Single mother moving to Texas with questions--please help. (Houston, Dallas: crime rates, find a job)

[ilajgray]

[SIZE=3]Hi, this is my first post here and I am looking for a little advice, please. I have decided to move to Texas from Wisconsin, however, I am not going to just up and leave. I am a single mother with a 9-year-old daughter. My plan is to give myself 1-1 ½ years to get prepared for the move. During this time, I would like to save up some money, find an exemplary school for my daughter, a job, and housing beforehand. Some of the issues I am having are trying to decide on which city to move to because it is such a large state. I am also trying to figure out which areas have a combination of the most career opportunities, best elementary/middle schools, family activities, less humidity, and lower crime rates. Since my move is so far off, I have been trying to do some research, but I am getting overwhelmed with so much information on the varying cities. So this is what prompted me to ask people to get their opinions on their great state. I’m thinking that I need to settle on a city I want to move to first, then try to find a job in the vicinity, along with my daughter’s school and housing. Am I going about this the right way? I appreciate any advice you can offer me.[/SIZE]

[Westerntraveler]

Its not a good idea to move anywhere without a job first

[ChristieP]

Find the job first. The state of Texas is huge, and you need to try and live close to where you work. Every major metro area has parts with great schools.

[joqua]

Originally Posted by ilajgray

I am also trying to figure out which areas have a combination of the most career opportunities, best elementary/middle schools, family activities, less humidity, and lower crime rates.

El Paso meets all of your criteria and is ranked as the "2nd safest city in the USA." But it also requires the most cultural adjustment of other cities in Texas equal in size. Next to mind would be Amarillo or Lubbock, taking into consideration your "low humidity" requirement. All other major cities have greater humidity and summer discomforts.

Going smaller than El Paso, there are numerous towns that would qualify - Odessa/Midland, San Angelo, Abilene for example.

Other than that, it's a toss-up which big city would be the most likely to please all of your needs, humidity aside. IN MY OPINION! I personally enjoyed living in San Antonio the most (compared to Houston, Dallas, Austin and El Paso). It's the only major city I'd consider returning to if I were thinking of living there long-term.

PS If you're not fixated on Texas, I personally would consider Tulsa, OK comparing it with San Antonio for all-around livability.

[ilajgray]

Thank you all so much for your advice, it was very helpful. I have never thought about Tulsa, Ok, but will definitely look into it. I will take into consider everyone’s opinion when planning for my move. Thanks again

[EstherYi1]

Hope this helps... but i also plan to move to houston, texas and was doing a lot of research recently. i've come across the "nice suburban areas" such as Cypress, Katy, Spring, Tomball, Humble, Kingwood, and Sugarland (all these cities are located in Houston, and is considered a "nice friendly suburban area with good school districts).
The last city aside from Houston is San Antonio (which i am looking more into). I've come across san antonio being a nice area to reside quite often. Good luck to you! I'm still searching but hope my search so far has been helpful to you. =)

[ilajgray]

Thank you so much EsterYi1! Yes, you were very helpful. Good luck to you also.

[malamute]

Originally Posted by joqua

El Paso meets all of your criteria and is ranked as the "2nd safest city in the USA." But it also requires the most cultural adjustment of other cities in Texas equal in size. Next to mind would be Amarillo or Lubbock, taking into consideration your "low humidity" requirement. All other major cities have greater humidity and summer discomforts.

Going smaller than El Paso, there are numerous towns that would qualify - Odessa/Midland, San Angelo, Abilene for example.

Other than that, it's a toss-up which big city would be the most likely to please all of your needs, humidity aside. IN MY OPINION! I personally enjoyed living in San Antonio the most (compared to Houston, Dallas, Austin and El Paso). It's the only major city I'd consider returning to if I were thinking of living there long-term.

PS If you're not fixated on Texas, I personally would consider Tulsa, OK comparing it with San Antonio for all-around livability.

Weather-wise El Paso would be the best. Many parts of Texas are very hot and very humid. Scenery-wise El Paso would be toward the top since it has a mountain right in the middle of town and the best sunsets you could hope for. And it's quite safe.

Career and school would be another matter. People who don't have native-Mexican fluency in Spansh often find it difficult to obtain a job but it depends a lot on what kind of work they do. Schools in El Paso are weak on math and science and the drop out rate is very high.

[loves2read]

and with the violence of Mexican drug gangs permeating the areas along the border I find it difficult to believe that El Paso is the safe city it is described

my aunt and uncle and cousin lived in El Paso for decades--my aunt and uncle died years ago but my cousin only this summer--
there is plenty of theft in El Paso and other types of crime--one reason that people build adobe walls around their lots and put glass on top--

[AmberAzeneth]

Originally Posted by loves2read

and with the violence of Mexican drug gangs permeating the areas along the border I find it difficult to believe that El Paso is the safe city it is described

my aunt and uncle and cousin lived in El Paso for decades--my aunt and uncle died years ago but my cousin only this summer--
there is plenty of theft in El Paso and other types of crime--one reason that people build adobe walls around their lots and put glass on top--

I guess you are not recommending El Paso. All of the cities(including El Paso) in this thread would suit the OP fine, sans the humidity.