Family considering relocating to Arlington, TX, what part of town should we look to move too? (Dallas: low income)

[angnun66]

My husband is considering a job transfer to Arlington, TX. My husband is excited to be going back to his home state, but he was not from Arlington. So we don't know what areas we should be looking to move to. We have a 10yr old son and a 19yr old daughter who will be attending local schools.

[loves2read]

run a search on the Dallas or FTW forums for Arlington and you will get lots of hits
read them--
most of them probably suggest buying in another area and commuting to Arlington for work

Arlington used to have more upscale, professional demographics--that is not the case
the per capita income level and education levels have been dropping for 10 yrs--slowly but steadily
the AISD has a mixed record--the high school in SW part of town--Martin--is considered the best academic one but it probably does not really stack up well against those in Grapevine-Colleyville, parts of Keller ISD, Lewisville, Coppell, Southlake or even Bell and Trinity in HEB ISD

Arlington as a city has been playing to the businesses that build the stadiums and do entertainment trade but not taking care of the areas of ARlington where real people live

The Parks Mall area and Lincoln Sq do big restaurant trade and the Cowboys and Rangers draw tourists but except for the upgraded streets around Cowboy stadium most people will tell you the city streets are awful and have been that way for more than 20 yrs
there is problem with flooding in heavy rains in various areas
so streets become impassible

I think crime might be on the upswing--check a crime map
but to be fair someone told me today that even Colleyville is having problem with break-ins so I think partly that is sympton of down economy catching up with Texas

There are some lovely neighborhoods with older homes and trees around River Legacy park and other areas--but if my daughter were relocating back here from FL where she lives now--I doubt she would be looking in Arlington even though she used to teach there...

Arlington is bounded by 360 on east, I-20 on south, I-30 at the northern part--and has the 820 Loop on the west border--
157 is also pretty good n/s road now to 183

depending on your price point and desire commute you might want to check out neighboring towns--

[babs7907]

I agree, Arlington is not what it used to be, you'd be better off living elsewhere and commuting to Arlington for work.

Check out some areas like Mansfield or North Richland Hills....

[YouKnowWho]

South Arlington, within Mansfield school district I've heard is a very nice area. Or, as someone mentioned, just go on out to Mansfield itself...

[HaRaS]

I have lived in the Southwest part of Arlington for most of my life. If it was me, I would stay away from the east side (East of Cooper Street), lots of low income apartments and cheap housing. The nicer neighborhoods are in the Southwest parts. Wimbeldon and Lake Arlington are two nicer areas. I would make sure the high school is zoned for Martin. I know Butler is the best Elementary on the North side, but I think Lamar High School isn't the greatest unless you're in AP classes. I would probably stay away from central Arlington too.

I have kids in a well known preschool in Mansfield so I'm pretty familiar with it too. As far as living in South Arlington and going to Mansfield schools, I would say you have to be careful. Look up Greatschools.net and see the high school that South Arlington is zoned for. I'm not impressed. If you don't have school aged kids, then South Arlington (going towards Mansfield) does have some pretty houses that you might like. Mansfield does have some good schools, but I would make sure they are zoned for Mansfield High or Legacy. Be careful, they are always changing their zoning.

As far as the cities go... I like the feel of Mansfield better. It is smaller and you run into more people you know. It has a better community feel too. What is lacking in Mansfield is the pretty established trees and neighborhoods, except for a couple I can think of that can get pretty pricey. It has a lot of cookie cutter houses on small lots with 2 planted trees in the front. A more natural setting is more important to me than brand new construction.

If you can list what's important to you and a price range I may be able to help more. Good luck to you.