Any Favorite Towns in Texas?

Jersey Born · ‎03-10-2010

Hi. I have never posted in this forum. I would love to visit Texas, but I would like to hear about your favorite towns and places to visit there, first, just to get some ideas. What do you like about those towns, in particular?

Are any areas of Texas even slightly less prone to tornadoes or flooding? That's probably a silly question, but I thought I might throw it out there, just the same, in case anyone has information about that, too.

kaydee50 · ‎02-07-2011

Haven't been there for awhile but San Antonio, Austin and Fredericksburg come to mind.

PickyPicky3 · ‎10-22-2018

Austin San Antonio Hill Country Big Bend El Paso Galveston Any friendly small town

You just need to think of Texas as a different country.

So much great music and dancing. So much great food.

On It · ‎03-15-2021

@kaydee50 @Jersey Born I am from Texas. Its different regions vary a lot in culture and geographically. San Antonio is by far the best city in Texas. It is home to the Alamo, the missions, and historic hotels and homes. I would recommend staying downtown on the River Walk and enjoying the many shops and restaurants along the banks of the San Anontio river. The Spurs are beginning their basketball season so seeing one of their games is an entertainment experience as well as a sporting event. The north side of town hosts La Cantera shopping center, Six Flags over Texas, and a world class golf course.

A little over an hour north of San Antonio is Fredericksburg, Texas. It is a quaint German town that still has most of its original buildings and Sunday Houses (small weekend homes the settlers used to attend church and restock supplies.) Main Street is a walking excursion filled with many shops, tasting rooms, and restaurants. You could easily spend a day just walking the shopping district.

The scenery is beautiful as you will find yourself in the Texas Hill Country. A small town not far from Fredericksburg is Johnson City. It was home to LBJ and his ranch can be visited there.

Austin is close by Fredericksburg and San Antonio. It gets a lot of hype in the media, but I would skip it unless you are really into the music scene. Then it might be worth fighting the traffic and congestion. Many of the tech companies have moved there, and it is just not Austin to me anymore.

El Paso is a totally different world apart from the rest of Texas. It is a desert area, but has historic charm and a beautiful culture. Its name is from the mountain pass the city wraps around. On an El Paso trip, I would go to Southern New Mexico. Within two hours you can visit White Sands and pass by the missle range where many projects are tested. North of that area is Mescalero, the homeland of the Mescalero Apache Tribe (Geronimo and Cochise have descents there), and the beautiful mountain village of Ruidoso. The town of Lincoln is home to Billy the Kid and the Lincoln County Wars. The village of Capitan is home to Smokey the Bear. He has a museum there in his honor and was found in the forest between Lincoln and Capitan.

Dallas/Ft. Worth is a third destination. Dallas has the big city vibe while parts of Ft. Worth have kept their cowboy roots. The Stockyard area and Billy Bob's are a must see. If you are a fan of the whole Magnolia phenomenon, Waco is a couple of hours south of DFW.

On the downside, Texas discarded masks in March and very few people in my region of Texas wear them. Its vaccination rate is lower than many states. The individual cities vary so you may want to check the local numbers. Do not depend on state averages. Three of the 10 largest cities in the US are in Texas so averages are pretty meaningless. I believe San Antonio may have a higher vaccination percentage.

Enjoy your excursion whichever you choose. I left out the coastal areas as I do not know them well.

On It · ‎03-15-2021

@Jersey Born I forgot to mention the weather related question. The DFW area is sitting on the southern edge of what some call Tornado Alley. The area can have significant hail storms and the occasional major tornado. Know that tornadoes can happen anywhere especially in the spring and fall when the seasons are changing.

As for floods they too happen anywhere at any time. Floods are easier to avoid, just move to higher ground and stay out of low lying areas. The river near my home would flood but it had no impact on us except for a possible detour. The Houston flood a few years ago was not typical. A tropical system was the trigger but several flukes of nature caused rain to just dump huge amounts all over that region. I would be aware of tropical development during hurricane season if you plan to visit the coastal areas. Climate change has made the weather events and temperatures more extreme than they were in my younger days.

Please don't be frightened of the weather. Most of the time it is beautiful.

Jersey Born · ‎03-10-2010

Thank you so much everyone.

@On It I really need to ask my friend who once lived in Texas for about a year or two max due to a job relocation. She truly loved Texas, even though she was called a "Yankee" (and truly thought of as a "Yankee" outsider) by people in her office. I think that was the only thing she didn't love about Texas, to be honest.

It is true that bad weather can happen anywhere. Hurricanes, tornadoes, slow moving storms, etc. are something we all must deal with, no matter where we live. When my friend drove back to Texas to visit her friends there (along with her two daughters and husband) there were tornado warnings issued for Texas, and I asked my husband if I should call my friend to warn her. He said she probably knew about it already, because she was in Texas. Turned out she didn't know about it and they all saw a tornado from their vehicle as they were driving around. One of her daughters thought it was "cool". Lesson I learned---> Warn people about dangerous conditions in their area.

You are right, though. We musn't live in fear.