Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Texas
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 05-17-2011, 12:31 PM
 
5 posts, read 6,918 times
Reputation: 10

Advertisements

Hello Texans!

I am totally at a loss and would absolutely love any input from anyone!

I am relocating to the Arlington, TX area for my husband's job. Background: he is from Virginia, I am from Michigan, and we when we were both living in Colorado. He will be working in downtown Arlington, but where should we live? Is Arlington safe to raise a family? I've been checking out Euless and Bedford, will this be too far for him to drive every day with traffic? What is your favorite suburb where he could drive from?

Next question, I am an elementary teacher, and there are SO many ISDs in this area, I am overwhelmed where to even look. Which would you recommend or suggest I stay away from? Even better, does anyone know of any openings?

Thank you, thank you, thank you! Your time means the world to me.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 05-17-2011, 12:51 PM
 
Location: Austin, TX
16,787 posts, read 49,046,364 times
Reputation: 9478
Sadly this is a bad time to be looking for jobs in education in Texas. State budget shortfalls are resulting in layoffs and budget cuts at all levels in education.

Texas Education Funding: 13% Cuts To Already Pathetic Spending Levels Coming

Senate panel approves bill for teacher pay cuts...

I do not live in the area, but these previous threads about Arlington may be helpful.

http://www.city-data.com/forum/searc...rchid=29352772

Euless and Bedford both look like good places to live based on the demographics. Both have low crime, low poverty levels, high education levels and are very close to Arlington. Bedford has a poverty level of only 5% or so, extremely low for Texas.

You can see more of the demographics here
http://www.city-data.com/city/Euless-Texas.html
http://www.city-data.com/city/Bedford-Texas.html

Last edited by CptnRn; 05-17-2011 at 01:05 PM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-17-2011, 01:47 PM
 
1,822 posts, read 2,000,241 times
Reputation: 2113
Best wishes for your move. All the states you mentioned - Virginia, Michigan, and Colorado - are great states, so you have that as an advantage. I would look at a map of the cities in the area you're interested in, and write down the names of the towns. You could use any Internet mapping site for that. Then start doing online searches with Google, plugging in the town name and "ISD". You'll probably start seeing school districts, and more details (application information and maybe even school ratings). That might be a start.

I used to live near the Dallas-Ft Worth metroplex, and I remember it to be a bunch of towns all crammed next to each other. I don't remember any open space or large park-type areas. I only mention that because once you get settled in (your most important task now), if you want to get "away from it all" it will take a bit of time and driving to get out into the rural areas, where you can have more peace and tranquility. Some people don't value or need that, but many others appreciate that from time to time.

It might be better to make your post on the Dallas forum, since that is closer in to Arlington.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-17-2011, 02:48 PM
 
2,596 posts, read 5,580,467 times
Reputation: 3996
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mandy2711 View Post
Next question, I am an elementary teacher, and there are SO many ISDs in this area, I am overwhelmed where to even look. Which would you recommend or suggest I stay away from? Even better, does anyone know of any openings?

Thank you, thank you, thank you! Your time means the world to me.
Sorry, but this is absolutely the worst time to be looking for a teaching job, especially in elementary. We already have a glut of unemployed elementary teachers here and they are projecting to cut 100,000 teaching jobs state-wide for next year. Apply for anything you want, but be prepared for the reality that you will likely NOT find a job teaching. There are so many friends and neighbors I've talked to over the past few years who are well qualified and experienced and even they can't find anything. Now with the massive cut-backs it will be even worse.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-17-2011, 04:51 PM
 
96 posts, read 124,898 times
Reputation: 57
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mandy2711 View Post
Next question, I am an elementary teacher, and there are SO many ISDs in this area, I am overwhelmed where to even look. Which would you recommend or suggest I stay away from? Even better, does anyone know of any openings?
Just to give you a hint on what is awaiting you: My wife has applied for a 4th grade teaching position at a nearby school (Central Texas). The principal told her yesterday that they have received more than 140 applications for that position alone.

Don't be picky! Take any teaching position you can get. Whatever it takes to get you through the door. Good luck!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-17-2011, 05:09 PM
 
3,309 posts, read 5,770,375 times
Reputation: 5043
There are many areas in Arlington that I think you'll like. I lived there for many years (SW Arlington) and finally moved a little further south. We still go into Arlington quite a bit and I have friends who live there. It's a nice town, easy to get into either Fort Worth or Dallas. Since your husband is going to be working in Arlington, I would certainly live there rather than Euless or Bedford. You might want to check out Pantego or Dalworthington Gardens though.They are on the west & southwest side of Arlington and most people never know they aren't still in Arlington unless they live there of course.

Welcome to Texas!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-17-2011, 07:54 PM
 
2,312 posts, read 3,663,793 times
Reputation: 1606
Even though I find your career admirable...might be time to look for a career change........Texas is not a place to find a teaching job
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-18-2011, 08:30 AM
 
Location: Sacramento Mtns of NM
4,280 posts, read 9,158,892 times
Reputation: 3738
Quote:
Originally Posted by badhornet View Post
Texas is not a place to find a teaching job
But for those who do find a job and stick with it, Texas offers some of the best teacher retirement benefits to be found.

Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-18-2011, 09:37 AM
 
Location: Greenville, Delaware
4,726 posts, read 11,974,466 times
Reputation: 2650
All those DFW suburbs are totally the pits IMO, based on living in Fort Worth for a total 7 years. Arlington has some nice neighborhoods but all of the places the OP mentions are total suburbia. I'd rather live in an older area of Fort Worth like Arlington Heights and have hubby commute to Arlington. Older areas of Fort Worth are charming. There's nothing charming about Hurst-Euless-Bedford, Richland Hills, North Richland Hills ,etc; and very little about Arlington that could be called charming.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-27-2011, 05:14 PM
 
96 posts, read 124,898 times
Reputation: 57
Quote:
Originally Posted by Palpatine View Post
Just to give you a hint on what is awaiting you: My wife has applied for a 4th grade teaching position at a nearby school (Central Texas). The principal told her yesterday that they have received more than 140 applications for that position alone.

Don't be picky! Take any teaching position you can get. Whatever it takes to get you through the door. Good luck!

Pretty much all positions she has applied for has been filled without her even being called to an interview. What a shame. She has Texas certification, got a master degree in education, two bachelor degrees, and glowing reviews; but she can't even get an interview for a position as a teacher's assistant. She would be a great educator and a resource for any ISD willing to take a chance on her.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Texas
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6. The time now is 08:40 PM.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top