answer:I lived in Denton, TX, which is about half an hour north of “The Metroplex” of Dallas/Ft. Worth. I think it’s about the same size as the towns you’re looking at. The things I remember that stood out: > Once you got off campus (it’s a college town) everything closed really early, like “9pm and can’t find an open restaurant” type early > They had an awesome “downtown” square, things you imagine happening in small towns actually happened there. There was a store selling ice cream and an impressive historic courthouse. Those places and building have been built up around in larger cities so it’s cool to see them in a more natural setting. > Jobs in “the big city” (DFW) seemed to pay better, so many people drove. > Rent was cheap, like half of what I was used to in Austin, other costs seemed the same so I don’t know if you’ll find huge cost of living savings other than rent > getting around the city was easy and liberating after so many years avoiding 7–9am and 4–6pm. You can get everything done without having to plan what traffic will be like at a certain time. > 100,000 people seemed big enough to have just about every type of store and entertainment that you use on a regular basis > 100,000 is small enough that our favorite authentic style Greek restaurant had to serve french fries because people expected all restaurants to serve french fries… > I’m not sure how to convey this very well, but there was a certain “you’re not from around here, are ya?” that went into a lot of interactions. Sometimes just when dealing with a business in a polite “let me explain how this is going to go” way and sometimes a lot less friendly. I had more random awkwardly confrontational moments in gas stations and public spaces there than I remember having even in “bad” neighborhoods.