College Station Travel Forum

Hi,

I will be moving to College Station, TX next year. I've lived in the midwest all my life. I've only been to Texas once, Houston, and vaguely remember that trip it was so long ago. Probably slept through most of the drive. Is there anyone who has made a similar treck from one extreme to another?

Can anyone fill me in on what to expect from that part of the country? I know it gets hot in the summer but that is the limit of my knowledge. I've heard they don't have basements in Texas. Where do you store all your junk??? Where do you go in bad weather if you don't have a basement? What types of critters do I need to worry about (creepy crawlies, bugs, mosquitos??). Is a pool a worthwile investment? Certainly isn't in the midwest - brrrrr.

I notice none of the homes I've scanned on the real estate pages have screened-in porches, a must to keep mosquitos away in midwest. Not a problem in Texas? What are the pros and cons of living in College Station vs Bryan? I have a teenage daughter who will be attending the highschool. Any knowledge about Bryan High vs College Station High School? Will be affilliated with the Texas A & M but since don't know the area, no real preference on where I live at this time. I love to walk, any nice trail systems there?

I am looking for all info I can get, the good, the bad and the ugly.

Thanks for any insight you can offer.

Sarahb

Well, I don't live in Bryan or College Station, but I've been there (mostly through), and I live in the Houston area, Sugar Land to be precise, so the climate is the same. We don't need as much junk cause it doesn't get as cold. What junk we have we keep in the garage or up in the attic (worth putting boards up there if they aren't already). In case of bad weather, the shelter in place would be like an interior bathroom or study with no windows (have never needed it though, in over 40 years in the area, even when Hurricane Alicia blew right through in '83 -- had some damage, but nothing in the house). I guess flooding is sometimes a concern and the hurricanes, but the tornadoes are very rare. Many people have pools, but most of the subdivisions have neighborhood pools already -- they're usable without heating May - October. We have mosquitoes after rains, but rarely so bad some bug spray doesn't keep them off. We have cockroaches (just roaches, usually), big ones we call tree roaches -- don't get scared when they fly right at you! We also have fire ants -- always need some ant powder in the garage. Wasps and bees are occasionally a problem, but not too bad. Lots of nice trail systems, and you're close to the Piney Woods and the East Texas forests, and the coast and beach as well. Hope this helps. Ajay

Ajay, you're making life in College Station sounds idyllic!!! No, Sarah, the weather is awful, the storms are terrible, and the insects will carry away your pets!!! Got you nervous yet???

hahaha - OK, I'm bad!

Hmmn, yes, it gets hot here. I like to say that we have 9 months of summer and 3 months of everything else. Air-conditioning is mandatory - but you won't find anyplace (or any cars) without it, so no matter.

No, most places in Texas do not have basements, because land is cheap and the soil is crummy. However, because land is cheap, there are 47,000,000 self-storage places where you rent space. And as Ajay said, the large houses tend to have large attics...and garages - all waiting to be filled with junk ;-)

There are plenty of bugs, although not quite as bad as in Houston. However, a well-built house will keep most of them outside where they belong. Since we live on two creeks here in Richardson (near Dallas), we get mice and rats in the attic. No problem! I added a cat door to the attic, and my three furry felines discourage long term rodent occupation.

Actually, one issue that we are facing in Texas is that coyotes and foxes are making strong returns back into suburban environments. I had a coyote in my back yard not 20 feet from where I am sitting right now just a couple of weeks ago...there is no good way to get rid of them, so I keep two cats inside, and personally escort my male cat outside...mid to large sized dogs are usually OK, because the predators will usually just walk away from a meal that may fight back (the coyote the other day was being chased - slowly - by a border retriever who was yapping his head off - the coyote (who was larger) was very annoyed, but kept retreating).

Many homes have swimming pools. Whether or not you think it's worth the investment depends on whehter you're willing to do the work to keep it up or hire a service. It is a lot of work; on the other hand, a dip in the pool can make 100 degrees much more tolerable. There wouldn't be so many pools if people didn't think they were worth it.

We don't tend to have screened in porches anymore. These were quite common prior to WWII, but with the advent of cheap air-conditioning, everyone built out their porches and air-conditioned them. The problem is that even with screens, the porches are often so hot that they're not comfortable...although I do know of some people in Houston (where the humidity keeps the temps lower) who have essentially screened in their entire backyard ;-)

I personally do like the idea of screens on windows, because I do like to be able to open them on the rare occasions that the temps are nice. Actually, this spring was extremely nice - we had the windows open for nearly three months(!).

I have no knowledge of the relative merits of Bryan vs College Station, sorry.

Bill

Thanks for your quick feedback. I enjoyed reading your responses. This at least gives me an idea of what to expect when I get there.

Thank you,
Sarahb

For those who are not familar with the rivalry between UT Austin and Texas A&M, just skip this post. Anyway, the joke is as follows:

You say you're going to the city of A&M and that you're clueless. Aren't you repeating yourself?

I went to school in College Station a few years ago and enjoyed the town very much. The only drawback for me was that it was a smaller town that I'm used to. I like big cities, but if you like smaller towns, then its a great place to live.

Definitely find a house in College Station, and not Bryan. When I was there, Bryan was definitely the lesser of the two towns, and most of it was pretty run down. But in College Station, there are many new developements and some great neighborhoods.

Weather is good. Can get hot in the summer, but that's why A/C was invented. Winters are usually mild, but still can get cold.

I would check out Texas A&M's website (www.tamu.ed), for some more info about the town.

I'm guessing that www.tamu.ed was a typo for www.tamu.edu ...

Bill

find a house in College Station or the subdivisions south of town on Highway 6. A&M Consolidated is the highschool of choice there. Once you cross Univeristy Dr (FM 60) north into Bryan its a different world. College Station is a real nice, new place. All the big city ammenities. It is a major college town, so get ready for the students and the "spirit of aggieland" being everywhere. (sorry.. I go to Texas State :) Ive been going to CS for the last 6 years visiting friends in college and have always said it was a place I could live later on. There are real nice new subdivisions south of town, but are a little ways away from everything. Highway 6, Texas Ave, and Harvey Mitchell PKWY are the 3 main routes through and around town that everything is located off of.