Top 10 Benefits of Small Town Life in the Texas Hill Country I Hill Country Homestead Texas
The Texas Hill Country boasts some of the best small towns in America. From the Austin hill country straight through to Fredricksburg then Bandera and right back to San Antonio, The Texas Hill Country is famous. On a tourist level this area of Texas is best known for its glorious shopping, dining, weekend getaways, weddings, tubing, bluebonnet wildflower drives and brushing up on German history. Peel away the layers of tourist appeal and you will discover unique, close knit community's of locals who continue to get together, socialize and recreate in the quaint small town traditional style of the settlers who first inhabited the area. There are hundreds of benefits to being a Texas Hill Country resident and here it is narrowed down to the top ten.
1. Spring Fed Rivers and Secret Swimming Holes
The Texas Hill Country is known for it's abundant resource of spring fed waters and aquifers. The first settlers saw this as a prize and would always camp near great swimming holes when they decided to build temporary homes, construct fences and clear land. The clear blue green waters still bring people here in huge numbers, year round, to vacation and play. Many of the most popular spots are over crowded in the peak season. If you live here long enough you can catch a few tips for river access points and pristine swimming off the beaten path away from the throngs of people. Enjoying the natural heritage of the Texas Hill Country in quiet and calm is truly a treasure.
2. The Local County Fair
The local county fair's and rodeo's have been the hub of Texas's small town socialization for a century. These fairs were founded 100 years ago when communication was very limited and it was important to have an annual meeting where people could exchange ideas, recipes and news, or gossip, if you will. Families and individuals still gather at the hill country county fairs today; to display their best agricultural products, show their best livestock, showcase their best recipes, arts, crafts and so many other things. To this day it is a place for the people of the community to come together to have fun and celebrate the heritage of slow living founded by the original settlers in the Texas Hill Country
3. Friday Night Lights
High school football is important anywhere you may live but the term 'Friday Night Lights' takes on a whole new meaning the further south in Texas you go. The stadiums are bigger here and so are the throngs of fans, which happens to be the entire town. In the small towns of the Texas Hill Country a Friday night game is often the only thing going on and in the event there is an away game the town can seem desolate and shut down. If you live here you know to start thinking about homecoming mum's at least a month in advance.
4. The Best Backroads
Anyone who lives in Texas has taken a bluebonnet drive somewhere in the hill country on one of the many well advertised routes or at least been down Highway 281. The perk of being a local is your alternate drive home from work in the Texas Hill Country can be the lesser known scenic route that will really knock your socks off. Many of the best roads to travel here are not documented on any map and can only be found by chance and sometimes a wrong turn.
5. Main Street
In towns as small as the ones west of San Antonio and Austin it's not hard to figure out where the action is. Where is the best shopping? Main Street. Where is the parade taking place? Main Street. Where is the evening concert? Somewhere on Main Street. Stroll or drive down main street in a small town in the Texas Hill Country on a weekend and you are almost guaranteed to find entertainment and people.
6. Community Outreach
Community service is especially important in a community where everyone knows of everyone else and the town is small enough that everyone shops at the same grocery store. These tiny Texas towns exist because of people coming together to build them up and take responsibility for public spaces, helping those in need and volunteering personal time for various causes. The large number of churches compared to the towns population numbers is also very helpful in making sure that most needs are met in these small Texas community's.
7. Small Town Mentality
It does not snow very often this far south, so when it does, total shutdown of the town is almost guaranteed. Even the slightest layer of white gets the local Texas Hill Country residents in a tizzy with SUV's sliding in all different directions of traffic. The numerous water bridges and valley overpasses don't help either with fear of frost or ice on bridges. The circus spectacle of local hill country behavior towards a little snow would have the northern states in a rolling laugh at our nonsense.
8. Parades, Parades, Parades!
How many parades can one little town hold in a year? No one knows for sure but parades and festivals are held year round in the Texas Hill Country towns. With the one parade actually dubbed the 'Weihnachts Parade' which literally meas 'why-not' in German. The good people in the hill country don't need an actual reason to celebrate or put a string of floats together with a few county queens on top just a waving, it seems to keep the locals quite happy.
9. Youth Livestock Shows
If you haven't been to a youth livestock show in the Texas Hill Country then you have never seen how supportive an community can be to the local youth, in spirit and in finances. The winning animals bring in tens of thousands of dollars even last place bringing in a pretty penny. Each animal raised by the children is bid on by community businesses choosing to invest in each individual child. This monumental support is at the local county level, many of the winners go on to the larger shows in Dallas, Houston and San Antonio for even more support and funds.
10. Small Town Sports
Just like the Friday night football games and the youth livestock shows, the small town sports teams pack a big punch when it comes to importance. The youth sports leagues are just one more way that local businesses donate their dollars and show their community support in these Texas towns. Youth athletics has become a 15 billion dollar industry in America and small town Texas Hill Country is no exception. The abundant social and natural resources make the country hills of Texas one of the best places to live and raise a family in America.
Want to tour a Texas Hill Country town right now on the web? Check out the links below!
Fredricksburg Chamber of Commerce
Bandera the Cowboy Capital of the World
