Questions about Weatherford (Fort Worth, Arlington, Canyon: real estate, house, tornado)

[Texas Aunt Julie]

Hi Wende! Weatherford is a wonderful town as I have said, but then, rural (or semi-rural) Texas has been my home most of my life. Now: if you're an ocean person, please do not consider Lake Weatherford even a partial substitute. Lake Weatherford supplies the town's water (the city water; the rest of us in the country have water wells). Because the lake is so far down due to drought the past summers, they are purchasing water from another reservoir. The lake needs to be dredged, it is filling with silt, you cannot see it from the farm road when you go over the lake bridge because the water is down so far the lake has receded beyond being able to be seen, for the most part. I don't think any of the boat docks are within 30 feet of water. Boats have been high and dry for a couple years. So no, Lake weatherford is not doing well. There are some nice boating lakes not too far (look into Eagle Mountain Lake or Possum Kingdom Lake). We are full to the brim with vets, some fantastic, some not so, as is every town. Many, many of the vets out here are fulltime equine vets due to the horse industry, and in fact we have some of the most state-of-the art veterinarian facilities in the U.S. - for horses. (I know, that isn't much help for your doxies!!) But running an animal rescue as I do, believe me, I could steer you in the right direction for a good canine vet. (off-list, not here in the forum). As for the employment situation, Weatherford is not doing as badly as many cities; in fact, depending on how far you are willing to commute, you do also have the Fort Worth job market to consider. Fort Worth would be only a 20 to 30 minute commute, then there is Arlington, a bit farther, and then for a horridly long commute, there is always Dallas. (and dallas traffic, quite frankly, sux). Here in Weatherford there are some job opportunities, but being a population of (I'm guessing here) 30,000 you can imagine the job market is substantially less than that of a metro city such as Fort Worth. Do some career searches, and see what you find!
The housing in Weatherford is normally quite less expensive than Fort Worth, so many people live here and work in Fort Worth. I'd love to hear what you find out and what your decision is; I am obviously a fan of my town, Weatherford, and while it is growing by leaps and bounds (the economy does not seem to have slowed down construction any) it still has a rural feel to it. And the courthouse square and all the little antique shoppes are so charming, Weatherford is always a weekend destination for the "city folks". Look up our peach festival as well, (an annual event)
Welcome to the Parker County Peach Festival! and how can you deny the rural aspect when one of the events is a domino tournament? HAA!! I wish you well in your decision!

[stillkit]

The only thing wrong with the Weatherford area is that it seems to be a tornado magnet, but that gets worse as you head north up into Wise County.

[Texas Aunt Julie]

Agreed! Yes, we do have tornadoes, I cannot dispute that! I have lived in this area 35 years, and Weatherford has only had one measurable tornado (2 years ago) that I can recall; but of course there are many straight-line winds and even small "twisters" that did not register on the scale that have uprooted trees and such. And Fort Worth downtown had a bad tornado a few years back; but for the most part I do not live in constant fear of tornadoes; probably no more than Californians daily dread an earthquake, or coastal resident daily fear a hurricane; we all have our scary things happening. (smile). This is, though, indeed, "Tornado Alley" (which continues north up thru the midwest) so it is a real concern.

Okay, I have to tell you a story here: (everyone can roll their eyes now): I have a friend who lives near Los Angeles. She was considering re-locating, and I implored her to move to Texas so we could at least visit more often. She told me "No WAY! Texas has TORNADOES and I am TERRIFIED of Texas!!". Well, I informed her that HER area had earthquakes, and I am terrified of THOSE. so we argued back and forth over which was worse; and even got a Florida friend in on the argument who declared that earthquakes and tornadoes were unimaginably terrifying, nobody should live in either state, but that hurricanes were NOT (being that one has some warning of a hurricane, etc). I have to laugh heartily at that past conversation. It seems everyone has their own nightmare weather in their locale to contend with (snowstorms; flooding; mudslides, deadly heat, you name it, every place has SOMETHING) and we can all tolerate our own disasters, but have a great fear of the unknown.

TAJ

[Pontificator]

Originally Posted by Texas Aunt Julie

Okay, I have to tell you a story here: (everyone can roll their eyes now): I have a friend who lives near Los Angeles. She was considering re-locating, and I implored her to move to Texas so we could at least visit more often. She told me "No WAY! Texas has TORNADOES and I am TERRIFIED of Texas!!". Well, I informed her that HER area had earthquakes, and I am terrified of THOSE. so we argued back and forth over which was worse; and even got a Florida friend in on the argument who declared that earthquakes and tornadoes were unimaginably terrifying, nobody should live in either state, but that hurricanes were NOT (being that one has some warning of a hurricane, etc). I have to laugh heartily at that past conversation. It seems everyone has their own nightmare weather in their locale to contend with (snowstorms; flooding; mudslides, deadly heat, you name it, every place has SOMETHING) and we can all tolerate our own disasters, but have a great fear of the unknown.

TAJ

As a Parker County resident, and former resident of Alaska (in the ring of fire earthquake zone), I have to say: Every place has its faults.

[Texas Aunt Julie]

HAHAHAAA!!!! Okay, that's true - at least you didn't "twist" my words !! LOL!

[Pontificator]

No, I didn't!! And you've been a great whirlwind of info for the OP!!

[Texas Aunt Julie]

LOL!! You deserve a ++ for that one. ;D

[gotoptions]

I visited Weatherford for the first time in May as a first step to relocation. I was happy with what I found, housing, business climate, employment and the people I met were very helpful. There are housing areas with trees which is a plus. Concerning lakes, according to what I was told, the lakes are man-made and serve as water reservoirs, getting low in the summer. Eagle Mountain Lake, located by Azle, is where people go fishing and boating. I will be leaving the seaside and my beloved sailboat. I have done alot of sailing and am fine with a change, especially if it means getting into horseback riding, and maybe even owning my own horse, a childhood dream. Weatherford looks like good horse-country!

[Texas Aunt Julie]

If you're interested in horses, then Weatherford is the place for you! Known as the cutting horse capital of the world, this area attracts trainers, equine vets, equine professionals, and many larger horse ranches have re-located from California and other parts of the US to be here in Parker County. We are close to all the major cutting horse competitions (held in Fort Worth) and our soil for the most part is very conducive to working horses as well as growing the bermuda grass necessary for good horse hay. Here is a short blurb I found on another website about Weatherford being horse country: Weatherford TX | Cutting Horse Capital of the World - Presented by Village Profile
I used to train and show horses professionally, was a world champion barrel racer (many years ago!!!) and believe me, there is no lack of horse events or things to do when it comes to riding horses!
TAJ

[gotoptions]

Very inspiring post, TAJ! I'm already "chomping at the bit" to get moved. Just need one buyer for my house. LOL.

Please excuse the ignorance of this city gal, but I've noticed some houses outside of town are on wells. Is it complicated to maintain a well?
In the same context, what kind of internet access is available if you're not right in town?