Love the food, culture, vibe. A couple months ago I help relocate two of my former linguists and their families from Kabul to Houston. Def on the list
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Agree with SA. I used to do a lot of training at Bullis and unfortunately visited a lot of buddies at the burn center. Always loved it but never really got feel for the city outside of North SA and JBSA.
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I currently live just west of Fort Worth, and will co-sign all of the pro Fort Worth comments! More of a smaller city vibe, but with plenty of culture and still good access to what you would want to do in Dallas. And no shortage of good golf regardless of where you are in the plex.
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Now that I have kids, I’d go back to Deep ETx in a heartbeat (maybe not my hometown of Longview, but definitely would give Tyler a look).
Before I had kids, I was ride or die for Houston, but once free time is no longer a thing those attractions of the big city aren’t even a consideration.
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I’m in Dallas proper now, but grew up near DFW Airport, and wouldn’t have changed it for anything. Being able to get to both Dallas and Fort Worth while growing up was awesome, and it’s an awesome place to raise a family.
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I was pleasantly surprised by Tyler this fall. Hadn’t been there since I was a kid, but did a buddies trip out there to play Pine Dunes, Tempest, and Willow Brook. I loved the golf, and it sounds like there could be more good golf headed to that area of the state.
The city also had more going on than I remembered. My friends who grew up there all say they want to move back at some point, but just waiting for the right work opportunity.
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Midland! Cause screw driving more than 10 minutes to get anywhere in town.
Let’s not talk about how you have to drive 5 hrs to get anywhere significant though…
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I almost threw Lubbock out there. It’s great if you like living somewhere literally dirt cheap. Easy drives around town. Level lots for your house. Can’t beat it.
Most of my friends growing up in Longview that left and moved back have ended up in Tyler.
Heaven on Earth, that area.
Alamo Heights in San Antonio
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I grew up in south Houston (lake jackson) and loved it, but my vote would be Far North Dallas. We bought up here a few years ago and it’s awesome. Tons of parks (Hillcrest Village opened a year ago and is a park lined with bars and restaurants that’s full of young families every night), great schools, for cheap golf you’ve got Sherril Park, Stevens Park, Cedar Crest, Indian Creek, Keeton Park, Firewheel (3 courses), golf club of Dallas, and many more all within a 30 minute drive. You can also get to either Love Field or DFW within 30-35 minutes. The neighborhoods are filling up with young families as they move from the bar districts and want to settle down.
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Abilene is along the same lines as Midland @Snellspace and Lubbock @TTU19 but only 2 hours away from Ft. Worth and 3.5 hours from Austin.
Before kids I would definitely say Austin and Ft Worth in that order. Living in a medium size town that has some restaurants and things to do where it only takes 10 min to drive anywhere is great. Also, kids can run around the neighborhood and are able to ride bikes to school is not something I would change now.
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Look, no one on here is going to say it, but don’t sleep on Waco. 100 miles exactly to Dallas AND Austin (also 100 miles to Pine Dunes).
Orders of magnitude cheaper than Dallas, Austin, Houston, etc. And real talk, it’s a fantastic place to raise kids. The zoo punches WAY above its weight, kid-friendly museums are all around, Cameron Park has miles and miles of mountain biking/running trails over terrain that makes you feel at times like you’re in the mountains.
Waco gets a lot of bad press and got a bad rep, but once you’re here you realize there’s a lot of shine just below the grit.
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Fort Worth
Big shiplap has entered the chat.
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As a huge dallas d-bag who lives here now and grew up in N Dallas…and went to school in Austin (way too long ago when austin was the real austin…graduated in 2002)
FW is hands down the best place to consider. Its the biggest small town in the country…tons of great golf, food, people, and just as close to DFW airport as most of Dallas is. It doesnt make sense for my family based on offices etc. But all my very close friends from HS went to TCU…stayed there…and have had more fun in FW than I think i ever had in Dallas. The growth there in the last decade is incredible and so many great areas for family, school, etc.
San Antonio is also a great consideration…very underated city in the state. In my view still a lot of value compared to Dallas, Houston, Austin.
If someone held a gun to my head and said I had to move to Houston…then I may agree with @Darikashi 
…(wife grew up in the W) The woodlands is really a great little planned world with great schools and tons and tons of golf …really good golf within 30 mins…and close to Bush airport…(i have never understood how folks that live in memorial…river oaks etc…travel since Hobby and Bush are a PITA to get to)
Also to think about is Hill Country somewhere between AUS and SAN…at one point it will all be the same Metroplex and you could have an option to be 30-45 mins to each airport with good schools and just the great part of the state to be in for topography, weather, things to do outdoors etc.)
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I think with these parameters that I’d probably end up somewhere like whimberly or san marcos where real estate isn’t as crazy and you don’t have to deal with traffic. I feel like the hill country is the prettiest part of texas and those are great small towns.
I grew up in the woodlands and have lived in flower mound for 15 years. We love it here but it takes $500,000 to buy a house here now. Fort Worth is great but the traffic suuucks there now. I wouldn’t want to get back to Houston humidity but to each their own.
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Boerne and Blanco are growing so fast and would be great options.
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I can’t even tell you how much money I’ve saved on moisturizer by living in Houston’s humidity my whole life. That should be factored into the cost of living.
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If you feel that way about Austin, I would say Houston and Dallas are out unless you want to live outside of town.
Fort Worth and San Antonio have some similar qualities: an identifiable culture, a small town vibe with a city infrastructure, good people, good food etc.
If I wasn’t in a serious relationship with someone whose whole family is in Dallas, I’d probably end up back in San Antonio where I grew up. The north side of town is basically the tip of the hill country and it’s fantastic. Plenty of outdoor activities within an hour (floating, hiking, hunting if you’re into it). You’re 30 minutes from downtown San Antonio, an hour from Austin, and an easy drive from a bunch of towns like Fredericksburg if you want to have a fun day trip or a weekend getaway. And the transformation the Alamo City Golf Trail has done to their public golf is awesome. Some of their munis are nearly unrecognizable (in a good way) from my hs golf days, Brackenridge topping the list. Even San Pedro Par 3 is a good time now. Couple that with some pretty great semi private courses (Silverhorn, Canyon springs, Quarry, etc.) and you’ve got yourself plenty of good golf to choose from.
Just be prepared for every human that ever visits you to ask to go see the Alamo.
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