Hows living in Texas? Moving family soon.

[plaguef]

Originally Posted By: Linctex
Originally Posted By: andrewg
Originally Posted By: Donald
Hot. Austin is the only decent place in TX if you desire progressive thinking and social justice.


Ha ha ha. Thanks for the humor.


No Kidding.
Seriously, I about fell out of my chair when I read this.

First, Donald makes it sound like Austin is the only place worth living in Texas. That's so incredibly insulting.

Second, it's dabbles in the "political realm", and I'm proud of everyone for keeping their mouths shut. I personally have a LOT to say about "Progressiveism" and "social justice"... but I won't here.

In a lot of ways, Texas has become a bigger "melting Pot" than New York City. I can point to you where entire enclaves of ethnic folks live, and it sure makes life interesting sometimes. There a huge bunch of Romanian folks living around Axtell, and I Love being friends with them. One of them, Dini, is a mechanical genius and machinist and has a couple patents issued to him since moving here. They are also very welcoming and warm people, and also show us what the word FAMILY is "supposed to mean".

There's good and bad people everywhere you go. Don't fall into the "stereotype trap" if you watch way too much left leaning news.



Well said.

 

[aquariuscsm]

The Austin hill country area is absolutely beautiful. It's got its pros and cons like every place does. I really enjoy being around a diverse group of people.

 

[PandaBear]

Originally Posted By: madRiver
Have you and your spouse ever lived with someone else? A new child makes marriage trying at times and now adding another person into household for a further dynamic.


This.

You would be better off living with just your wife and daughter than with another person as well, if you can afford to. You would be happier no matter where you are, even if you do not like the area.

Living with an uncle would really destroy your relationship with your wife and your uncle, very quickly.

 

[DBMaster]

Originally Posted By: RTexasF
Look the DFW Metroplex is like any large area crammed full of people. Some are nice, some are not. Traffic is horrendous & Hot summers are a given, it's Texas son.


What he said!

 

[Mr Nice]

What type of job will OP be working once in Texas ?

Finding employment is a necessity in a new city.

 

[TheKracken]

Originally Posted By: PandaBear
Originally Posted By: madRiver
Have you and your spouse ever lived with someone else? A new child makes marriage trying at times and now adding another person into household for a further dynamic.


This.

You would be better off living with just your wife and daughter than with another person as well, if you can afford to. You would be happier no matter where you are, even if you do not like the area.

Living with an uncle would really destroy your relationship with your wife and your uncle, very quickly.


My wife and I have spent our entire married life living with someone. It is not optimal but it is what we have to do. Being 21 and 20 years old makes renting difficult, and living with someone makes things easier. My uncle is asking for 250$ plus 2/3 utilities so that is pretty hard to beat. In 18 months we hope to have more saved (currently have 7k) and we will move up to Minnesota hopefully.

 

[aquariuscsm]

You're very blessed to have family that you can count on. You all may have a great time together and decide to be a permanent Texan

 

[clinebarger]

Originally Posted By: turtlevette
I don't understand why people think living in a "red" area will be a better quality of life. I'm feeling rather fortunate to live where I do in a highly blue area.. No flooding, no hurricanes, no tornadoes, no earthquakes, and no Forrest fires. I don't want to breathe smoke all summed either. All the people dissing on snow every winter are up to their butt in water right now. I'll take the snow. I mean, I have to listen to people tell me how stupid I am for living in the north every winter.

States without state tax normally have higher property tax. There's no free ride anywhere.

Seattle is beautiful. You'll move to texas and end up looking at tumbleweeds and dust, but beggars can't be choosers.





Watched one to many spaghetti westerns?? Fort Worth is quite green, We have huge groves of Live Oak & Mesquite trees.
The last time we had a major flood was in 1949 when the Clear Fork of the Trinity River broke it's banks....The Army Corp of Engineers fixed that permanently.
The only thing true about your statement is Tornado's & the biggest one to hit Fort Worth was an F3 that hit downtown 17 years ago.

To the OP......
The car culture in DFW is only rivaled by Southern California & has kept me gainfully employed for the last 15 years, If you possess any automotive skills you can make a decent living here!

It gets hot & humid in the summer, You CAN get acclimated to it IF you don't cower in the A/C all day long.....The flip side to that is when it dips down into the 50's for the first time in the Fall....I feel like it's freezing.

We can get several 15-20 days in a row of perfect 75 degree weather in October thru January, February is our "Winter Month" Then March-May is pretty good.

Where in Fort Worth does your Uncle live? I live just east of the Stockyards, In a neighborhood called Diamond Hill. The schools suck so my kids get Bused to the West Side, My oldest daughter graduated last year with a 3.9 GPA & just started her first semester at TCU on a full scholarship.
If the schools in the area your moving to are not very good, FWISD does "School of Choice Transfers"

 

[TheKracken]

Originally Posted By: clinebarger

Watched one to many spaghetti westerns?? Fort Worth is quite green, We have huge groves of Live Oak & Mesquite trees.
The last time we had a major flood was in 1949 when the Clear Fork of the Trinity River broke it's banks....The Army Corp of Engineers fixed that permanently.
The only thing true about your statement is Tornado's & the biggest one to hit Fort Worth was an F3 that hit downtown 17 years ago.

To the OP......
The car culture in DFW is only rivaled by Southern California & has kept me gainfully employed for the last 15 years, If you possess any automotive skills you can make a decent living here!

It gets hot & humid in the summer, You CAN get acclimated to it IF you don't cower in the A/C all day long.....The flip side to that is when it dips down into the 50's for the first time in the Fall....I feel like it's freezing.

We can get several 15-20 days in a row of perfect 75 degree weather in October thru January, February is our "Winter Month" Then March-May is pretty good.

Where in Fort Worth does your Uncle live? I live just east of the Stockyards, In a neighborhood called Diamond Hill. The schools suck so my kids get Bused to the West Side, My oldest daughter graduated last year with a 3.9 GPA & just started her first semester at TCU on a full scholarship.
If the schools in the area your moving to are not very good, FWISD does "School of Choice Transfers"


76114 is the zip code, I believe someone mentioned to me that this is called River Oaks area. I would like to know more about this area if it is going to be safe or not for my family?

I don't have any formal education in automotive but I do just about all my own work to my vehicles. I wouldn't mind breaking into the auto industry there if it is actually good. I have heard that it is just not worth it to be a mechanic anymore in most places.

 

[Coprolite]

To clarify and contextualize... I grew up inWestern NY and have since lived in Wyoming, Karratha - WA, Thailand, India, Denton&Fort Worth and finally the west side of Houston.

I would not consider Fort Worth humid by any means. As you move from East to West, the trees get noticeably shorter across the metroplex area - less rain. The low humidity is a great thing. I didn't mind mowing when it was 106. The wind and evaporative cooling made it bearable. Houston is downright humid, perhaps edged out by a few tropical spots that I have been blessed to inhabit. My Thai wife prefers Houston for some strange reason, but Fort Worth was great. Country living where you could easily drive to visit the big city. Dallas is the South and Fort Worth is the West....

Don't worry about politics, the Texan cities will provide for like minded people if you search them out. We have enjoyed living here since 2008ish....

 

[aquariuscsm]

Originally Posted By: TheKracken
Originally Posted By: clinebarger

Watched one to many spaghetti westerns?? Fort Worth is quite green, We have huge groves of Live Oak & Mesquite trees.
The last time we had a major flood was in 1949 when the Clear Fork of the Trinity River broke it's banks....The Army Corp of Engineers fixed that permanently.
The only thing true about your statement is Tornado's & the biggest one to hit Fort Worth was an F3 that hit downtown 17 years ago.

To the OP......
The car culture in DFW is only rivaled by Southern California & has kept me gainfully employed for the last 15 years, If you possess any automotive skills you can make a decent living here!

It gets hot & humid in the summer, You CAN get acclimated to it IF you don't cower in the A/C all day long.....The flip side to that is when it dips down into the 50's for the first time in the Fall....I feel like it's freezing.

We can get several 15-20 days in a row of perfect 75 degree weather in October thru January, February is our "Winter Month" Then March-May is pretty good.

Where in Fort Worth does your Uncle live? I live just east of the Stockyards, In a neighborhood called Diamond Hill. The schools suck so my kids get Bused to the West Side, My oldest daughter graduated last year with a 3.9 GPA & just started her first semester at TCU on a full scholarship.
If the schools in the area your moving to are not very good, FWISD does "School of Choice Transfers"


76114 is the zip code, I believe someone mentioned to me that this is called River Oaks area. I would like to know more about this area if it is going to be safe or not for my family?

I don't have any formal education in automotive but I do just about all my own work to my vehicles. I wouldn't mind breaking into the auto industry there if it is actually good. I have heard that it is just not worth it to be a mechanic anymore in most places.


Looks like it's near White Settlement. My brother had friends there years ago. One of my best friends lives near the Hulen Mall,which is right outside of Benbrook,and if I remember correctly,White Settlement is just a little further up the road. You'll love DFW,it's a great area to be in,there's a little bit of everything there. I was in Grapevine. I have friends in Colleyville and Bedford which is between Ft Worth and Dallas (the Mid Cities,HEB area). There's a TON of stuff to do their,you'll never get bored!! Lots of beautiful parks and lakes. Joe Pool Lake,Lake Ray Hubbard,and Lake Grapevine are my favorites.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Originally Posted By: plaguef
Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
Me,I've gotta have my ocean!! The beach is my home away from home.


If you're in Houston, the ocean came to you last week!


I think it was literally miles from doorstep!

 

[The_Nuke]

I have never lived in the NorthWest, but if I had to guess about what will be different living here, I would say the main things will be:

1) Weather, obviously.
Make sure your vehicle has a good A/C, as you will be using it.

2) Transportation.
There's no public transportation to speak of. Yes, there is some bus and train, but unless you live in the right areas, you won't be able to (or won't want to) try to use the public transportation available. That leaves your personal vehicle for everything, and given how much total area the Metroplex covers, you will want to have a vehicle in good mechanical condition and trustworthy because you will be using it, a lot!

3) Cost of living.
With the lack of a state income tax (thanks to plentiful oil and gas monies for the state instead) and relative proximity to the coastal ports in Houston, etc., living here should take less money overall than other large metropolitan areas. How much will vary obviously, but in general, the cost of living should be less.

4) Food.
The types of foods you'll find more often when going out for meals is going to be different I suspect. There will be lots of Tex-Mex cuisine and southern fare, and not a lot of honest to goodness sea food without really looking. This could be a good thing or a bad thing depending upon your tastes.

5) People.
It might seem too obvious to even mention, but the people who live here are going to be different from what you're used to I suspect. Not necessarily "better" or "worse", but definitely different. And I'm not just talking about Texas, but the South in general really. Whether you like the Southern culture or find it irritating is wholly up to you, but you will find it different

Beyond that, it will be like any other long-distance move I guess - everything will be different and frustrating at first, but then you'll get used to the differences after a while and possibly even grow to like them.

Good luck with everything,
Nuke


P.S. Oh yeah, I almost forgot: Welcome!!

 

[clinebarger]

Originally Posted By: TheKracken

76114 is the zip code, I believe someone mentioned to me that this is called River Oaks area. I would like to know more about this area if it is going to be safe or not for my family?

I don't have any formal education in automotive but I do just about all my own work to my vehicles. I wouldn't mind breaking into the auto industry there if it is actually good. I have heard that it is just not worth it to be a mechanic anymore in most places.


The bulk of 76114 is River Oaks, Also includes 2 other smaller municipalities.....Samsom Park & Westworth Village.
River Oaks is not part of FWISD, It's part of Castleberry ISD, My oldest spent 2 years at Irma Marsh Middle School using a friends address & she really liked it. I would say Castleberry is a decent school district but you may want to check it out yourself.

River Oaks itself is pretty good besides the Trailer Parks on the south side as they breed crime but the River Oaks police department doesn't play around if you know what I mean!

You will basically be surrounded by the West Fork of the Trinity River....Lots of Parks!, Lake Worth is very close. Sundance Square in Downtown Fort Worth, The Fort Worth Zoo is one of the best in the country, Historic Stockyards.
We also have some of the best Tex-Mex....Try Joe T Garcia's! If you like Steaks, Try Cattlemans & The Star Cafe.

River Oaks is flanked to the East by "Northside" of Fort Worth, While it has calmed down A LOT in the last 30 years. There are still a few Hispanic Gangs running rackets....Mostly vehicle theft & drugs.
Open violence is a rarity, I doubt you will even notice.
The Joint Navel Reserve Base (Formally Carswell Air Force Base)is directly to the West so it can get a little noisy at times.

For work.....Lockheed Martin is a stones throw from River Oaks, That's the first place I would seek employment if I was a young man!
General Motors has a fullsize SUV assembly plant in Arlington. (HWY 360)
Summit Racing Equipment just opened a store right on the border of Arlington & Grand Prairie (I-20 & HWY 360).
There is a ton of full time w/ benefit Warehouse work near Alliance Airport, My wife is a manager at a DHL warehouse & can't find enough people without criminal backgrounds to fill all the positions.

Then there's Roughnecking, My Nephew is a Tool Pusher & all the Rigs he works on are within driving distance of DFW.

As far as the Rigid Far Right Republican [censored], Yes....It's here. However, The Baby Boomer era is grinding to a halt & a lot of that nonsense will die with them. Not that I'm a Lefty, It's the extreme political stance that bothers me.

Good Luck!

 

[andrewg]

Originally Posted By: clinebarger
Originally Posted By: TheKracken

76114 is the zip code, I believe someone mentioned to me that this is called River Oaks area. I would like to know more about this area if it is going to be safe or not for my family?

I don't have any formal education in automotive but I do just about all my own work to my vehicles. I wouldn't mind breaking into the auto industry there if it is actually good. I have heard that it is just not worth it to be a mechanic anymore in most places.


The bulk of 76114 is River Oaks, Also includes 2 other smaller municipalities.....Samsom Park & Westworth Village.
River Oaks is not part of FWISD, It's part of Castleberry ISD, My oldest spent 2 years at Irma Marsh Middle School using a friends address & she really liked it. I would say Castleberry is a decent school district but you may want to check it out yourself.

River Oaks itself is pretty good besides the Trailer Parks on the south side as they breed crime but the River Oaks police department doesn't play around if you know what I mean!

You will basically be surrounded by the West Fork of the Trinity River....Lots of Parks!, Lake Worth is very close. Sundance Square in Downtown Fort Worth, The Fort Worth Zoo is one of the best in the country, Historic Stockyards.
We also have some of the best Tex-Mex....Try Joe T Garcia's! If you like Steaks, Try Cattlemans & The Star Cafe.

River Oaks is flanked to the East by "Northside" of Fort Worth, While it has calmed down A LOT in the last 30 years. There are still a few Hispanic Gangs running rackets....Mostly vehicle theft & drugs.
Open violence is a rarity, I doubt you will even notice.
The Joint Navel Reserve Base (Formally Carswell Air Force Base)is directly to the West so it can get a little noisy at times.

For work.....Lockheed Martin is a stones throw from River Oaks, That's the first place I would seek employment if I was a young man!
General Motors has a fullsize SUV assembly plant in Arlington. (HWY 360)
Summit Racing Equipment just opened a store right on the border of Arlington & Grand Prairie (I-20 & HWY 360).
There is a ton of full time w/ benefit Warehouse work near Alliance Airport, My wife is a manager at a DHL warehouse & can't find enough people without criminal backgrounds to fill all the positions.

Then there's Roughnecking, My Nephew is a Tool Pusher & all the Rigs he works on are within driving distance of DFW.

As far as the Rigid Far Right Republican [censored], Yes....It's here. However, The Baby Boomer era is grinding to a halt & a lot of that nonsense will die with them. Not that I'm a Lefty, It's the extreme political stance that bothers me.

Good Luck!






As a conservative baby-boomer, I guess when I croak.... you'll be bothered just a little bit less.

 

[GMBoy]

I moved to Texas from Maryland in 2005 following my job. I was born and raised in MD but since now living in TX - I have ZERO desire to ever go back East. I have everything I want here including gun rights and freedoms not allowed in MD. My house is on several acres, new construction, 60x60 workshop, got my horses etc and I could never afford the same in MD. The price of a MD townhouse gets you 2500+sf here. The only negative is food...Texas does not know how to do seafood right!!

 

[sleddriver]

Congrats on your new family addition!

Lots to do in DFW. Be sure to go to the sunken water-fall park & the "pool of spray". Botanical gardens are excellent, several science & art museums. Traffic can be bad, but they actually build roads unlike weird Austin.

Drier than here. Seattle when I was there during the Summer was cool, Sun was out, dewy at times. DFW will be MUCH HOTTER and humid at times. Summers are often hot & dry(er) due to high pressure.

DFW will be MUCH more affordable than Seattle I reckon. And also, the opposite of hipster and hip/hop/flip/flop culture.

 

[SuperSalad]

 

[andrewg]

Originally Posted By: sleddriver
Congrats on your new family addition!

Lots to do in DFW. Be sure to go to the sunken water-fall park & the "pool of spray". Botanical gardens are excellent, several science & art museums. Traffic can be bad, but they actually build roads unlike weird Austin.

Drier than here. Seattle when I was there during the Summer was cool, Sun was out, dewy at times. DFW will be MUCH HOTTER and humid at times. Summers are often hot & dry(er) due to high pressure.

DFW will be MUCH more affordable than Seattle I reckon. And also, the opposite of hipster and hip/hop/flip/flop culture.


That last sentence warms my heart.

 

[aquariuscsm]

One thing I LOVE about DFW over Houston is the drier air. The south Tx humidity can be unbearable sometimes.