housing and grocery stores but what else should we check out?

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Lunch at Pint and Barrel Drafthouse is a must.

Yep. That is going to be a definite stop.

Corn Pop said:

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Does anyone live in Lumberton, Kountze or Silsbee?

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I lived in Lumberton for about 5 years. Good place to live