Pulaski

What they said, but my property taxes PLUS my state income tax is about what I would pay in Texas for property taxes on a house like mine. Whichever state you live in, they get their taxes one way or another.

Tanja87

Haha Pulaski Why would I lie about being German?! Lol! Go native or go home, right? Haha!

Tanja87

So here I am again
What's everyone been up? What do you guys tend to do over in the U.S. with your families at the weekend? Here we tend to struggle finding stuff to do, places to go eat etc. cause everything is so expensive and/or the weather is quite rubbish.... Just wondering what family time looks like over there.

scrubbedexpat097

Hide from the heat and the mosquitoes


Seriously, when temps are in triple digits and the humidity turns you into a dripping mess you tend to find things to do in air conditioned buildings.

Texas is the prefect place to live from November to March in my opinion

kodokan

During the summer months, have a house with a pool or go to one of the free toddler splash pads dotted around in parks and malls. It's realistically the only way you'll get outside with small children for more than minutes. Loads more scope in the winter - parks, camping, community events, bike rides, hiking, etc.

Peekay

How long would you say the weather is unsuitable to be outdoor for any real length?

Owen778

Almost every master-planned community in the Texas suburbs has a large community pool, which is nice to take the kids to at the weekend for a couple of hours, usually not in the middle of the day though. You won't have this option until you live here, though, and when you're deciding where to live, it can be difficult to work out if the pool gets too busy at peak times.

Texas cities don't have the cultural attractions of, say, London, but they do have some reasonable science museums and art galleries, along with a few things you wouldn't get in the UK, like the Fort Worth stockyards (though visiting there in July is probably a bad idea).

Generally people try to get outdoor things done in the morning or evening, and you will see a lot of people out running or cycling at dawn and dusk.

Tripadvisor.com is probably a good place to look for suggestions, though bear in mind that the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex contains a lot of separate cities, like McKinney, Arlington, Irving and others, and their attractions are often listed separately.

Owen778

You can probably be outside at some time almost every day, but in the middle of the summer that's often at 7am or 9pm, as it can reach 100F during the day. Some days it does get a bit cooler, though.

I'd say June to mid-September, to answer your question, but here's a graph for North Dallas you can use to answer it yourself:
https://www.wunderground.com/NORMS/D...=TX&Units=none

Tanja87

Oh wow! I was hoping by the beginning of September it might cool down slightly (that's when we're visiting).... Might have to review our to-do list slightly as we have quite a few outdoorsy things on there like the Fort Worth cattle drive, zoos, the arboretum etc...
What's winter like out there? I can see it gets cooler but does it ever snow? And is Christmas as big out there as it is here? Obviously being from Germany we go all out with Christmas markets etc.

Beaverstate

Snow in South Texas is a major news event, quite rare. North up to Dallas Fort Worth still news worthy but happens every year or two. Far North Amarillo AKA panhandle annual but rarely deep or long lasting. Same for West Texas El Paso etc a bit of snow but mostly a short annoyance.

ChocolateBabz

Christmas is big and Thanksgiving too, basically from Halloween onwards is quite festive. In Houston we have a 4 day nutcracker market at The NRG Center which is a lot of fun http://www.houstonballet.org/nutcracker-market/nutcracker-market-overview/

In 8 years I have seen snow twice - once there was enough to scrape together a snow ball and throw it through the basketball hoop, and once it snowed for about 10 minutes. It does get cold though and if it gets below freezing the whole place basically shuts down. Schools close, my husband gets sent home from work and sometimes the freeways and overpasses ice over, and that's just based on temperature never mind snow! The further north you go the more your chance of getting snow and you could go and actively find it. The museum in Houston actually have a snow day where I assume they make the snow and Santa visits. I am sure Dallas will have similar things.

Pulaski

As far south as you are in Texas, no matter how cold it is, nor if there is any snow, ice, or frost, as soon as the sun comes out, it immediately starts to feel warm and any ice or snow starts to melt. This is true even a good bit further north in NC, where, when I first moved here, I wondered why nobody was clearing their driveway in the morning. When I got back from work the answer was obvious - the afternoon sun had melted it all! And did I ever feel foolish.

Tanja87

Haha, not much different than here then! Except for the sun warming things up - that hardly even happens in the summer But to be fair, even where we are (on the south coast) snow is newsworthy... Shock horror, it's winter and there's half an inch of snow, instantly crippling the entire infrastructure lol!
Ooooh, Thanksgiving, Halloween, Christmas.... Sounds like there's more festivities going on than over here! Love it!!
Have you all found it quite easy making friends there (and your kids)? Or did you find people are a bit "reserved" around foreigners...?

Sheepdip

Beautiful in San Antonio today. A cool 84F ;-)

durham_lad

Exactly right from our experience. Since retiring in 2010 we leave Texas from March/April through to late October or early November. This year we are in England, with a cabin booked on the QM2 on November 5th.

The last few years in our town, The Woodlands, north of Houston, we usually get an email Alert that mosquitoes carrying West Nile and Dengue Fever have been found and that residents should avoid being outside at dawn and dusk, and at other times to use repellent containing DEET.