Considering Dallas as my new home! (San Antonio, Austin: daycare, transfer, neighborhoods)

[grammyno1]

I am a social worker and grammy, considering relocating to the Dallas-Fort Worth area. I have begun applying for jobs in the areas. Moving with me would be my 7 year-old grandson, my daughter and two granddaughters - ages 2 and 3 years old. I have a few questions:

1. Where are some good, and safe communities the above-mentioned areas? How is the commute between Dallas and Fort Worth? I currently reside in California; I work in San Francisco, and reside in the East Bay. My daily commute averages out to about 60 miles round trip, so I don't wish to commute like this again.

2. What are some good schools? What areas are kid friendly, where my grandchildren could get involved in activities, such as sports, martial arts, and activities for the 2 and 3 year-olds? Where are some good daycare providers, including before and after school programs?

3. Also, where are some adult learning programs? My daughter will be finishing up her HS diploma, and will be attending college?

4. Incidentally, I have custody of my 7 year-old grandson. Where could I connect with other grandparents with this situation?

Thanks for all replies.

[jennifw]

I recommend getting a job first and then figuring out where to live. The DFW Metroplex is huge and you don't want to be driving from one end to the other.

Good luck!

[ChristieP]

Second the recommendation to get the job first, then decide where to live. There are nice, safe, family-oriented communities with good schools and activities all over the metroplex. And yes, there is no good reason to make a long commute like that here, either.

Dallas, Tarrant and Collin counties all have excellent, affordable community college networks.

FYI, you will also REALLY need to be a licensed Social Worker in order to get a job in Texas. Our state requires the license to work in any type of medical facility or nursing home. So, make sure you have your license transferred from CA to TX.

[loves2read]

Check a map--
Dallas and FTW are in two different counties--different community college systems in each and in Collin to the north...
There are also several state universities and private colleges
Your daughter will have to be a resident for certain time before getting reduced tuition rates

MANY freeways under construction
right now the best of the bunch is probably the Bush Frwy which is a toll road--no money booths so you need a car sticker to avoid hassles--check out the North Texas Tollroad Authority site

You can see on the map that the Bush goes N/S through the middle of the Metroplex (more to the Dallas/Irving side north of Airport Frwy/183 up to Plano and tailing a little west south of I-30...

Tarrant county has several roads/freeways under construction--they are useable but congested (what's new)...
Dallas has DART--bus and rail transit and Tarrant county has only public transit by bus in FTW itself and the rail line from FTW to Dallas with several stations along the way...but not a convenient travel schedule like BART does...

housing is probably less expensive than CA but can be expensive when compared to salaries in jobs like social workers...

good luck with the move

[sailorgirl2007]

Originally Posted by loves2read

Check a map--
Dallas and FTW are in two different counties

I think she means Dallas OR Fort Worth

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by grammyno1

I am a social worker and grammy, considering relocating to the Dallas-Fort Worth area. I have begun applying for jobs in the areas. Moving with me would be my 7 year-old grandson, my daughter and two granddaughters - ages 2 and 3 years old. I have a few questions:

1. Where are some good, and safe communities the above-mentioned areas? How is the commute between Dallas and Fort Worth? I currently reside in California; I work in San Francisco, and reside in the East Bay. My daily commute averages out to about 60 miles round trip, so I don't wish to commute like this again.

2. What are some good schools? What areas are kid friendly, where my grandchildren could get involved in activities, such as sports, martial arts, and activities for the 2 and 3 year-olds? Where are some good daycare providers, including before and after school programs?

3. Also, where are some adult learning programs? My daughter will be finishing up her HS diploma, and will be attending college?

4. Incidentally, I have custody of my 7 year-old grandson. Where could I connect with other grandparents with this situation?

Thanks for all replies.

If you want the sweet spot for commuting into Dallas for social work in an area with good schools and safe affordable neighborhoods, look at Richardson. Most of Richardson is in Dallas County and it has an excellent (if somewhat bureaucratic) community college system, including online learning.

[grammyno1]

Thanks Big Creek. I will look into Richardson County. Most large agencies are bureaucratic, like where I work, which is for the City and County of San Francisco. I can handle that, because as you indicated, there is so much bureaucracy due to "this or that". You just have to work around it. I have 17 years in the field, from small non-profits to large agencies, so I basically became savvy. Have a nice day.

Another question: with outdoor activities, how do you manage the heat?

Sorry. That's BigDGeek.

[grammyno1]

Originally Posted by loves2read

Check a map--
Dallas and FTW are in two different counties--different community college systems in each and in Collin to the north...
There are also several state universities and private colleges
Your daughter will have to be a resident for certain time before getting reduced tuition rates

MANY freeways under construction
right now the best of the bunch is probably the Bush Frwy which is a toll road--no money booths so you need a car sticker to avoid hassles--check out the North Texas Tollroad Authority site

You can see on the map that the Bush goes N/S through the middle of the Metroplex (more to the Dallas/Irving side north of Airport Frwy/183 up to Plano and tailing a little west south of I-30...

Tarrant county has several roads/freeways under construction--they are useable but congested (what's new)...
Dallas has DART--bus and rail transit and Tarrant county has only public transit by bus in FTW itself and the rail line from FTW to Dallas with several stations along the way...but not a convenient travel schedule like BART does...

housing is probably less expensive than CA but can be expensive when compared to salaries in jobs like social workers...

good luck with the move

Thanks for the tip. I went on Money.com (CNN's website) to conduct a salary comparison, so I am aware of the salary differences as related to the cost of living. I will also look at the maps. I was wondering if, for example I took a job in Fort Worth, but chose to reside in a suburb of Dallas, the commuting distance. I just do not want to commute as I do in California. By the way, I don't know if you have followed the San Francisco Bay Bridge, but the old one is closed for good, and the new one is to officially open on Tuesday, 09/03. This will be interesting to see how the commute will be.

[jennifw]

Originally Posted by grammyno1

I was wondering if, for example I took a job in Fort Worth, but chose to reside in a suburb of Dallas, the commuting distance. I just do not want to commute as I do in California.

Well, I just looked at Google maps. From downtown Richardson to downtown Ft. Worth is 45 miles and shows to be about 50 minutes. Count in traffic, weather and any kind of accident and I think you would be well over an hour on most days. If you live further east in Dallas or work further west in Ft. Worth, it would be even longer.

It might help to spend some time looking at the maps. Things are very spread out!

Good luck with the relocation. I don't know that you will get used to the heat, but you will love the air conditioning!

[Squirl]

Dallas is quite a long drive to San Antonio and the traffic can be absolutely wicked. In another post you wrote that you want to move to the DFW area to be close to family in San Antonio. Austin would be a better commute. Also, check out Southwest Airlines and see where they fly directly from/to San Antonio to give yourself some other cities to think about just for options since the interest in Texas for you is rooted in the fact that you have family in San Antonio.

I would never live in Dallas county and communte to a job in Tarrant county by choice.