The word is out: Affordable housing, a moderate climate, lots to do and friendly people make the Heart of Texas a great place to call home.

Theresa Edgington, assistant pro­fessor of information systems at Baylor University, moved to the area in 2006 from Phoenix.

“I had never been to Waco before interviewing with Baylor,” Edgington says. “When I came to the area, I was surprised. Waco itself is an amazing small town. From what I’ve seen, I can’t think of a better place that a family could have to raise children.”

Edgington says she and her husband, who works in Austin and Phoenix, were looking for a home in central Texas that would be geographically convenient for both of them.

“It’s a good environment – the people around here are just incredible. I think [the city] is large enough that you have most of whatever you really need,” Edgington says.

‘Just the Right Size’
That, it turns out, is a prevalent view here.

“We have a lot of Baylor students who come from all over the country – and they stay,” says Kathy Schroeder, vice president of residential services for Coldwell Banker Jim Stewart Realtors in Waco.

“People just like the quality of life here compared with the hustle and bustle of San Antonio, Dallas, Houston,” Schroeder says. “We’re just the right size – just over 200,000 population in McLennan County. We get the chain restaurants and the businesses, but we’re still a small enough town that you’re going to see people you know – the people you go to church or go to school with.”

In addition to young families, retirees find the Heart of Texas region very appealing, Schroeder says.

“We get a lot of retirees who come here because their kids are in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio or Austin, and they want to be central to their grand­children,” Schroeder adds.

Residents get out and about to enjoy sports events at Baylor, recreation at lakes Waco and Whitney, galleries, museums, performances at the historic Hippodrome Theatre and regional attrac­tions such as the Bosque Conservatory.

Milestone Passed
The commercial market also is healthy, says Jon Spelman, a commercial real estate broker with 30 years’ experience.

“The commercial market is strong,” says Spelman, owner of Jon W. Spelman Co. “You only have to drive by the corner of Highway 6 and Interstate 35 to see some of the vibrancy and things happening: the (Central Texas Market­Place) shopping center, hotels and the $184 million Hillcrest Health System hospital project.

“We saw things turn in the com­mercial real estate business in about 1992 or 1993,” Spelman says. “When the 1990 census hit and our community passed 100,000 and the trade area pas­sed 200,000, we came on people’s radar screens for major restaurants and certain kinds of retailers. We’ve been busy since that time.”