Moving to TX - within 4hrs of Grapevine (Dallas, Abilene: rental, house)

[putt-putt]

We have decided to move to TX - so that we may take our son to the Dore Clinic for his ADHD....the Dore Clinic is located in Grapevine, so we are trying to find a home within 4hrs of Grapevine. We want a town on the smaller side (we're country folk), safe, with job opportunities and good schools (yes, we want everything ). We are currently considering Quitman and Benjamin. Does anyone out there have knowledge of these 2 towns - or recommendations on any others? My husband has a B/A in Hospital Administration, yet most of his experience is in pizza parlor management. I am retired Navy, A/S MLT and OJT HT (clinical laboratory & histology). My children are 7yrs and 8yrs old.

Thanks for any help or advice ! We need it!

[Poltracker]

Why don't you try the Tyler area. Not that far a drive, has excellent med facilities where you can work (UT Tyler) and plenty of opportunities for your hubby too. You can live just outside Tyler to get the small town feel.

[ChristieP]

I'm a Grapevine resident. :-)

Are you looking for East Texas with more trees, or north central Texas with rolling plains? If you want East texas, Tyler is really your best bet. But keep in mind that getting to Grapevine will mean driving through most of Dallas to get here. Tyler has excellent shopping and lots of jobs in the health care field.

If you'd consider North central Texas, there are a lot of towns like Denton, Decatur, Wichita Falls, etc. that are all less than 4 hours' drive to Grapevine and many of these have considerably large hospitals where you could work.

Or you could live IN Grapevine! It honestly feels like a small town here, and the community is wonderful. We have Baylor Regional Medical Center, plus a bunch of doctors' offices and medical companies. We also have a lot of restaurants here, too!

[GayleTX]

Benjamin??? There's nothing there.....I don't think you are that country!! I have land near there and it has a certain charm....but there are no jobs, no social life, no shopping, no medical facilities, no school to speak of.....miles to get to anywhere.... and there are very few people under the age of 60. (Someone from Australia recently built a research planetarium about 40 miles from there because it is the darkest place in the US if that gives you a clue about how desolate and isolated it is in The Big Empty.)

Quitman has a pretty rough reputation.....lots of 'lake people' moving in and out and living in rental trailers around the lake. Most of my connection there is through the school system and, unless things have changed drastically in the past few years, it's not where you'd want a child who needs quality services and special attention.

The small towns around Gainesville/Sherman/Denison would give you easy access to Grapevine from the north.......there are number of small towns around them with reasonably priced housing and excellent schools (much better than those three towns, by the way)...and are commuting distance to the jobs between there and the metroplex.

You can check the school ratings on the Texas Education Agency website.....the Academic Excellency Indicator scores for the schools and the TAAS and TEKS test scores for students are all there for every district in district.

[txsizzler]

Originally Posted by GayleTX

Benjamin??? There's nothing there.....I don't think you are that country!! I have land near there and it has a certain charm....but there are no jobs, no social life, no shopping, no medical facilities, no school to speak of.....miles to get to anywhere.... and there are very few people under the age of 60.

I would generally agree with the above post. Benjamin is very small, and the several times I have been through it, you blink and your past it! However, I am sure the land is very inexpensive out that way.

I live in Wichita Falls, (a little under 2 hours from Grapevine). There are alot of small, quaint towns around Wichita Falls you should consider (Henrietta, Archer City, Iowa Park, Burkburnett, Petrolia, Byers, Nocona, Saint Jo, Jolly, Dean, Olney, Electra, Seymour, Windthorst, Scotland, etc.). These towns all have populations under 15,000, and you are close enough to Wichita Falls (generally within 20 minutes), that you have access to all your major shopping and hospitals. Further, you are within a 2 hour drive of Grapevine. Land is cheap out this way as well... acreage sells for $1500-$3500/acre.


Ian

[destin04]

Is your child in special ed? If so I would be very careful about placing him in a smaller school district. As a former educator I know from experience that the smaller districts do not educate their people on the state and national laws. They have a rough time getting their more senior teachers to follow the laws that have been put in place to protect children with ADHD or other issues. The larger districts seem to be much better at helping kids. It was shocking to go from a large district in the metroplex to a smaller district in east Texas.

[FarNorthDallas]

There are several private schools in the Dallas area that are exclusively for kids with ADHD and/or learning disabilities like dyslexia.
http://www.shelton.org/education/sch...hp?sectionid=2
http://www.winston-school.org/infoglueDeliverLive/ViewPage.action?repositoryName=winston-school.org (broken link)
http://www.greatlakesacademy.us/
http://www.oakhillacademy.org/
http://www.fairhill.org/
http://www.dallas-academy.com/

and others.

[lonestar2007]

Originally Posted by txsizzler

I would generally agree with the above post. Benjamin is very small, and the several times I have been through it, you blink and your past it! However, I am sure the land is very inexpensive out that way.

I live in Wichita Falls, (a little under 2 hours from Grapevine). There are alot of small, quaint towns around Wichita Falls you should consider (Henrietta, Archer City, Iowa Park, Burkburnett, Petrolia, Byers, Nocona, Saint Jo, Jolly, Dean, Olney, Electra, Seymour, Windthorst, Scotland, etc.). These towns all have populations under 15,000, and you are close enough to Wichita Falls (generally within 20 minutes), that you have access to all your major shopping and hospitals. Further, you are within a 2 hour drive of Grapevine. Land is cheap out this way as well... acreage sells for $1500-$3500/acre.


Ian

Could this be because it's in 'tornado alley' ?

[JamesAbilene]

I have to recommend Abilene and the area around it. Abilene has a large special education population because of the Abilene State School being in the school district's boundaries. It is about a 3 1/2 hour drive to Grapevine. There is also a private school here, the Kenley School, which works very well with kids with learning disabilities. Both Abilene Christian University and the Region 14 Education Service Center offer teacher certification in special education, and there are many knowledgeable professionals in the area to work with kids with ADHD and other learning difficulties. The cost of living and purchasing a house is low here, and parts of Abilene and the Abilene School District are quite rural. And, I agree with the other posters regarding Benjamin.

[ChristieP]

Abilene is a good suggestion. It is a medium-sized town, but it really feels like a smaller community because the people are quite friendly and just about everything you need is local. There is also a good hospital (Hendrick Medical Center) in town for you to work. The drive from there to Grapevine is pretty long and boring, but at least it is a straight shot on I-20 and 820.

Any my favorite BBQ place in the whole world, Harold's Pit BBQ, is in Abilene!!