Suburban/Rural Dallas Area (Austin, Tyler: real estate, health insurance, house)

[kawgpz550]

This summer we are moving to Texas. At the moment things are leaning toward the Tyler area. However, depending on a few factors, we may decide to go larger and get closer to Dallas. I posted another thread not too long ago and someone suggested I stick with Tyler.
I was wondering if anyone has any other advice on areas where real estate is relatively reasonable, can get a house on at least a couple of acres, good schools and horses are allowed.
I don't mind the chance of a tornado, but would really rather NOT end up where there is a tornado every season .
Does anyone have any input of Kaufman, Canton, Crandall, Terrell
Any other suggestions will be greatly appreciated!

[momof2dfw]

Isn't your husband going to be going to school? If so then you can go towards Royce City or Greenville on the east side of Dallas right out I30 and close to Texas A&M Commerce. Or head out towards Denton & Decatur w/ the University of North Texas being in Denton. If he does pick UNT you can even go up a little bit farther north on I35 towards Sanger and Valley View. Lots of areas in all of these for property w/ horses, good schools and about an hour from downtown Dallas. Going out towards Kaufman,Terrell & Canton kind of puts him a long ways from the area colleges.

[kawgpz550]

Originally Posted by momof2dfw

Isn't your husband going to be going to school? If so then you can go towards Royce City or Greenville on the east side of Dallas right out I30 and close to Texas A&M Commerce. Or head out towards Denton & Decatur w/ the University of North Texas being in Denton. If he does pick UNT you can even go up a little bit farther north on I35 towards Sanger and Valley View. Lots of areas in all of these for property w/ horses, good schools and about an hour from downtown Dallas. Going out towards Kaufman,Terrell & Canton kind of puts him a long ways from the area colleges.

Thanks momof2,
unfortunately, my husband doesn't really know what he wants to do. He is turning 40 in a couple of months and well yeah.......Midlife crisis maybe?
We currently own our own carpet cleaning and flood restoration business. Owning your own business isn't quite what it's cracked up to be. We are on our 3rd year and although we do pretty good and have a lot of repeat business etc. we have ALOT of expenses that go with it.
So, right now we really are not sure if he's going to go to school (suddenly wants to be an elemetary school teacher) or if we are just going to start up a carpet cleaning business there. Right now it's about selling our house and getting out of here. I'm tired of raising kids here. So far we have been pretty lucky with our kids, but our luck is running out and things are changing and I feel like we are playing Russian Roulette with our kids.
Right now we are really wanting to just get out of here. We want to go and have some land and a slower paced life. Casino life is not slow. We have been here almost 19 years. This is a great place for the retired and the people who hate cold winters (although VERY COLD this winter), but not good for kids.
We were in Tyler in July, but didn't really have time to check out the Dallas area. So I am hoping to get some info here and maybe in the next month or 2 we can go check it all out and take our time.
Thanks again Momof2, I will check out those areas!

[momof2dfw]

"Owning your own business isn't quite what it's cracked up to be."

LOL!!! Tell me about it. We have our own too, have for 13 years. I'm the first to fall on the floor laughing hysterically whenever I hear someone say they want to have their own business so they can "set their own hours", "not have to answer to anyone", "set my own pay", etc. LMAO!!!!!!!!!!!! The best one is "not have to answer to anyone". HA!!!!! You have CUSTOMERS!!!!! Have to answer to them to survive. Oh and the insurance woe's. GRRRRRRR, I swear between health insurance, business insurance, vehicle insurance, etc, it is enough to make you want to close up shop and go work for someone else. Let them worry about it.


Anyway, that midlife crisis thing huh? Mine is going thru it but it is cars he is into. If he could just take off from work and do nothing but play w/ his cars he would be happy. I do NOT dare say anything about the one that won't get him very far. I've had to go rescue him twice (take him gas once and push him back the second). If I want the evil eye all I have to do is say something about THAT car. So we tread lightly on that one.

I can't say I blame you for wanting to find something better for your kids. If your husband is wanting to get his certification to teach he will be able to do so at the colleges I listed very easily. Some school districts have a program that if you have a college degree already you can teach and get your certification at the same time. It has a name and I can not remember it. He would be able to find a job VERY easy teaching in the area. I'd probably get online and see what school districts offer this program and where they are in relation to one of the colleges and go from there to zero in on some areas to look for housing.

Good luck

[socketz]

"Mine is going thru it but it is cars he is into. "

Hey, I want to be at that stage too....loving that 2007 Challenger.

[GoPadge]

I'm still looking for a cheap, but in good condition '58 - '66 Thunderbird. Although I'm still working on convincing my wife to replace our Jetta with a 88 Merkur Scorpio....

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by GoPadge

I'm still looking for a cheap, but in good condition '58 - '66 Thunderbird. Although I'm still working on convincing my wife to replace our Jetta with a 88 Merkur Scorpio....

Check out the Speed Channel this week. This week is Barrett-Jackson out in AZ and you can bid by phone. Also check out automaniacs.com down in New Braunfals and Austin. I saw they have 1 TB in stock and 1 they just sold really cheap. We have bought from them. Took a day trip to NB to check the car out and then had it brought up to us.

I keep kidding my dh that he better hurry up and put his deposit down on the new Camaro that is going to be coming out. LOL!!! I want a 64-66 vette. Or a nice Porsche . Speaking of, does anyone know anything about the Cayenne? He is looking at getting one.

[tchrmom]

If your husband has a Bachelors Degree, or higher, he can get into an Alternative Certification Program (Dallas ISD has the best in TX!!), and be teaching in less than a year. It's wonderful...and we need some great teachers in Texas.

[kawgpz550]

Well, first off, my husband doesn't have a degree. He wants to go to school and get a degree or certificate to teach. i don't know how long that will take him.
Second, we have some friends that may be looking at moving to the Dallas area with us. My question is this: they are a wonderful Christian couple. He is very conservative etc....now. He wasn't always this way. He is a former marine and has tatoos all over. He tries to conceal them with long sleeves etc. He is the most wonderful teacher you could ever imagine. He has really inspired my daughter in high school and he is now the youth leader of our church. He is really an awesome guy!. His wife works for the school as a receptionist.
My question is, would he be able to get a teaching job around Dallas being that he has the tatoos?
Thanks for the input!

[uptownexpert]

My brother lives on 20 acres in Kaufman and LOVES it. The school system is great and his kids are doing great there. Prices are still good there but will probably keep increasing as the city slowly stretches eastward. I personally prefer Canton, just depends on what you are looking for.