Need to hear the good and bad about Fort Worth (Houston: home owners insurance, house prices)

[Jenni5]

We live in PA right now. We transferred with my husband's job in 2005 from Florida.

He may have the opportunity to relocate down to either Austin or Fort Worth. I'm so undecided on what to do. I've never been out west so I'm not sure what it's like.

From what I can tell it's hot in the summers like Florida. I do NOT miss that. Is it flat like Florida, too? That's one thing I like being up here in PA and that's that there is scenery with hills, etc.

Do you have seasons down there? Do the leaves change on the trees in the fall?

This may sound funny but one thing I do miss about living in Florida are the lizards. I loved those things. Do you have those in Texas?

I am just so undecided on what to do if we do get an offer to relocate. We have three small children, too, so we would want to live in a nice community outside of the city.

Thanks for all your input!

[AV8Recruiter]

Originally Posted by Jenni5

We live in PA right now. We transferred with my husband's job in 2005 from Florida.

He may have the opportunity to relocate down to either Austin or Fort Worth. I'm so undecided on what to do. I've never been out west so I'm not sure what it's like.

From what I can tell it's hot in the summers like Florida. I do NOT miss that. Is it flat like Florida, too? That's one thing I like being up here in PA and that's that there is scenery with hills, etc.

Do you have seasons down there? Do the leaves change on the trees in the fall?

This may sound funny but one thing I do miss about living in Florida are the lizards. I loved those things. Do you have those in Texas?

I am just so undecided on what to do if we do get an offer to relocate. We have three small children, too, so we would want to live in a nice community outside of the city.

Thanks for all your input!

If you don't mind the heat, Fort Worth is a great area. The one thing about Texas, is it's not humid like Florida...unless it rains, and it doesn't rain much in the summer.

The leaves change, but not all at once, and it's not pretty like PA (I'm originally from WI, so I assume it's pretty similar.) We have 2 seasons: Summer which is hot, and winter which has some nice days and some cold days. Being from WI, it gets a lot colder here than I imagined. We do get snow/ice once or twice a year. However, you'll have days in December and January where it's in the 70's and that makes our hot summers seem worth it.

We had a few geccos at our old house, but I haven't seen any at our new house in Saginaw...so I wouldn't count on the lizards.

One thing I would recommend is to either get a house with a pool or get a house in a neighborhood with a community pool.

I don't know much about Austin...I've seen it from I-35. I hear it's nice. The cost of living is higher there. I think it's supposed to be prettier than Fort Worth, but again, haven't really been there. If we go somewhere in TX, it's usually to the gulf coast.

Take care, and let me know if you have any more questions

[nsumner]

Originally Posted by Jenni5

This may sound funny but one thing I do miss about living in Florida are the lizards. I loved those things. Do you have those in Texas?

Too funny!!! I see them everywhere! those babies. I pulled up in the driveway tonight and there were 7 on the garage door 3-4 inches long. My daughter jumped out of the car and went to pick some of them.

Me, I scream... sorry, I stayed in the car until I felt that there was no critters out. Poor things, I know they are more scared of me... can't help it.

Also, I didn't get close enough to see if they were geckos or real lizards... to me, they're the same.

[Synopsis]

There are plenty of lizards and geckos as well around my house. I love 'em; they're very beneficial and I do everything I can to encourage them to stick around.

The summers are HOT here, but Fort Worth is really a nice place. The Winters are mild, with the exception of an occasional cold blast.

It's not flat like Florida, there are some hills. Fall can be beautiful with the leaves changing, but it depends on several factors like rain and the right temps.

[Jenni5]

Everything you guys have posted sounds wonderful.

The one thing about Texas, is it's not humid like Florida

Awesome!! I was wondering about that because I see that it's going to be in the triple digits for a few days but your humidity is around 20 percent. That is low. In Florida, although it doesn't usually reach the triple digits, the humidity is high and that can make it feel worse.

Yay....on the lizards, too!!!! It sounds so silly but I really miss those little guys. They are so beneficial to have around because they eat the other bugs that I'm scared of.

What about roaches? Do you have those? We don't have them in PA at least I haven't seen any since I've been up here. My husband said that you guys have rattlesnacks and scorpions, though. Is that true?

Oh, if we move I definitely want a pool. That will have to be a must.

I'm so happy to hear that it's not flat like Florida, either. I was picturing flat open land out there.

My husband is down there right now in Weatherford, TX and will travel to Austin and Houston. I do like the house prices down there. Very reasonable but I heard the taxes can make up for that.

Thanks SO much for all your information. Keep it coming.

[John Shaft]

Yes there are rattlers and scorpions. Of course, if you are in a more urbanized (or suburban) area, your chances of seeing them drop a LOT.

Really two negatives I can think of about Ft Worth (and I grew up there) are:
* A big city living in the shadow of a bigger one (Dallas), so it doesn't have some of what it "should" as a big city (standalone sports teams, etc.)
* Very, very hot. There's less humidity than in Florida, but that doesn't mean there isn't any...it's not nearly as dry as Arizona etc.
* The downtown skyline is underwhelming...although that's a pretty minor quibble when it comes to quality of life.

Otherwise, abundance of jobs and low cost of living, as well as a fairly laid-back lifestyle (although I think this is changing somewhat, unfortunately) makes for a great city.

[mired]

I moved from Florida to Ft. Worth two years ago. When I first got here I thought the heat wouldn't be as bad as it was back home........boy, was I wrong. You'll miss that humidity on days when you can't even step outside due to this heat we get here. Nothing compared to FL. It's HOT here!

Best perk that Ft. Worth has compared to Florida......prices of a home!!

Good Luck!

[5stones]

where in PA do you now live? we used to live south of Pittsburg.

Yes, it's HOT here.

I really like the area and the schools, home prices etc... Downtown FT worth is only getting better and better. lots to do etc... and you are close to Dallas as well, so you get 2 cities with museums resturants etc....

But...it's really not pretty. It's FLAT. YOu will miss the GREEN lushness of PA and the hills, forests and trees etc...

FALL... you will not get the glorious fall colors here. yes, the trees will change and you will some pretty colors etc. BUT Nothing like the vast hillsides in PA all blazing in color.
Also they don't change in fall! I laughted our pear tree finally changed near christmas and after all the leaves dropped I sware the buds had already started!

It's a days drive to Colorado (a big plus for us!!)

NO snow shovels!!! ours are in shed and I am getting ready to put them up in the attic for good!
It's does get cold here. it just doesn't last long. (NO big snows in April!!)

[AV8Recruiter]

I've lived in Tx for 11 years now, and I've never seen a rattle snake or a scorpion. I know you can see them frequently if you are in the country and have acreage, but if you are in a subdivision, I highly doubt it. Also, I grew up in WI, and the summers are very humid up there. I would prefer it to be 95 and dry like it is in Texas than 85 with close to 100% humidity. I hate that sticky feeling. Yeah, when it's 106, it is hot and it sucks, but I'll still take it over 20 below zero.

Although property taxes and home owners insurance are bad here, we have no state income tax. (I know FL doesn't either, but home prices here are much lower than FL). We pay about $4,500 in taxes for a home worth close to $200K and $1,100 in home owners insurance.

In regards to sports, the Cowboys stadium is going up in Arlington (located in Fort Worth's Tarrant County...not Dallas County), the TX Rangers are in Arlington, and Fort Worth has the Cats - Minor League Baseball and Brahmas - Minor League hockey. The only teams still in Dallas are the Mavericks and Stars, and you can take the train from fort worth so you don't even have to worry about traffic or parking. Although Fort Worth might not have a great skyline, the downtown area is very nice and safe with lots of great restaurants. Like most people in Fort Worth, we prefer Ft Worth to Dallas, and I think they have completely separate character with Fort Worth having more character.

I'm sorry "Synopsis", although I love TX, I have yet to see a pretty fall here in Fort Worth. One of my co-workers is from PA, and that's one thing we've discussed is how we miss the pretty fall in the midwest/northeast part of the country. I agree with 5stones.

Another big plus is you can drive to the gulf coast in 5-6 hours. We love going to Port Aransas. Also, it's a 2 hour flight to Cozumel.

[padcrasher]

Austin is probably the best place to move in Texas. I don't know what sort of budget you have but it almost doesn't matter.

Austin is more scenic, less crime, more things to do, better BBQ. Lakes, rivers, the U of Texas, the Capital, live music, at one time or another Austin was considered the most well read city in the Nation.

Ft. Worth likely is a better place to find a job but if you already have a job in either location Austin is a no brainer.