Fleeing Albany NY (Dallas, Richardson: attorney, relocate, vacation)

[glinnesa]

Ok...I was born and raised in Albany NY and am tired of being here. I just finished law school and have a job here with a 3 year commitment. After that, I plan on fleeing this place. Although Albany is affordable, the public school system sucks (I can't afford to put my daughter in private school right now), and especially so for my daughter who has ADD, there isn't much to do here for singles and young people, very few African American professionals here, in any profession, and the dating here is non-existent.

With that being said, I am looking to relocate. I lived in both DC and NYC prior and liked them both, but I am done with the financial struggle you experience there because they are very expensive places to live, although I know that it would be very easy for me to find a job in either place due to my profession. I have never visited Dallas, but I keep hearing great things about it. So now it is on my list of considerations.

With that being said, I was wondering about the school district in Dallas, especially for children with disabilities. I also wanted to know what neighborhoods are good. I am a city person and because it's just my daughter and I, I would not be opposed to living in the city. I would also like to know about the job market, and if anyone knows what it's like for attorneys, that would be great. What is the activity scene? I'm not a clubber, but I go like to go out, so what is available. And what is the dating scene like. I am not looking for an instant husband, but not being on a date in 3 years is a bit ridiculous. Any help anyone can give would be greatly appreciated.

[Preaching2thechoir]

Originally Posted by glinnesa

Ok...I was born and raised in Albany NY and am tired of being here. I just finished law school and have a job here with a 3 year commitment. After that, I plan on fleeing this place. Although Albany is affordable, the public school system sucks (I can't afford to put my daughter in private school right now), and especially so for my daughter who has ADD, there isn't much to do here for singles and young people, very few African American professionals here, in any profession, and the dating here is non-existent.

With that being said, I am looking to relocate. I lived in both DC and NYC prior and liked them both, but I am done with the financial struggle you experience there because they are very expensive places to live, although I know that it would be very easy for me to find a job in either place due to my profession. I have never visited Dallas, but I keep hearing great things about it. So now it is on my list of considerations.

With that being said, I was wondering about the school district in Dallas, especially for children with disabilities. I also wanted to know what neighborhoods are good. I am a city person and because it's just my daughter and I, I would not be opposed to living in the city. I would also like to know about the job market, and if anyone knows what it's like for attorneys, that would be great. What is the activity scene? I'm not a clubber, but I go like to go out, so what is available. And what is the dating scene like. I am not looking for an instant husband, but not being on a date in 3 years is a bit ridiculous. Any help anyone can give would be greatly appreciated.

I lived in North Dallas from 96-98 and that section of it was very clean and beautiful back then. My son was in 2nd grade at the time and one day during a conversation he mentioned that one of the teachers made them take turns rubbing her feet while she read them stories. There are no words for the anger I felt. Needless to say I went up to the school with both barrels blazing and confronted the principal with the information and threatened to sue the school district.

When my son was in 3rd grade he had a young female teacher who had recently graduated from college. I attended an open house and I can't remember why but the theme had something to do with the word "chief". So there were signs posted in various places around the classroom with the word "chief" except it was spelled "CHEIF". When I brought it to the teachers' attention, she laughed it off and told me that my son usually helped her to spell words. Needless to say, I didn't think very highly of the Richardson school district.

Also:

I've recently read a lot of negative stories with regards to the illegal alien population run amok in pretty much every part of Texas. I know that Farmers' Branch had recently inacted laws to combat illegal immigration.

Just a word of caution: If you don't want to feel like you are living in an extension of Mexico, I would advise you to research the illegal alien population in various cities and suburbs in Texas, before you relocate.

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by Preaching2thechoir

I lived in North Dallas from 96-98 and that section of it was very clean and beautiful back then. My son was in 2nd grade at the time and one day during a conversation he mentioned that one of the teachers made them take turns rubbing her feet while she read them stories. There are no words for the anger I felt. Needless to say I went up to the school with both barrels blazing and confronted the principal with the information and threatened to sue the school district.

When my son was in 3rd grade he had a young female teacher who had recently graduated from college. I attended an open house and I can't remember why but the theme had something to do with the word "chief". So there were signs posted in various places around the classroom with the word "chief" except it was spelled "CHEIF". When I brought it to the teachers' attention, she laughed it off and told me that my son usually helped her to spell words. Needless to say, I didn't think very highly of the Richardson school district.

Also:

I've recently read a lot of negative stories with regards to the illegal alien population run amok in pretty much every part of Texas. I know that Farmers' Branch had recently inacted laws to combat illegal immigration.

Just a word of caution: If you don't want to feel like you are living in an extension of Mexico, I would advise you to research the illegal alien population in various cities and suburbs in Texas, before you relocate.

Bad things can happen in ANY school across this country and do on a daily basis. To label the entire Dallas metroplex bad because of a few bad experiences in one of the local districts schools is blowing it a bit out of proportion.

We all make spelling mistakes. It happens.

Um, there are PLENTY of areas of the Dallas metroplex (the majority of it) that do not feel like one is living in Mexico. I visit Mexico often on vacation and live here in the Dallas metroplex and have yet to know much more in Spanish than how to order a beer or margirita and ask for the bathroom. The illegal alien problem is something being faced in every state of the country and large city. It is not unique to Dallas or Texas.

[FarNorthDallas]

There are a lot of private schools in Dallas for kids with ADHD and/or learning disabilities. If you could swing that, it would be the best. Schools in Texas are no better/no worse with dealing with disabilities than other states. It's all bad or mostly bad. Here's an example of one of the private ADHD schools The Winston School (broken link)

[king's highway]

Originally Posted by Preaching2thechoir

I've recently read a lot of negative stories with regards to the illegal alien population run amok in pretty much every part of Texas. I know that Farmers' Branch had recently inacted laws to combat illegal immigration.

Just a word of caution: If you don't want to feel like you are living in an extension of Mexico, I would advise you to research the illegal alien population in various cities and suburbs in Texas, before you relocate.

Illegal immigration is not just a border state problem anymore...
if it hasn't already, the problem of illegal immigrants running amok
will soon come to a city near you... because Mexico is a horn of
plenty and the powers that be are encouraging massive Mexican
immigration into the US.

[blueskies49]

Exactly. All around the country, even up to the Dakotas, there are problems with illegals. It's not just in Texas. Alot of them pass through Texas on their way to other states.