I think you should go to the Dallas Crawfish boil Apostofest next month and meet a whole bunch of folks you can quiz. The weather then should be quite pleasant and you can take a week, and maybe check out Houston and other cities. Definitely make time for San Antonio, I think it's one of the best locations for a family vacation in the country. Why? Because there is a ton of touristy things to do and most are very, very reasonable. Not at all like Orlando where a week can cost you in excess of $5000. It's also very pretty.
SA is why I ended up in Texas. I hated California and wanted to make a change. After whittling down the list of criteria, the Southwest made the most sense. I wasn't impressed with Dallas (too flat and too urban) but loved SA. When I talked to friends about Texas, everyone said "Austin is a better match for you." I moved here sight unseen and not knowing a soul. I've been here 3 1/2 years and I can't go anywhere without running into someone I know. It IS that friendly.
San Antonio is far less expensive and larger than Austin, but life there is a slower pace, more conservative, and more heavily influenced by the strong military and hispanic presence. Like I said, different, not inferior, just different. Wages are lower and I suspect you have to be far more careful about which neighborhood you choose there.
There is also a large expanse of "Hill Country" in between SA and Austin. True country land and reasonably priced lake, creek or river frontage as well. Most of that is quite commutable to either city. The trees here are oaks and cedars, no pines.
One of the cooler aspects to Texas is how fast the microclimates can change. We have everything, beautiful pine forests, swamps, lakes, hills (there are "sort of mountains" closer to far west Texas), desserts, canyons, prairies, etc. There is a lot of diversity. If you like to be outdoors there is a ton of stuff to do.
Oh..and as stated above, no income taxes.
I suspect the quality of schools will vary but that info is published (I just got the updated report on my daughter's high school on Sat. 1% drop out rate and test scores far above state averages. Here they categorize schools and her school and district are "recognized," that just means that a certain percentage were above the state standard on the tests. I'd say my kids have had more good teachers than bad as compared to CA, but the administrators still have a high percentage of "morons."...