Moving to Fort Worth - Safety and Affordability (Arlington, Grand Prairie: apartment complexes, rent)

[Fumble.Bee]

Hello!

I’m currently living in California and looking to move to the Fort Worth area in the coming months. I’m a single female in her early twenties, so safety is important to me.
I have the opportunity to transfer there within my job, but I work in childcare so my income is obviously not the best. I do plan to look for jobs within school districts when I get there, but for now my budget is going to be tight. With my job there are many different locations I could transfer to.

I’m looking around the Colleyville, Watuaga, North Richland Hills area. Basically anywhere north of the 820 because my friends told me that that is a decent/good area to live in.

However, my max rent I could handle is $700 a month (and that’s with utilities added). So when I’m looking for apartments, the ones that I’m seeing at $600-650 are south of the 820. My friends told me that anywhere south of the 820 is not good. After reading a few threads on here, that confirms it on here.

So far I’ve found two or three apartments either just north of the 820, or just barely south of it that are within my budget. I’ll be in the Fort Worth area in two weeks to check out these areas.

But what I want to know is, how much safety am I going to have to compromise to live in a place that I can afford? Are the Arlington, Haltom City, Hurst, Grand Prairie areas reasonable in terms of safety?
I get that with my budget I’m not going to be in a plush community, but I want to be able to go to sleep at night without worrying.


Also, side questions:
-Where does one go to meet people in this area? Either dating, or friend wise. I’m not huge into the bar scene, so I’m wondering if that ‘Meet Up’ app could be useful.
-How hard is it to get your foot in the door with the school districts? I’m currently getting my degree in Multiple Subjects Teaching, but I want to get my foot in the door in child care working or an instructional aide.
Thank you!
-Bee

[Stevehanrahan41]

I stopped at $700 a month including utilities. You probably won't find much outside the slums in that price range I wouldn't imagine.

[ChristieP]

Originally Posted by Stevehanrahan41

I stopped at $700 a month including utilities. You probably won't find much outside the slums in that price range I wouldn't imagine.

Exactly. Almost anywhere that cheap is not going to be safe.
Take Haltom City OFF your list, along with Arlington north of I20. Hurst may be ok, but if it's south of 183, be careful. Yes, south of 820 is NOT safe!

Don't say "the" before the highway number. The locals don't talk that way.

[Angie682]

You would be better off finding a roommate in order to be in a safe area. Your budget is not realistic for DFW. Lots of people have moved here in the last 10 years. This has caused rent and home prices to increase significantly. Utilities in the summer can be very expensive. It is not unusual to have a $200.00 electric bill during peak months. Apartments are generally not insulated well, even in new construction. Utilities included apartments are very rare, and if you were able to find one it probably is not somewhere you would want to live. Be really sure that you can afford to live here before making a major move. It's not cheap to live in Texas anymore, so do your research. Good luck!

[FJB327]

Originally Posted by Fumble.Bee

Hello!

I’m currently living in California and looking to move to the Fort Worth area in the coming months. I’m a single female in her early twenties, so safety is important to me.
I have the opportunity to transfer there within my job, but I work in childcare so my income is obviously not the best. I do plan to look for jobs within school districts when I get there, but for now my budget is going to be tight. With my job there are many different locations I could transfer to.

I’m looking around the Colleyville, Watuaga, North Richland Hills area. Basically anywhere north of the 820 because my friends told me that that is a decent/good area to live in.

However, my max rent I could handle is $700 a month (and that’s with utilities added). So when I’m looking for apartments, the ones that I’m seeing at $600-650 are south of the 820. My friends told me that anywhere south of the 820 is not good. After reading a few threads on here, that confirms it on here.

So far I’ve found two or three apartments either just north of the 820, or just barely south of it that are within my budget. I’ll be in the Fort Worth area in two weeks to check out these areas.

But what I want to know is, how much safety am I going to have to compromise to live in a place that I can afford? Are the Arlington, Haltom City, Hurst, Grand Prairie areas reasonable in terms of safety?
I get that with my budget I’m not going to be in a plush community, but I want to be able to go to sleep at night without worrying.


Also, side questions:
-Where does one go to meet people in this area? Either dating, or friend wise. I’m not huge into the bar scene, so I’m wondering if that ‘Meet Up’ app could be useful.
-How hard is it to get your foot in the door with the school districts? I’m currently getting my degree in Multiple Subjects Teaching, but I want to get my foot in the door in child care working or an instructional aide.
Thank you!
-Bee

I haven't rented an apartment in a long time but $700 with utilities will be non existent in north NRH, Colleyville, Keller areas that you'd like to live.

Now, some people in the northern part of the metro really live in a bubble and believe that any place besides their area is a scary, buyer beware type of place. They are a little dramatic and naive but not completely false. Their area is pretty bulletproof (excuse the pun) when it comes to safety.

Almost 90% of violent crime victims know their attackers. Random acts of violence are not a huge problem here. The big problem is mainly property crime. Inside the loop (S of 820) you are more likely to be a victim of a burglary or theft. The likelihood is still small if your are mindful of the company you keep and how you carry yourself (ie, don't flaunt).

The closer you are to 820, the more likely you'll have to worry about crime (mainly property crime).

If you can find a spot off of beach street, north of 820, I'd pick that area. Other areas around 820 should be fine.

If you have to go cheap, the cheapest area I can think of is the east side of FW. There are a few apartment complexes off eastchase pkwy that are probably cheap and not necessarily unsafe. Arlington areas would also depend on apartment complexes. I'm pretty familiar with FW when it comes to safety/crime so PM me if you'd like information on a more specific area. A good friend is a cop in FW and I often ask him questions about areas since I'm looking to buy more investment property.

[Angie682]

You're not likely to find a 1 bedroom under 900 in far north Fort Worth. I rented a 2 bedroom 3 years ago that was 1350.00. IMO steer clear of Eastchase and Meadowbrook. Not a great area. I would never want my daughter living there. Worked with a single mom who lived there. Someone broke into her apartment and took everything, including the frozen food...

[ChristieP]

I agree. Eastchase and Meadowbrook are not safe for a single woman. Same thing with Woodhaven.

[FJB327]

Originally Posted by ChristieP

I agree. Eastchase and Meadowbrook are not safe for a single woman. Same thing with Woodhaven.

Slightly true... but not exactly...

Woodhaven is not safe for a single lady. I agree with that 100%. There's no way I would be okay with my daughter staying there. And I mostly say that because in many of those apartments, you have people "hanging out." You would get cat called and harassed plenty of times and I could only imagine that it would be a very uncomfortable situation. Especially if the guys were drunk.

Eastchase would depend on the apartment complex. Most of them are a no. But Windsong off Cooks would be good. La Jolla on Meadowbrook would be a good option and Millstone Apartments on Randol Mill just north of John T White are safe apartment complexes. You hardly ever see people "hanging out" there. People just come and go but you will have property crime occurring there as well.

And again, burglaries happen all over the metro. It's not something that should make you feel unsafe (unless you are the burglar, hehe). Day time burglary is a property crime. You know how 90% of the burglaries work?

Some random person rings/knocks on your front door during working hours on a weekday. They want to see if someone is home. If you answer, they say some BS about looking for a person. You tell them they have the wrong house. No harm, no foul. If you don't answer, they go to the backyard and knock on the door again. If no one answers still, they kick in the door and have a five minute window to grab and go.

They aren't violent by nature. They look to exploit opportunities. A cat-burglar is what you should be afraid of but these type of burglaries are very rare in the DFW. These are people who break into the home at night time. This hardly ever happens even on the East side of FW.

If you want to prevent a burglary, best option is a dog.

[beerandon]

You still have hope for that $700/month if you can score a garage apartment/in-law sweet type of thing. I rented a few back in my early 20's and much preferred them over apartments. You'd more than likely be in Fort Worth proper if you found one, in an older or historic neighborhood, when these things were more prominent (although, my brother rents one in Hurst in a newer construction, so they are out there); but, if you want to meet people organically, then you want to be in FW anyways. It is going to be nearly nothing but married with children in the areas you are talking about.

Otherwise start looking for a roommate.

PS-I agree with FJB327, some people are so overly dramatic on here in regards to inside the loop. My god.