It's Okay but Could be Better
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8/28/2008
Belton is a small town near Killeen and Fort Hood (large Army Base). It's economy depends a lot on the base for income so they have a captive audience that they can pretty much dictate prices to everybody since they cannot go too far out of the area to live. Cost of living may appear to be low but the cost of utilities and deposits and such are ridiculous. The people are for the most part pretty friendly and the crime rate is not too bad. Schools are about average or a bit lower than what you would expect for an area like this. If your kid is not into sports or rodeo or something like that there is very little for them to do here. They have a small water park but you can only go so many times before that is boring. The area lakes are nice and on the military reservation they have very nice facilities (fishing, water park, outdoor activities and such but you have to really be a military dependant or military to enjoy any of it. Wages run anywhere from $5.50 an hour to around $10.00 an hour tops (sometimes more if you work for the government or specialize in some field). There is lots of medical facilites that are fair but not great. Plenty of good eating places and lots of night spots (military oriented). Crimes that are highest generally are drug oriented, vandalism (bored kids?), and some violent crimes although not as bad as larger cities or similar sized cities without military populations. The job market is full of stiff competition (again military driven due to spouses and such also competing). The utility costs are high especially for electricity and they even charge you a fuel factor (meaning you may have used say $100 worth of electricity but they will add a fuel factor charge (what it costs to make that electricity) which is at least three times what the original usage costs were. If you were going to buy a car you would be better off buying one outside the area (we went to Houston) because they go for quite a few thousand dollars cheaper outside the area. Law enforcement is adequate if not a bit strained at times and they are constantly hiring because the pay for emergency personnel is pretty bad and they can get pid better other places in the state. The cost to buy a house is okay but not great for what you get for your money elsewhere. The weather is hot, hotter and cold and wet. This is a place of weather extremes. There are plenty of tornadoes and bad storms during storm season and lots of scortching hot days and fire hazards in the extremely long summers (they may last from April till November, I have even seen it get in the 90's in February and over 100 degrees is pretty normal throughout the summer. Water quality is pretty good most of the time but since the area uses area lakes for supply when the akes turn oer the smell is real bad and the water turns a bit brown and is likely to send you to using bottled water. Air quality is pretty good. The idea that the cost of living was lower than average and the nearness to military facilities keeps a lot of retired military here but the cost of living going up is causing many to look elsewhere. There are several colleges in the area that are okay and have a fair curriculum.
Ce'ine | Belton, TX