Thinking about TX (Houston, Dallas, San Antonio: 2014, renting, neighborhood)

[Blavus]

Hello,

My wife and I are looking to relocate our family. We live in OH now and are looking for good weather and great school districts. I am a police officer and my wife is a teacher. We have 2 kids and one on the way.

We know that TX is real big and we are just starting our hunt. Can you please help us narrow down our search. I ll give some info about us.

we love being outside
the kids love soccer (8 and 6 years old)
we would be renting for the first year or 2 (yard and neighbors not to close)
we are Puerto Rican and speak mainly English and can speak Spanish
we are early 30

That is pretty much what I can think of right now. We are very particular for schools for the kids. We are looking for an amazing school district that will work for our kids.


Please feel free to ask any question. I will try to answer as fast as possible.

[hound 109]

I would concentrate your search on where they might be hiring police officers & teachers. (& where you can live well on those salaries). I'd look at the Dallas Metroplex, Greater Houston and Greater San Antonio (first). Then maybe other smaller cities like Corpus or Bryan-College Station.

But Jobs first, Cost of Living second & THEN you should look for quality schools. BTW, great schools (& average schools) are found in all of the metro areas mentioned above. Note - kids attend Schools, NOT districts. There might be superlative schools & below average schools in the SAME district.

Once you narrow down to a couple of metro areas, THEN look at schools & school feeder patterns. You don't want to select a neighborhood or school feeder and then discover your Job is a 70 min. commute across town. Also, renting for a year is always a good idea to get your bearings.

But locate one or both jobs first.

[metroxian]

Blavus, take your map of Texas and highlight the interstate highways I-10, I-35, and I-45. Think of this triangle as the Texas central business district. This is not meant to exclude any other part of Texas but might be where you find the most growth and business activity. And more likely to find soccer teams for kids.

Next, take a look at Work in Texas dot com (no spaces, dot = a dot). This is the Texas job board and might give you an idea as to where to look for police jobs. Your spanish abilities will be a major advantage for both of you, so improve your speaking skills if necessary. Even for the kids.

[explorer2014]

I fear that you have a distorted view of Texas. In central Texas people are really not outdoorsy. The weather is hot and humid and people seem a lot more sedentary than in other places. For example you will notice a lot of people that are overweight.

If you are looking for outdoor culture, I would look elsewhere.

[bluescreen73]

Originally Posted by explorer2014

I fear that you have a distorted view of Texas. In central Texas people are really not outdoorsy. The weather is hot and humid and people seem a lot more sedentary than in other places. For example you will notice a lot of people that are overweight.

If you are looking for outdoor culture, I would look elsewhere.

It's not just Central Texas, it's pretty much the entire area of the state east of the Llano Estacado. Texas is not a very outdoorsy state. In addition to the hot and/or humid summers, Texas ranks near the bottom in terms of the amount of public lands available.

[metroxian]

Spoiler

Originally Posted by explorer2014

I fear that you have a distorted view of Texas. In central Texas people are really not outdoorsy. The weather is hot and humid and people seem a lot more sedentary than in other places. For example you will notice a lot of people that are overweight.

If you are looking for outdoor culture, I would look elsewhere.

Originally Posted by bluescreen73

It's not just Central Texas, it's pretty much the entire area of the state east of the Llano Estacado. Texas is not a very outdoorsy state. In addition to the hot and/or humid summers, Texas ranks near the bottom in terms of the amount of public lands available.

To claim someone has a distorted view is something of a distorted opinion. And distortion doesn't require anyone to stay inside, unless it's imposed on another person.

Allow the OP to establish his own preferences and lifestyle.

Texas Outdoor Family
Top Ten Texas Destinations for Outdoor Adventures
Texas Outdoor Activities and Fun Things To Do

[bluescreen73]

Originally Posted by Temp43k

To claim someone has a distorted view is something of a distorted opinion. And distortion doesn't require anyone to stay inside, unless it's imposed on another person.

Allow the OP to establish his own preferences and lifestyle.

Texas Outdoor Family
Top Ten Texas Destinations for Outdoor Adventures
Texas Outdoor Activities and Fun Things To Do

Do you honestly expect any Texas-based agency or company to come out and say Texas isn't outdoorsy? Look at the obesity stats. If Texas were an outdoor mecca the obesity rates in the major cities wouldn't be pushing 30%.

Texas obesity rate expands again, to 30.9 percent of population

Texas does have some pretty country, but not many people wanna be outside in the summertime because of the heat. I've spent more time outdoors in the 3 1/2 years since I moved back to Colorado than I did in almost 13 years in Texas.

[GBCommenter]

Blavus,

I am originally from MN, and ended up here for a job (which I am ultimately very grateful - I like my company and the opportunities afforded so far). I realize MN weather isn't exactly the same as OH weather, but hopefully some similarities.

You mentioned wanting good weather, so I'm going to more focus on that aspect. At least in Dallas (where I live) you should expect a few things.

TX summer heat - nobody is kidding when they talk about the heat getting your attention. Especially July - September you should expect 95-105F during the day, with some humidity (though the humidity didn't seem that bad to me relatively speaking). Additionally (and what caught me off-guard at first) is night time doesn't much cool down. Back in MN, it might get hot during the day but would cool down to 70's at night. Not so in Dallas, I've been told partially due to lots of concrete.

Conversely, here in November - January it gets colder than I expected (and preferred - part of my reason to leave MN was the brutal winters). Mind you - cold is very relative and snow/ice that sticks is uncommon. However, dropping to 20-25F at night isn't unheard of in my experience. Given my preferences, I would prefer to no longer be under about 50F. It may reach that during the winter days, but again still drops lower.

If weather is critical to you, especially if you want to be outside a bunch, I would keep these things in mind. This is not to say you can't find the "right spot for you", but note there's some weather to be dealt with in DFW.

[FourFiftyFour]

I don't view Texas as an outdoorsy state either. Sure I have done plenty of outdoorsy activities here, but they are EXTREMELY limited in the hot times of the year. I do not like hot and humid weather though- some do. I would look into maybe some other possibilities since the outdoors was top on your list.

[rynetwo]

I'm not really understanding the "outdoorsy" comments. If one would like to enjoy the outside they can and year round at the right time of day. Here in San Antonio we have a plethora of outdoor activities that are enjoyed year long. (if you don't want to go outside stay inside)