Is There Any Reason For This Californian To Not Move to Dallas? (Fort Worth: real estate, mattress)

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by nativeDallasite

HEY! I'm a Dallas native too, born at Baylor Hospital. Dammit!

I'm a St Paul baby

[nativeDallasite]

Originally Posted by momof2dfw

I'm a St Paul baby

Hahaha, you were born on Harry Hines.

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by nativeDallasite

Hahaha, you were born on Harry Hines.

That explains why I like my shoes w/ super high heels

[nativeDallasite]

Originally Posted by momof2dfw

That explains why I like my shoes w/ super high heels

ROFL

I can't remember what street Baylor is on. Hmmmm..... Otherwise I'd make an equally self-deprecating comment.

[dcueto]

Originally Posted by momof2dfw

Chuck E. Cheese places all over - not my fave place to go. There is a Chuck E. Cheese in Rockwall which is not far from you if they have not opened one up in Forney by the time you move here. We have Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington (located between Dallas & Ft Worth). The State Fair of Texas opens this Friday and runs for 3 weeks (BigTex.com). By 2010 or 2011 they plan on adding more permanent rides and keep the Fair open all thru the summer w/ admission including the fairgrounds and the many museums located at Fair Park. Right now the only permanent rides are the ferris wheel (The Texas Star) and the new gondola ride opening this weekend. All of the school kids get a free ticket to the fair and a Fair Day off from school. We also have TONS of waterparks in the metroplex along w/ many local city owned pools. The closest waterparks for you will be in Rowlett and Garland (Waterzone in Rowlett and Hawaiian Falls in Garland). There are smaller free splash parks that are open and free to the public w/ one being in Rockwall. Allen has a year round pool as does Rockwall at the YMCA. Trust me, there will be PLENTY to keep you and the kids busy.

Thanks so much for the info. We have been to Hawaiian Falls when we were there last August & my kids loved it. You said that Chuck E Cheese is not your fave place to go, is there any place similar to it that is much better to go to?

[dcueto]

Originally Posted by blueskies49

My husband grew up in Forney back when it was a sleepy little hick town. I don't mean that in a bad way. It's growing by leaps and bounds now, having recently added a second high school and several elementary schools. Lots of new houses going up around the outskirts. You can see some of them as you come out of Dallas heading east toward Forney. My mother-in-law, stepkids, their mother and their grandparents live there, most of them having grown up there.

There is not much to do in Forney, though, most people come into Dallas and the surrounding suburbs for entertainment and shopping, although there are antique stores and an outlet mall in Terrell which is another small town east of Forney. Dallas/Fort Worth area has anything you might want in terms of shopping and entertainment. Six Flags Over Texas (the original one) is in Arlington (where I live), Texas Rangers baseball is there, too, as well as Hurricane Harbor, a huge water park, although there are other smaller ones around. Mesquite, a suburb of Dallas which would be closer to Forney, has a Chuck E. Cheese and there are several other locations. Mesquite also has batting cages and go carts. Dallas Cowboys old stadium is in Irving but the new one is currently being built in Arlington. There is also the Dallas Stars (hockey), Dallas Mavericks (basketball) and Dallas Sidekicks (soccer). Ballet, opera, bunch of museums in both Dallas and Fort Worth, the Arboretum (gorgeous flower and landscape gardens), numerous malls some of which are upscale. Many, many restaurants. Several nearby lakes, too.

You didn't ask about the weather but I'll volunteer, in case you didn't know, that North Central Texas is in Tornado Alley and we have hot weather from May to October, with the summer months being humid and upper 90's and 100's. Except for one or two freezing spells (sometimes a little bit of snow and ice but not every year and it doesn't last long), winters are generally very mild.

We have just visited there in August and I know it was very hot but here in California, we live in the valley so it's like "our valley" weather too. Have you experienced a lot of tornados lately? I'm really excited of moving there but I am also anxious or nervous on what to expect or how we would adjust to the lifestyle there. Here in California, we don't go out often. Just trips to the malls on weekends and during the summer we try to go to the theme parks for the kids. But we are not really after the night life! We just want a quiet time for our family at the end of the day. Here it's like we are always stressed out because of the traffic and the pace of life so we just really want a kind of laid back life where we can enjoy our house & have quality time with the kids.

By the way, since my husband will be working in downtown Dallas, is Forney okay in terms of the travel time & distance to his work?

[savannaclubhomes]

you can go anywhere within 2 hrs and have it all mtns, desert, beaches, city

go towards the mountains and find a quiet little town

there are lots of quiet little towns consider lake gregory or apple valley or oak glen

you will miss it and it hard to get back once you have left

[nativeDallasite]

Originally Posted by dcueto

By the way, since my husband will be working in downtown Dallas, is Forney okay in terms of the travel time & distance to his work?

Eh...he'll be looking at probably 30-45 minutes each way I'd say.

As for tornados...I've lived in Texas most of my life, grew up here, and I've never even seen one, though I've been in two. My boyfriend (from west Texas) has seen two but has never been in one. Most of the people I know here have either seen one or been in one, but I don't know a single person who can name anyone they know who has even been injured by one.

I wouldn't worry about tornados if I were you; the odds of one hitting YOUR house are pretty long, and there's nothing you can do about them anyway except get underground or get out of the way.

[blueskies49]

Originally Posted by dcueto

We have just visited there in August and I know it was very hot but here in California, we live in the valley so it's like "our valley" weather too. Have you experienced a lot of tornados lately? I'm really excited of moving there but I am also anxious or nervous on what to expect or how we would adjust to the lifestyle there. Here in California, we don't go out often. Just trips to the malls on weekends and during the summer we try to go to the theme parks for the kids. But we are not really after the night life! We just want a quiet time for our family at the end of the day. Here it's like we are always stressed out because of the traffic and the pace of life so we just really want a kind of laid back life where we can enjoy our house & have quality time with the kids.

By the way, since my husband will be working in downtown Dallas, is Forney okay in terms of the travel time & distance to his work?

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry you about the weather, it's just that I've known a couple of people who moved here who are very bothered by it and may not have moved if they had known. Also, we had a couple of tornadoes in Arlington earlier this year which came close to where my husband was working at the time and to where my daughter and her family lived and they heard the tornado sirens going off. My stepkids and my husband (when he was a child) were in one. I've never been in one personally although they've come close a time or two. But like the previous poster said, the odds are long but whenever they're talking about this kind of weather down here, take it seriously and stay indoors!

[blueskies49]

Also, Forney is a nice little family town if y'all aren't the type to go out much like you said. And if you do want to, there's lots to do nearby!