Question on moving to Texas......

[pursegirl]

As you may know I am new to these forums so im not sure how to quote and paste into this reply......but I happen to say y'all all of the time! My hubby is from Seattle area and when I met him he asked if I was from the south or somewhere else because of the way I speak. (question for anyone.... Does anyone that doesn't "hate" Arlington suggest any family friendly neighborhoods...I actually like cookie cutter neiborhoods, low crime newer facilities.)

[blueskies49]

Pursegirl, I lived in Arlington for many years and as a matter of fact, I do live in Grand Prairie now which is right next door to it and hubby and I still do most everything in Arlington - eat, shop, play, etc. It's a great city or used to be but now that the new Dallas Cowboys stadium is being built there (hubby and I work for the testing lab on the stadium) the city is trying to rebuild its image again. Also, Six Flags is there as well as the Texas Rangers baseball stadium and Hurricane Harbor which is a large water park.

Okay, if you like the cookie cutter neighborhoods, south Arlington has them by the hundreds! My daughter and her family live in one of those areas close to the Mansfield border. They have everything down there, all your cookie cutter stores and restaurants that are national as well as smaller places. I think you would love it there! This is all south of I-20 and to the west and east of Hwy 360. Actually, east of 360 is Grand Prairie and west of it is Arlington. North and central Arlington as well as west are older and have some fine established older neighborhoods. You don't want to live in the east part of town between highways I-20 and I-30, just to let you know!

So to summarize, your best bet would be south Arlington which is south of interstate 20 and west of Hwy 360. On the north and south sides of I-20 are a fantastic mall called The Parks Mall, Costco, a hospital, and the most dense retail area in the nation. Which means there are all kinds of shops and restaurants crammed in a not so large area! The traffic around there is horrendous but really, you get used to it if you like to shop in the area. PM me if you want more info, it sounds like south Arlington would be the place for you and your hubby!

[nativeDallasite]

Originally Posted by pursegirl

Well, hubby has family in Fort Worth and South Dallas , but we will visit in November to get a feel for the different areas. Just a thought, but Arlington just seems like youve got the best of both worlds--close proximity to either town.....

I'd wait until I found a job before signing a lease or buying a house. Arlington is not really that close to either city and if you got a job in...say...Plano, your commute would be horrifying. Just a thought.

[cipher0]

If you want to live between Dallas and Fort Worth, move to the HEB area (Hurst Euless Bedford). This area is about 15 miles from Fort Worth and 20 miles from Dallas and about 5 miles from DFW airport. Talk about location.

If you have super deep pockets you can move to Colleyville or Southlake. They're only about 4 or 5 miles from HEB.

All of the above mentioned cities are actually located in Tarrant County so you may find more information on them in the Fort Worth section of the city-data forums.

[texasdreamin]

Originally Posted by blueskies49

I know quite a few midwesterners and only 2 or 3 say it and according to them it's because they've lived here awhile. Chicago from the influence of blacks perhaps? I know that the southern portions of Indiana, Illinois and Ohio are southern-influenced because they border the South and they tend to have somewhat of a Southern sounding accent. I've known 4 or 5 guys from Indiana, 2 or 3 guys and a couple of ladies from Illinois and that's just off the top of my head and none of them say y'all except a couple of them who want to blend in. It's not normal midwestern speech except maybe in pockets where it might be common including where you grew up.

But, interesting note, I have read an article where the use of that word is spreading a little bit in some places. Oh, also, my mother-in-law is originally from southern Indiana and when I went to her hometown a few years ago I was amazed at how southern they sounded but also northern. They had marks of both speech patterns but they didn't say y'all, they said youns or yins, which I understand is common in Appalachia and where some of the original settlers came from.

Southern accents in Indiana have a deeper twang than I ever heard in Texas. Real, real deep drawl. If you closed your eyes and listened, you'd think you were deep in Alabama or Mississippi somewhere.

[blueskies49]

Have you heard an East Texas drawl? It's pretty twangy!