How is D/FW honestly? (Houston, Dallas: crime rates, safe area, good schools)

[LoneStarTexan]

Hello,

I currently live in Houston and my wife and I are about to have our first child together. I'm not originally from Texas (she is) but Houston is really terribly crime infested compared to places I've lived previously. I really don't want to raise my son in a crime infested area and generally there doesn't seem to be a truly safe area in Houston. Ultimately, I wanted to move my family either to Middle/East Tennessee or around family in Wyoming. It's a bit bewildering when people say "crime is everywhere" because it's not.

I've visited Dallas and Fort Worth a few times and was wondering how bad the crime really is? Is it a good place to raise a family? My wife wants to stay in Texas but outside of DFW, I don't think I'd like San Antonio or Austin.

Can anyone help?

[WorldKlas]

Wyoming sounds like a good idea

[Cowboys fan in Houston]

Originally Posted by LoneStarTexan

Hello,

I currently live in Houston and my wife and I are about to have our first child together. I'm not originally from Texas (she is) but Houston is really terribly crime infested compared to places I've lived previously. I really don't want to raise my son in a crime infested area and generally there doesn't seem to be a truly safe area in Houston. Ultimately, I wanted to move my family either to Middle/East Tennessee or around family in Wyoming. It's a bit bewildering when people say "crime is everywhere" because it's not.

I've visited Dallas and Fort Worth a few times and was wondering how bad the crime really is? Is it a good place to raise a family? My wife wants to stay in Texas but outside of DFW, I don't think I'd like San Antonio or Austin.

Can anyone help?

Why not just move to a suburb of Houston? Sugar Land, Katy, or the Woodlands all have little to no crime and good schools.

Honestly, the crime rates in Houston and Dallas are relatively similar. But if youre unsure, a suburb of any of the above would work.

Crime rates for cities are below. National average is 284:

Houston: 538
Dallas: 434
Fort Worth: 406
Arlington: 350

Compared to a suburb:

Katy: 164
Plano: 158
Sugar Land: 129
Friendswood: 60

[Threestep2]

It will be a major adjustment for her to move to WY.

Yes, crime is everywhere you find humans. Even in WY. Some areas have more. Some areas have less. I do not understand how you can make statement such Houston is crime ridden. An area of Houston may for whatever reasons have more reported crime.

[LoneStarTexan]

I've lived in the Houston Metropolitan area for slightly over five years now. In that time I've lived in West Houston/Katy, Spring, Humble, The Woodlands/Conroe, and currently in East Houston/Galena Park. Believe it or not, the suburbs are worse than inside the city limits. It's rapidly spread to The Woodlands and Katy and Sugar Land has become an armpit of the earth.

Houston is a very odd place compared to other cities I've lived in. Generally you have good, decent, and terrible parts of a city and usually violent crimes happen in bad parts of town. If you look at the Harris County crime map, you'll notice that violent crimes are spread out all over the county. I truly couldn't care less about property crimes, auto theft, vandalism, and shop lifting, I chalk that up to life in a big city, but I'm no longer willing to live in a city with rampant violent crimes.

Wyoming had a total of 14 murders last year for the entire state. Tennessee had 330, but 180 of those alone came in Memphis. I was hopeful that Dallas or Fort Worth was possibly a little safer. I guess staying in Texas as a whole isn't that great of an option.

Thanks for your replies!

[Threestep2]

14 murders versus how many residents?

[WorldKlas]

Originally Posted by LoneStarTexan

I've lived in the Houston Metropolitan area for slightly over five years now. In that time I've lived in West Houston/Katy, Spring, Humble, The Woodlands/Conroe, and currently in East Houston/Galena Park. Believe it or not, the suburbs are worse than inside the city limits. It's rapidly spread to The Woodlands and Katy and Sugar Land has become an armpit of the earth.

Houston is a very odd place compared to other cities I've lived in. Generally you have good, decent, and terrible parts of a city and usually violent crimes happen in bad parts of town. If you look at the Harris County crime map, you'll notice that violent crimes are spread out all over the county. I truly couldn't care less about property crimes, auto theft, vandalism, and shop lifting, I chalk that up to life in a big city, but I'm no longer willing to live in a city with rampant violent crimes.

Wyoming had a total of 14 murders last year for the entire state. Tennessee had 330, but 180 of those alone came in Memphis. I was hopeful that Dallas or Fort Worth was possibly a little safer. I guess staying in Texas as a whole isn't that great of an option.

Thanks for your replies!

I think your analysis should include ratio of murders to population, also dig a bit deeper and get the demographics of murders and see what % were within families, random crime by unrelated victims, etc. and them compare in your analysis to Wyoming.

I have no idea what your results will be but I suspect -- if murder and violent crime is the focus -- you will find your exposure to violent crime in a little bubble suburb will not be significantly greater than your exposure in Wyoming.

However, I do agree that raising kids in a dense population area does increase the probability they will wander everywhere as they become young adults. I recall, when I was raising a teenager in a safe Fort Worth suburb, that my 17 year old son had a vehicle breakdown in a very sketchy area even though we had strict restrictions on his geographic driving ranges from home. Teens just naturally challenge rules!

You will have to decide for yourself. If you do decide to move to Wyoming, be prepared that someday when you are in your 50's the kids will have left you to live in more urban areas where the jobs and excitement are. They might go elsewhere regardless of where you raise them.....who ever knows!

[LoneStarTexan]

Originally Posted by Threestep

14 murders versus how many residents?

680,000.

Half of the murders were committed on Indian Reservations.

[LoneStarTexan]

Originally Posted by WorldKlas

However, I do agree that raising kids in a dense population area does increase the probability they will wander everywhere as they become young adults. I recall, when I was raising a teenager in a safe Fort Worth suburb, that my 17 year old son had a vehicle breakdown in a very sketchy area even though we had strict restrictions on his geographic driving ranges from home. Teens just naturally challenge rules!

You will have to decide for yourself. If you do decide to move to Wyoming, be prepared that someday when you are in your 50's the kids will have left you to live in more urban areas where the jobs and excitement are. They might go elsewhere regardless of where you raise them.....who ever knows!

Yeah, I understand completely. My parents moved to the middle of nowhere in Florida when my sister and I were kids, they did it for safety and quality of life issues. The first thing I did was move to the largest metropolitan area I could find. I didn't join city-data to debate crime in big cities vs little cities, crime happening everywhere, ect, ect, I just wanted to know if Fort Worth was a decent and safe area. I know Houston is a hell hole, I live here. I know Dallas is similar to Houston in that aspect.

I suppose Austin may very well be the only decent place in Texas to live, and I'm just not interested in living there.

I appreciate your reply, Wyoming may or may not be in my future, but I feel my families days in Texas are numbered.

Thanks again!

[f4shionablecha0s]

Originally Posted by LoneStarTexan

Yeah, I understand completely. My parents moved to the middle of nowhere in Florida when my sister and I were kids, they did it for safety and quality of life issues. The first thing I did was move to the largest metropolitan area I could find. I didn't join city-data to debate crime in big cities vs little cities, crime happening everywhere, ect, ect, I just wanted to know if Fort Worth was a decent and safe area. I know Houston is a hell hole, I live here. I know Dallas is similar to Houston in that aspect.

I suppose Austin may very well be the only decent place in Texas to live, and I'm just not interested in living there.

I appreciate your reply, Wyoming may or may not be in my future, but I feel my families days in Texas are numbered.

Thanks again!

I know exactly what you're trying to say. Dallas has less of what you don't like than Houston does. Fort Worth has less than Dallas does. Give it a shot.