Single Arkansas mother of two (Dallas, Garland: affordable apartments, house prices, job market)

[Ajp031]

Hello, I am trying to decide if I want to relocate to Nashville or DFW. I know a little about Dallas and have heard only good things about it. I heard that the job market is good there as well. I use to stay in Dallas well Richardson and Garland area when I was young and I loved it. However things change when you are the mom and you have others that are dependent on you. I am originally from Fayetteville Arkansas. I will be graduating with my Masters Degree in Social work and I am planning to do therapy, medical social work or mental/psychiatric social work. All at a therapist level. I have two daughters, 9 and 15, so I am concern with what parts to live in. I would like to know what neighborhoods are child friendly, family oriented,reasonable and safe. What schools are good as far as academics. I would like to know if there are things to do with my children as well as with possible co-workers. Grown up settings for young professionals around early 30's and so on. I understand that I can't have it all but some things I can't do without. I am a country girl and I do not want to move to a place that is too fast for me or my girls. Just a place for advancement and room to grow. Fayetteville is a diverse area that welcomes everyone. However, it lacks a social scene for young professionals. I would like to keep my daughters in a diverse area so that they will know how to interact with others who do not look like them. I have a lot of family there in the DFW area who has lived there for years. I will be visiting the area soon in October so if you could provide me with any information pertaining to Dallas, I would greatly appreciate it. You can be as real as you want because I am a realist as well. Thanks in advance.

[TurtleCreek80]

You are asking very basic questions so I would recommend searching this forum and then coming back with questions specific to your situation or job offers. There are a gazillion threads in the Dallas forum discussing schools, family friendly neighborhoods, and things to do for fun in Dallas.

[BeenThereDunThat]

Tough to give any advice as the DFW area is really a large cluster of urban, suburban, cluster-communities, etc.
Since you have relatives in the area, your questions may be better answered by them as they have the first-hand dope on their area. A lot of people first consider where work will be and then work backwards as the commutes can be tough if you
live too far away from the job.

Good luck!

[jdallas]

Based on your post, I'd recommend Nashville over Dallas.

[Ajp031]

Care to elaborate?? I would greatly appreciate it.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by Ajp031

Care to elaborate?? I would greatly appreciate it.

I agree that you should consider Nashville over Dallas. Here's why:

You said you don't want "fast"...well, that's Dallas. FASTFASTFASTFAST.

As a social worker, you won't be making much. And that's OK. It's a calling; it's not something you do to get rich. However, the cost of living here is higher than Nashville. CNN's cost of living calculator states that a $45k salary would have to bump up to $50k in Dallas to have the same spending power.

School quality in affordable areas is hit and miss. Some of DFW's most affordable areas with a reasonable commute to Dallas's central business district (which is where you'd likely be working as a social worker) are Garland, Mesquite, and Richardson. Richardson's schools are great, but buying a house wouldn't be on the cards on a social worker's salary as house prices here have skyrocketed. You could rent, but Richardson doesn't have a lot of affordable apartments in nice areas either. Garland and Mesquite schools do not perform as well as other suburban schools do. Some schools there are excellent, I'm sure.

[jdallas]

^^ exactly what I was thinking as well. I'll add that being a single parent of two teenage girls in Dallas fresh from Arkansas would shorten my life span considerably. Dallas would eat them alive. I have lifelong friends in Nashville and it can be a good place to raise a family.