Due to circumstances beyond my control, I am going to become a Texan

[jmowreader]

I can't believe I'm doing this.

Executive summary: I am a North Carolinian with a Texas Class A commercial drivers' license, which I got by going to a driving school in Fort Worth. In order to drive, my state of residence and my drivers license have to match--North Carolina CDL + North Carolina residency, or Texas CDL + Texas residency. Texas' drivers license issuing service is going to take six weeks, according to them, to issue my license so I can get it changed over. Therefore, I have decided that I can get myself back on the road much quicker and more efficiently by establishing residency in Texas.

My route to Texanness starts by renting a place in Katy; where my sister lives. From there...where? I kinda liked Fort Worth when I was there, Waxahachie's not too bad...I do know I need a three-bedroom, 1.5-bath house on enough land that I can park a 70-foot-long vehicle.

[mwdem]

1. Hey! I'm from N.C., and now am living in the Ft. Worth area.

Good luck in finding a place to settle. We've only been here for 4 years. It's a lot hotter than N.C., that's for sure!:hi:

[Gormy Cuss]

2. Good luck, and your story is just plain weird.

As in, weird that you can't get a NC CDL based on the Texas one.

[Haole Girl]

3. Good luck

And welcome to hell!

:rofl:



j/k

[mwdem]

4. You've got that right!

I just had a guy out to "ramp up" my a.c. I think it needs to be replaced.
;(

[Haole Girl]

6. The air conditioning in my car is not working well

I almost had a heat stroke before I got home today. Now I am worthless the rest of the night. What DOES one eat for dinner after a heat stroke?! I made a salad, but I think that was a mistake. :-(

Hope you (and I both) get some cooler air soon!!

[mwdem]

7. I have no appetite.

I've been down with a cold, and food just makes me want to :puke:

[Haole Girl]

8. Aw

I understand. Hope you feel better soon!
:pals:

[struggle4progress]

21. I'd suggest a nice avacado on rye, with maybe sprouts and cream cheese, and a good

cold german beer

[jmowreader]

11. At least I can work in your hell...

in my hell, I can't drive. So I'll take your hell over mine.

Besides, there are exactly two things to do in Fayettenam at night. I don't go to strip clubs and I don't want to find Jesus, so I sit at home a LOT.

[LanternWaste]

5. Just as summer starts....

Just as our own private hell of summer starts.... your timing couldn't be any better! :rofl:

[jmowreader]

9. It's not going to be that bad

I don't think I'll be in Texas any more than I would be otherwise, and trucks have air conditioning.

[Angel]

10. Welcome to Texas

Enjoy the heat! As for myself.... I am going back to Ohio as soon as I find a house there. Texas is nice...and hot. But it is not where I belong.

[texanwitch]

12. We only have crappy weather for 5 months,

Fall, winter and spring is nice.

Welcome to Texas.

Be sure to get your boots and hat.

:hi:

[Skittles]

44. LOL.....texanwitch

my brother in Chicago sent me one of those little weather stations - it changes color depending on the weather....it was bright red at NINETY DEGREES. I asked myself, do I REALLY need a bright red screen for five months to know it's fucking HOT IN TEXAS? :rofl:

[texanwitch]

45. No.

All you have to do is step out the door.

I did yard work last night at midnight, it finally cooled off.

[LeftyMom]

13. Do you need a house in Texas or the use of a mailbox in Texas?

I can't imagine the Texas DMV is going to dispatch anybody to see where your keep your toothbrush, ya know? But then again, I've had to do some crazy things in the name of placating bureaucracies, so I wouldn't be that surprised, either.

[jmowreader]

29. A lot of our guys only have mailboxes...

However, I've got a house set up. Actually it's PART of a house--a room in my sister's place--but for what I plan to do with it (namely, send mail there) it will be fine.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

14. Well...At least Texas will be a better place because of it.

:hi:

[jobycom]

15. Austin, San Antonio, and Fort Worth are wonderful places, if you actually want to live here.

If you want to stay up around the I-20 area, Granbury and some of the little towns just below Fort Worth are nice. Fort Worth, too, is a great place--very underrated part of Texas. Great museums, interestingly cultural mix of university and cowboy. If I lived along 20, I'd live in Fort Worth.

Of course, Austin to San Antonio is a great area, too. San Marcos and New Braunfels are beautiful towns with beautiful scenery. Austin has the live music and a highly educated population, San Antonio has a cultural intensity to rival New Orleans or San Francisco.

And Katy is not bad. People knock Houston, but I like the city, and there our outer towns like Conroe, Victoria, and Kemah that are great places to live. Kemah's pricey, though, from what I've heard.

[jmowreader]

30. I spent three weeks in Fort Worth, and liked it fine

The thing is, it's not HUGE--three-quarters of a million people. It's far enough away from Dallas that Shrub's ooze won't inflict itself on me, and it's got enough night life, attractions and other things that we wouldn't be bored. But it's a lot larger than Fayettenam, and Fayettenam has this neat problem with its historical properties--they've almost all been torn down. The things that were around before the Civil War were torched by General Sherman, and the things that were around after the Civil War were either (1) torn down because they were strip clubs, (2) torn down because they were in the wrong place or (3) burned to the ground in the middle of the night because someone wanted the land to put a park we really didn't need there.

On number 3: Fayetteville was the last place where a Prescott Bush-era USO hall stood. It hadn't been used for years, it needed restoration, but it was a genuine World War II USO hall. This USO hall was on land the city wanted for what they now call Festival Park. They tried for about fifteen years to get permission to tear it down, but since it was on the National Register of Historic Places they needed an act of Congress and Congress wasn't budging. So...one night when everyone was asleep, SOMEONE went over there and dumped five gallons of gasoline on the floor. The resultant fire solved the USO hall problem. Now there's an even bigger pissing contest: the Museum of Art people want part of this park so they can build a really ugly museum. No one goes to the one they have because no one knows where it is. (If you come to Fayettenam, go down Bragg Boulevard to Eutaw Shopping Center. Enter their parking lot and go behind the mall, and you'll find the museum. It is, for lack of a more descriptive term, about the size of two 7-eleven stores shoved together face-to-face. For an art museum in a city that's trying to remold itself into a Major American City, it's very small.)

[jobycom]

37. That's one thing about Texas. They love their history.

You saw that in Fort Worth, with the stockyards. Dallas doesn't have as much history, but even there they try to save what they can.

There are a lot of little towns around Fort Worth, depending on where you want to go. Granbury is a cute town on a lake. Glen Rose is on the edge of the Hill Country, so very scenic. You know Waxahachie, with their grand old homes. There are a lot of little towns around that area, and all through central Texas, that rely on quirky historical attractions to draw tourists.

You might like Mineral Wells, at least to visit. It's an empty little town with a fasinating architecture, including a 20 story luxury hotel that's been abandoned. It was a hot springs mecca in the early and mid 20th century, and several hotels were built, plus a lot of public buildings from the influx of money. The Baker Hotel was a grand, 20 something (I think) story hotel in the middle of town, which is in a bowl ringed by mesas. It was once popular on the celebrity jet set circuit, but when the hot springs market dried up, the town did, so now it's this little half abandoned small town with a massive stone building in the middle. Every few years someone wants to remodel the hotel, but it would take millions and probably have no payoff, so it sits abandoned. People stand around and take pictures of it--it's impressive. There are other smaller hotels that have been converted into apartments and retirement homes, but mostly it's a poverty-level small town with no real means of support anymore.

And if you like history, nothing beats San Antonio, which has an American and a Mexican role in history.

Texas is cool, once you get past the current political climate.

[struggle4progress]

16. You'll learn to love the summers when it's above 115 every day for a month and

the nightly low is 90. You'll come to savor those sudden summer afternoon thundershowers that bring the air temperature down to 100 and the humidity up to 100, as steaming fog rises from the blistering streets

Did I ever tell you about my lovely summer drive through West Texas when I thought my AC died? I couldn't get the car temperature below 95. I finally got out of the car -- and discovered the outside air temperature was 130

But enough of the heat. Be sure to pay attention to the local driving rules. In Massachusetts, a stop sign means Please toot while entering the intersection! And in Texas, a posted speed-limit means Drive at least 20 mph faster than this -- or we'll run you over before we even see you

Damn! Do I miss Tex-Mex food!

[Skittles]

46. I left my work badge in my car and it melted

:(

[struggle4progress]

51. Just nature's way of telling you not to work in the Texas summer

[Dem_4_Life]

17. Welcome to Texas!!!

I really do love living in this state and the fall/winter weather is so nice. There really are a bunch of great people in this state! :hi:

[w8liftinglady]

18. I work in Waxahachie-a warning

NEOCON.Beautiful little town.75%neocon.Just be prepared,and know there are those of us on your side..

[jmowreader]

27. Isn't 75 percent of TEXAS neocon?

Face it: it ain't the most liberal state in America.

[ScreamingMeemie]

19. I'm in Houston and I love it.

Texas gets a bad name (sometimes deserved) but it's not all bad. It's the best decision I made...so far.

[KamaAina]

39. I was wondering when you'd turn up!

How y'all doin', pardner? Much obliged.

"...so far"? :shrug:

[ScreamingMeemie]

52. How are you doing?

I still call it pop. They can't make me change it.

[petronius]

20. So, do they issue you the boots and the big belt buckle, or do you have

to buy those on your own? :shrug:

Congratulations on the step forward!

[jmowreader]

35. You have to buy them on your own

I think I'll have to reserve the boots for formal occasions--slick-soled shoes and spilled diesel do not mix.

[suninvited]

22. Do you already have a job in Texas?

I am sure it wont be hard to find one, if you dont. I know a couple of places that are hiring in my area (Jacksboro), hauling salt water.

Not the best place in the world to live socially or politically. People used to practically fall over in a dead faint when I went in public with an Obama t-shirt on.

[jmowreader]

32. Yeah...that's why I'm moving in the first place!

I actually have a job in Van Buren, Arkansas. (At this point you are scratching your head. I shall explain.) My employer is USA Truck, who follows the law EXACTLY as it is written. DOT says you gotta live in the state your CDL's from? That's what you do. Given that, I think it's a pretty good company. If you go to the yards and talk to guys who are in for maintenance, you'll be sure to find several who've driven for them since the 1980s. My license is from Texas and can't currently be moved to NC (read upthread), so it's going to be quicker to move myself to Texas.

[TexasLady]

23. Central Texas isn't too bad

lakes, hills, cedar trees, barefoot bbqs in January sometimes, fireflies, crickets, frogs, and tons of country living. Ive lived in a lot of places, but have to admit Texas is always going to be home.

Welcome to Texas, where we are all 'fixin ta' to do somethin' all the time!

[jmowreader]

36. I hope it's okay...

if I don't fix to move to Bell County. I've been there. Didn't like it much.

[TexasLady]

43. aww thats ok

I'll bet it's because you didn't meet me!!
:hi:

[jmowreader]

50. No, it's because I was stationed at West Fort Hood

I remember walking down the hall at 501st MI headquarters in Korea with my orders to Fort Hood, and seeing Colonel Menoher coming at me. (DUers of long standing may remember I keep saying Paul Menoher should be plucked out of retirement for a very high position.) He asked me where I was going.

"21st Replacement at Fort Hood."
'Oh, you poor fucker...ever hear of Bum Fuck Egypt? That's where you're going.'

About a week after getting to West Bum Fuck, I wrote him a letter: "Dear Colonel Menoher: You weren't kidding."

I probably would have liked to meet you. The only things I met in that hellhole were jackrabbits and armadillos.

[WolverineDG]

24. WooHOO! We're getting another democrat!!

So you start out in Katy (near Houston). SA is a good place to live, lots of trucking going through there, as it's on 2 interstate corridors). Come on over to the Texas Forum & we can give you a real Texas welcome! :)

dg

[jmowreader]

34. Lots of trucking going through D/FW too

One could say that if I really wanted to be close to work I'd move to Laredo, where we have our drop yard, or to Waskom, which is the easternmost town on I-20. I don't think I want to live in either one of those places--I don't speak Spanish well enough to live in Laredo, and Waskom has two thousand people in it. I'd like to have at least an acre of land with the house about in the middle of it--unlike Red Simpson I don't need forty acres to turn this rig around, but I can't do it on a 50 x 100 lot either!

So...I'm thinking somewhere outside D/FW or around Houston. I hate to seem like a ghoul, but I might look at foreclosures. It is a horrible thing to prey on the misfortunes of others, but someone is going to and I figure any foreclosure I buy is one someone's not going to try to flip.

[old mark]

25. My dad lives in Webster, TX, but that may be out of your area....

He seems to like it a lot there - he came to hate snow and ice in his later years.

He is 92.

mark

[Aristus]

26. There's an old story that Texas was Satan's share in Creation, and the Good Lord,

appreciating a job well-done, let it stay.

Then there's the quote by William T. Sherman: "If I owned Hell and Texas, I'd rent out Texas and live in Hell."

[littlebit]

28. That's weird

I'm a texan living in NC. Tx is one of the few states that issues everything from Austin. Unlike NC where you can walk into the DMV and 10 minutes later walk out with that shiny CDL. Waxahatchie is a nice little town. You should be able to find a nice place around there for relatively cheap. Good luck to you. Who are you going to work for?

[jmowreader]

33. I already work for USA Truck

If you're ever driving down the road and meet a truck with an Air Force logo on the roof spoiler...that's one of us.

We employ a lot of veterans, but most of us were in the Army. I wonder if we joined because this is a good company, or because we always harbored a secret desire to be in the Air Force?

[littlebit]

40. I worked for them for almost two years.

You definitely made the right move going to TX. They have a ton of freight in the middle of the country. It was kind of hard for them to get me back to NC sometimes. Plus you won't end up in the NE as much. Which is always a plus for a newer driver. Good luck to you. Hopefully you will be out on the road soon.

[ceile]

31. Welcome!

We'll take all the progressives we can get!
There are so many places where you can find what you need. Outside Austin: Bastrop, Elgin, Manor. Towards Houston: La Grange, Columbus, Smithville (very pretty). Stephenville (near Fort Worth) isn't too bad.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

38. There's good in most anywhere you might live, including Texas

I'm sure despite some of the stereotypical Texas flaws (including the one we were saddled with for 8 years) there are some very good things about living in Texas as well.

[Bucky]

41. Katy: not good. You'll hate it. Ft Worth is a beautiful town, plus

it's probably a better locale to set up shop in if you're an independent trucker.

Welcome to the Lonely Star State.

[av8rdave]

42. Welcome to Texas!

Good luck on the property search.

Practice saying y'all now...the sooner you get it down, the better.

You must learn to love the Cowboys but dislike Jerry Jones.

I have just one word for you: Smoked brisket!

Oh, and another: Shiner Bock!

Ever watch reruns of Dallas? It's all crap. Life here is nothing like that.

Fort Worth is cooler than Dallas, IMO.

Good luck, y'all!

[yellowdogintexas]

47. Welcome to TEXAS

If you end up in the Metroplex let us know we might actually organize a meet-up

and FW is nice like you said, just the right size to have every thing without having to bother with Dallas. Although you know it is there if you need it.

[MajorChode]

48. I live near Fort Worth, but I would not live IN Fort Worth

Of your three choices, Waxahachie would be my pick, and I reckon it would probably be the cheapest area to get the kind of place you want.

[UTUSN]

49. Zeus *HELP* you!1 n/t

[MrsBrady]

53. make sure to check the city ordinance

on parking rigs before you make a decision on which location you want.

a lot of the suburbs are picky about parking the those kind of trucks and trailers...fyi.

We need all the blue we can get. Welcome!!!!

Tarrant has gone "pink"...so make your way over this way if you want!

[PfcHammer]

54. Hook 'em

;)

[Texasgal]

55. Another Texan here!

WELCOME! We need all the dems we can get!

I live in Austin and I really love it here. I have beaches about 3 hours away and winerys and hill country 2 hours away. I love being in central Texas!