Fast-Growing New Braunfels Holds Onto Its German Heritage and River Recreation

Making the Move

“I married a girl from New Braunfels, but we didn’t think we’d ever live here. We were living in Houston, and we realized New Braunfels might be a better place to raise children. I commuted to Houston for another eight years, from 2000 to 2008. It was brutal. You chase the dollar, and you think you’re doing the right thing.”

Multicultural

“We’re one of the fastest-growing cities in the country. People don’t like change, but I think New Braunfels has adopted a theory that you can’t stop change, so let’s try to do the best we can to effect change in a way that honors the culture of the city. There are some growing pains, but the town has done a good job maintaining the German culture and Hispanic culture. The bigger we get, the harder it’s going to be to do that. I hope we never lose that.”

Jumping In

“I’ve been here 23 years, but I’m still an auslander, an outsider. But the truth is the town is very welcoming, especially if you jump in with both feet and try to get involved with the community. We’ve got a strong chamber of commerce. If you show some initiative, you are very welcomed here. That’s hard to duplicate in a large city.”

Building a Foundation

“I’ve always served on boards of non-profits and volunteered. I heard about the Community Foundation, and it was this a-ha! moment. In nine years, we’ve donated over $12 million back to the community. We give scholarships, and we have 135 funds, including for Communities in Schools. We were also involved with The Headwaters Project [to restore the Comal River headwaters] before it became its own nonprofit.”

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Live Music

“We’ve got a music industry that’s phenomenal with Gruene Hall and The Brauntex theater. They’re known for Americana and Texas music. Randy Rodgers is a big artist who lives here. Cody Canada, Dallas Burrow, and Wade Bowen are also popular.”

Location, Location

“My wife and I both play golf. We moved to The Bandit Golf Club [on the southwest side of town] so we can spend more time there. We enjoy restaurants like McAdoo’s [a seafood restaurant downtown] and La Cosecha Mexican Table. The geography and the amenities here make our lifestyle pretty hard to beat. We’re only two-and-a-half hours from the beach. If we could just do something about that 105-degree heat…”

Lone Star Appreciation

“One of the things my dad taught me that I tried to instill in my children is at some point in their lives, you should move out of state so you can get some perspective on how great it is here. I spent time in New York; both of my boys went to college out of state, and I think they have a better perspective. Not only do they have new circles of influence from that, they also have perspective on how great Texas is.”