I lived in the great state of Texas for seven years when I was much younger. I really liked Texas, both while in college and working in the oilfield when I got out of school (I was a "Mud Engineer" at the drilling rigs).
I believe I have JUST ENOUGH people here who either live now, have lived there before and maybe some others who have logged some "quality time" there.
So, for those interested in Texas, I want to stir up the pot.
Which is the best county in Texas?
Name it! And argue your point if you wish. You may choose whatever criteria you wish (how friendly the people are, the scenery, a county with a big city if you like that, where the nicest looking women (or men) are, etc.) And for this post only, I am suspending my pleas for behaving well! In the Comments section of this post it is:
Fight Club Rulz!
Since I host this blog I will wrestle first with this weighty question. For me, it comes down to two scenic counties:
Goliad County (where for a few years I had some rural property)
or
Llano County (scenery)
Goliad / Llano. Llano / Goliad. Oh, what a choice... Agonizing...
The best county in Texas?
Llano County
Llano? Thems are fighting words pardner. Bastrop County. Between the great deer hunting and fishing in Lake Bastrop, you got Llano beat by a long shot.
ReplyDeleteI am really looking forward to see if we get more comments re this article!
ReplyDeleteBANG! Goes the sound of a 30-06... Maybe the next gun I will buy (I own an AK-47 clone and a 9mm Beretta).
Llano County, for me, has the best drop dead beauty in your state! The Llano uplift is really something that can steal a man's heart.
I actually spent the first seventeen years of my life growing up in the suburbs east of Dallas and I think Texas is certainly one of the greatest states in the union.
ReplyDeleteBut, I'm not willing to argue for Dallas County as the greatest county in Texas :) Especially now. It was a big city back in '78 when I left and that's right about the time it really started growing fast. Too much big city for me.
I like east Texas, Piney Woods, Tyler, Palestine...all well watered, much forested, lots of wildlife, but not enough hills to suit me.
Texans are as good bunch on average and I'd take anywhere in Texas over most other places I've been with the exception of far east Tenessee. Love me some Smokies...
ooops...better proofread better before posting here. No edits once submitted I see...
ReplyDeleteYah, but at the end of the day, you still have Americans for neighbors. So, at the end of the day, who cares?
ReplyDeleteI've lived in San Antonio twice. Once as a kid and once as an adult. Texas would be a great place to live if only it wasn't full of Texans :)
ReplyDeleteMy only experiences with Texas (besides brief airport layovers) involved residing in Port Mansfield for about 4 months (dredging), and then delivering a crew boat up to Houston. Mansfield was a cool isolated place. Very strange...
ReplyDeleteDepends on what you are looking for. If you just want to be left alone, there is one county that has a population of less than 100 (IIRC). If you want the lowest taxes possible, then there are others.
ReplyDeleteFor my money, I'd have to say Lubbock county comes out on top, having lived in some five other counties, and spent significant amounts of time in many more. It has very nice, low property taxes (COUNTY, not the city). The cost of land isn't so bad. The economy is robust, and benefits from inflation more than most places, due to the cotton and oil industries. It is also a college town. In fact, it has the second lowest cost of living of any college town in the US (the lowest is a dumpster in Arkansas). Lubbock is the second most conservative city in the US (after Provo), if that's your thing, and there is a surprisingly strong libertarian undercurrent in politics around here. The politicians would rather cut spending than take on debt or raise taxes. It's your classic low tax/low service county.
Further, though there are building codes here, I have yet to see any enforcement action in the county (a big plus for those who don't want to to to the expense of hiring architects for self-made buildings).
The only real problem here is the declining water table, though that is more of a south plains problem. Those of us in the county benefit greatly from groundwater, because Lubbock doesn't pump its own groundwater, meaning those of us on the periphery can pump a lot more--the water table here is actually rising.