Reviews & Comments
Tyler, TX
re: Tyler A Rare Gem of a City -
11/24/2017Writing more words isn't going to change the bottom line reality of east Texas, of which Tyler is its center, the place is an anachronism and has been outpaced by most of the rest of the country, even most of the rest of Texas. I too moved here from California and if I had known what I know now I would have never come here, ever. I am conservative and well educated man who practices in a health care discipline and moved here from a conservative community in California to escape what I thought was a closed minded mode of living but the provincialism, the glorification of ignorance and yup, the racism is rampant. If the text cut and pasted from a glossy brochure is all it takes and you can be satisfied that it really is nothing more than a brochure then this is the place for you, but be warned that if you are not from this place (defined as multigenerational born and bred) you will never be truly accepted, ever and those that can pretend to not notice and be placated with green flora, low crime, cheap milk and warm winters then you've found home. I for one can hardly wait to stand at this city's outskirt and brush its dust from my boot heels on my way out.
Tyler, TX
re: Retiring in Tyler -
7/23/2017Laura, your assessment of Tyler, and for that matter of of East Texas, is sadly spot on. Your experience has been a common thread for many who come to Tyler imagining that there really is a place like they see in the ads and, simply put, its just a fantasy, a facade. Oh, sure, there is a patina of hospitality, and community, and churchy religiosity but at the end of the day, many of the local denizens are just as self-absorbed as their big city brethren.
Yes, traffic is obscenely congested for a city this size. For all the complaining that people here do of traffic in DFW, my experience in Fort Worth traffic was that it was busy but it moved, it flowed and folks behaved like reasonable human beings behind the wheel. There is a dizzying array of contradictory and just plain obtuse street signs, of which essentially no one pays attention to except us reasonable folk from elsewhere who learned that operating a motor vehicle on a city street isn't the same as running a tractor in a pasture. As for the police, well, lets just say that Tyler has been well known as one of the few cities with the unenviable distinction as having one of the highest rates of traffic citations in Texas, almost all of which are for speeding. Now, you can run the reds all day long, right in front of the cops (who often themselves run the reds) and do it flagrantly, for several long seconds after the other traffic has a green light, no problem. But run a couple miles over the posted limited in a city like Whitehouse (just to the south of Tyler) and bam, you've got yourself a big fat ticket.
As for the medical infrastructure, ya, ok, it looks good, and there is plenty of good in it but there's also a greedy streak running right down through to its core. The local spine surgeons have wracked up some of the highest rates of spinal fusion surgeries anywhere in the country, and this in a town with only about 100k population. Why? Simple, spinal fusion is the highest paying billing code on the books. The same goes for 'interventionalist' of all stripes. If ever there was a medical apparatus that was bent on doing thing to you instead of for you then Tyler is the center of it.
Look, as someone will point out, 'every place has its bad apples' and I am here to tell you that after ten years of this I've found way more bad apples then any town has a right to shove down a person's throat. I'm ready to go and never look back and I'm guessing that an east Texas troll or too will be only too happy to say 'good ridance'. If I were you, and I was once, looking to move to this quaint, charming little southern town, be sure to really do your homework and be confident that this is what you want, a community focused on fakery and keeping up with the jones like I have never seen almost anywhere else in all my travels. If you got a boat load of money and you like spending cash for sport, and you like apathy and indifference and you prefer the spectacle of church to the substance of church then this is just the place for you. Otherwise, don't take the chance.
Tyler, TX
re: An Acquired Taste -
7/23/2017Unfortunately Tasha I too have noted the same kind of things. That you described it as a time warp to 1950 is almost exactly the same conclusion that I had come to on my own. Contrary to the individual that replied to your post, I have heard racial slurs used in public, perhaps not as overtly as it was in 1950 but don't fool yourself, the bigotry is deeply engrained in this part of Texas. The good ol' boy network will have the most frightfully incompetent tradespeople attempting to do contract work that they have absolutely no business at all doing and it will keep most 'outsiders' (anybody not born and raised here for at least a couple generations) forever struggling to advance. I wouldn't be as generous and suggest that many here are religious as much as they are into what's now being referred to as 'churchianity', a place to go see the spectacle and do the evangelical dance. If that's your thing, then have at it, but if you want authenticity and community, if you want the common sense notion of a meritocracy then you have come to the wrong town. Be very careful before making a commitment to this place. Don't make the mistake I did and buy off of the glossies.
Tyler, TX
re: Great town! -
7/23/2017The 'barrel' of Tyler, in this case, has many, many more than a few bad apples. Perhaps, if you are looking for a respite from the reason and conveniences of the 21st century and you yearn for the 1960s you'll find it delightfully charming. Otherwise beware, and do your homework before making any commitment. I wish I had, and that is on me for such a glaring oversight. I bought the dog and pony show of southern hospitality and all the rest not realizing that once an outsider in east Texas, always an outsider in Texas. As for all the great hospitality, it is only just barely skin deep. Don't be tempted.
Tyler, TX
re: Tea Party Hell -
7/23/2017I couldn't have said it better myself Lauren. If you are ok with clear cutting tracks of beautiful woods to build garbage housing, if you find apathy and indifference an endearing quality in a community, if you are into the religion of baptist 'churchianity', if you are into valuing as much inauthenticity as you can possibly afford then Tyler is just the place for you. I am also looking to move, and I suppose there will be some troll that will say 'good riddance' and to that I'll quote my grandfather who grew up on a farm and was fond of remarking upon the small mindedness of others "leave the pigs to wallow in their filth, they like it best and it'll keep you all the cleaner". Do your homework before making the move to this place.