Relocting to Carswell AFB..... would love some suggestions! (Fort Worth, Arlington: apartment, rental homes)

[NJallDai]

My fiance & I will be moving to the Ft. Worth area in January. Trouble is, I'm going to have to do most of the planning, packing & relocating alone because he'll be deployed until the week before the move! He was stationed there for 'A' school back in 2005, but lived on the base, and I have never even been to Texas. So we're both in the dark when it comes to where we should even start looking.

We're looking to rent a 2 bedroom 1 1/2 bath house no more than a half hours drive to the base. We would opt for a house over an apartment, preferably with a decent sized yard, so our 4 legged babies have room to play. I would also like to live close enough to the city so finding a job would be easier, but also far enough away to enjoy true Texas living. (Whatever that may be!!!)

I'm clueless when it comes to budgeting and what we can afford. We're coming from the NJ and from what I hear cost of living in Texas and FAR LESS than the east coast. He's an E5 in the Navy, if that helps anyone out at all, and we will be moving prior to getting married so his BAH will reflect no dependents. ...... Phew, as you can see, I'm way in over my head!!!

Help!

[ChristieP]

FYI: It's "NAS JRB" these days. Carswell was technically closed in the 1990s. Base is now partially a federal women's prison, and houses a lot of reserve units.

1. What is your budget for a house? $500? $1500? Big difference in where we recommend. Yes, the cost of living is far less than NJ.
2. What kind of "4-legged babies" do you have? Dogs? Cats? It is going to be VERY difficult to find a place where the landlord will allow that many pets. I'd highly recommend looking for somewhere that is owned by an individual landlord, rather than by a management company, as they will be more lenient about the pets.

[NJallDai]

Ah, thanks for the correction. His orders say Carswell so I was just going off of that!
Our min would be $900 max $1200. Like I said, we would much rather rent a house because of the two dogs. Looking specifically for certain neighborhood suggestions. I'll be traveling out there in late November and would much rather arrive with a little bit of knowledge of the surrounding areas.

[5stones]

NW are of FT worth within Keller ISD might have what you are looking for. not sure about the under 30min commute though.
Summer Fields off of North Beach is one neighborhood that comes to mind and so Does Park Glen. Should be rental homes over there. Most will be 3 bedrooms and older, but should have nice yards etc...
I'll look around a bit and get back with more "neighborhood info"

[loves2read]

unless you live inside FTW city limits there is no public transportation--and even then the bus system is hurting in certain areas--has had routes cut back--
so you might need two cars--

realtor.com has rental homes

the area around Hulen and I20--the Benbrook area--
Moderator cut: only realtor.com can be posted don't know anything specifically about the area
just saw it had a big yard and was in your price range--
E--of JNB
check the crime maps that are on internet for specific info about different parts of town

IF you are couple w/o children than you might be more interested in entertainment than school info
living inside the loop closer to Sundance Sq and west 7th street neighborhood is going to be more interesting than out in Aledo or Burleson or Azle or Keller

[ChristieP]

Originally Posted by loves2read

IF you are couple w/o children than you might be more interested in entertainment than school info
living inside the loop closer to Sundance Sq and west 7th street neighborhood is going to be more interesting than out in Aledo or Burleson or Azle or Keller

Totally agree here. Suburbs can be pretty boring with zero nightlife, and just about everything west of the base is very rural. Look in the Arlington Heights neighborhood just west of downtown. Lots of cute older homes with yards!

Even though it is close to the base, I do not recommend living in White Settlement.

[loves2read]

second the avoid White Settlement

[TxBrn&Raised]

Have you tried a search in Saginaw? We've been here for 2yrs and absolutely love it! Very quiet, family oriented neighborhoods. Most of your neighborhoods are HOA, which have pros and cons...a former Army family for 7yrs, we love being in a HOA and having those rules in place. Some of the neighborhoods I'd recommend are Willow Vista, The Commons of Willow Creek, The Courts of Willow Creek, The Dominion, Willowstone....some neighborhoods still building, if that's an option for you. I have seen lease signs up in Willow Vista and The Commons of Willow Creek...around the $1200 range, I believe. Saginaw will put you about 10-15mins from the base and same from downtown Fort Worth. There's a large city park (walking trails, tennis courts, basketball courts, etc) pretty much in the middle of all the subdivisions and easy to get to. We've been very happy here! Let me know if you have any other questions!