Help needed on moving - please! (Dallas, San Antonio: sales, real estate, home)

[neojynx]

HI

I am really looking for some advice here. I know that this is like trying to ask 'how long is a piece of string' but I really need some guidance from people who have done it before me.

I am coming to the US from the UK to work for a large software vendor. I think they are paying me reasonably well but I will be travelling every week somewhere or other within the US, maybe anywhere.

Therefore I know I need to be able to easily get flights to anywhere pretty much!

I had set my heart and thoughts on moving to Austin or San Antonio, but I am not sure that the direct flight availablity will suffice, thus I am now looking (I guess) at Dallas-FW.

I am willing to travel up to 70 miles to get to the airport, but of course want to make this journey as painless as possible thus interstate avoidance would be good I guess. (perhaps I am being naive here)

Does anyone have any pointers which may assist me in finding the right area to move to.. I have 2 young daughters (5 & 7) and of course want to find a decent school for them.

I am not a city dweller, never have been and never will, a country boy at heart looking to buy a nice place with a little real estate.

Any suggestions? I know that any replies may not answer my questions completely, but I am pretty sure they will help a lot.

Or would anyone suggest that I keep looking around Austin and SA and hope that flight coverage would be sufficient...

thanks in advance

Garry

[loves2read]

if you truly will be traveling every week in sales then one of your prime concerns would be about not missing connections--be patient and follow my story...
my son in law lives in small town S of Sarasota FL on the Gulf. He flys out every Sunday and comes back every Friday going to long-term projects across the US--right now he is working in Grand Rapids. He moved from Atlanta about 4-5 yrs ago because he hated the Hartsfield airport there and he loves to salt water fish--so he moved to area where he could fish on weekends when he was home ...his home airport is Sarasota-Bradenton--nice airport but not much traffic--certainly not a hub airport---
he ALWAYS has to make a connection for the towns he is working in--normally he flys through Hartsfield or sometimes Raleigh-Durham or Charlotte--

I cannot tell you the number of Sundays when he has missed a connection flying from Sarasota to another hub--sometimes it only delays his arrival by 3-5 hours sometimes he misses his flight and has to lay over and leave on Monday (those he actually prefers because he gets more sleep but it makes Monday morning much more hectic)
He could drive about an hour and half and use Tampa for more direct flights but they think that would take away his Sunday time and make it harder for my daughter to pick him up on his Friday return (she teaches in local school)...

I know that San Antonio and Austin are wonderful towns--I grew up in central TX and am pretty familiar with them both--the Austin airport is converted Bergstrom Field -- a USAF SAC base--great big long runways--
SA airport is as nice although it is more glam...the few times I have flown in and out found it crowded and road traffic in/out is difficult but my experience is not that current...

I just think that for commuters DFW airport is about the best place to fly in and out of for a weekly traveler--AA has more non-stops than any other carrier---their on-time performance this year has been awful because this is their main hub and our weather has been terrible with many, many thunderstorms than normal ....

there are many places in Dallas/FTW area that have good schools, great neighborhoods and a reasonable commute to the airport--
I would certainly urge you to make DFW your choice...especially if you wll be traveling each week---non-stop flights are just so much better than making connections...

[Guingirl]

We specifically chose the DFW Metroplex because my hubby flies every week just about. There is a LOT to chose from in the area. It is just a matter of what exactly you are looking for as far as neighborhood and price. Start looking on some real estate sites if you haven't.

What was the reason that Austin and San Antonio drew your interest?

I have a 3yr old daughter and I think you will find a nice area over in this part of town that you will really like. Our problem was actually just choosing where and then we decided that we were going to build instead of buy.

[$DFW8$]

I would definitely come to the DFW Area because DFW Airport is going to have more flights because it's one of the biggest airports in the world. I fly atleast once a week and American Airlines always has flights going anywhere you go. American Airlines is the biggest airline at DFW because that is there hub and they are based out of DFW. As far as places to live in the DFW Area, I would choose Decatur because its about a 30-40 minutes drive to DFW Airport and a really nice city. It has grown A LOT and has a lot of new developments. Also, the schools are great. You can be in Fort Worth in 25 minutes and Dallas in 45 minutes.