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Hello! I am a high school teacher in Colorado Springs considering a move to Texas. Although I love the Colorado lifestyle, my financial situation (due to my chosen career) makes it difficult to buy a home here. I've been looking at real estate in Dallas, Fort Worth and Austin and I am shocked by the affordability in comparison to Colorado.
I'm hoping that you can help me decide which city would be best for me...not to mention recommend a school district where I should apply for a job.
A bit about me. I'm a 29 year old, single woman with no kids. I'm a high school Spanish / Social Studies teacher. I hold both a BA and MA in my field as well as being named a "distinguished teacher"...whatever that means. haha I've always worked in Title 1 schools (aka poor, at risk, diverse population) so a tough environment doesn't shock me. I'm relatively liberal and open minded. I'd like to be near cultural "stuff" i.e., theatre, concerts, museums, etc.
Thank you for your help. I truly appreciate you taking the time to assist me.
If you like cultural stuff then move to Dallas. It has several growing arts districts with museums, galleries, and theaters, a brand new opera house, new concert venues galore, a nice state park, tons of night-life, theme parks, parades, festivals, and most everyone is really progressive. Dallas people are pretty easy going and you don't see too much upheaval unless you are in the south area of the city. Denton has one of the largest and most popular music universities.
Fort Worth is cowboy town. It's really conservative; however, it has a growing art scene.
Austin is a college town. It is a very slow town, far less culture (college football and bars are the mundane there), no art scene, and the music scene is pretty overrated (it consists of cover bands and indie rock). In some ways it is like a mini-Dallas but it offers far less and it is more expensive. I thought it was a boring town.
San Antonio is similar to Austin except it has a large Hispanic vibe and a lot more culture.
Hello! I am a high school teacher in Colorado Springs considering a move to Texas. Although I love the Colorado lifestyle, my financial situation (due to my chosen career) makes it difficult to buy a home here. I've been looking at real estate in Dallas, Fort Worth and Austin and I am shocked by the affordability in comparison to Colorado.
I'm hoping that you can help me decide which city would be best for me...not to mention recommend a school district where I should apply for a job.
A bit about me. I'm a 29 year old, single woman with no kids. I'm a high school Spanish / Social Studies teacher. I hold both a BA and MA in my field as well as being named a "distinguished teacher"...whatever that means. haha I've always worked in Title 1 schools (aka poor, at risk, diverse population) so a tough environment doesn't shock me. I'm relatively liberal and open minded. I'd like to be near cultural "stuff" i.e., theatre, concerts, museums, etc.
Thank you for your help. I truly appreciate you taking the time to assist me.
Allen or Murphy would be best choice for you since housing prices are still reasonable. You can find an affortable brand new home in Allen or Murphy starting price with 150k and up. School systems for those cities are also good. Good city, good commutnity, good students and good teacher like you can make society better to live in.
I don't like Dallas District school systems since there were some corruption scandals happended lately associated with Dallas District.
Allen or Murphy would be best choice for you since housing prices are still reasonable. You can find an affortable brand new home in Allen or Murphy starting price with 150k and up. School systems for those cities are also good. Good city, good commutnity, good students and good teacher like you can make society better to live in.
I don't like Dallas District school systems since there were some corruption scandals happended lately associated with Dallas District.
Yeah, Allen and Murphy are GREAT if you want to be 25 miles from the Dallas Arts District and live in a super-conservative suburb!! Seriously, UTDGrad, did you read her post at all???
You're going to have to help us out- what is affordable to you (budget) and what are you looking for (condo or house, brand new or older, and what size).
Off the bat, I'd recommed looking in Little Forest Hills (75218), a charming, funky East Dallas neighborhood that is walking/ biking distance from White Rock Lake. It is a wooded neighborhood where housig prices have stayed affordable enough for many artists to live there. Homes are small (sub-1500sf), which is great for a single woman to maintain. About a 10-15 minute drive to Downtown/ Deep Ellum/ Uptown areas (on surface streets, not highways). Those are the areas where the arts & music scenes are.
You may also be able to find a loft downtown or in Deep Ellum for under $200k.
If you are used to Title 1 schools and really do enjoy your work, I encourage you to apply to Dallas ISD. The kids and the districts need more teachers like you who don't want to flee to cushy jobs in the suburbs!
Jobs will be easier to find in Dallas because Dallas isn't just Dallas but its many surrounding suburbs. Don't be afraid of Dallas ISD, just use your judgement. In this economy, you just take what you can get, especially if you teach social studies. www.teachfordallas.com Good luck.
Look at the Highland Park Independent School district. They usually like to hire people with a Master's Degree. It is in the middle of Dallas. There are 4 elementary schools, one Junior High and one High School. HPISD is ranked on a national level.
If you taught in HP and lived over say in the M-Streets, Lakewood area it would be a short commute.
TC80
While I agree that Murphy probably isn't the ideal spot for the OP it's hardly super-conservative. During the presidential caucus there were close to 1000 democrats and about a dozen republicans there that night. Collin County may be historically conservative but areas like Murphy attract a broad cross section of views.
And I seriously had to mapquest to discover that you weren't off base at 25 miles away. It just never seems that far away when we hit events down there.
But to the OP, Murphy, while perfectly great is very family friendly and I don't know a whole lot of single women here without kids. Not that you'd be shunned, but it probably wouldn't be the most entertaining place to be.
TC80
While I agree that Murphy probably isn't the ideal spot for the OP it's hardly super-conservative. During the presidential caucus there were close to 1000 democrats and about a dozen republicans there that night. Collin County may be historically conservative but areas like Murphy attract a broad cross section of views.
And I seriously had to mapquest to discover that you weren't off base at 25 miles away. It just never seems that far away when we hit events down there.
But to the OP, Murphy, while perfectly great is very family friendly and I don't know a whole lot of single women here without kids. Not that you'd be shunned, but it probably wouldn't be the most entertaining place to be.
I totally argree with you. It's so pathetic that someone at this forum feel bad/flame up with my sincere comments. Since I like to live with healthy(not naughty) entertainments/activities sucha as arts & music to cultural events. I have visit most of these places(Dallas Aquarium, Zoo, Fair Park, Reunion, White Rock Lake Garden...so on.). But living in Murphy or Allen does not mean you find hardly to access to these areas. Most people go to work on weekdays and visit the entainment places on weekend. I don't see many people here go to visit those places daily. So my point is even you live in good city such as Murphy or Allen, you can go to visit or attend cultural arts/events on weekend. You can attend music/arts at community college(Richland College, Collin Community College) or unviversity(UTD). I am a single guy who is currently workingfor Texas Instrument betweet HW 75&635 and Dallas area is good for me since near my workplace, but I did not pick to live in the areas in the south side of HW 635. To me those areas are wellknow of buglary, drug, drunk driving and naughty stuffs. I don't feel safe to go or walk on streets at night on those areas. That is what I have observed since I live here. All my sincere advice to you is you should try doing some research on the areas that recommended by people here and analyze it base on the facts to determine your choice. Good luck! Adios,
[b] I am a single guy who is currently workingfor Texas Instrument betweet HW 75&635 and Dallas area is good for me since near my workplace, but I did not pick to live in the areas in the south side of HW 635. To me those areas are wellknow of buglary, drug, drunk driving and naughty stuffs. I don't feel safe to go or walk on streets at night on those areas. That is what I have observed since I live here. All my sincere advice to you is you should try doing some research on the areas that recommended by people here and analyze it base on the facts to determine your choice. Good luck! Adios,
OMG, now I am just laughing! Burglary, drugs, drunk driving, and "naughtiness" happen all over DFW- not just south of 635. You have to be kidding me or really, really sheltered. Case in point:
-my boss' home was recently burglarized in the oh-so-prestigious and safe gates Starwood subdivision in Frisco.
-One very high up man in my company is a hard, partying GAY guy who lives in Fairview.
-Another coworke had a very hard time selling his Frisco home because apparently his subdivision is well-known for attracting swingers
-high profile murder of real estate agent holding an open house in McKinney
-crazy drug users mutilated a poor woman last fall in a Richardson neighborhood full of $400-500k homes
-this summer it was announced that a man living in a very nice Plano neighborhood had raped and murdered a woman some 20 years ago in Ft Worth
-Two of the last 3 "wrong-way" drunk driving incidents have been north of 635 (on the Tollroad in Frisco and on Central just south of George Bush).
I'm not saying Dallas is Disney World, but good Lord, there is crime and bad people everywhere- the naughty bad guys don't magically turn around at 635!
OMG, now I am just laughing! Burglary, drugs, drunk driving, and "naughtiness" happen all over DFW- not just south of 635. You have to be kidding me or really, really sheltered. Case in point:
-my boss' home was recently burglarized in the oh-so-prestigious and safe gates Starwood subdivision in Frisco.
-One very high up man in my company is a hard, partying GAY guy who lives in Fairview.
-Another coworke had a very hard time selling his Frisco home because apparently his subdivision is well-known for attracting swingers
-high profile murder of real estate agent holding an open house in McKinney
-crazy drug users mutilated a poor woman last fall in a Richardson neighborhood full of $400-500k homes
-this summer it was announced that a man living in a very nice Plano neighborhood had raped and murdered a woman some 20 years ago in Ft Worth
-Two of the last 3 "wrong-way" drunk driving incidents have been north of 635 (on the Tollroad in Frisco and on Central just south of George Bush).
I'm not saying Dallas is Disney World, but good Lord, there is crime and bad people everywhere- the naughty bad guys don't magically turn around at 635!
To me I feel it is normal to have disagreement. I am not going to argue or debate with you on this. I just try give the asker some input/feedback based on my observation, perspective and my life experience living in here and that maybe total different from yours. I am sorry, but I have good reasons to avoid those mentioned areas (except Highland Park). That is what I feel. I live here long enuf to see most bad news/problems usually come out in South Dallas areas and I did not mean other areas does not have problems, but very less(very minimal) comparing to South Dallas or South side of HW 635.
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Well, you DO need a job
