I am currently accepting a new job and will be working in east Texas. We are moving from Memphis to the area and are curious to where is a great location to live and raise a family of four?

tx1c said:

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Which part of east Texas? To me, that means east of Dallas and north of about Nacogdoches; pretty big area. Some people include all the way down to the coast.
How big of a town are you looking for / what kind of services and activities are you expecting?

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You don't consider Lufkin as east Texas !!!!! WOW

Sorry, I meant to include Lufkin. I'm from the part of east Texas that's really close to the Red River.
I haven't been in the area in a long while and forgot which one was further south, Nacogdoches or Lufkin.

Tyler?Longview? That general area

Good (and fairly recent) discussion about Tyler here:

Moving to Tyler - please help!

Tyler public schools are bad. I love Tyler, but if you're going to live there, have money for private school. Look into Lindale or some of the other surrounding small towns such as maybe Whitehouse or Bullard. But, in my opinion, Tyler is much prefered over Longview....and this is from living there and going to school in Tyler.

bamdvm said:

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I grew up near Midland. Anything east of 281 is East Texas as far as I'm concerned

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Del Rio is South Texas, Corpus is the valley, el Paso is big bend, Midland is west texas

I am from the Midland area, and this is what I grew up learning. My Texas geography prof told me I was wrong

I'm mainly worried about schools I have two children in elementary and I want the best and safest public schooling for them

We ended up in Longview-my husband commutes to Marshall so unfortunately, Tyler wasn't an option.

As far as Longview goes, the sought after schools are in Spring Hill, Hallsville and White Oak. longview is smaller but with at least one of everything you need. In the year we've been here, Red Robin, Potbelly, Taco Cabana, Bubba's 33, slim chickens and Saltgrass have opened. There are a handful of good mom and pop type places that are surprisingly cheap. There are two movie theatres, a bowling alley, a mediocre putt putt, and an indoor trampoline/go cart place. Shopping is the one thing we really complain about here. The mall has Dillards (no Macy's), JC Penney and a near abandoned Sears. It's close enough to Dallas though it's not the end of the world.


That being said, if I had a choice I would probably pick Tyler. Though everyone we know here loves longview and never moved away. we find ourselves going to Tyler to hit up restaurants (Stanley's, Chuys, torchys, twisted root) or shopping. Go spend a few days in each city. Have heard complaints about the traffic in Tyler but find it hard to believe it is that bad!

Happy to answer specific questions!

It's also worth mentioning that Longview ISD just opened a Montesorri school for all PK and K (with the exception of Johnston-McQueen Elementary). Don't know anyone with kids there now. We do know many who are pleased with the Magnet elementary, Hudson PEP.

This website might be useful:

www.greatschools.org

We don't live in either town but frequent both due to family & some occasional shopping in Tyler.

The traffic in Tyler IS that bad.... great town, but not planned well for the growth they've had. Not sure about schools, but they have some good restaurants, shopping & medical facilities. Everybody that we know in Tyler with kids has them in private school.

Have friends in Hallsville & they like it. The public schools are supposed to be really good.

Longview is ok, too, and growing. Maybe not as "cool" as Tyler as far as grand houses, brick streets, etc. Overall, Tyler seems like a more affluent community but I'm sure Longview has some great pockets, too. Longview does have Bodacious Bar-B-Q (Mobberly location) & that's a huge plus - although I hear the one in Hallsville is catching up in quality. But then, Tyler has Stanleys..... and lots of lots of variety in different cultural foods that I'm not sure exist yet in Longview.

Good luck on your choice and move. Hope you enjoy your time in Texas.

Huntsville, Palestine, Jacksonville, Crocket, Orange, Beaumont...? Pretty big area.

Have you looked at Jefferson?

Look to Bullard, Lindale, or Whitehouse. Or Find an outside-of-Tyler town and I.S.D. that meets your needs with a short drive.

I'd say that Tyler wins out in shopping but I can't really think of anything you can get in Tyler that you can't in Longview.

Tyler has bad traffic for a town it's size. If you hate traffic like I do, look to the Bullard or White House area. Far enough that you can avoid traffic but close enough that going in to town isn't a big deal.

As others have mentioned, Longview has added a ton of restaurants in the past few years & has plenty to offer in terms of food.

I don't know anything about the Tyler public school system but I know that Bullard is highly sought after.

Also agree with what others have said about school systems around Longview - Spring Hill and White Oak are the better options.

Both are easy to get right on I-20 and get to Dallas or Shreveport for a getaway. Bullard is better located for getting to College Station if that's your thing.

Either way, good area to raise kids. I grew up there and, though I don't want to move back, I do still like the area.