Starting the process to sell some land up here in SD and maybe looking to move to TX in that area. Any insight on the area as far as real estate prices, cost of living, etc., etc.? My wife and I ride motorcycles and enjoy hiking and the outdoors. We are looking at a retirement situation. Thanks for any responses.

Honestly, the area is awesome, but can be a bit expensive depending on how you do it. If you stay further out of town even now it's not too nuts. Don't do your furniture or clothing shopping in downtown Boerne, but it's a great place to spend an afternoon.

The riding around here can be great, but it definitely depends on what you have in mind for riding. It's the kind of place you REALLY want to check out a lot of the better roads for a ride via 4 wheels first because they'll go from really conservative speed limits and signs to not saying anything as the road narrows and turns 150 degrees behind some trees when you were expecting a shallow curve. I nearly had a heart attack in my car the other day and I wasn't even speeding. That said, the roads are pretty good overall and a lot of folks ride. For someone used to the northern weather, it's year round once you adapt to the summer heat and sun. If you're a full gear kinda person, plan on a mesh jacket or even downgrading to one of the armored shirts, and serious venting on boots, gloves and helmets.

Thanks for the response. We currently live in the Black Hills of SD about 25 miles from Sturgis so the riding should be ok for us to handle.

Expense really won't be too much of an issue.

Are there places for sale with some acres attached or is it all small hobby size? We would like 160 or so.

It really varies. 160 isn't exactly big here, but it's not small for this area either. There are a number of agents in the area that specialize in ranches and similar properties rather than using a regular realtor. I'm not real dialed in to the market here but I get the impression that a lot of the nicer places never officially go on the market. The word gets put around that they're considering selling... I imagine that is relatively common in any market for larger chunks of land.

I was cruising around yesterday and even in relatively built areas I was seeing places where there was probably almost that much land around each and that was relatively close to town.

Good to know. 160 isn't large here either. We just don't like close neighbors so figured a quarter section should do it.

Do NOT ride your scooter at night in that area. TOO MANY DEER. I can't tell you how many people I know have hit deer. More than one on a Harley.

It's the same way here. Too many damn deer everywhere.

I am in the south boerne area. It's growing quick, and will feel like San Antonio soon enough.  Don't get me wrong, I like it but it is hot and I need a swimming pool in my backyard.  I should have budgeted it in before picking my lot.

For Boerne/Schertz exploding would be due to entities like BRCC and folks retiring there.
https://bkcedc.com/business-growth/

Lots of tourists go there, or so it seems.  The I10 got fixed up to where I live but the construction is bad going north.  They don't seem to make much progress on the frontage roads or the bridges.  I also notice they don't make the construction companies clean up the messes they make. I have a yard or 2 of rocks, and gravel in the gutters that has been there since it snowed last year.

Should I be looking north of Boerne then?

I've got family in east river who spend "summers" in the Hills (Custer area)....  I'm kind of surprised you'd want to move to Texas summers.  I love the southern Hills.  Wife and I plan to split out time between here (NTX) and there once she retires.

We will most likely summer here (Rapid City) and winter in TX.

That is a very nice area, but also high dollar.  Boerne has a ton of McMansions and Fredeiksburg is tourist central.  Maybe look a bit more north from Frederiksburg, Llano/San Saba area.

We will check it out

And there you go.  Same as us.  

I'd say let's hit Firehouse for a beer and burgers, but I'm heading to Sioux Falls in the a.m.  Not sure why the parents migrate back to Sioux Falls for winter, but maybe because so much of the south Hills shuts down at the end of tourist season?  Dad says he's coming back in a couple of weeks.  
 
Best of luck on finding a place in TX.   Just beware of the Cheesecake.

The whole area is insane. I live close to Mason. Prices for real estate has pushed ranching out as a viable profession. My cousin runs cows mainly as a hobby (going out to watch my cows). He is a real estate broker now.
I will have a two bedroom house on the market in Mason later this year. Brady, to the north, has lots of opportunities because the frac sand mines all shut down. If you are trying to get away from it all, these are better options. Llano is pushing tourism and land prices go up the closer you get to Austin or San Antonio.
IM me if you are in the area.

I’d say Boerne is still a place to move to.  Depending on your income and how much you can throw down on the house.

I moved here over a year ago now and came with $180k to throw against a $440k mortgage so I’m in good shape.  Taxes go up each year if your home value goes up, but the money is mainly school money so you’ll see university buildings that are middle schools.  I live next to Boerne Stage airport and I can hear the freeway when I leave for work at 0530.  It wasn’t like that when we moved in so it will give you an idea what you’re up against.  The good part is most folks are good people, unlike anywhere I’ve ever been in Oregon or Washington state.  I moved from Los Alamos NM and the first thing that hit me was the humid weather.  I don’t get much done in the summer because of the weather but winter is pleasant. My brother in law lives in a area where deer sleep on his porch or front yard.  Not a few, like 20-30 of them bastards.  Everyone feeds them in the Tiber woods park area.  Good restaurants near him but it’s also busy over that way.

The challenge will be plot size and prices.   As you get close to San Antonio or Austin, the tracts get smaller and the price per acre gets higher.    
Many of the larger tracts have been cut up for ranchettes.  20 to 50 acre tracts set up for retirees.    

Many of the existing large tracts come in two basic flavors.  160+ acres with a high dollar house and improvements.  Or, 320 to 400 acres with no improvements or a mobile home.    

We searched high and low for a decent sized tract with a modest house.  

As you go north into the northern hill country/central Texas, prices per acre tend to fall, especially if its not in one of the tourist/retiree hot spots.    

Is the humidity bad?  We are not too partial to it.

Money won't be any issue at all so the land/home prices don't deter us. What's important is the weather, the people and the politics.

Not in that area.  Not as dry as west Texas but nowhere near as humid as the Gulf Coast.

Sometimes it's East River bad.  Not Houston bad, but 60-70% ain't unusual.  It's hard to find low humidity like the area around Rapid unless you hit far West Texas.  

But if you're coming down for the winters, it should be dry enough for you.  

In Gillispie County (the county for Freidricksburg), for tracts in the 101 to 250 acre range, you are looking at an average price per acre north of $11,300 per acre.   So, the 160 acres will be around $1.8 million plus the value of the improvements.  

With a 2500 sq. foot house, figure roughly $2.3 million for a nothing special house, ok fencing, an old small barn, and relatively rough land.  If you can find it.  

For land with live water, expect to pay more, if not considerably more.  

And, you will be potentially bidding against developer types who will carve up that 160 acres into 5 to 8 smaller tracts, add utilities, build drive ways, and sell the land for more per acre to retirees who want to build their dream home in the Hill Country.  

Bigger tracts (over 100 acre) have seen some of the more rapid increrases in per acre prices.   One, because there are relatively few of them, and two, because they can be cut up.   Further, bunch of regular folks are trying to buy bigger tracts in order to simply hold the land (very low holding costs), and then give themselves the option of selling portions of the property later.  

Having been in this market very recently, I'd suggest, cash is king.   I'd also suggest, get as much of the mineral rights as possible.  Ideally 100%.  

In Texas, the minerals are the dominant estate, and the owner of the minerals can use the surface as reasonably neccessary to develope the minerals.    So, if you don't own the minerals, they can put a well site/pad in the middle of your pasture, cut a road to the pad, and have a basically a large "generator" running out there basically around the clock for years.  

Also, you will want all the water rights and all the wind rights.

Fredericksburg and Boerne are both pretty pricey.

Uncle just bought some land and is building out between Ingram and Mountain Home on the Guadalupe and it seemed reasonable.

Bossman just bought up a few hundred acres in Medina and spent $,$$$,$$$

humidity not bad, but you'll have a couple of months in the middle of the summer where it's just damn hot.

Great info, thank you.  That's about what we thought for costs.