COMMENT BY
Laura from Palestine, TX
COMMENT ABOUT PLACE
Palestine, TX
COMMENT
Retiring in Tyler
Pros: Awesome public library, pretty city, good gardening soil, friendly people, lovely historic homes, good medical facilities, good selection of stores and educational opportunities, good church selection.
Cons: Bad traffic; If you buy a house in Tyler be prepared to wait a LONG time to sell it, scary weather, City officials aren't easy to work with. Young neighbor who worked as an EKG technician said employers wouldn't hire her for more than 30 hrs/week so she moved to Dallas.
I moved from Austin, TX to Tyler to retire in February, 2015. I wanted to live in a smaller city with less traffic, lower taxes, and less overcrowding.
I didn't realize just how bad Tyler traffic was (Loop 323 & Broadway for example). Even people who have lived in Tyler a long time concede the traffic is bad.
I decided after living for only a week in Tyler that I'd made a mistake. I never unpacked. I found a house in a smaller town an hour away, put the Tyler house on the market in July (with a new roof), and moved. The Tyler newspaper said the real estate market was brisk, but I believe this was hype. Houses I drove by in different neighborhoods last February are still on the market now (late December). My house has been on the market for 6 months without a sale, and I had it appraised so it's priced correctly.
I read a recent article comparing real estate sales in Texas cities, that it takes the average Tyler house 9 months to sell.
Since my house isn't selling and was being damaged during the real estate showings (attic ladder broken, p**p left in the toilet, water left running, AC turned to 65 in July with no one in the house), I decided to rent it out, but I wanted to renovate the garage first. The garage has a small upstairs room with a bathroom & closet. I'd like to rent that out too to recoup some of the money I've lost. The garage was built in the 1930's and all electrical, plumbing and roof are original to that time. I called the City to check on the permit process. Even though I'm trying to bring the mechanical systems, structure, and roof up-to-date, they tell me I can't rent the garage room because of the zoning. Since the room existed when the house was built, and there will be no new utility meters installed or a change of address, I believe it's grandfathered in. I don't think it's illegal to rent a room on your property. I'm also hiring licensed people to do the work. This issue is still "in progress". Maybe it will be resolved in my favor. ??
Tyler, despite its friendly people, wasn't the place for me. I've been burned badly.