Relocate to Arlington, yes or no? (Dallas, El Paso: apartment complexes, crime, neighborhoods)

[daisies16]

I am considering relocating from Reno, NV to Arlington, TX for a job with Arlington P.D. I visited the area briefly for the interview but couldn't get much of a feel for it.

I would want to live in a low-crime, nice area - is this possible in Arlington, or would I need to live in a neighboring town? What is the commute like in this area? I would not want to drive more than 25 minutes or so each way to work. I am a single woman in my 20's, and trying to decide if this is a good place for me. I do like the climate in Reno (hot in summer, cold in winter, NO humidity!), so do you think I would be miserable in Texas? Is the humidity as bad there as it is back East?

I am a small town girl at heart, just putting up with living in a city because that's where the jobs are. Ideally, I'd like to be somewhere with at least a small town "feel" to it. Overall, for those who know Arlington and the surrounding areas well, would you recommend it for me? Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!!

[Premont]

Arlington has pretty much everything you need in it except it really doesn't have a downtown, but you're right down the road from downtown Fort Worth. You can also live in Fort Worth or the Hurst/Euless/Beford area and commute.

Arlington was nice when I lived there, with a suburban feel to it. That's going back over 15 years and its grown a lot since. The climate is very hot in the summer, but it also gets cold in the winter. The roads ice up from time to time.

[Lakewooder]

You might want to post on the Dallas or Fort Worth threads. Welcome to Texas!

[lonestar2007]

There are nice areas in Arlington. I live there for many years. You can also check out Pantego and Dalworthington Gardens just west and southwest of Arlington. Both of these areas also have nice places to live and it's a short drive to the police station in Arlington.

[loves2read]

there is humidity in Arlington/this part of TX during spring/summer/fall that is fairly significant so if that is issue for you working in TX will be problem pretty much anywhere you want to move to
the west part of TX -- El Paso, Alpine, Davis Mts, Odessa--those are the dryer parts w/less humidity--but there are other tradeoffs with that

Arlington has some areas that are nice (safe) but also has areas that are older with significant crime which you would find out once you started working there...
there are things about Arlington that have been persistant problems through the years and the citizens/city council have not done very good job of addressing--
many of the streets in Arlington are old, poorly maintained, and prone to flooding when there are heavy rains--money gets spent on them but does not seem to do much good...
there is no city public transportation -- it is the largest town in TX not to have a bus system and has lots of working-class, poorer families that would benefit from one but the people have voted down the proposed public tansit bills each time they have come up on the ballot--sometimes for good reason because it is not really a "city" bus system proposed...
taxes are fairly high because Arlington has given tax abatements for tourism projects like Cowboy stadium and Ranger stadium--but demographics over the past decade shows that the per capita income and education levels of citizens have been dropping...so it is not attracting people that will improve the basis of the city frankly...and while there has been commercial development the residential housing market is not one of the most desireable--partly because of the state of the local ISD and the demographics of the town itself...
Arlington has fairly significant (for its size) Asian and Hispanic populations so it would benefit you to speak Spanish for sure
it has three major highways that run through it and at times there are real problems with kids speed racing...
the most upscale part of Arlington would be area in SW around the Parks Mall but there are some nice areas in north around Legacy Park and one of the older neighborhoods that was very prestigeous when built is by the lake...but interspersed around those areas are also problem pockets (like most any town)...
Dalworthington Gardens is very small incorporated town inside Arlington that has its own police force--it is very safe--not lot of new construcion or apts there I think-- Pantego is another smaller town that Arlington has kind of grown around--has its own police force I think--

I can't speak to the quality of the APD but there are crime maps with info about types/areas for stats that you can check so you will know if this is lot busier than where you are now...
did you ask about the turnover rate for police there at your interview?
did you ask about the number of other female officers/detectives vs total force
does it seem like it would be a positive work environment--policing is stressful work in urban area--and frankly that is what Arlington is...

[ladihawkae]

i live in grand prairie on the arlington border. arlington is a nice sized city. there are nice areas and not so nice areas. you really want to talk to a realtor and let them help you with the specifics. grand prairie is a jumping point for me. we're looking at being in granbury by next year, God willing.
arlington has just about everything you want and are equal distance to fort worth and dallas. there are lots of lakes and cedar hill state park is right down the road from me. it's a nice are going towards mansfield. mansfield is a nice town within commutable distance. bedford also.
good luck and welcome!

[Kibby]

Originally Posted by daisies16

I am considering relocating from Reno, NV to Arlington, TX for a job with Arlington P.D. I visited the area briefly for the interview but couldn't get much of a feel for it.

It's difficult to really get a "feel" for a place as large as Arlington on just a visit. Our population is now about 375,000 people (91,000 when I moved here in 1972), Arlington is the 50 largest US city.

I would want to live in a low-crime, nice area - is this possible in Arlington, or would I need to live in a neighboring town? What is the commute like in this area? I would not want to drive more than 25 minutes or so each way to work. I am a single woman in my 20's, and trying to decide if this is a good place for me. I do like the climate in Reno (hot in summer, cold in winter, NO humidity!), so do you think I would be miserable in Texas? Is the humidity as bad there as it is back East?

Much like any other city of it's size - there is crime in the city. The statistics say that there is less crime in Arlington than there is in Reno.
Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitors sites is not allowed

Also a current Arlington, TX Crime Report Map For your reference - Cooper St seems to be a dividing line with less crime west of Cooper. The nicest areas of Arlington (in my opinion) are west of cooper. The Mall area mentioned in another post is on Cooper - there is very little residential area around the mall other than some very nice looking Apartment complexes west of there.

I can get anywhere in Arlington (I live near the lake, far SW part of the city) in about 20 minutes. Traffic is heavy on the Frwy (I 30/ I20 /360) but pretty OK around town. Town is basically laid out in a grid so it's easy to find your way around. I don't think the humidly is bad - but I grew up on the coast. It will be more humid than Reno for sure. We get some cold weather but NOT as cold as it was 20 years ago. Snow/Ice is pretty rare now - I've been working outside in 70-75 degree weather for a couple of weeks. It comes and goes - usually cold at night and pretty nice during the day in the winter. Summer is hot day/night. The night "hot" is the worst - it just doesn't seem to ever cool off. Again - temps are not as hot as they were 20 years ago.

I am a small town girl at heart, just putting up with living in a city because that's where the jobs are. Ideally, I'd like to be somewhere with at least a small town "feel" to it. Overall, for those who know Arlington and the surrounding areas well, would you recommend it for me? Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!!

I think the police dept here is highly rated. I know that some of our police cheifs have been recruited to Dallas and Fort Worth. It's pretty rare to hear anything bad about the Arlington PD. We do have a pretty significant Asian population (6%), noticeable because they tend to settle together into particular areas. The Hispanic population is 18% but pretty spread out - Arlington is VERY diverse with no noticable (other than the asians I mentioned) specific areas with a concentration of any ethnic group.

I've never lived in a small town so not sure about 'small town feel'. There are no tall buildings in Arlington - tallest would probably be about 10-12 stories. No real downtown to speak of. Stores everywhere. Parks everywhere with a couple of really massive ones - River Legacy. You don't really get the feelilng that Arlington is such a large city. Dallas is "big city" with a "big city" vibe to it. There are "in" places to go eat, to live, for entertainment. Nice to visit but I wouldn't want to live there. I worked in Dallas for 25 years and commuted. Fort Worth has a smaller town feel to me than Arlington in the sence that there are very distinctive "neighborhoods" like you often find in other cities.

You will find (as you grow older) that you get back from a move what you put into it. IF you are determined to like the move and the new place - odds are great that it will become true.

I've only ever met one person that was not "happy" living in Texas - Texans are friendly and pretty much happy folks. We are pretty stable economically compared to the rest of the country. Texans take care of themselves but are always willing to lend a hand to a neighbor. I think you would like it here, most everyone does.

Don't hesitate to ask more questions - if you are offered a job here, I'm betting you will get a lot of good advise from the APD folks about good places to live.

[Metro Matt]

Mansfield could be an option if you prefer the smaller town feel.