Looking at Ft Worth area for retirement (Dallas, Austin: rental market, insurance)

[chrisgeo563]

My wife & I are retired and looking to relocate to the Ft Worth area. Our daughter & grandkids are in Stephenville. An hour drive to doctors & VA in Dallas is no problem for us. We're looking at Weatherford, Granbury, Hillsboro so tat we could be close to St Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church in Ft Worth. 35 minute drive we can live with. Our rental budget can go as high as $750. Any advice would be appreciated.

[Threestep2]

Please talk to others about VA hospital services in DFW. What I have seen has not been pretty. If you are on Tricare it is a different cup of tea.

[ChristieP]

Dallas VA is not the best. It is in a HORRIBLE neighborhood. My husband uses the Fort Worth VA outpatient clinic, and he says it is a lot better.

Those small towns you mention are not a 35 minute drive to the church. Weatherford and Granbury might be that close on a Sunday morning with no traffic, but Hillsboro is definitely much further away. Your budget is going to be tough, but it will go further in a smaller town.

[Restrain]

Have a friend who was delayed for months at Ft Worth VA, unable to eat, finally diagnosed with esophageal cancer. Questionable now for recovery, might have been a better outlook if VA had seen her at the onset.

[chrisgeo563]

Thank you all for the quick response. I just found out about the horrible conditions at the Dallas VA Hosp by someone who is connected with the VA system (that's all I can say to protect her) She had to visit the area a couple of weeks ago and concurred about the hospital in Dallas, but she gave the clinic in Granbury praise as well as the one in Greenville. We are both on Medicare with an advantage plan here in NY. My wife has Macular Degeneration in both eyes. Her retina surgeon told us that he knows that there is a retina group in Dallas that's the best in the state from what he's seen & heard. We can both deal with using the Medicare as long as we have great doctors and there are great hospitals in the area. We're hopingto make a 2 week trip to the area in September or October to look things over. We were considering Hillsboro because its also about 35 minutes away from the Greek church in Waco. Any thoughts about Waco?? Thanks again.

[texas_nightowl]

I don't know that much about Hillsboro the town. What I do know is that traffic on I-35 between Hillsboro and Waco can be absolutely terrible. In good traffic, 35 minutes might be about right. In normal to bad traffic it can be anywhere from slightly longer to terrible. Hillsboro is where I-35E (Dallas) and I-35W (Fort Worth) come together. So 4 lanes merge into 2 lanes. And capacity needed to be double what it is between Hillsboro and Waco 20 years ago. In fact, work is being done from Hillsboro all the way to Austin. Not trying to be a downer, but when you are visiting, make sure to try that drive.

If you would still prefer the Greek chuck in Fort Worth, then I would still look into Weatherford area. A $750 budget will be hard in many areas though. I don't know what the rental market in Cleburne is either, but with the Chisholm Trail Parkway (toll) now open, it might be an option also.

For the Greek church in Waco, but still keeping an hour drive or so to Dallas, then Waco and Hillsboro/Whitney are your main options.

I suppose your options depend on what conveniences you want where you live? You've mentioned being OK to drive 35 minutes to church and an hour to the VA or other doctors, etc. What do you "need" where you are living? Are you OK with driving 20 or 30 minutes to a grocery store? or restaurant? etc.

[texas_nightowl]

Also, here are a couple of threads in the forums about Waco:

Waco Texas and Baylor University

Waco, Texas Thread

Moving to Waco from LA, Cali! What to expect?

[loves2read]

I found someone I think is very good retina specialist in FTW/downtown hospital district who takes Medicare patients although I had other insurance when I first went to him--

on a Friday night when we were on way to eat pizza with friend I had a sudden "black spot" appear in my right eye--this is basically my only eye since I have had "lazy eye" since I was an infant...my left eye would not be useable for process of everyday living so I was really scared...

we went to walk in clinic who sent us to ER--doctor there was not able to say if it was dangerous problem or not--
ER had no opthomologist on duty since it was night by then
called the FTW downtown hospital and made contact with retina doctor on call--
he was gracious enough to see me Saturday morning in his office which is normally closed...

I was relieved to find out it was just a "floater"--which I have never had--
but he was very thorough and reassuring...
have been back to him several times since then for follow ups

would totally recommend him for anyone with retina problems--
DM/private message me if you want name and number

I also know someone who had cataract surgery performed by doctor in the Mid-Cities area who got infection after surgery--more likely due to what he did vs the doctor--although that doctor also did cataract surgery on another friend and caused him to lose vision in one eye...

The first guy basically lost vision in one eye after the infection and has been treated by his doctor, the surgeon, went to retina specialist in NYC area who recommended him to Dallas retina clinic that was supposed to be "the best" in the DFW area--
he had very bad customer service from that group with some questionable suggestions for improving his vision--not that great from the NYC one either--
and none of them have been able to do anything to reverse the damage to his eye--
probably no one could have helped although no one would say that to him--
but I wouldn't recommend the Dallas office from how he was treated...

[chrisgeo563]

Originally Posted by ChristieP

Dallas VA is not the best. It is in a HORRIBLE neighborhood. My husband uses the Fort Worth VA outpatient clinic, and he says it is a lot better.

Those small towns you mention are not a 35 minute drive to the church. Weatherford and Granbury might be that close on a Sunday morning with no traffic, but Hillsboro is definitely much further away. Your budget is going to be tough, but it will go further in a smaller town.

I'm leaning toward Granbury because I hear that the VA Clinic is great. Could you recommend an affordable small town?

[loves2read]

the problem from what some other posters have mentioned is that smaller towns usually lack good selection of rental property if you are looking to rent
often not many new apt complexes and houses vary good deal in quality--
what do you mean by "affordable"--that adjective varies so much depending on the person

I would think that Granbury has pretty reasonably priced homes if you are willing to take something older and smaller--
newer homes along the lake/river or canal developments are going to be pricey--