Tyler (population 100,000) is located on the eastern edge of Texas, 90 minutes from Dallas, and is a very pretty city that gardeners in particular may want to consider.  Nicknamed the "Rose Capital of America," the city boasts the largest municipal rose garden in the U.S. (40,000 bushes and 500 varieties) and hosts the renowned Texas Rose Festival every fall. Each spring, the Tyler Azalea Trail, two scenic routes that wind through established neighborhoods and past spectacular gardens, draws thousands of visitors. It seems that nearly anything can grow here, and the abundance of roses, crepe myrtles, azaleas and dogwood trees only adds to the city's appeal. The city is racially diverse and very conservative with a cost of living roughly 10% below the national average. The median home price is $135,000.

Founded in the 1840s, Tyler was a prosperous cotton-producing center before the Civil War and an oil boom town during the Great Depression. Today grand historic homes and stately mansions from those eras still stand and can be found most notably in the lovely Bergfeld Park neighborhood where the leaf-canopied streets are paved with bricks, and the spirits of the past still linger. Wonderful house museums, flower markets and vineyards are sprinkled in and around the city, and once-thriving cotton plantations that evoke Antebellum East Texas are open for tours. Houses of worship, particularly Pentecostal and Baptist, are plentiful, and church attendance is high.

Cultural amenities are not outstanding, but the University of Texas Tyler Cowan Fine and Performing Arts Center presents Broadway shows, jazz ensembles and dance performances, and Ballet Tyler and the East Texas Symphony Orchestra are in production year round. Lake Tyler (two lakes, really) is open for boating and fishing, and 985-acre Tyler State Park is the spot for swimming, camping, birding, hiking, meandering and contemplation. New bicycle trails have also recently opened. 

Tyler has three hospitals, two of which are very good. Award-winning Mother Frances Hospital, a 360-bed acute care facility, is a Level II trauma center and a designated stroke center. It is accredited by the Joint Commission and is a teaching hospital. It accepts Medicaid and Medicare patients. The East Texas Medical Center, also award-winning, is a Level I trauma center and has 425 beds. It, too, is accredited by the Joint Commission and a designator stroke center.

East Texas' climate can be described as hot and humid in the summer and mild in the winter. Summer temperatures are often in the 90s, and winter temperatures are in the 30s, 40s and 50s. The area receives 2 to 5 inches of rain per month, depending on the season, and it has a 200% greater than average chance of being hit by a tornado.

The residents of Tyler are a generally friendly bunch, happy to lend a hand when needed, and they seem to enjoy their city very much. And, indeed, Tyler is growing in popularity with retirees. A drawback to living here, however, is the higher than average crime rate, although much of the crime seems to be found in specific areas which can generally be avoided. Some residents complain that there is an undercurrent of "good ole boy" politics and that traffic congestion is worsening (the city is growing).