Moving to the Dallas/FT Area (Fort Worth, Arlington: apartment, rent, buying a house)

[Loco]

Hi,

My husband and I currently live in a state neighboring Texas and are planning on moving to the Dallas/FT area in August/September of 2007.

We have friends in various communities in the Dallas/FT area.

Currently, we both have good jobs (my husband is a teacher) but would like to live in a bigger city. Initially, we were shooting for Dallas, but Fort Worth will certainly be easier financially.

We are determined to move and have been saving money for the relocation and possibly some of the living expenses for the first few months.

I have a few questions:

1. How should we approach the new job search and relocation process? Focus on a certain community we would like to move into and then try to look for jobs there? Or choose a few communities of interest and then search for jobs there?

2. I wanted to start planning for the process much earlier but we’ve been so busy that it’s been almost impossible. We are not too late, are we?

3. By the time we move, we would probably have approximately 7,000 saved up for living expenses? Would that be enough?

I have been doing all sorts of calculations based on my friend’s feedbacks and info I found online, but would like to hear more opinions.

I am a little confused so hopefully these questions are not too silly.

I am basically open to suggestions, tips, etc...

[MelNSW]

Hi Loco,
If I were you, I'd narrow my search to a few communities of interest and then spread out the job net. My husband and I lived in Greenville (60 miles from Dallas) for a few years and Mesquite for a year. In hindsight, we would have done more homework when we left Greenville and moved to Mesquite. In the first place, we would have rented a house or apartment for a few months before rushing into buying a house. You didn't mention what your job is, but if your husband is a teacher, then most of the ISDs in the DFW area have increased their salaries over the last year to a decent wage. I say that because both my husband and I are looking for teaching jobs in Texas and DFW is drawing us back into the fold because of that and the reasonable cost of living.

Areas in and around Dallas County you might be interested in...
Rockwall (expensive but there are still some bargains)
Wylie
parts of Garland (new Firewheel mall and developments in N Garland)
Forney (south of Rockwall)
Frisco/Plano/Richardson are nice but pretty expensive. Also lots of development and McMansions springing up all over the place. That might be changing with the slowing economy...I doubt it though.

I can't tell you much about FW because I don't know much about it...but it's a place that we're looking into for a possible move. Job dependent of course

I'm not so sure about the $7,000 - it depends on whether you're going to buy or rent when you arrive and what you need once you arrive (washer/dryer etc).

One thing to keep in mind. Be careful about the commuting estimate between where you work and where you plan to live. What may look like 10 short miles zipping up I-635 could end up to be a 2 hour drive depending on the traffic flow. So in between the time you're renting and buying a house, you should "test out" different commutes at different times of day. When we lived in Mesquite it only took me 40 minutes to get to Duncanville, in the south, every morning. That was because I was going against the traffic flow. The commuters heading up to N Dallas were stuck in jams the minute they hit I-635.

This is probably more information than you wanted to know, but I hope it helps.

[consumeradvocate]

Loco:

Congratulations on your choice of Texas as your new home.

Your husband will have no problem finding a job as a teacher. If he is bilingual, it will be even easier.

What type of community do you want to live in? An affluent suburb? An eclectic mixed race community? A hispanic area? A black area? Both Dallas and Fort Worth have each of these areas.

What type of job experience do you have? If I knew this, I might be able to tell where the right location would be.

Do you have children or planning on starting a family? Some communities are very family friendly.

What do you like for entertainment? For instance, Arlington , Texas between Dallas and Fort Worth is home to the Texas Rangers and future home of the new Dallas Cowboys stadium. Frisco (north of Dallas) has a major league soccer team and minor league baseball. Mesquite, an eastern suburb of Dallas, has a terrific rodeo arena. North of Fort Worth is the Texas Speedway for NASCAR fans. Downtown Fort Worth and Dallas both have museums and great music venues. I prefer the Fort Worth museum district to Dallas's at this time, but love Fair Park in Dallas.

[Loco]

Thank you so much for the responses. I’m sure I’ll have more questions as I do more research.

For now, I am wondering if any of you have any suggestions on the following situation:

I am planning on working as much as I can so that I can use my income for the relocation process. I don’t want to leave earlier than say June or July (we are planning on moving in August).

Now, obviously I’ll have to start looking for a job probably in March or April – I can’t look for a job without telling my current employer that I am (references and such). I am afraid that if I tell my boss too early, he’ll try to replace me and I won’t be able to use my income as planned – I also wouldn’t want to be dishonest with my boss.

How would you recommend that I orchestrate that whole deal?

Thanks

P.S.

MelNSW, hubby and I will have to think more in depth about the questions you are posing. Excellent questions, by the way. Thank you.

[Guingirl]

Come over and browse the posts in the Dallas and Fort Worth boards here respectively. I think you will find that there is a TON of information and everyone is so very nice and helpful there. I know I have been able to learn a lot of straight forward information about the area that has been invaluable.

[Synopsis]

Loco, it's perfectly respectable not to tell your current employer so early that you are looking to relocate. In a perfect world, you could tell them well in advance but sadly we don't live in a perfect world. While interviewing for jobs, you can indicate to potential employers that you haven't notified your current employer yet and therefore cannot give them as a reference. In some cases, potential employers may be put off by this but if you have a large enough portfolio of experience and past references, you should be able to prove that you are worthy of consideration.
There are plenty of teaching jobs down here, and if you are bilingual (esp. Spanish), there will be even more opportunities. Best of luck on your move! Where are you coming from, btw?