Moving to Keller, Arlington or Benbrook. Need advice! (Houston, San Antonio: section 8, houses)

[rtdkmd]

Hello lovely Texans!! So here's the deal: I've NEVER been to Texas and I'm looking for a home for my mother. My mom is in her 50s and is planning for retirement. She currently lives in California and while she loves the hot hot weather, she doesn't want to retire in this dumpy desert military town. After scoping out a few safe, affordable cities with military bases to which she can transfer, I found Fort Worth!

Now begins my search for a suburb. A few things about her: She's conservative and Christian, nice churches nearby would be lovely. She wouldn't want to live downtown. She's only looking to spend up to about $200,000 on a 3b/2ba home. Being close to work isn't necessarily hugely important as she's focused on retirement and just wants to find the best location for her. She isn't active but she's fun and youthful and she'd enjoy spending a lazy day near the lake with her granddaughter. She's single... how's the dating scene? Is there one? lol

After my research I have narrowed it down to:

Keller

Benbrook

perhaps near Arlington

I'm in my 20s and still in college so I'll be moving with her. Trying to find a happy medium. I'm not a huge partier so I'm not worried terribly about nightlife.

Any insight on the suburbs, perhaps to help give me a feel for what it would be like to live there - how convenient is it, location of shops, walkability, access to downtown, pretentious/laid back, local "sterotypes" of the area (I don't want to send her to a shantytown ), etc. ANY information you have would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!!

[loves2read]

where does the granddaughter live

are you going to college here?
takes a year to get resident tuition

all those towns have churches--
what denomination is your mom?
google the town and then search for those churches

there are homes in all towns in your price range--
get an MLS site and check out the houses
Keller, Benbrook, Arlington share lot of similarities and also are pretty individual--to me Benbrook is really a drive-through type of town except for what is around the south 820 loop
more familiar with Keller and Arlington--there are some areas west of 377 which were advertised as Keller when neighborhoods were constructed but are actually in FTW city limits--makes a difference for taxes and city services and some other factors--
Most of KELLER is east of 377
Arlington is large town--getting some publicity because of the Cowboy Stadium/Super Bowl--has some nice residential areas with mature trees and older homes built in 80 and later--has some new construction--also has lot of apts--some of which have section 8 renters--
Arlington has fairly high tax base because of building the Cowboy Stadium--some roads in area are really in bad shape--



and frankly don't be so blase about where she would be working--this is HUGE metroplex--
working in Grand Prairie say and living in Keller would be horrible commute--even for two years and your mom has more to go than that if she is in her 50s

[ChristieP]

JRB Fort Worth (the base formerly known as Carswell) is very small and only has basic services for retirees. There is no base hospital, only an outpatient clinic. The hospital was turned into a federal women's prison when Carswell was officially closed. The nearest base with a "real" hospital is Fort Hood, which is 2 hours south, or Sheppard AFB, which is 2 hours northwest. The PX and Commissary are nice, but not huge like the ones at the larger bases. My husband is military, and I never shop at the Commissary because it's too far away from my house and not worth the hassle to save a little money.

L2R gives very good advice about commute times. DFW is a HUGE metro area, and your mom will not want to be driving back and forth across it for work every day, especially if she is used to coming from a small town!

Honestly, if she needs military services, San Antonio would be a MUCH better city. Fort Sam Houston and Lackland AFB are both huge, and Brook Army Medical Center is an excellent military hospital. Many military retirees live in San Antonio because of the excellent base services there. Housing in SA is about the same as in DFW, so there are plenty of nice homes in her price range. And, if you do a little bit of research, you will find that there are numerous colleges (both public and private) and LOTS of things to do in San Antonio!

[loves2read]

IF your mom has choice as to where she is going to work--if she is federal employee on base--then SA is better--more opportunity
some nice neighborhoods and central TX is just pretty part of TX--lots of activities and historical sites
and colleges are strong there

[rtdkmd]

Thanks for the responses! They're all very helpful. She hadn't even considered San Antonio yet... I guess I should look into that. She's a Federal employee on the base so she's not worried about military/retired military services but that is good to know.

Any advice on San Antonio is welcome. Thanks again!

[loves2read]

check the SA forum

vibrant, growing city but strong Hispanic presence needless to say--positive and negatives about that reality

read some SA newspapers on line
lot more violence in area compared to DFW to me

grew up east of there about 40 miles--have seen it grown over the decades--my sister teaches at Catholic girls' school in downtown and lives north of SA in Hill Country--

road systens are massive and crowded--there is ALWAYS road construction somewhere--think SA has some of the worst drivers in the US from what we have seen--
many people use freeways every day--commute is pretty bad depending on where you live/work

water is also factor in living there--Edwards Aquafer supplies SA/Austin/Hill country around and because of growth in population, mfg, farming needs the Aquafer is always indangeer and drought is just fact of life


tourist is MAJOR industry as is the military