Memphis moving to Fort Worth or Dallas? (Arlington, Howe: apartment, rental)

[movingagain2012]

Hello Texans!

We are a small family from Memphis wanting to relocate very soon to the DFW area. Should we stay around Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington or the outskirts somewhere? Could you please give advice on which areas might best suit us?

We are looking for (in random order):
1. a place with a lot of homeschooling groups
2. near pretty good health food stores and/or natural-minded people and farmers markets
3. a safe place for kids
4. somewhere with family-friendly karaoke (all ages) - maybe a local restaurant with a fun karaoke night?
5. VERY affordable area (we prefer the cheapest possible rent - preferably up to $600/mo max for a one bedroom for example - in a pretty safe area); we have seen cheaper online on various rental sites but aren't sure which areas are better
6. not more than 15 minutes away or so to at least a Walmart or grocery store/shopping if possible
7. a good internet connection (we work from home) - not out too far in the boonies

Which areas do you think we should focus on? We have been going through C-D and are confused since the DFW is SO HUGE !

Thank you!

[GBCommenter]

You are right, DFW is a huge area. It's really two different cities and either you choose to be in one or the other. Frankly, I personally like Ft. Worth but my job is in Dallas area. Due to that, living in Ft. Worth isn't a practical consideration.

One item you will hear repeatedly is find a job first, and then place to live. Because of the expanse of either metro area (by themselves, not to mention the whole metroplex), you really do not want to be that far away from your work. Traffic can be a bear, and a drive from one side of the city to other for home/work can easily become a hour plus drive one way - and through lots of traffic/construction.

Being a single guy, I'm not going to be much of an authority on family-friendly areas (at least beyond general information). However, I can tell you $600/month for a safe area on the Dallas side of the metroplex will be all but unheard of. Ft. Worth will probably be relatively more affordable, but I'm not sure you'll find that rent in a safe area even on the Ft. Worth side.

As a comparison, I live in a 1BR in an area that hits safe, somewhat family-friendly, not far from shopping that includes Walmart, Whole Foods, restaurants , internet and other shopping. I am feeling lucky to have found an apartment at $829/month (it's comfortable for me, but it's also an older complex, hence the lower rent. A newer building in this area and comparable size would likely be at least $100 more/month.)

[movingagain2012]

Originally Posted by GBCommenter

You are right, DFW is a huge area. It's really two different cities and either you choose to be in one or the other. Frankly, I personally like Ft. Worth but my job is in Dallas area. Due to that, living in Ft. Worth isn't a practical consideration.

One item you will hear repeatedly is find a job first, and then place to live. Because of the expanse of either metro area (by themselves, not to mention the whole metroplex), you really do not want to be that far away from your work. Traffic can be a bear, and a drive from one side of the city to other for home/work can easily become a hour plus drive one way - and through lots of traffic/construction.

Being a single guy, I'm not going to be much of an authority on family-friendly areas (at least beyond general information). However, I can tell you $600/month for a safe area on the Dallas side of the metroplex will be all but unheard of. Ft. Worth will probably be relatively more affordable, but I'm not sure you'll find that rent in a safe area even on the Ft. Worth side.

As a comparison, I live in a 1BR in an area that hits safe, somewhat family-friendly, not far from shopping that includes Walmart, Whole Foods, restaurants , internet and other shopping. I am feeling lucky to have found an apartment at $829/month (it's comfortable for me, but it's also an older complex, hence the lower rent. A newer building in this area and comparable size would like at least $100 more/month.

Hi GBCommenter! Thank you so much for your help! I will keep all of this in mind then.