relocating from wi. need help asap please (Fort Worth, Arlington: low income, section 8)

[amyb1]

Hi everyone,
We will be relocating to tx. fairly soon. My husband will be transferring to the general motors plant in Grand Prairie.

We have a 9 yo and a 6 yo. Obviously schools are very important for us.

We are looking for a smaller town, w/a commute of no more than 30 mins.

Any suggestions?

Also, if anybody has ideas on nice apartment homes that would be greatly appreciated. We are looking for a 3 bdrm that will accept dogs for around 1000 a month.

tia,
amy

[wanderer74]

Well the biggest challenge I think you'll have is finding small town*and* a commute of less than 30 minutes. Generally to find a true small town outside the Metroplex will be a much longer drive than 30 minutes. For your purposes I would probably look at Mansfield - it's not a far drive from the GM plant, the schools are good and it's generally a safe area. I have no idea about apartments though, sorry.

By any chance are you coming from Janesville? I grew up in a GM family and I know where most of the plants are.

[darkar344]

I appreciate everyone's comments. I would be working at the main plant on the air base. What would be an average travel time if I worked a 7AM-4:30PM shift? I have also seen posts that basically denounce the Central Hign compared to Keller High. Is there really that much of a difference? We were looking at Idelwood, Highland Lakes, Ashbrook and Saddle Brook areas. From what I can tell these are all in the Keller High area. Any chance of them beign "re-districting" out of them?

Again all cooments are welcome and appreciated.

[darkar344]

oops, posted under wrong flag; sorry

[loves2read]

actually that GM plant is inside Arlington city limits---west of Hwy 360

from what I understand about the apt rental situation--it is difficult to find a 3 bedroom apt--there might be rental condos/townhomes with that number--apts that are that large are often in complexes that rent under Section 8--low income housing authority so might not be that desireable a complex...
price would also be complication--
have you looked at any apts to check out rental prices in various areas from say a Google map search?

as the other poster mentioned--getting a "small" town is difficult within 30 min commute of the plant--just because of urban sprawl--and some of the smaller towns do not have good schools...but some of the suburban towns have a small town feel--their own parks/libraries/police/downtown (in certain cases) so there is something a little bit different about all of them when you know the area...
you don't mention price point for housing if you plan to buy in future--
price point and schools are the two primary issues that people base their decision on usually

this is the way I would rank ISDs in the area within a 30 min drive of GP

Southlake-Carroll ISD--top rated and top expensive
Grapevine-Colleyville ISD--
Coppell ISD
HEB ISD
Lewisville ISD
Birdville ISD
(Keller ISD is where some areas of Colleyville and NRHills area are zoned--but Keller itself is not a good commute unless it is the area just off Shady Grove Rd and Tarrant Parkway)
then---
Mansfield ISD--area west of 287 probably
Arlington ISD -- in some areas
Irving ISD--north of 183
Grand Prairie--lots of variety in areas
Burleson (on far reach of the commute)


look at a map of the area--see the names of town--check city data's info page about those towns--
see which ones have data that fits what you are looking for...
but you should also remember that in smaller towns--rental property is more difficult to come by--whether it is apts or houses...
someone on the board was trying to find rental property in Glen Rose which is small town to the SW of FTW--had almost NO luck until a house that had been for sale on MLS went to rental market--and they just happened to be first people who called about it...
Pantego and Dalworthington Gardens are towns within Arlington city limits and are zoned for AISD--Dalworthington Gardens is very nice--99% residential--no apts that I know of--mainly older homes on larger lots or some newer custom homes...

a small town like Red Oak S on 35 is at the 30 min max
Cedar Hill might be possibility
the smaller towns you see on the map between say Burleson and Cedar Hill have issues (to me) with things like zoning/flood control/streets/schools that make them not good choices

[ChristieP]

There are NO apartments in Southlake-Carroll ISD,and rental homes are $$$.

Look in Grapevine. We live here and really like it. The schools are very good and you might be able to find a rental home instead of an apartment in your price range!

[loves2read]

my list was about ISDs--not their towns
there is part of Carroll ISD in Grapevine city limits--but no apts--
a 3 bedroom apt in nice complex will run over 1000K a month probably

[amyb1]

Thank you for all of your replies!
I will keep looking.
Yes, we are from Janesville. What a mess gm is in right now!
If we do decide to transfer I sure hope it's worth it.
Amy

[amyb1]

O.k. so basically my idea of a small town is not really a reality?
So should I look for certain areas?
What about Arlington or Grand Prairie? I've heard so many mixed reviews on those 2.

You'll have to bear w/me. Janesville(where I live) is a city of about 70,000. Right now Texas seems like another planet.

I see all of these wonderful looking gated communities and apartment homes that are in our price range(1,000-1,200), but your saying it's very
hard to find a 3 bdrm place. I don't get it.

I do think renting a home would suit us more.

Thanks for all of your help so far. Keep it coming.

Amy

[corpex]

You might want to look at Pantego ( a sub of Arlington), Fort Worth, Crowley.

I drove from Crowley to Avenue J exit which is further up from the GM plant and it generally took 35 to 40 minutes.