Best "big city/small town near a big city" for a highly qualified high school teacher in the SE or SW? (chapel)

[mattsk42]

4.0 all the way through, good major university, chemistry degree, masters in education, 5 years experience in a major city and small city, ELL/special needs experience.

NO bio, but physics and physical science are ok.

Female, very well spoken, never any problems whatsoever teaching so far, hard worker and involved in school activities and curriculum planning. (even though almost zero teachers this age do that around here)

No coaching.

Not interested in inner city or "bad" schools if possible.
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Leaders so far: Albuquerque, Dallas, Austin, Tucson, San Antonio
Close: Houston, Phoenix (or are these two really that hot in the summer?), FL, NC/SC
No: "deep south" (GA,LA,AL,AR,MS), OK, CA

Basically just curious where we could make the best living without sacrificing safety.

[kyle19125]

Texas in my opinion would be a bad decision if you're heat sensitive. The new weather pattern for summers seems to have not favored Texas where 100+ degree days occur very often with crippling humidity. I would point you toward North Carolina, specifically the Durham/Chapel Hill/Carrboro area of the Raleigh/Durham metro. Chapel Hill/Carrboro Public Schools are among the best in the country and #1 in the the state. Durham has a couple "less fortunate" schools but on the whole aren't bad and has a few standouts as well. Raleigh suburbs such as Cary, Apex, Holly Springs and Morrisville (Western Wake County) are good options as well.

[mattsk42]

Not even close to heat sensitive, and that's actually the reason we want to move to SE or SW. We love 90+ temps. Yes I know PHX and HOU have temps even above that but we'd rather deal with that than snow in May. Or frost like this morning. Plus the North is pretty bland for outdoor activities having no mountains or oceans. (other than obviously CO/MT, etc.)

[Cowboys fan in Houston]

Ill take a stab at your top picks.

Dallas is by far the largest feeling city of the ones on the list. Its also (by far) the most diverse and has the most city (urban) related ammenities of the leaders on your list. Dallas will also have a whole lot of excellent suburban districts to choose from as well as numerous small towns within 30 miles to choose from. Also, dont forget Fort Worth. Its a big city with a small town feel and there is a thriving young professional community there.


Where Dallas (and Fort Worth) lags relative to the cities in question is in availability of outdoor activities. If that is most important, I would take Dallas (and Houston) off your list.