Moving family to texas soon (Houston, Dallas: real estate, low crime, find a job)

[Mullnz81]

Hello everyone my wife and I have decided on Texas as our next home. We can no longer deal with Illinois and have decided to move soon. I have 2 kids 1 12 and another 6. I’ve done a lot of research but would like to get direct opinions from those who live in Texas. I am 38 and my wife is 34, I’ve spent most of my life working in factories and my wife is currently a dispatcher for the sheriffs department. I like I’m sure most people are looking for a small town no bigger than 20k in population that offers good schools, low crime, good paying jobs or at least a good commute to them, and considering I’m not rich reasonable housing cost, probably at most $1500 a month. I prefer to live approximately an hour or 2 from the city but which big city is best to raise a family near Dallas, Houston, or San Antonio? I plan on taking a trip to Texas next year to have a look around before I do so any suggestions on that would be nice as well.

[CalTex Ranger]

Originally Posted by Mullnz81

Hello everyone my wife and I have decided on Texas as our next home. We can no longer deal with Illinois and have decided to move soon. I have 2 kids 1 12 and another 6. I’ve done a lot of research but would like to get direct opinions from those who live in Texas. I am 38 and my wife is 34, I’ve spent most of my life working in factories and my wife is currently a dispatcher for the sheriffs department. I like I’m sure most people are looking for a small town no bigger than 20k in population that offers good schools, low crime, good paying jobs or at least a good commute to them, and considering I’m not rich reasonable housing cost, probably at most $1500 a month. I prefer to live approximately an hour or 2 from the city but which big city is best to raise a family near Dallas, Houston, or San Antonio? I plan on taking a trip to Texas next year to have a look around before I do so any suggestions on that would be nice as well.

Where it’s cheap, it’s hard to find a job.

Where you can find a job, it’s not cheap.

[KathrynAragon]

Originally Posted by Mullnz81

Hello everyone my wife and I have decided on Texas as our next home. We can no longer deal with Illinois and have decided to move soon. I have 2 kids 1 12 and another 6. I’ve done a lot of research but would like to get direct opinions from those who live in Texas. I am 38 and my wife is 34, I’ve spent most of my life working in factories and my wife is currently a dispatcher for the sheriffs department. I like I’m sure most people are looking for a small town no bigger than 20k in population that offers good schools, low crime, good paying jobs or at least a good commute to them, and considering I’m not rich reasonable housing cost, probably at most $1500 a month. I prefer to live approximately an hour or 2 from the city but which big city is best to raise a family near Dallas, Houston, or San Antonio? I plan on taking a trip to Texas next year to have a look around before I do so any suggestions on that would be nice as well.

Check into far northeast Texas - there are some factories and manufacturing facilities located in smaller towns outside Marshall, Longview, even Tyler - Mt. Pleasant, Sherman, etc. These are largely rural areas but fairly close to Dallas.

You also may want to look in the southeast portion of Texas getting closer to Houston - Nacogdoches, Lufkin, that area.

San Antonio is a lower cost of living area than Austin but honestly, real estate and all that tends to be significantly higher in central Texas due to the proximity of Austin from my experience. I could be wrong but wow, that whole region is a lot more densely populated.

[supfromthesite]

Stephenville, Granbury maybe

[ChristieP]

The hard part of living in a rural area will be jobs for your wife. Many times, those "good jobs" in the local government are occupied by someone for their entire career.

Granbury is mostly a retirement community. There aren't a lot of non-retail jobs there unless you're willing to drive into Fort Worth.

I agree with the suggestion of NE Texas, and I will also add Brownwood to the list. It's a relatively small town that has several large factories in it. But it is about a 2 hour drive from Fort Worth, and an hour from Abilene.

[gguerra]

Look for the jobs first, then decide. Try the big job sites like indeed and monster.com, use the whole state in your search criteria, then cross off your list, the jobs in places which you would not consider. Unless you have deep pockets, the job prospects should dictate the rest. Just keep in mind that most of Texas is hot and humid for at least half of the year. I would suggest finding a good job in a place like DFW and find a place to live that is a good distance from the city. Housing costs may still be high, the further you get the lower the housing costs.

[ChristieP]

Keep in mind that a long commute is also expensive. Gas, tires, oil changes, and wear and tear on your car all add up. Plus, the time spent sitting in a car while commuting instead of with your family is time that you'll never get back.