Think of the Fort Worth area...have a few questions (Dallas: apartments, rent)

[ashbeeigh]

Hi everyone! I recently graduated with my Masters in Social Work as well as my license to practice. I am currently in San Antonio and am really looking for new experiences and am looking for some general insight. I would like to remain in Texas and am asking these same questions in a few of the other Texas forums. My experiences lies with children and families and would love to continue on that path but am open to other areas (although hospital and geriatric or hospice social work are at the bottom). I am also bilingual.

As far as I am concerned, I am a 30 year single female who is relatively active. I run and do like to get out and about but nothing ever too wild.

I do have a few questions

1. Taking living and entertainment expenses into consideration what would you say is a comfortable salary for a Fort Worth area resident? In San Antonio, I'm thinking about 38k to be comfortable.

2. Are there any areas that I should avoid? Living? Working? I think the closest to officially being in Fort Worth that I have been is Arlington so it's a bit of a new area for me. Working with the at-risk population I have a pretty high tolerance of tough areas. Traffic, though, may be a thing for me as I am used to driving 20 minutes to get anywhere in San Antonio.

3. Any particular agencies or organizations I should look in to?

[TheDarkSide]

Originally Posted by ashbeeigh

.... looking for new experiences and am looking for some general insight. ... I am also bilingual.

Are there any areas that I should avoid? Living? Working?

Yes, an area you should avoid is HOuston.

If you're bilingual, move to Dallas. Hispanics are the majority, and jobs are everywhere.

Welcome to Dallas, the Gem of Texas.

[DWinTX]

As far as how much will allow you to be comfortable, it's hard to say without knowing what your non-housing expenses are. Mainly, what do you owe? If you have a car payment, student loans and 30K in consumer debt, 38K is probably not enough. If you're debt-free, maybe.

Best thing to do, if you haven't already, is to write out a budget for all of your income (assume 38K) and expenses. That'll tell you pretty quickly what you can afford in housing and utility costs. Then you can come back here and ask specifically what areas you can afford for that dollar amount per month. You'll be able to get much more informed answers. I would think most other expenses, other than housing and utilities, are the same here as they are in SA.

Also, keep in mind that the DFW metro area is huge compared to SA. Where you live will be largely limited to a reasonable commute from your eventual workplace. That will have an effect on your cost of living to some degree as well.

Good luck in your new career!

[ashbeeigh]

38k for me right now is paying the car payment, student loans, credit cards, etc. I wish I were debt free but am not. That estimate was for me to have a bit of extra spending money in San Antonio (go out to eat, buy some nice things, etc).

[DWinTX]

Well, barring writing out the budget I mentioned, another way to figure it out might be to tell us what you're paying now in rent and utilities. Then the folks on this forum can tell you what that will get you in their areas of town. I have not lived in apartments for years so I could be wrong, but I think $700-$800 will get you a pretty decent 1 bed. Unfortunately, I have no idea what utilities run for a 1 bed these days.

But again, that's somewhat dependent on what part of the metro area you'll end up, which is very much dependent on where you work. Can't stress that enough. DFW is BIG! If you don't live fairly near where you work, you'll spend all your time commuting and all your spare cash on gas.

You probably won't get anything for $800 in uptown in Dallas (just north of downtown and a great area for singles), but you could probably in Carrollton or North Richland Hills.

Like I said, I think most other expenses would be the same here as SA. Gas, food, phone, cable/satellite, clothes, etc. are probably not going to be much different. Rent and utilities are what may vary.

[Davros]

There are tons of mental health providers in Dallas Ft Worth involved in small scale private offices. Try looking up some of these outfits online, and try cold calling some that sound good. Also, by all means use the contacts you've made at school plus Alumni Network to get some leads.

You can live anywhere you want in Texas. The challenge is finding a job you enjoy.

[ashbeeigh]

Originally Posted by Davros

There are tons of mental health providers in Dallas Ft Worth involved in small scale private offices. Try looking up some of these outfits online, and try cold calling some that sound good. Also, by all means use the contacts you've made at school plus Alumni Network to get some leads.

You can live anywhere you want in Texas. The challenge is finding a job you enjoy.

Thanks so much! I haven't dug too deeply into organizations yet but I may this weekend.

[JackieB23]

As others have noted, Dallas-Fort Worth is HUGE. It's really important to consider where you may wish to work when settling here. I was brought to the Fort Worth side of town for a job (it was downtown) and I settled in North Richland Hills. When I was looking for another job a few years later, it just didn't seem feasible to work on the Dallas side of town, so I narrowed my search to Tarrant County.