Sell me on your city-get me as a neighbor (Houston: salon, crime)

[davebflat]

Sorry if this is a long post, but my family wants to ask EVERY question at once
We are relocating from Massachusetts 12-18 months from now for a number of reasons (weather, economy, type-A northeast, etc)
We are doing a Texas tour of places that interest us in February 2009.
We are flying into DFW--spending time DFW area for a few days, then driving (a lot) and seeing things through Austin & San Antonio. We have excluded Houston, Far West, Far South...
Needless to say, job opportunity is important, and my spouse & I have secondary jobs that we are passionate about. We ahve kids in Catholic school, and may possibly do the same in Texas
We are more comfortable within driving distance of a city/activity/arts
--I teach at a very urban public school, 19 years exp. and have a Doctorate in Music Ed., so my other employment is church music director, piano bar ent. play w/ orchestra, etc. and would be LOST without my 'other' jobs
--Wife is admin assistant, but does 20-30 hours a week owner of nail salon which she has been doing for 20 years.
Spare time (what is that??) we really just stay active when we aren't working (when is that??)
OK Texas, we will be adopting you as our home, a decision we took years with, and are looking forward to getting to know you

Where should we live??

David & Nicole


p.s. The kids are NOT coming with us in February--maybe summertime--we don't want their opinion yet

[destin04]

I would try to get you to move to our area which I refer to as the "upper east side". We are about 1 1/2 hours east of the DFW metroplex. Our main town is Tyler. We have a lot of things that make us attractive. Especially great home prices. However...after reading your post it sounds like you will probably be wanting to stay in a larger metro area such as Dallas/Ft. Worth. You sound like you may really be suited towards the Austin area. None the less.....a big welcome to Texas!

[WillysB]

Before you do anything... go to the Texas Travel website to get your FREE ! ! ! Texas Travel guide. Over 200 glossy pages of things and places Texas, and includes an excellent map of Texas in the package. The travel guide will help you while studying the areas and traveling the state. It's FREE ! ! !

Tyler would be nice. So check out that then look down I-35, from DFW, goes thru Waco, Fort Hood Metro (Killeen/Belton/Temple), Georgetown, Round Rock, Austin, San Marcos and San Antonio.

Good luck, keep us posted. We'll be full of ideas and answers.

[davebflat]

Can't thank you enough
David

[2happy]

davebflat, I am a fellow Massachusetts person wanting to move to Texas also. Visited there a few times and can't wait to move. I wanted to suggest to you to call the chamber of commerce in prospective towns of interest. They will send you relocation packages with all sorts of good info. For the most part they're free...you just have to call. The Travel Texas guide is a great resource which is mentioned above. Hope this helps.

[Moonlady]

Texas is huge. Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Austin all have completely different "personalities" as you will. It's hard to say which would be best for you. You are doing the right thing by taking time to visit. From what you've posted though, Dallas sounds like a good fit.

[EmergencyOps]

Originally Posted by davebflat

Needless to say, job opportunity is important, and my spouse & I have secondary jobs that we are passionate about. We ahve kids in Catholic school, and may possibly do the same in Texas.
We are more comfortable within driving distance of a city/activity/arts
--I teach at a very urban public school, 19 years exp. and have a Doctorate in Music Ed., so my other employment is church music director, piano bar ent. play w/ orchestra, etc. and would be LOST without my 'other' jobs

Kennedale.

It is a small city that has its own identity as a community, yet is surrounded by larger cities such as Fort Worth, Arlington, Mansfield, and Grand Prairie. You can find a job in any of those larger cities, yet reside in a nice, quiet area. There are new homes that have been constructed, as well as two new parks (3 total).

You mentioned Catholic school, and there is a great one that is only a 15 minute drive from Kennedale: Nolan Catholic High School. You mentioned teaching employment. There is Kennedale ISD, which is smaller, but Mansfield ISD is very large and ever-expanding. It has campuses that are very close to Kennedale, including the new schools.

Where should we live??

Kennedale, Texas

[Houston3]

You might try Odessa.

[TX_AGGIE13]

I've lived in Austin, Houston, San Antonio, Tyler, and College Station. I love College Station, but it's a college town. Austin is beautiful, has a great nightlife, and some pretty good local dining, but the down side is bad traffic, and higher cost of living. I currently live in San Antonio and like it the most. It has the hill country that Austin has, but less traffic, and lower cost of living. Austin is more af an urban feel, but is smaller than San Antonio. People are friendly in all of the Texas cities in my opinion. San Antonio has the worst drivers, but I'll take that over the hour and a half commutes. There is great shopping, and dining in San Antonio as well. Many say the crime is worse, and it is not as nice in areas, but if you locate anywhere north of town or in the Alamo Heights, or Olmos Park areas you can't beat it here. I think the medical amenities in San Antonio are great, and they are building many more in outlying areas at the moment. Austin has a nice group of hospitals as well. As far as Dallas - Fort Worth, my mother lives in Grapevine and likes it, but it's not for me. Too much urban sprawl, and go go go atmosphere. Well, I take that back, seems like Fort Worth is more of a laid back area, and the two cities although one in many ways love to keep their individual personas. Houston, although I don't think your looking into has the better medical resources by far, probably the best in the Nation. All 4 metros have major international airports, and top Universities.

[Lakewooder]

You should try Lakewood/East Dallas - sounds like a perfect fit. Search for that on previous threads or post on Dallas Forum.