So you would NEVER live in Texas?

[iceman]

I find it hard to believe that building materials are much cheaper in Tejas, maybe some local tile or whatever but not things like pipe and plumbing fixtures and drywall, all that stuff is national or international.

[PNWbrit]

I find it hard to believe that building materials are much cheaper in Tejas, maybe some local tile or whatever

$2000 labor and materials high quality texas bathroom remodel sounded fishy to me to.

Where I'm from we have a saying when the price is too good to believe.

"It must have fallen off the back of a lorry"

but not things like pipe and plumbing fixtures and drywall, all that stuff is national or international.

I don't know how to say it in Mexican though

[Benny Profane]

^the American Freedom Defense Initiative, who organized the draw Mohammed event, is considered a hate group by Southern Poverty Law Center.

Geller, the voice behind the American Freedom Defense Initiative, is a freak, posing as a patriot.

Sort of a well heeled Michele Bachman but way New York and Jewish. If you have ever been in a room full of rich wives drinking alcohol at a wedding or bar mizvah, you know the horror. She's like that on crack.

[capulin overdrive]

Yea labor would be cheaper, but materials shouldn't be too much deference. Maybe certain items.

Oddly Texas gets good wood, better than what we get from the PNW. Still use lots of real plywood, instead of OSB.

[iceman]

Lots of pine trees in East Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi etc. and they grow fast. Not too surprising that lumber is reasonable, but it can't be much below the national market because if it was people would just buy it and ship it out of state.

[brice618]

Labor and materials profits are razor slim margins here, notably in commercial construction but sometimes in residential as well. There is a contractor willing do make almost nothing to do just about every job, and frankly its probably not sustainable. I see GC's getting 3% profit and are happy about it. Cost of living and land is cheaper and I would guess that has as much impact as anything.

I think somehow the lack of public property in Texas, where most every space is in some way marketable, combined with relatively good weather and lots of natural resources makes a unique economy that just doesn't happen anywhere else. Still though - schools are woefully underfunded and despite the best efforts of our leaders to stuff their head in the sand, we have real poverty issues outside of the major population zones. Maybe not Arkansas poverty, but problems never the less.

Overall I've lived worse places - just don't come here in August.

[Game Over]

Lots of pine trees in East Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi etc. and they grow fast. Not too surprising that lumber is reasonable, but it can't be much below the national market because if it was people would just buy it and ship it out of state.

Plywood is in my blood-- especially Texas plywood. Its what got my family down to TX. My grandpa was head of the APA (plywood lobby) and chief of Kirby Forest Industries (now a subsidy of Lou/pacific) for 30-40 years. The southern pine tree matures in 20-30 years down there. OTOH we have two up here in OR that are 30 years old and only 20' high and 6" across.

[digitaldeath]

Study the map

[iceman]

Plywood is in my blood-- especially Texas plywood. Its what got my family down to TX. My grandpa was head of the APA (plywood lobby) and chief of Kirby Forest Industries (now a subsidy of Lou/pacific) for 30-40 years. The southern pine tree matures in 20-30 years down there. OTOH we have two up here in OR that are 30 years old and only 20' high and 6" across.

That's interesting. Remember Gincognito? He lived in Montreal and worked for some huge forest products company up there. Up in the northern lattitudes the puckerbrush grows like fucking weeds (well it is weeds) but you can't make plywood out of that shit so it's all about the OSB. And cheap OSB competes with ply so if the plywood side of the family is having hard times, blame Canada.

[Game Over]

I bought some skis off Gincognito (I think- wasnt he the guy who fell on the tree and had his intestine hanging out and still skied down to the road to find help?) No more timber industry for my family only my grandpa was involved. everyone down there is into oil/nat gas. Also FWIW the APA includes OSB, strand board etc-> If you look on the sheets the APA stamp is on it.

[iceman]

that was dude_le_skibum (gin's buddy and another Quebexican) and that was about the hardcore-est story ever, pretty much. Sliced right across the stomach. Intestines literally falling out. Holding his guts in with his hands as he slogged like 10 miles out of the backcountry.

[Game Over]

Race room legend pros. they still had blood on them when I got em. I never washed it off and it stained the topsheets. Great skis.

[dtown]

In the last decade I have lived in Denver, Seattle and now Dallas and had many of the misconceptions of TX that I've seen written here. When we moved here 2 years ago I was dreading it, no more skiing, mountains or trout fishing. What I've found is that my neighborhood (Plano) is more culturally diverse than the one I lived in Seattle (Ballard) and everyone is a transplant. Do I miss easy access to mountains, hell yes!!! Does TX provide an opportunity for my family and I to have a comfortable living in 1 salary, my wife to stay home and raise our kids, plenty of activities for the kids, great schools and there's some badass things about TX too (Bbq pits for example). Given that this is a ski forum, understand the disdain for Texans and yes I still have a bit of a misconception about true Texans but the place isn't all that bad...would I rather live in Bend, sure but that opportunity isn't there right now. FWIW, the value of my property went up $50000 and my mortgage went up $300/ month because of the property tax...shit.

[Cono Este]

Pine is still a 20 yr harvest.

interesting investment, timberland.

[BCMtnHound]

Pine is still a 20 yr harvest.

interesting investment, timberland.

Ha! A cubic meter of peeler spruce or fir is running around $80. Say a stand is around 400m3/ha at rotation, basic silviculture runs about $6/m3. Take that, apply an annualized rate of return around 3 or 4%.

And at the end of a 100yr rotation that stand is worth ..... absolutely nothing to those who initially invested in it (in pure fibre monetary terms).

Somewhat simplistic analysis but overall rural economics centred around sustained yield forestry were depressing classes

[Cono Este]

.

[iceman]

.

Are you having your period?

[riser4]

great schools

Seriously? You can type that with a straight face?

[Sirshredalot]

Seriously? You can type that with a straight face?

True that.

I know for a fact that if I had to live there for work, I would be cutting the Jesuits a check for about 10k per year per kid.

You country club wasps would be on the hook for a lot more: I think the Quaker boarding school in Austin goes for a ballpark of 30k these days.

[Mazderati]

What I've found is that my neighborhood (Plano) is more culturally diverse than the one I lived in Seattle (Ballard) and everyone is a transplant.

Apparently there's a big cricket scene in and around Kansas City. Not the first place I would have guessed.

[KQ]

Seriously? You can type that with a straight face?

I've said I before and I'll say it again: Go Rice!

Rice University

William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a 295-acre (1.19 km2) campus in Houston, Texas, United States. The university is situated near the Houston Museum District and is adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. It is consistently ranked among the top 20 universities in the U.S. and the top 100 in the world.

[dtown]

Apparently there's a big cricket scene in and around Kansas City. Not the first place I would have guessed.

The park across from my neighborhood has multiple cricket games going on every weekend, big Indian population here, didn't know that about KC though.

[dtown]

Seriously? You can type that with a straight face?

Maybe great was not the best term but all 7 public high schools in my ISD are ranked higher than the one my kids would have attended in Seattle and the athletics are definitely better.

Not yet at the point where I'm ready or able to drop $30k/ year on a private HS education.

[riser4]

I've said I before and I'll say it again: Go Rice!

Rice University

I'm not talking about College. I am talking about K-12. I'm talking about abstinence only sex-ed (http://abcnews.go.com/Health/chlamyd...ry?id=30798143), teh gay is bad, prayer in schools (or at least before football games, which are school sanctioned events), "Intelligent Design", etc. At least with the Jesuits you know where you stand and you at least get a rigorous education.

[MontuckyFried]

I'm not talking about College. I am talking about K-12. I'm talking about abstinence only sex-ed (http://abcnews.go.com/Health/chlamyd...ry?id=30798143), teh gay is bad, prayer in schools (or at least before football games, which are school sanctioned events), "Intelligent Design", etc. At least with the Jesuits you know where you stand and you at least get a rigorous education.

You know not what you speak of. I went to TX public schools K-12. First off, I got the full experience of sex ed at my schools. It's just a few podunk outliers that may choose to opt out. So what? So what if they choose to pray before football games? It's not hurting anybody. If you're an atheist/hindu/muslim/scientologist football player or spectator, all you have to do is simply not let it bother you so much. Big woop. It's the majority culture there. It's only as offensive as you allow it to be. The freedom of prayer in schools was important for a lot of kids I knew, including muslim students. I was agnostic at the time, but I appreciated the freedom to pray...or not to...whatever, the choice was with the students. I was NOT taught intelligent design. I got the full dose of evolution indoctrination from Elementary through High School. However, SOME schools there have chosen to have textbooks that have a TINY section on ID that just offers it as an alternative theory. I'm talking a few paragraphs. Yet people (usually who don't even live in TX) get in such a tizzy over these things.

I'm not a fan of Texas (that's why I left), but almost everything you hear about the schools is blown WAY out of proportion by sensationalist journalists and people who are offended far too easily. In all honesty, the majority of schools there are excellent. They spend far more money per student than many states and are leaders in things like special education and dyslexia recognition. Seeing how far behind Montana is in education has been very eye opening. Yet, I've heard plenty of people here talk smack about Texas schools, when it is THEY who are far, far behind the curve in many areas of education.

The stats you hear about lack of reading or graduation rates? Let's put YOUR school by the border and see how your statistics end up. It's an unfair comparison. Also keep in mind that there are 1,265 independent school districts in Texas, so of course you're going to hear about one of them doing something stupid every once in a while. The media (and most people) forget to keep things in perspective, though.