Moving to West Texas? (Dallas, San Antonio: rentals, house, find a job)

[ccritter]

My husband and I are about to graduate and are trying to figure out where to go. He is graduating in Elementary Education but doesn't have a teaching certificate, so we need a school that would be willing to help him get one. We don't really have much money available, and likely won't for awhile, so the cheaper the better. We would probably just rent for a couple of years and then try to get a house. We'd be looking for a house with at least two acres. I want a large garden and orchard and to raise lots of animals (chickens, goats, and possible pigs and sheep). West Texas seems to have a good climate for it. We're both originally from desert places (Southern California and Arizona), so we like hot weather and not humidity. I like small towns best. We have one child and hope to have more later. Does anyone have any advice? Thanks.

[Cowboybootnut]

I have travelled through and stayed in Eastland Texas several times. It always looked like a decent small town, not a desert area, but it is a dry climate. DeLeon & Brownwood may also be a good choice.

[Westerner92]

Look into Canyon. It is a small town of about 15,000. The schools are great, and I believe teachers are in demand because nearby Amarillo is growing. There is a small university, so there is entertainment with sporting events and theater. The second largest canyon in the nation is just a few miles away. It's a great little town.

[GayleTX]

You might contact TX Education Agency for information about certification. It's going to be difficult to find a job in elem. ed. without a certification....might be able to find one in special ed or at-risk in some of the more remote district, especially if you speak Spanish.

www.tea.state.tx.us.com

[catman]

GayleTX, you don't live in Gail, TX, county seat of Borden County, do you?

[Rottnboys]

Ccritter - what part of the country will you be moving from? The Midland-Odessa area has many small neighboring towns that would seem to fit your desire to live rather inexpensively, in a small town, with some land. The recent (now declining) oil boom caused rental property to be almost non-existent, and housing prices to soar - that may be on the way back down, with the economy the way it is.

Will you and your husband do okay with the bit of isolation that will come from living out in West Texas? Everything will be a drive - we laughed that a 2 hour trip to Lubbock was NOTHING and we took off for Dallas on the weekends, without even thinking twice (4.5 hours each way).

The wind can blow pretty hard and sandblast you while you are outside and it can be brutal to attempts to grow tender vegetation. The winters can be stout, complete with ice storms and snow. The rain is either non-existent, or it floods.........making irrigation necessary for growing grass, flowers, etc. I don't want it to sound like it's dismal there - but west Texas experiences some pretty extreme weather - during all four seasons - so your hopes to grow vegetables and an orchard might be frustrating, unless you manage to purchase something that is already established with irrigation and maturity.....

We lived in Midland for 6+ years before moving to San Antonio and we LOVED it there - but it's a big adjustment for some. Our oldest son (28 yrs old) and daughter-in-law live in Midland and neither can imagine living anywhere else! In contrast - our youngest son (26 yrs old) and daughter-in-law moved from there as quick as an opportunity presented itself to get back to a bigger city.

Have you visited out there? You could take a drive and check it out yourself. The people are super nice - many have lived out there all their lives and will gladly help you with questions about the area. The schools are all good - you'll hear lots of folks champion for this one or that one - depending on their loyalty Friday night football is alive and well there too!!!

As far as a certification for your husband - I believe that most large school districts will assist your husband with information on where he can take the test, and where he can submit his degree information for review to determine if any additional courses are required along with the certification test. Out in west Texas - I would expect that one of the larger districts serves as the testing center for many of the surrounding towns. I believe both Midland and Odessa are large school districts - it might be worth the time to give one of them a call and find out what is involved for your husband. And if you drive out there - you can visit the schools as well.

Good luck - I'd say you should visit.......for sure.......and if you can stay more than a weekend - even better......visit the small towns that interest you at all times of the day and evening hours. Eat in the local favorite restaurants and ask lots of questions.

That's "tall" sky country (as my yankee husband says)......

[GayleTX]

catman.......

nope, not me!! The nearest I've lived to Gail is Lubbock several years ago. I now live NE of Dallas on the Red River - I'm almost an Okie.

[missikay10]

What can anyone tell me about Ranger Community College in Ranger Tx and about Eastland Tx? My hubby may be transfered to that college and we were thinking about renting in Eastland but dont know how to find rentals or anything about the town. Any advice???

[jgar477]

alpine, definetely alpine

[texasdiver]

Originally Posted by ccritter

My husband and I are about to graduate and are trying to figure out where to go. He is graduating in Elementary Education but doesn't have a teaching certificate, so we need a school that would be willing to help him get one.

Your husband needs to educate himself about Texas teacher certification requirements. The schools don't have anything to do with it. There are 3 routes to a Texas teaching certificate.

1. The traditional route is to graduate from a Texas university that has a school of education. You do your student teaching while in college and graduate with a teaching certificate.

2. The alternate route is to enter an alternative teaching certification program. Various community colleges have these programs as so the regional TDOE regional education centers. To be accepted into one of these programs you must already have a college degree. You pick up the additional education classes at the community college and then get hired by a school district as an intern with a provisional license. Upon successful completion of your intern teaching year your certificate is changed from provisional to a regular certificate. This is actually the smarter route to a teaching job financially because you get paid a first year teacher's salary during your intern year as opposed to a student teacher in a traditional program who works for free while paying college tuition.

3. The third route is when certified teachers from other states move to Texas. There is a reciprocity process whereby you can convert a certificate from another state to a Texas certificate with a lot of paperwork process.

But don't expect a school to help you get a certificate. At a minimum you'll at least need a provisional certificate from an alternative teaching certification program before any school will even contemplate hiring you.