Possibly moving to Texas... advice about this and that.

[Lebowski]

First of all, I do NOT have my LTCH yet. Been meaning to apply but have been waiting to move as my lease is almost up and don't plan on renewing it for this residence. Figured it'd be easier to wait until I had a new place in order to not have to deal with further delays due to a change of address or something. ( I work from home doing remote based IT work, so have never felt rushed to get my LTCH )

Well, I had a job offer a couple months ago to move to Houston, I declined. The offer came back up today and I'm reconsidering as I believe the deal may be a bit sweeter now.

I live in a small Indiana town. I love it. Small, safe, friendly. Houston, TX is the 4th largest city in the US. I've never lived in a city, so I'm a bit weary about the potential move. I'd most certainly want to get my license to carry if I lived there.

Now, questions:

#1) If I am living in Texas but a Indiana resident, do I apply for my LTCH or apply for a Texas CCP? What happens if I discover Texas isn't all that bad, and decide I want to become a resident? I know the Indiana license is accepted in Texas, but not sure if you can live in Texas and get your Indiana license or how that works.


#2) Traveling. Uhg, I hate driving. I'd rather fly and just ship my stuff out there as I don't own a car (don't need one, small town, walk around). I'd likely rent a UHaul and drive the 17 hour trip in two spurts. Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Texas would be the states involved in this travel. Any crazy laws I need to know about or better to play it safe and keep it all unloaded, mags out, ammo somewhere else, etc? If it weren't for the guns, I'd fly out. Or what are my options? I know you 'can' travel with them, by calling the airport ahead of time, checking them in with them unloaded, in a locked box, and they get tagged. I just don't want to risk them getting 'lost' or anymore hassle from TSA than usual because I checked guns in for my travel.

#3) Anyone here ever live in Texas? I suspect it's a gun friendly state from my stereotypical view of it. I've only been there for layovers in Dallas when flying into / out of Vegas when I lived in Nevada. Tell me about it, haha.



I'm sure I'll think of more things to dwell over and will ask as they pop into my mind.

 

[$mooth]

I don't have many answers for you. I made the Indiana to Texas move last fall, but I flew and had our stuff and cars shipped.

Houston is low on my list of Texas big cities. Like Dallas, it's pretty much a generic big southern city easily confused with Charlotte and Atlanta. Houston is frikkin humid to go along the heat. Heavy traffic that can be intimidating if you're not used to it. I've been in 80mph bumper to bumper traffic before when visiting. There are some great suburbs though, like Clear Lake and Friendswood. I'd live somewhere a bit outside, if possible, then only go into the city when necessary.

 

[Lebowski]

I don't have many answers for you. I made the Indiana to Texas move last fall, but I flew and had our stuff and cars shipped.

Houston is low on my list of Texas big cities. Like Dallas, it's pretty much a generic big southern city easily confused with Charlotte and Atlanta. Houston is frikkin humid to go along the heat. Heavy traffic that can be intimidating if you're not used to it. I've been in 80mph bumper to bumper traffic before when visiting. There are some great suburbs though, like Clear Lake and Friendswood. I'd live somewhere a bit outside, if possible, then only go into the city when necessary.

Uhg, I hate driving in the city. I hate driving on the interstate.

Humidity, I can deal with.

I'd not be in the city city. I'd be on the NW side of things, closer to Cypress where is the office would be. So I'd be living in/around that area.

 

[sharpetop]

Houston and it's suburbs sprawl for miles and miles. Loads of traffic with major backups, even in the suburban areas. You haven't felt humidity until you've felt gulf coast humidity. The upside is that Texas is very gun friendly. Check out www.handgunlaw.us for information.

 

[VN Vet]

This is what my friend and his wife told me before they chose KC, MO over Dallas:

It is hot hot hot in the summer time. Global warming will get Texas before Indiana simply because of geographic location on the planet.

Texas has great sport teams from grade-school through Pro-ball. Women may be treated as 2nd Class in some locations. It is heavily Baptist.

 

[BugI02]

Check into reciprocity for an LTCH. If Texas recognizes your Indiana permit (license) then you would be covered I believe until you become a Texas resident. There might even be a streamlined permitting process but I don't know that for sure. I also think I have seen Utah concealed carry classes advertised somewhere in this forum and I believe a Utah CCW has about the widest reciprocity of any. That might be the way to go if Texas shows no love for the LTCH, but being an Indiana resident in Texas with a Utah CCW seems like it could be lead to some awkward moments.

 

[ParaManAR15]

First of all I was born and raised in Texas until I joined the Coast Guard after high school. After basic training my first station was Houston and that was back in 2003-2005, so I'm sure it's grown quite a bit since then. With it being the 4th largest city traffic will be absolutely horrible. They do have some really nice suburbs but Houston is so large it all just runs together. It can take a good hour to get from one part of the city to the other, so be prepared for that.

You have to be a resident of Texas in order to get a CCW permit. As for being an Indiana resident living in Texas and getting your LTCH, I'm not sure how that works. Texas does recognize Indiana's LTCH but you do have to go by Texas gun laws. Which means no open carry, completely concealed, no bulging, imprinting, or exposing your gun (pretty much no way that anyone can tell you're carrying). Texas did pass a law a couple years ago that considers your vehicle an extension of your house where you can carry a gun in your vehicle as long as it's not concealed.

I haven't been to Houston in quite some time but feel free to ask me any questions you have and I'll try to answer them the best I can.

 

[Bunnykid68]

Watch out for these

CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS VIOLATION VIDEO AT DUI CHECKPOINT

 

[Leo]

Ist, If you primary domicile is Texas, you are not an Indiana resident. There is a waver for full time students attending university, but if you are making a living there and paying for a residence, you live there. Receprocity with Indiana does not cover fraud.

2nd. Texas is pretty strict about who they give the licenses to. There is a mandatory 10 hour class with a live fire skills test. You pay for that. I think mine was about $150 plus ammo. With the certificate from the class, two photographs and a finger print card, you send the forms to Austin with $140.00. Then they may issue you a CHL if you check out your background test. You get a Photo ID that looks like an Indiana Drivers license. It is only good for 3 years. You are also legally bound to help any peace officer in trouble.

3rd, There is no open carry there. It is even a problem if you do not hide you firearm enought. A 1911 handle printing through a threadbare T Shirt is not good enough.

When you move there, you must register your car. There is a $90.00 per vehicle "welcome to Texas, yankee" tax to put your car in their computer system. The good thing is they do not hammer you multi hundreds of dollars for excise like a nice car pays in Indiana.

Texas residents pay no state income tax, but the sales tax is 8% except on new cars it is 6.25%.

I know many will think this sounds terrible, but my general quality of life and financial prosperity was really good there.

 

[92ThoStro]

Texas is not that gun friendly...
I lived in Fort Worth for a brief amount of time.
Weather sucks too.


Residency always confused me.....

As far as residency fraud goes.... explain how my father did this...

We all lived in the CA Bay Area
Bought property in TN
His wife stayed in CA, they stayed married and she visited us frequently, among many reasons, she had family, and a great job she couldn't leave, but father, myself, and my younger brother lived in TN, and we went to a TN public school.
For years...
Never got TN plates on his vehicle. Never got a TN drivers license. He bought a new truck and got it plated with CA plates that the DMV mailed to him. He got it inspected by the PD in TN where we lived. He even filled out a CA census. He was officially a resident of CA, and his address remained our CA property. Even were pulled over because he was speeding, hauling a bass boat with TN registration and trailer plates, but with a CA truck, officer never questioned him on not having a TN DL.
TN census worker stopped by, and he said he was a CA resident, not a resident of TN.
She said we went to school here in TN, and she asked how long he has lived here, and he told her ( years ) and she said then he was a TN resident. He said he was not, and that he already filled out a CA census.
Never heard back from her.

So if you own property in multiple states, is it that easy to fraudulently claim residency?

 

[Lebowski]

Watch out for these

CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS VIOLATION VIDEO AT DUI CHECKPOINT

Just watched that earlier on YouTube. Makes me want to keep a nice little mic or camera hidden in my car that can be activated with a push of a button for any law enforcement encounter. Especially if it comes down to your word vs theres or in a situation where they try to stand above the law. But thats a discussion for another thread.

Ist, If you primary domicile is Texas, you are not an Indiana resident. There is a waver for full time students attending university, but if you are making a living there and paying for a residence, you live there. Receprocity with Indiana does not cover fraud.

2nd. Texas is pretty strict about who they give the licenses to. There is a mandatory 10 hour class with a live fire skills test. You pay for that. I think mine was about $150 plus ammo. With the certificate from the class, two photographs and a finger print card, you send the forms to Austin with $140.00. Then they may issue you a CHL if you check out your background test. You get a Photo ID that looks like an Indiana Drivers license. It is only good for 3 years. You are also legally bound to help any peace officer in trouble.

3rd, There is no open carry there. It is even a problem if you do not hide you firearm enought. A 1911 handle printing through a threadbare T Shirt is not good enough.

When you move there, you must register your car. There is a $90.00 per vehicle "welcome to Texas, yankee" tax to put your car in their computer system. The good thing is they do not hammer you multi hundreds of dollars for excise like a nice car pays in Indiana.

Texas residents pay no state income tax, but the sales tax is 8% except on new cars it is 6.25%.

I know many will think this sounds terrible, but my general quality of life and financial prosperity was really good there.

Thanks for the detailed response.

1.) I thought residency was determined by amount of time living/working in the state. I know, for example, when I lived/worked in Nevada to become a 'resident' I had to wait 6 or 9 months or something like that. I'll look more into it.

2.) Could be worse. At least it ain't Kalifornia or something. I don't mind taking a class, actually, it'd be nice to get some 'formal' instructing. I'm not opposed that new applicants should be properly instructed on how to use their weapon, when to use it and when not to. Plus maybe I'll meet a range buddy since I won't know anyone! Haha.

Wonder if the process will take ages like it does here in Indiana, though...

3.) Hmm. Open carry I support 100% and think it should be allowed in every state, but I never foresaw myself as an OCer anyhow. Likely rock a slim single stack something or another with a front pocket holster. Hopefully would not print. Then again, in a self defense situation I don't know if the capacity of a small single stack pocket pistol would be worthwhile. Better to be overprepared I guess. That's something for me to mull about later.

No car, no worries about that. I'll buy one after I get there.

Thanks for the info! Cheers!

Texas is not that gun friendly...
I lived in Fort Worth for a brief amount of time.
Weather sucks too.


Residency always confused me.....

As far as residency fraud goes.... explain how my father did this...

We all lived in the CA Bay Area
Bought property in TN
His wife stayed in CA, they stayed married and she visited us frequently, among many reasons, she had family, and a great job she couldn't leave, but father, myself, and my younger brother lived in TN, and we went to a TN public school.
For years...
Never got TN plates on his vehicle. Never got a TN drivers license. He bought a new truck and got it plated with CA plates that the DMV mailed to him. He got it inspected by the PD in TN where we lived. He even filled out a CA census. He was officially a resident of CA, and his address remained our CA property. Even were pulled over because he was speeding, hauling a bass boat with TN registration and trailer plates, but with a CA truck, officer never questioned him on not having a TN DL.
TN census worker stopped by, and he said he was a CA resident, not a resident of TN.
She said we went to school here in TN, and she asked how long he has lived here, and he told her ( years ) and she said then he was a TN resident. He said he was not, and that he already filled out a CA census.
Never heard back from her.

So if you own property in multiple states, is it that easy to fraudulently claim residency?

Don't own property, am a renter, but that sounds like something my old boss used to do.

I worked out on an orchard in Nevada, right out in the desert. Desert and sagebrush for miles minus this little oasis of a property. Anyhow, the boss lived in California, owned the property/home I was staying on in Nevada, but also had property in New Mexico. I remember him commenting once before that each state thinks he's a resident of another state (or something). I think he mentioned he never gets called for Jury Duty or something, but not sure what else all that involved or what other 'benefits' would come from it. I worked there for a year and took a flight back home, loopy fellow.




I should be flying down there next week or the week after to check it all out and returning the following day. Gotta see what this Houston is all about. May have to find a 'TXGO' or Texas based equivalent of this site, haha.

 

[Lebowski]

I haven't been to Houston in quite some time but feel free to ask me any questions you have and I'll try to answer them the best I can.

Areas to avoid?

I'll be residing in the extreme North or North West areas of 'Houston' if I take the job as I surely don't want to drive from the city every day considering the job itself is actually in a suburb of Texas. I'm told it's a 30-40 minute drive from downtown Houston, so it's Houston enough.

Are the beaches within driving distance at all worth going to? I saw the ocean for the first time last year, and again this year, but have never been to an American beach. I don't expect it to be as nice as the touristy ones I went to but would it be worth the drive for a day of relaxation in the sun with a beer?

How bad was the crime there? I live in an area where there may be a murder every once 2, 3, 4 years or something. Usually some crackhead killing another. Don't think there are many home invasions here, but punk kids will open your car doors if you leave them unlocked. Obviously Houston will have much more crime than this tiny little town, but how 'bad' is it?

Any good natural parks or hiking areas?

I could look all this up but it's nice to get the perspective of someone who has been there.

 

[ArmedProgrammer]

Worked as a consultant and commuted there every week for several years. About as close to a resident as you can be without being one. If your job is in Cypress area, you are definitely on the North/NorthWest side. There are some good and bad areas there. Crime will depend upon neighborhood. Not really accurate to give you an overall Houston number. If it was me, I would consider moving slightly out further. Go rural!

Again - crime will be very location/neighborhood dependent.

I've not been to the beach there, because I was ALWAYS there to work, then get the heck out of Dodge. I flew back and forth every week. And I DON'T recommend that!

You will find some hiking areas out further. Nothing I was all that big on, but there are lakes, etc within day trip distance.

For neighborhood specifics might try har.com . That's the Houston Association of Real Turds. (I mean Realtors - but that's really a made up word...) And now I will duck before 88GT (the INGO real estate expert) throws something at me...

And 88GT - I'm just poking fun. No ill will intended.

 

[Lebowski]

Worked as a consultant and commuted there every week for several years. About as close to a resident as you can be without being one. If your job is in Cypress area, you are definitely on the North/NorthWest side. There are some good and bad areas there. Crime will depend upon neighborhood. Not really accurate to give you an overall Houston number. If it was me, I would consider moving slightly out further. Go rural!

Again - crime will be very location/neighborhood dependent.

I've not been to the beach there, because I was ALWAYS there to work, then get the heck out of Dodge. I flew back and forth every week. And I DON'T recommend that!

You will find some hiking areas out further. Nothing I was all that big on, but there are lakes, etc within day trip distance.

For neighborhood specifics might try har.com . That's the Houston Association of Real Turds. (I mean Realtors - but that's really a made up word...) And now I will duck before 88GT (the INGO real estate expert) throws something at me...

And 88GT - I'm just poking fun. No ill will intended.

Thanks for the response, appreciated for sure.

Cypress I've been told is a very 'nice' area. Judging by the price of housing rentals there, it better be. I'm looking at places in Spring, TX which is not an unbearable commute.

Should be flying out there this week to check it out. Excited. I've been to Texas a few times, but have never left the airport in Dallas. So I don't think that counts, haha.

 

[BE Mike]

I lived in Texas for many years and traveled the state. Houston is my least favorite city/ area. Too much crime and traffic. I would suggest you start a Spanish language course. It will come in handy. On the upside, there are some nice gun clubs in the area.

 

[Lebowski]

I lived in Texas for many years and traveled the state. Houston is my least favorite city/ area. Too much crime and traffic. I would suggest you start a Spanish language course. It will come in handy. On the upside, there are some nice gun clubs in the area.

I've worked in many kitchens/resturaunts so I picked up 'kitchen Spanish'. If I need to talk about chicken, temperature, or comment on the appearance of beautiful women in Spanish, I'm set. Lived in New Mexico for a while too, which is essentially Mexico's better half. I'll bring my Spanish guidebook as reference though.

 

[Classic]

I lived and worked in Round Rock, TX for about 3 years. Lots of shooting ranges and competitions as well as great hunting opportunities. I loved it but have family back home in IN that needed me. The "test" for a carry license is BOGUS. Very minimal qualifications, short, short distance and big, big targets. Biggest challenge is in finding a class that has openings. I think they revised the code on "printing" of concealed weapons but I'm not certain of it as I am here in IN now.

 

[cosermann]

Had some friends that moved to the Houston area from Indiana a few years ago. They lasted a year or two there. Couldn't stand the hot weather or the terrible traffic - took forever to get anywhere.

And, while it's not an anti-gun state, there's a lot of mythology surrounding Texas and guns. Indiana is as, if not MORE gun friendly than Texas.

Examples:

Prohibited places:

• Place deriving 51% of it's income from serving alcohol (Indiana doesn't care).
• Polling places on election day (Indiana doesn't care).
• Places of worship, hospitals, nursing homes, and amusement parks (with 1 exception, Indiana doesn't care).
• Public or private places posted with a no guns sign (such signs do not have the force of law in Indiana).

• TX is a must inform LEO state.
• It is illegal to open carry in Texas with or without a license.
• TX license $140 for 4 yrs (pretty salty).
• License renewal requires completion of "a continuing education course in handgun proficiencyunder Section 411.188(c)." So, there's the whole training requirement thing going on even for renewals.

I could go on, but the point has been made.

That said, it's not CA, IL, or NJ, so it's not the end of the world if you have to move there for a sweat, I mean sweet, deal.

 

[BE Mike]

Texas is the only state where I visited a combined gun shop and liquor store. They sold cigars there too.

 

[snapping turtle]

There were 3 things that REAlLTexans did not like when I lived in Austin TX in the 1980's.

1: A black man with a gun.
2: A latino with a knife.
3: A yankee with a uhaul.

Things might have changed but I do not think it changed all that much.

I did do some travel in the state and can also state the following:
In west texas if the sign says last chance for gas fill up and buy a few gallons in a gas can.
The deer have big horns and small bodies,
Austin has some wonderful nightlife better than most any town I ever lived in.
Huston was a ghost town at the time. All office buildings and not a one with a company in them.
The best part of dallas/ fort worth was the airport.

If they have an office in Austin take the job.