Austin is different, but Dallas and Houston isn't exactly liberal, so no, it's not like California.

And Fort Worth ..... as the saying goes, 30 miles west, and 20 years back.

For the record, I like Fort Worth, loved living there, and wish I never sold my house there. But that was 20 years ago .....

And rural Texas ..... two words: Louie Gohmert *

'nuff said

* not that Dems don't have their share of loonies, but Louie Gohmert just takes it to another level.

i would presume in Houston the kid wouldn't just be let go, or am I not mistaken? Not sure how the case has to do with being liberal or not.

So just outside a metropolis it is rural, there is no gradient?

Not much IMHO.

Then again, the small town about 30 miles south of Dallas where I got my first job after college is now pretty much a suburb now .....

Something similar happened outside of Georgetown, TX in Williamson county (the county where I live). They didn't just let the driver go...

Without taking this over to Omni/PR, I'll try to explain a bit about the cities and their influence...
As for your question about changes outside of the city, yes it is rather drastic. I live kind of between Round Rock and Georgetown, which still has very strong influence from Austin. Shortly after we moved here, I remember going to the VA hospital in Temple, TX (Bell county), and wow, it was a night and day difference. The area that includes lakes and hill country to the west of Austin does still have some influence of Austin, but it does fade. I was in Boerne, TX last fall, which is about 20 miles west of San Antonio, and it definitely felt like it could have been in Austin.

My house in OR is now under contract and I still don't have a rental sorted in Texas. The Lake Olympia house is out due to increased snake & alligator risk. I applied for one home and lost it because someone else that applied was able to move in earlier than I could have. Now narrowing my search to the Sienna Plantation community in Missouri City. Very nice neighborhood with lots of new construction. Wide streets, unlike other areas nearby.

Ok. So how far out of Houston is it still not redneck country? Katy?

Katy is definitely still Houston surburbia. I looked at some houses there (Cinco Ranch) back in 2000 I think, and everything was very Houston-influenced.
My sister lives near Cypress, and definitely still Houston-like up there too. I'd say everything within the outer loop would be Houston suburbs. After that, probably a gradual mix. Down near the Space Center is very much Houston-like.

I'm looking at places outside of California, and the Northwest is expensive (and the areas nearby are getting there too) and on the East Coast large metropolitan areas are pricey too. Texas seems the cheapest, where you still get the large metropolitan areas. Obviously there are many rural areas that are cheap, but I don't really want to live in a town of 30,000 people.
Austin seems to have already radically increased in price, there is a lot of traffic (just noticing from the times I've travelled through there) as the roads are just not built for so many cars. San Antonio didn't catch my fancy (Riverwalk is nice but it seems somewhat sleepy). Dallas-Fort Worth is pricier than Houston and I'm not seeing why it is better. And I was told not to buy a house in Galveston cause of the hurricanes.
It seems remarkable that you can get a nice house with a few bedrooms and two or more bathrooms that was built relatively recently for a few hundred thousand, and be in an area that is relatively safe. In California you can pay a million for a dump (probably "have to" replacing "can"). Just wondering what the caveats are (other than the weather).

Others have already commented about the weather in Houston. Back in 1998 to 2002 I had a job where I went to Houston for work 4-5 times a year. There really wasn't a nice time of year to go. Summers are warm and humid. Winters are cold and rainy, with bone chilling cold. There are a few weeks in spring and fall that are somewhat decent.
After moving to Texas, I still remember when I drove to Houston to get my visa for China. Early on a July morning, I left home and drove the 2-3 hours straight to the Chinese consulate in Houston, parked and walked over. When I got out of the car that humidity hit me like a punch in the face.

It does get warm in the Austin area, and can get humid. But Houston is a whole other level. Heck, even the Dallas area usually gets more weather. The Hill Country west of Austin breaks up many of the storms.

DFW area is much less humid in the summer, so more pleasant to be outside. I've spent over 10 years working in both areas, and there is a noticeable difference in the summer. Galveston get the Gulf breezes, so it's better in the summer despite higher humidity IMHO.

As 15 year resident of the area, I will challenge your description of winter in Houston area. Yes, when the Alberta Clipper (as it used to be referred to, these days not so much) comes in, it can be cold for a few days. But winters in Houston Galveston area is very pleasant And the spring / fall weather lasts more than just a couple of weeks.

The hurricanes are very real though

Property taxes are relatively high. I saw some new construction homes with a 3.71% rate.

Yup, gotta make up for no state income tax.

If your home is your primary residence, you can get a Homestead Exemption, which puts a cap on property tax increases to 10%. You have to have been in your home on Jan 1 of the year for that to count.

I ended up in Sienna Plantation and think I made a good choice for a 1-year rental. I take the 521 most of the way to work and don't have any tolls to pay. The summer heat & humidity really sucked, but I'm hanging in there.

Oh dear lord. I hope that you're kidding.