Places to live? (Dallas, Austin, Fort Worth: real estate, apartment complexes, renters) - City-Data Forum

mnmommy · 01-26-2007, 04:06 PM

We will be moving from MN to TX later this year and we are doing as much research as humanly possible, but, whats better than the people who are already there for an excellent resource? My husband works in the Post Office and we need to put in specific cities to ask for the transfer. We have been looking at Fort Worth, Arlington, Austin, and surrounding areas. What I would really like to know is what are the areas a young family should avoid in moving into.

Thank you for any honest input.

RachelJones · 01-27-2007, 12:45 AM

Hi, I live in Arlington.

I recently posted a response to another MN resident thinking of moving here - here is the link: To move or not to move - relocate from MN?

That might help a little, I hope.

Austin is great, but more expensive than Fort Worth or Arlington. It's got a much better atmosphere in general, of course. But the traffic has gotten just as bad there as it is up here. (I live in Arlington.)

Arlington is basically one giant residential suburb. There is absolutely no "nightlife" here, which I guess is good if what you're trying to do is raise a family. The schools are okay, I believe the best ones are around the Lake Arlington/Little Road area, like Martin High. There are bad neighborhoods but they're probably outnumbered by the good ones. Most of the crime around here happens in the apartment complexes, which are extremely numerous in Arlington for some reason.

As for what areas you want to avoid moving into, I can't opine about Fort Worth because I never go there, but in Arlington, Central Arlington and East Arlington are going to be your worst. Don't even consider homes anywhere near highway 360. North Arlington along Green Oaks Blvd can be pretty nice, and the area all around Lake Arlington is pretty nice and pretty far from all the riff-raff.

South Arlington has tons of new developments, but that's not necessarily a good thing. What happens here is that a new subdivision goes up and all the houses are bought by nice middle class young families. Within a few years, they all move out to more expensive houses, and the subdivision turns very shabby pretty quickly, renters take over, lots of illegal immigrants and such, which I personally don't give a hoot about but it does drive down your home value a LOT. My advice is, never ever buy a brand-new home in a subdivision in Arlington, Texas. Look for one of the more established neighborhoods, the one I'm most familiar with being around the lake area (Lake Arlington, in southwest Arlington).

mnmommy · 01-27-2007, 02:06 PM

Thank you very much! That does help a LOT! I guess we just can't handle the long cold winters here in MN anymore. LOL

TCU2 · 01-27-2007, 10:49 PM

We just moved here from Mn last May. We looked at both North Fort Worth and South. We settled North, in the Keller area. I am now glad we did, as I feel this is an area with lots of young families and people who are new to Texas, as we are. I actually think that is probably true of the South also, but we have been very pleased with the area we are in. I have also heard the Keller school district is one of the best school dist...? Not really sure, as we are sending our kids to a private school in Keller. My husbands sister lived in Arlington years ago and at the time I believe the area was fine. For some reason though I thought I heard there is more crime there now. It is probably one of those things that you just have to know the neighborhood. One more thing, be prepared to pay HIGHER electric bills. We pay at least 200-300 more a month. Some say that makes up the difference with the lower gas bills, but we are not saving 200-300 a month on gas here. Good luck with the move. Oh one more thing, I would suggest getting a neighborhood with a pool, you actually do get to use the pool here and it makes the summers more enjoyable.

cm729 · 01-28-2007, 12:42 AM

TCU2,
Can you suggest any areas besides Keller that are around Ft. Worth? I'm wondering about commute time into the city, I know you can't always consider just the distance. Is it real bad? We're debating between Ft.W and Dallas mainly because Dallas has a lot more special programs for my dd. I've seen a lot of posts saying how wonderful it is in Ft. Worth, so it's a tough decision for us.

Synopsis · 01-29-2007, 08:31 AM

See my post in the following thread about our location..

Relocating from OH-confused about where to live, please help!

javak · 02-03-2007, 03:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TCU2

We just moved here from Mn last May. We looked at both North Fort Worth and South. We settled North, in the Keller area. I am now glad we did, as I feel this is an area with lots of young families and people who are new to Texas, as we are. I actually think that is probably true of the South also, but we have been very pleased with the area we are in. I have also heard the Keller school district is one of the best school dist...? Not really sure, as we are sending our kids to a private school in Keller. My husbands sister lived in Arlington years ago and at the time I believe the area was fine. For some reason though I thought I heard there is more crime there now. It is probably one of those things that you just have to know the neighborhood. One more thing, be prepared to pay HIGHER electric bills. We pay at least 200-300 more a month. Some say that makes up the difference with the lower gas bills, but we are not saving 200-300 a month on gas here. Good luck with the move. Oh one more thing, I would suggest getting a neighborhood with a pool, you actually do get to use the pool here and it makes the summers more enjoyable.

We thought the rates were higher when we moved here . The problem is the houses are twice as big here and the nights are warm. However, we pay 11 cents per kwh here. It was 24 cents per kwh in CA .

javak · 02-03-2007, 03:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cm729

TCU2,
Can you suggest any areas besides Keller that are around Ft. Worth? I'm wondering about commute time into the city, I know you can't always consider just the distance. Is it real bad? We're debating between Ft.W and Dallas mainly because Dallas has a lot more special programs for my dd. I've seen a lot of posts saying how wonderful it is in Ft. Worth, so it's a tough decision for us.

There is no need to commute more than 10-15 miles in the DFW area because there will affordable housing available . If I were you, I would find the job , then choose your area to buy.

tonyflo05 · 02-06-2007, 01:19 AM

Ok, so if things go right I will be able to relocate to the DFW area (to take care of Casino accounts in OK and Ark), from N. Nevada. I was looking at the Real Estate section of the Dallas Morning news online and I saw some nice duplexes in south Fort Worth (near Cobb Park), but I am wondering what the best places to live in the DFW area...that are still some what reasonable.

carrieclymer · 11-04-2011, 08:26 PM

Hi, I am a single mother and I live in the city of Plano and I have one child attending school here. I am living in an apartment and my rent is upwards of $1000 and I can barely pay my bills. I like the school system in Plano and I know it is one of the best school districts to live in.

HOWEVER, I CAN'T AFFORD TO LIVE HERE ANYMORE. All the rental houses are too expensive too. I am wondering if anyone knows of a subsequent area around the north that I could move that would be cheaper. My family lives in Carrollton and Dallas and I really don't want to move away from them.

I am desperate for answers. HELP SOMEONE!!! ANY SUGGESTIONS.

ANY WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED.