Tyler is known for being a naturally beautiful city. It is both an official “Tree City” and the Rose Capital of the World. It is known for its lack of crime and friendly neighborhood feel. It is a smaller city with a population of 96,901 in the middle of the state that is also surrounded by many smaller towns that are similar including Whitehouse, Lindale, New Chapel Hill, Chandler, Brownboro and Chandler. The nearest large city is Jacksonville, Texas.
Tyler is very progressive and it has a bit of a New Age feel with many biking trails and progressive services for members of its retirement community. It is also very well-known for being a “green town” with many environmentally concerned community groups. In 1985, residents of Tyler invented the International Adopt-a-Highway movement when the adopted a two-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 69. You do need a car to get around if you want to live here as everything is connected by highways.
The city is also known for its science and health institutions. This regional and technology center is host to about 20,000 students a year that study at the local University Health Science Center and the College of Engineering.
This place is also sometimes called “The Yellow Rose of Texas.” In fact, the main industry here is the cultivation of roses. Its annual Texas Rose festival draws thousands to the historic downtown area. It is also home to a Rose Museum, the Caldwell Zoo and many golf courses and country clubs.
An unusual feature of the homes here is that many of them are adorned with azalea bushes. There is an “Azalea Trail” in Tyler that consists of two officially designated routes that feature homes and public landscapes adorned with azalea shrubs. By contrast, Tyler is also home to the historic Camp Ford, which was the largest Confederate Prisoner of War Camp west of the Mississippi River so there, are many smaller local museums in the Tyler area devoted to that history.
Tyler State Park is very near and activities there include camping, boating, fishing, birding and swimming.
Tyler also has a very strong, friendly gay community called TAG that has a website at https://www.tylerareagays.com/. It holds many events every month including masked balls, dances, fairs and it also organizes many special interest clubs such as a film club, dinner group, pink pistols, a “ladies dinner”, paintball, game night, bowling, football and more.
In general, home prices are falling in Tyler. The average listing price for homes for the week ending November 6, 2013, was $263,810. There are some short sales to be had with forty homes in a stage of foreclosure as of November 6th, as well. Not every area here is friendly to gays so it is a good idea to consult with a Tyler Gay Realtor before you buy.
For more information about Tyler and its many attractive features go to the Tyler Area Chamber of Commerce website at www.tylertexas.com.
