Where to live in TX? RN & CDL 4 kids (Dallas: low income, real estate)

[nevb1973]

I am considering moving from NEPA. I am a newly graduated RN and my DH is a Class A CDL driver, currently works for the city in our area. WE have 4 kids 15,13,7,& 6. We would like a change of life and scenery. What are some areas to consider in our search?

Criteria
Good nursing job and CDL jobs, a local run job, home at night with benefits
30-40 minute commute time
Small town feel (even if it is within a big town, great suburbs of bigger cities?) with quick trip to groceries Wal-Mart
Low crime
Decent schools
Reasonable real estate need a 4-5 bedroom 1.5-2 bath, not ruling out modular option
Low property taxes $2000 a year range possible?

[NOTAM]

I am a Registered Nurse and have worked in North Texas, South Texas, and now currently in Central Texas. alot of Texas fits your criteria, and you know you can get a job anywhere, so it all depends on what you are looking for re weather, geography, landscape.
of all the places i have lived in Texas i prefer where I am now, because it is centrally located in Texas, the Hill Country-lots of things to do, low cost of living (i am looking at houses in a small rural country town, price range 48K-70K) and most importanly because being here i get to have the cream of the crop job, the best nursing job in the whole wide world. and all my coworkers agree too...that's why no one leaves once they discover it. email me or direct message me if you want more info.
what is your desired specialty?

[love roses]

I live a little south of bellestar. It sounds to me like you'd probably like Central Texas. I live a little Northeast of Austin. I'm not a nurse, but my husband is a contract driver. His office is out of North Austin and he mostly only likes day runs, not OTR. His runs are usually local (Dell, convention center, Willie Nelson's music interests, sometimes he's been to local movie sets, the airport). On occasion, he will be sent out to Killeen, Waco, Dallas, or San Antonio for something but even with those drives, he's home before 10pm. I think the schools in this entire region are pretty good, maybe excepting some in the Elgin area and a few AISD schools. Like I said, I'm not a nurse, but I will say there are lots of hospitals popping up in the area, what with all the growth going on around here.

[NOTAM]

i want to add.......the lowest salaries you will find for RN's in Texas, is in West Texas/Panhandle. i was shocked to find out how low Amarillo was paying when i was considering the panhandle. (and i am an RN with 17 years of experience and 7 years recent Emergency Medicine experience)...South Texas is the highest cuz they are desperate-you can get a sign on bonus for 2 year commitment as high as 25K..but remember, there aint no such thing as a free ride-i found that out when i went down there (worst year of my life)....Austin area has some great hospitals. Ft Worth does too. the only reason i am here is because aside from El Paso and San Antonio (two big cities), this is the only area of Texas, that has the kind of job I have-and still be away from any major city by an hour. (i like small town rural Texas)

[nevb1973]

Thanks for the responses! I am starting out as a new grad on a tele floor 3-11 at $25/hr in PA. I want to end up in the OR. During my clinicals I loved it. I got a real rush whenever there was any kind of invasive procedure to be done. There were no new grad openings left in the OR so I will get my experience and wait for an OR position to open up or move! As far as goegraphy I am in a wooded mountain area of PA. But I am not set on a wooded area being where I live. How are your commute times in Central Tx? I have kids so I want to be able to get back home in reasonable time.Would I be able to get a 4bdr home closer to town in the $150-$200k range?I don't like being to far out, I think i would prefer a suburb/developement type area or in town. I want to be 10-15 minutes from a grocery store. Are benefits expensive for a family plan?

[ripley]

Longview has two hospitals and a new Sysco distribution center is going up south of town. Might be a decent fit.

[NOTAM]

commute times depend on where you want to live. i live 15 minutes from the army post but live out in the country.
if you want OR, Scott & White in Temple is a Level I Trauma Center and has internships for OR and its a 500plus bed hospital, and has a big demand for nurses, even new grads...but of course every hospital is desperate. as long as you have a pulse you are hired. you will be making more than that in Texas per hour, i would think, plus living costs ALOT lower..but then again, i dont know what the hourly rates are for new grads-i have been doing this for 17 years.
houses, of course you can get one for your price. i can get a 3 bedroom house for under 70K EASY....heck i can even buy one for 30-40K if i want. my fellow nurse bought a cheap house here for his family-3 br and his mortgage payment is 260 a month!!!!!!!!!!!!


quote=nevb1973;4588124]Thanks for the responses! I am starting out as a new grad on a tele floor 3-11 at $25/hr in PA. I want to end up in the OR. During my clinicals I loved it. I got a real rush whenever there was any kind of invasive procedure to be done. There were no new grad openings left in the OR so I will get my experience and wait for an OR position to open up or move! As far as goegraphy I am in a wooded mountain area of PA. But I am not set on a wooded area being where I live. How are your commute times in Central Tx? I have kids so I want to be able to get back home in reasonable time.Would I be able to get a 4bdr home closer to town in the $150-$200k range?I don't like being to far out, I think i would prefer a suburb/developement type area or in town. I want to be 10-15 minutes from a grocery store. Are benefits expensive for a family plan?[/quote]

[nevb1973]

I looked at some real estate on line last night and I was pleasantly surprised! The houses were great. I saw 4-5 bedroom homes with 2-3 bathrooms fireplaces and fenced in yard ( i have 2 dogs) that were made for our family! I know pictures can be decieving, but I have looked at houses on the internet and then seen them in my area quite a few times. The most expensive was $170k the cheapest was about $115k. So I am thinking this might be a really great idea! I saw the town of Paris and looked at the real estate there. Can anyone tell me more about this area?

[love roses]

I don't know about Paris, but I live in Hutto. Round Rock and Georgetown are next door towns to me and Round Rock just built a few new hospitals and medical centers. There are lots of neighborhoods very near them. Teravista is one, Avery Ranch, among others...There are freight companies in Round Rock and North Austin.

[loves2read]

you need to check the TEA site and find out about school district TAKS scores--
Welcome to the Texas Education Agency

this link has the 2007 results by districts--
the 2008 results have been released to districts but not uploaded to this site apparently
Assessment Results (http://www.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/reporting/taksagg/yr0607/bydistrictz.html - broken link)


and this is the link to the Paris ISD since that is one you mentioned
Application Dispatcher

while that area might look like where you live now--it is pretty isolated from other parts of TX --you can use the other part of city-date to find out general info about almost any town in TX

I am a retired teacher in the DFW area and don't think that TAKS scores are the only or the best way to judge a school but for someone coming from out of state with no local knowledge or frame of reference TAKS is about the best way to start

you should also look at things like the % of low income students in each school and district overall and the avg income level--

basially if a district does a good job teaching low-income, ethnic groups--there is good teaching going on and probably good discipline, low staff turnover, and some decent elective programs..

In TX school districts are not tied to the towns around them or to the counties they are in--1 ISD can be in 3 towns and/or there can be 3 ISDs in the same town...and ISDs set their own local tax rate to help fund it along with money from the state --the state pays the same per diem per student rate--it varies by how many students the district has and the rate of attendance each day