Moving to East Texas from Northern Nevada

RN_Pursuit2b · Jun 1, 2008

dont know anything about tyler just wanted to say....welcome to texas!!!

thank you so much!! i love texas already.:redbeathe

carachel2 · Jun 1, 2008

I would choose to live in the San Antonio area before I moved to the Tyler area. I was trying not to sound super pessimistic but carachal2 was able to put my thoughts in print nicely.
I left the area but most of my family still lives there. I avoid that part of TX like the plague. Literally, the hospitals in the smaller towns are only places you go if you are expecting to die. People who can afford the drive to Tyler go to their hospitals to avoid being killed. Literally. So far this year alone I have had to intervene on 3 cases for my family involving medical care given in the area hospitals outside of Tyler.
Corruption is rampant in business, politics, and law enforcement there. There are separate rules for the good ole boys and their debutantes compared to the rest of the world. The TX Rangers stay busy investigating E.TX cops for illegal shootings and discrimination.
Tyler is prettier than San Antonio if you are a tree and grass lover. But for overall happiness, I'd choose San Antonio. Actually, I prefer the Austin area and surrounding countryside for living in TX. It is centrally located so for photographers, the opportunities abound to see trees in one direction, desert in another direction, small mountains in yet another direction - all in a fairly easy drive. Austin has culture if you like that kind of thing. There are many more environmentally friendly minded people there. I also prefer the hospital employers in that area. Austin has a little bit more of a homey feeling than San Antonio does, but I don't know why. We lived halfway between San Antonio and Austin so I had lots of choices of which direction to drive to work.

I hope I didn't sound too pessimistic! But it looks like we agree with each other so I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who views it that way. I am not kidding at all when I say someone in my own family GROUNDED their teenage daughter for driving a "a person of color" (actually, they used a different word) in her car. NOT kidding. This was just two years ago. It is rampant. I refuse to raise my daughter in a town where people respect you for how much $$ you have and your family name.

I think you would love Austin. It is so laid back, has so many outdoor recreational opportunities and there are some truly great hospitals there with top knotch medical care. They have recently made great strides in improving traffic (growth overstretched the highways and traffic was a bear on I35 going into the medical district). Housing is more expensive, but if you can go to an outlying area you'll still find reasonable housing.

RN1989 · Jun 1, 2008

You were very nice in your post. I was having a difficult time not being ugly which was why I tried not to be too specific until I saw how you worded things.:)

I am still amazed at how backward things are there. When I talk to my family and get a comment like "they don't do that here", or "it's different here", all I can say to them is that they are living in a time warp and things in the real world have advanced beyond the 1950s.

RN_Pursuit2b · Jun 1, 2008

Thank you, Carachel! Wow, I can't believe that. I've always believed there is good and bad in every race; it's the heart you look at; "fruits of the spirit," as it were.

Austin sounds wonderful, and it's very important to me to work in a hospital or facility with high standards in patient care.

I would go insane in a place where you can't live in peace; daily struggles are enough without unnessary hassles. Nursing school + politics? Blah!

happybunny1970 · Jun 1, 2008

Hello everyone,
If you wouldn't mind, I would appreciate any advice or pitfall warnings for a second career, 41-year-old pre-nursing student moving to the Tyler area. I would like to make sure I fit in and succeed. I'm working on my CNA and would like to work as an LVN while working on my RN. Thank you! :heartbeat

One important thing to consider before you move anywhere: It looks like you don't currently hold an LVN or RN license, which means you need to ensure there are programs for this wherever you choose to go...

Tyler has Tyler Junior College, which offers both LVN (1 year) and ADN-RN (2 yrs +pre-requisites), and UT Tyler offers BSN-RN (4 year program) and a Masters Program tailored for Nurse Practitioner/Business Administration/Education (your choice). Nearby is Kilgore College, which has an ADN-RN program, but not sure about LVN. Also, TJC is starting a satellite program south of Tyler in Jacksonville for their LVN program next year. You can find information on all of these programs on the web.

I had to laugh out loud at the description of Tyler... I'm not from here (moved from Maryland 10 years ago) and was sort of thrown off at first. The standard reply that I got to any questions I had was, "You're in East Texas Now!!" Just like everywhere else, it has good and bad points. Yes, our wages are lower than the bigger cities, but our cost of living is lower, too, and there are some good schools in the area (Whitehouse south of Tyler and Lindale north stand out). Also, "traffic" is a total joke... at worst you may have to wait through two light changes during "rush hour."

On the flip side, if you enjoy going out to museums, concerts, theater... or just a good club for some live music!... you might not want to be here. Every now and again we hop on I-20 and head to Dallas for that.

Good luck! :nurse:

RN_Pursuit2b · Jun 1, 2008

Thank you for the great info, HappyBunny! Maybe our happy spot is somewhere in between Tyler and the Austin/San Antonio/Houston area. I was raised by country people in Los Angeles, so I had the values of the South and Midwest in a major metropolis where I had access to everything. I still like having access to both the city and the country.

You have all saved me so much trial-and-error and have given me insight I couldn't get from the Internet. I can't thank you enough! :bow:

luckyduck23 · Jun 2, 2008

I am a frequent visitor of AllNurses, but don't post a reply very often. I laughed out loud when I read those descriptions of East Texas and Tyler! So true! I live in Dallas / Fort Worth now, but when I was in kindergarten, we moved from.....San Diego, CA to Nacogdoches, TX (also East Texas). I was only a kid, and the culture shock was amazing.

I don't mean to sound horrible, but until I moved to East Texas, I had NEVER been exposed to such close-minded people and I had NEVER heard a person use the "N" word. I wasn't raised to talk that way, so all of a sudden being surrounded by lots of people who talk that way without even even giving it a second thought STILL doesn't make sense to me 25 years later. I want to make clear that not ALL people are like that. I knew really nice people growing up who would get on their Christian soapbox in one sentence, and then turn around and use the "N" word in the next...without even blinking. It was amazing to someone "from the outside." For alot of them, it's how they grew up so they didn't really think they were doing anything wrong. But previous posters hit the nail on the head when they described the good ole' boy mentality where everyone knows everyone else's business.

I have never lived in Tyler, but I did live in Longview for 2 years (45 minutes from Tyler) and also Kilgore for about 9 months.....this was all 5+ years ago. If I were going to have to move back to East Texas...I would definately choose to be in the outskirts of Tyler above some of the other areas such as Nac, Kilgore, Longview, etc. Only because the town has more things available and you're not far from Dallas if you need to go there for any reason.

You're in the bible belt in East Texas, which is fine if you're fine with that. But if you're uncomfortable with that, you should know. (Full disclosure: I am a Christian 100% -just making an obvious observation about some of the very close minded view about anything different).

I'll give you an example...my step-dad is getting ready to sell the house he's lived in for 30 years. His neighbor across the street, who is well known for being a Deacon in his church...walked across the street the other day and told my step-dad" I hope you don't plan on selling your house to a minority - except he wasn't that PC. I was shocked.

I know people in town who are afraid to order a beer with their dinner in fear they'll run into somebody. They're so worried, you'd think they were snorting cocaine at the table or something, seriously! LOL : )

I lived in Austin about 8 years ago, and just loved it. I'm planning to going back to school for a second degree to get a BSN & then a graduate degree myself, and my dream is to move back to Austin once I'm finished with school. It's beautiful and the people are so laid back! I work in real estate and have met people there buying a $1mm dollar home hanging out in flip flops - very easy going people in most cases. I know they supposedly pay nurses a little less there - don't know much about that yet since I'm also not a nurs yet. I laughed at the other poster's description of that rose festival - so true! I always thought it was verging on creepy at how some families insist on displaying their "old money."

Overall, Tyler is a nice place & the outskirts would be more laid back. But frankly, if you're in East Texas (anywhere), it's difficult to stay away from what I refer to in general as that "East Texas mentality." Not everyone is like that, but obviously it's bad enough that perfect strangers on this board are all describing the same thing! Good luck with your decision.

editor2rn · Jun 2, 2008

I lived in Nacogdoches in middle school and high school (1978-1985). At the time, my best friend was from the only Mexican American family in town (legally), and her family was the only Mexican Americans in the school system. A guy she dated in high school had to stop dating her because his parents found out she was Mexican. He was torn up about it, and it really had an impact on her.

Yes, there are folks like that everywhere. My brother finished grad school at Texas A&M, and one of his friends, who was black, did not go to certain restaurants because she would be threatened by those fine upstanding guys in the Aggie Corps. However, in every town, there are those who do not agree with those ideas. If you're white, you'll have to deal with those who don't like your acceptance of other people. If you're a minority, you'll have to deal with folks' ignorance. My parents still live in East Texas, between Nacogdoches and Tyler, and they have good friends from Vietnam who live in the area. Those who are not racist find each other and support each other.

I now live in Austin, and have been here about 20 years. I've seen racism here, too. We have lots of folks moving in from other areas, and many of them are materialistic and worried about minorities ruining their property values. Since I've been here, I've seen Austin become much more pretentious and fast-paced. Living in Austin is about being in Austin. This city has a love affair with itself.

Don't get me wrong, I do like it here, and there are definitely worse places to be. But the more I go to San Antonio to visit my aforementioned best friend and her family, the more I believe that San Antonio is the Austin of yesteryear. Folks there don't seem to care as much about keeping up with the Joneses. They don't seem to care about what kind of car they drive, how big their house is, or when they can get the latest laser peel or other plastic surgery procedure. They're friendlier and the pace is slower.

If I could choose a place to live now, I'd choose San Antonio.

Good luck!

*Blessed2BaNRS* · Jun 10, 2008

HI RN,

Okay, some of the descriptions of Tyler/East Texas are correct, but I have been here for 20 years and my husband was born and grew up here. We have 4 kids who go to Tyler schools and they are doing quite well.

In every part of the deep south, you are going to find people who are racist and ignorant of culture, it is not just in east Texas. And yes, the old money is here, Tyler has a lot of old money. But...I love Tyler. I was raised on the outskirts of town, in a rich little oil town called Van, and I will never live there again. That place is very discrimatory against anyone without money.

As far as healthcare is concerned, Tyler is THE medical hub between Dallas and Shreveport. Our hospitals are first rate for a town under 100,000, East Texas Medical Center is a Level I trauma hospital and Trinity Mother Frances is in the process of building a new NICU so babies won't have to be airlifted to Dallas. I have worked at both hospitals (as an extern since I am in nursing school) and I will say that I LOVE Mother's. I just recently resigned from ETMC due to various issues, but I will say that I don't hear the gossiping and complaining at Mother's that I did at ETMC. Mother's hires only the best (according to their motto) so I feel very lucky to have gotten hired on there. I have several friends in nursing school with me who are going to be great nurses, but for one reason or another, couldn't get a job at Mother's. Yes, there are good and bad to that hospital, just as with any hospital, but there are some very loyal nurses who have spent their career there. With that in mind, there are way more places to work as a nurse than just the 2 main hospitals. Being a medical hub, there are tons of doctor's offices, clinics, skilled facilities plus we have the University of Texas at Tyler Healthcare Center that is a teaching and research hospital.

As far as the outlying areas, yes, Whitehouse and Lindale are both very nice with good school districts. So the previous posters did not steer you wrong there. I just think that you have gotten a very biased opinion on Tyler from people who are unhappy with it.

Tyler is a beautiful place with museums, gardens, lots of restaurants, nice lakes nearby, various festivals throughout the year (yes, even the famous Rose Festival with girls in 200k gowns!!) but the people are also very nice, laid back, even with the occasional racist, in other words, it is like any other town any other place.

We have several different colleges here, including Tyler Junior College, which has an LVN-RN program, UT Tyler, which has an LVN-BSN program and even a Master's program. Here are several links to info about Tyler:

http://www.cityoftyler.org/

http://www.tjc.edu/

http://www.uttyler.edu/

I just think that you need to hear from both sides before getting an opinion formed from a couple of people. I am originally from Dallas, in a suburb called Irving, and though I have been back several times, I just couldn't live with the traffic there. Commutes can take hours and I want to spend that time with my family. Even though there is a lot of traffic in Tyler (yes, that is one downfall) I can get to and from work in less than 10 minutes. Tyler is big enough to offer what the larger cities have, but small enough to be able to go into a store and see someone that I know!!! Even Austin and San Antonio is full of traffic and takes awhile to get from 1 place to another. But they are nice to visit on vacation!!!

If you have more questions or concerns, PM or email me. I will fill you in on any more questions~

luckyduck23 · Jun 11, 2008

Blessed2BaNRS*,

I agree with your description. As I described in my post, not everyone is "like that" and there are lots of friendly people - heck I am one of them! : ). But I do notice it more in East Texas than in other areas I've lived in Texas - although you are correct that unfortunately racism can be found anywhere.

I've always said that if I were to move back to East Texas, I'd prefer the Tyler area as opposed to Nacogdoches/Lufkin, Kilgore/Longview area...all places I have lived and/or worked at one point or another. I just visited a family friend at Lake Gladewater and it was so beautiful and relaxing hanging out at their lake house. It is a beautiful area and the medical facilties are top notch. I know what you mean about the traffic in Irving. The traffic in DFW is just awful! That area near the mixmaster on 635 is downright scary!

I am fortunate that currently I office from home, so I don't have to fight it as much as the average person, and for that I feel lucky. For a smaller community, Tyler's traffic CAN get pretty bad. I always laugh though, because sometimes I'll be on the phone with my Mother who lives in Longview. She'll say "I've gotta go...I'm getting into some heavy traffic here!" As a DFW person, I'm thinking "what traffic in Longview is so bad that you have to get off the phone??? : ) It is a joke between us.:chuckle

*Blessed2BaNRS* · Jun 11, 2008

Hi luckyduck,

I can't say that I know much about Nac as I have only been there 2 times, once passing through at night, but have always heard that it is a big party town, with SFA there. Again, I can't say as I don't know, but with 3 colleges here in Tyler, things seem pretty calm compared to other college towns that I have been in. As far as traffic, yeah, it is a joke, but it seems to be getting that way everywhere (even with gas prices going above $4, but that is a whole 'nother can of worms!!!) I still like that I can go to work or school and be there in under 10 minutes and be able to find a decent parking place.

Unfortunately, like we both agree on, there is racism everywhere. I just wished that everyone could get along, after all, we are all God's people.

Longview, I will say that I don't like. It just seems dirty, although they have become quite a good place to live, from what I hear. I guess I am just comfortable in my little hometown. Yeah, there are problems here, especially like one poster described: the wettest, dry town, but, hey, that goes on in every dry town. As far as having to "buy" memberships to be able to drink alcohol in restaurants, that is no longer true. Tyler recently did away with the unicard, so the only places that you have to have memberships at are the bars. Which, I can say, I don't frequent!!!

Anyway, I just wanted the OP to know that while some people didn't care for Tyler, not all of us feel that way, and I appreciate your post in agreeing. Tyler is small enough to know a lot of people, but big enough to stay away from the ones you don't care to see!!! It is a beautiful town with lots of charm, old houses and nice families!

Bortaz, MSN, RN · Jun 13, 2008

I grew up in East Texas, and I loved it. I wish I was there now, and will be as soon as I can. Thank you for your assessment, and for clearing the air of all the negativity.

HI RN,
Okay, some of the descriptions of Tyler/East Texas are correct, but I have been here for 20 years and my husband was born and grew up here. We have 4 kids who go to Tyler schools and they are doing quite well.
In every part of the deep south, you are going to find people who are racist and ignorant of culture, it is not just in east Texas. And yes, the old money is here, Tyler has a lot of old money. But...I love Tyler. I was raised on the outskirts of town, in a rich little oil town called Van, and I will never live there again. That place is very discrimatory against anyone without money.
As far as healthcare is concerned, Tyler is THE medical hub between Dallas and Shreveport. Our hospitals are first rate for a town under 100,000, East Texas Medical Center is a Level I trauma hospital and Trinity Mother Frances is in the process of building a new NICU so babies won't have to be airlifted to Dallas. I have worked at both hospitals (as an extern since I am in nursing school) and I will say that I LOVE Mother's. I just recently resigned from ETMC due to various issues, but I will say that I don't hear the gossiping and complaining at Mother's that I did at ETMC. Mother's hires only the best (according to their motto) so I feel very lucky to have gotten hired on there. I have several friends in nursing school with me who are going to be great nurses, but for one reason or another, couldn't get a job at Mother's. Yes, there are good and bad to that hospital, just as with any hospital, but there are some very loyal nurses who have spent their career there. With that in mind, there are way more places to work as a nurse than just the 2 main hospitals. Being a medical hub, there are tons of doctor's offices, clinics, skilled facilities plus we have the University of Texas at Tyler Healthcare Center that is a teaching and research hospital.
As far as the outlying areas, yes, Whitehouse and Lindale are both very nice with good school districts. So the previous posters did not steer you wrong there. I just think that you have gotten a very biased opinion on Tyler from people who are unhappy with it.
Tyler is a beautiful place with museums, gardens, lots of restaurants, nice lakes nearby, various festivals throughout the year (yes, even the famous Rose Festival with girls in 200k gowns!!) but the people are also very nice, laid back, even with the occasional racist, in other words, it is like any other town any other place.
We have several different colleges here, including Tyler Junior College, which has an LVN-RN program, UT Tyler, which has an LVN-BSN program and even a Master's program. Here are several links to info about Tyler:
http://www.cityoftyler.org/
http://www.tjc.edu/
http://www.uttyler.edu/
I just think that you need to hear from both sides before getting an opinion formed from a couple of people. I am originally from Dallas, in a suburb called Irving, and though I have been back several times, I just couldn't live with the traffic there. Commutes can take hours and I want to spend that time with my family. Even though there is a lot of traffic in Tyler (yes, that is one downfall) I can get to and from work in less than 10 minutes. Tyler is big enough to offer what the larger cities have, but small enough to be able to go into a store and see someone that I know!!! Even Austin and San Antonio is full of traffic and takes awhile to get from 1 place to another. But they are nice to visit on vacation!!!
If you have more questions or concerns, PM or email me. I will fill you in on any more questions~