It is difficult to describe the charm of the Texas Hill Country until you have had the opportunity to experience it for yourself.
The following articles share reasons why the Texas Hill Country is such a popular place to live:
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NY Times: Head for the Hill Country
An article in the New York Times earlier this week named the Texas Hill Country the No. 1 summer destination in the United States.
The Texas Hill Country, west of Austin and north of San Antonio, might be the next best thing to crossing the Atlantic, the article said. The region is lush, colorful and, unlike much of the pancake-flat state, dotted with beautiful green hills that are evocative of Tuscany or the south of France.
With gas prices skyrocketing, and the average family unable to afford long summer vacations, the Hill Country could see a sharp increase of visitors from less than 200 miles away.
We expect to see more numbers of Texans that live within a 200-mile area because of gas prices, said Sudie Burditt of the Kerrville Convention and Visitors Bureau. Our marketing this summer will focus on traveling within a tank of gas to capitalize on travelers changing dynamics.
The area already is experiencing a downturn from out-of-state travelers, especially Californians and Floridians who travel Interstate 10. Floridians traveling through the area are down 43 percent, and Californians are down 44.5 percent.
The winter numbers held steady, but spring numbers (from out-of-state visitors) are down, Burditt said. But our numbers from Texans traveling is up 15.98 percent from last year. Preliminary numbers in May show an 8 percent increase from last year. If we replace out-of-state visitors with Texans, which weve done so far, there won't be any impact just a change in dynamics.
Other travel destinations making the NY Times list included New Hampshire, at No. 2; Las Vegas, No. 3; Myrtle Beach, S.C., No. 4; Telluride, Colo., 20; and Alaska, 31.
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By BOB MOOS / The Dallas Morning News bmoos@dallasnews.com
12:21 PM CDT on Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Boomer retirees are loving what Texas Hill Country affords them
Baby boomers' growing desire to retire to small towns is turning the Texas Hill Country into one of the nation's hot spots for the silver-haired set.
Also Online Aging special focus: How to live a longer, healthier life
The natural beauty and relative affordability of the area west of Austin and San Antonio have put towns such as Fredericksburg, Kerrville and Marble Falls on national lists of popular retirement places.
"The secret's out," said Frederick Day, a demographer at Texas State University-San Marcos. "If you're approaching retirement, head for the hills."
ERICH SCHLEGEL/DMN Jim and Pam Spruiell went from a duplex in Dallas to 30 acres and a 3,700-suare-foot limestone house just west of Fredericksburg when they eased into retirement. View larger More photos Photo store
With the oldest boomers now eligible for Social Security, many are moving to smaller communities on the outskirts of metropolitan areas.
"The Hill Country fills the bill, with its lakes, rivers and rolling hills, for city-weary retirees, but also its proximity to Austin and San Antonio for those who want to hop in the car for an evening or weekend on the town," Dr. Day said.
Perennial favorites Florida and Arizona have become too crowded for many retirees' liking and are losing out to places like the Hill Country, said Gene Warren, head of the Thomas, Warren and Associates consulting firm in Phoenix.
"The Hill Country has joined the upper tier of retirement destinations, and its success shows every sign of building on itself in the next decade," said Mr. Warren, who advises communities across the country on how to attract retirees.
A longtime retirement haven for Texans, the quaint towns west of Austin and San Antonio now also draw older residents from beyond the Lone Star State.
Kerrville real estate agent Ricki Eichler says more than half of her clients come from out of state, including California, Florida and New York. "There's something for everyone here -- from upscale active-adult developments to very affordable mobile home communities," she said.
Though the weakened national economy has lately forced a few Hill Country-bound retirees to delay their moves until they can sell their current homes, Austin real estate analyst Mark Sprague remains bullish about the region.
"The relatively low cost of living, relaxed environment and pleasant weather are big pluses among homebuyers from other parts of the country," he said. "People from the East Coast ask, 'What do you mean you don't have hurricanes every year?' "
Affordability a key
Prices have escalated in pockets of the Hill Country -- some lakefront property at Horseshoe Bay went for $1 million last year.
But much of the area is still seen as a bargain, especially among retirees from pricey housing markets.
Del Webb, the nation's largest builder of active-adult communities, is developing its second project in the region, Hill Country Retreat, on the west side of San Antonio. And it's expanding its first project, Sun City Texas in Georgetown.
ERICH SCHLEGEL/DMN Jim Fox, a former Dallas principal, retired to Frederickburg, a top Hill Country
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The Progressive Farmer
Best Places to Live in Rural America - Kendall County Texas
The American Southwest meets German heritage in the Texas Hill Country, and Kendall County is exemplary of that merging of cultures. To the north, cattle, sheep and goat ranches sprawl for thousands of acres. In the southern part of the county, closest to San Antonio, new communities with million-dollar-plus farmettes stand beside huge family ranches. Some of those ranches have been broken up and sold, but many of the tracts are still hundreds of acres in size. Residents are keen to preserve their heritage, be it German or agricultural. Kristy Watson lives with her husband, Todd, on 10 acres near Bergheim. Her business is a urethane plastic horseshoe she invented, but her passion is clearly the Agricultural Heritage Museum, located in the county seat of Boerne. "Some of our newer residents didn't grow up on farms or ranches," she says. "It's important that they and their kids learn about what's important in Kendall County." Schoolkids come to the museum to visit exhibits donated by local farm families.
Many of those families have been in the county for generations. Roy Kneupper raises sheep and goats near Sisterdale and lives in a house his grandparents built. His son attends Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas, studies ag and plans to return to the family ranch one day. "It's just what he wants to do," says Kneupper.
German influence isn't hard to spot either, especially if you're in Boerne during the summer. Every other Sunday a traditional German band gathers and plays under the gazebo in the center of town while residents dance and picnic. Dozens of respected artists call the county home, and galleries line Main Street in Boerne.
People are moving to Kendall County for land that is still affordable and schools that residents say are the best in Hill Country. One rancher we talked to says he knows growth is inevitable. But he believes new residents can learn to respect the land that has been so good to generations of ranchers, if they will listen to those in the know and learn to be good stewards.
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