grand prairie (Dallas, Arlington, Irving: appliances, buying a house, safe neighborhood)

[sophie]

Hi, I'm looking for information about grand prairie,
Does anyone know anythings about it ?
I'm from Jersey and I'll probably have to move up there with my husband and 2 kids.
What about the life, school, safety...
Is there any place better than an other in a 20 min commuting time around ?
Thanks, Sophie

[Nomad123]

If you're from the "Jersey" I know you're in for a huge change; I'm from PA. I relocated to Grand Prairie a few months ago and have experienced this change myself.
1. Prepare yourself for high electric bills ($200-$500/month) maybe not as high now that cooler weather is here but wait until Spring and Summer hit.
2. They've got these things here called "American Cockroaches" that are the size of small dogs (maybe a little exagerrated).
3. It's HOT; I mean REALLY HOT in the summer. Many triple digit temps.
4. Heavy traffic is a way of life here and there are accidents all over that multiply the problem.

But the housing market is much cheaper than in Jersey. You'll get a lot more for your money here. And the economy seems to be doing well; of course you're in the middle of two large cities and many cities in between so it's really just one very large city altogether.

But I am fairly new here so I'll stop for now and hope someone who has lived here for some time will help you more. Good Luck.

[momof2dfw]

Grand Prarie is going to see more traffic because it is halfway between Dallas and Ft Worth and it's two main highways (Interstate 30 & 20) are almost the only routes between the two. Save for 183 which is more in Irving, which also has a lot of traffic. Stay out of the mid-cities or having to commute THRU them and you will avoid a lot of traffic.

If your interested in the schools check out these sites:
www.publicschoolsreport.com
http://www.tea.state.tx.us/perfrepor...006/index.html
www.tea.state.tx.us/

The first one will breakdown all of the demographics of each school in the country. This way if you like the schools by you and the demographics this helps you find a school that more closely copies it. The TEA sites give the rankings of each school in Texas based on how they performed on the TAKS tests. If you use the search feature city-data above this thread you can probably find everything we have all said about the TAKS. Do NOT use this as your sole basis that a school is bad or good. It is VERY misleading.

Not everyone has giant cockroaches. I don't have ANY roaches in or around my home. This topic is under the general Texas posts if you look there about "bugs". This is something that can easily be taken care of especially if you are in a single family home and don't have to worry about neighbors that you share walls with that don't clean and such.

Yes it does get "HOT" here but after our hot summers we have some very nice weather the rest of the year. We have mild winters (cold today w/ sleet and freezing rain). Which brings up another subject, NO ONE CAN DRIVE ON ICE! So don't come down here saying that Texans can't drive on snow. We don't get snow but when we do it melts and over night if it gets below freezing it freezes up and covers the roads/bridges. When we do get out and have to drive in the ice we take it slow so don't get mad at them for taking their time as at least they are not causing wrecks. I can not tell you how many times I have seen someone w/ out of state tags get mad at someone taking their time that flys around them then a little down the road you pass them crashed out/spun out/in the ditch, etc. Oh, you DO NOT slam on your brakes with ice. We also have something called "black ice". You can not see it so if you do find yourself on ice just coast on thru and you should be fine. But this weekend the weather is supposed to be back into the 60's and sunny. So if we get 1-2 ice storms a year this is 1

Electric bills. Yes it can be high if you don't watch what you do. It also depends on the condition of the home and how well insulated, the a/c itself (maintenance is VERY important as is sometimes getting a new more efficient unit), better more energy efficient appliances, etc. A lot of people think that they can save a ton of money by shutting off the a/c during the day when no one is home then when they come in and the house is stiffling hot they turn the a/c on. All this does is wear out your a/c. For one it will never get the house cooled off and it is overworking the unit. It is best to get a thermostat that is programmable and set the temp to be a little bit higher while you are away and have it start cooling off just before you will get home. I have a house that is about 5000 sq feet, a husband that insists on being comfortable so our themrostats are set to 72 all the time, ceiling fans in every room always on 24/7, 2 story, 2 kids (kids and myself home during the summer so they are in and out all day), pool, etc and my highest elecric bill so far was one this past summer that was right at $750 just for the electric. Hubby wants newer a/c units with a higher seers rating put in so we may just do that.

[GoPadge]

Originally Posted by Nomad123

2. They've got these things here called "American Cockroaches" that are the size of small dogs (maybe a little exagerrated).

So that's why Fifi's got six legs and climbs the walls at night....

[sophie]

Thanks guys, it helps a lot. I appreciate.Another question, is there a good family-children friendly safe neighborhood ?

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by sophie

Thanks guys, it helps a lot. I appreciate.Another question, is there a good family-children friendly safe neighborhood ?

In Grand Prarie? Or somewhere else in the metroplex? I would suggest driving around the neighborhoods and the neighborhood schools to get a better idea of that. I'd pick a time to drive by the schools when the kids are getting out and look for a few things. How many parents are waiting to pick up their kids? All in cars? Walked to the school to pick them up? Parents that even drove to the school to p/u, are they out of their cars visiting w/ each other (we do this everyday )? Do you see moms AND dads? How many kids are walking home? Are there TONS of buses? Meaning that most of the kids that attend that school do not live w/in two miles of the school. If you drive by a school and you see a bunch of parents waiting for the kids to get out that are visiting with each other, get out and talk to them. These are the people that will more than likely know the most about the area (more than most realtors ) and if it is an elementary they can tell you what jr high and high school the area feeds into and how it is. They will know. If you are going to be looking for a church ask them where they go. And if you are going to be looking for a church go visit, go a Bible study or Sunday School class and meet people that live around the area and ask them about neighborhoods and schools. These are going to be your potential neighbhors and you can get a good idea of if you will like it or not before you committ to buying a house. Also go to the local grocery store, even during the day while the kids are at school. Do you see a good number of what appear to be stay at home moms? Talk to the cashiers and see if they live in the area.

Good luck

[GoPadge]

There are some new neighborhoods being build in GP, East of 360 and South of I-20 (esentially the areas around the West side of Joe Pool Lake.) This area boarders southern Arlington and Mansfield. This area should have a very different feel than say Grand Prairie along I-30.

[sophie]

thanks, I actually wanted to know about arlington.

[momof2dfw]

Arlington is a large city. It is home to two universities (University of Texas at Arlington and Arlington Baptist), a General Motors plant that makes trucks and Suburbans. Home to Six Flags Over Texas, The Texas Rangers and soon the Dallas Cowboys. LOTS OF TRAFFIC in Arlington. It is also more of a transient city because of the colleges and just the environment. My hubby lived there while attending UTA. I personally do not care for Arlington as it is very crowded and the schools are not that great. I'd start w/ using the search function on this site and put in Arlington to see what all has been posted about it.

[viking64]

Move to Nottingham, on the north end of Grand Prairie, near Arlington and Irving.

It's in the DFW flightpath so if that bothers you, don't. But the neighborhood is ideal. We used to own there.