Moving to the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, what can I expect?

[mwdem]

Actually, I'm moving from Kansas, so politically no change. Was in the area last week, tentatively house hunting. The job's in Arlington, close to 6 Flags. We've kind of settled on looking north, Grapevine area. Any ideas?:shrug:

[MuseRider]

1. .

:cry: Bye Bye

[mwdem]

3. I'll be around for awhile.

The house isn't on the market yet. Too much shit collected in the 9 years we've been here. Oh, and the wood rot, always the wood rot....

[Ishoutandscream]

2. Welcome to Freeperland

Grapevine is a nice suburb, but like all suburbs of the metroplex, very conservative. You'll probably encounter a lot of kool-aide drinkers who think Bush can do no wrong. But, like Coach Van Gundy said about people from Houston, when someone asks how are you doing, they really want to know. That's the great thing about living in Texas.

[mwdem]

4. We haven't decided on Grapevine, just the areas around there.

Are there any areas we should concentrate on? We do have time, not too much pressure. Hey, I live in Johnson County, Kansas right now. Freeperville to the max!:hi:

[adamd]

60. Grapevine

I've lived in the midcities for the past 20 years. Last year I lived in north Arlington, and I've lived up in Grapevine for the past year. I plan on staying up here for a while, I really like it. It has a sort of small town feel because it's really kept up the historic roots and the main street. There's a lot of community involvement and all kinds of city events that are a lot of fun. There's the lake, main street, a huge mall, and tons of restaurants in the city. Even the police here are reasonably nice, especially in comparison to some of the other nearby cities. It's a nice mixture of economic levels, there's very poor and very wealthy areas. The schools are really good. When I was in high school I wanted to transfer to Grapevine High School.

If you would be traveling from Gravevine to Arlington for work you would most likely take 360 every day. The only downside there is that sometimes it becomes a parking lot because of all the traffic. The good news is that if it's backed up there are backroads you can take through Grapevine to Arlington that have much less traffic.

If you come back to town and you need or want somebody to show you around Grapevine (or any other part of the mid-cities) I can help you out.

[sui generis]

5. actually Texas is considerably less conservative than Kansas

Grapevine has some very pricey areas, but there is very good house to be had for your buck here. If the job is in Arlington, traffic piles up West to East in the mornings and back home East to West in the evening leaving people who live west and work east driving into the sun both directions every day.

North/south can be very choked coming and going all hours and all days. For the best commute, look in and around the Grand Prairie / Irving / Arlington area, followed by Bedford, (Hurst and Euless are farther west), and then expand your search circle from there.

Grand Prairie is 20 - 25 minutes from downtown Ft. Worth and about 15 - 20 minutes from downtown Dallas.

[mwdem]

6. Thanks!

We've been getting feedback from the Euless area. Wish me luck!

[tex-wyo-dem]

9. Welcome!

My wife and I live in Coppell, which is just east of Grapevine. Nice 'burb with great public schools, a little pricey housing-wise unless you know where to look. Definitely conservative, but I did see a few houses in my neighborhood with K/E signs out, so not all bad :)

[mwdem]

10. That's one of the places we'll be looking.

I'm sooo trying to be positive about this!

[tex-wyo-dem]

12. You really can't go wrong in Coppell...

especially if you have kids. The schools have ranked in the top 5 in the Metroplex for the last several years.

DFW really isn't too bad. There are some great progressive/liberal pockets in Dallas and FW, you just have to know where to look + people are generally really nice.

[mwdem]

13. Moving with no kids...

empty nesters, moving without kids for the first time. We do have a beautiful golden retriever & norweigian forest cat (both large animals!). Looking for not so new, not so crowded neighborhood with park or trails nearby.

[damntexdem]

20. Hey, unlike Kansas, at least Texas believes in trails.

Rails-to-trails is big here and supported. Likely you WILL find a neighborhood (crowded or not) with park AND trails nearby.

[mwdem]

23. Great! We hike & bike.

And my dog needs a place to explore.

[CoolOnion]

36. Check out the Katy Trail

http://www.katytraildallas.org/home.htm

[CoolOnion]

37. ...and here's a link to the DART rail system...

(turn your speaker down--for some reason, they have a train whistle on their site & it jolts me everytime!)

http://www.dart.org/

[mwdem]

39. I've got both bookmarked.

You're a wealth of information!

[anarchy1999]

65. Stick with Grapevine, run from all the rest. Unless you want to go all

the way to Ft. Worth or to Lakewood in Dallas. Grapevine is a nice place to settle with, just be careful.

[TomInTib]

7. go north

You might check North Richland Hills or Hurst/Euless/Bedford and a few of those communities north of 183 and near 360 which gives you a southern route to Arlington- not as much traffic.
By the way, idiot only took Dallas county 51-49. Same in Harris County (Houston) and he LOST Travis County (Austin). As someone whose family came to what is now Texas in early 1600s I am sickened by the illusion those carpetbaggers have created using the state I love and that Connecticut bastard destroyed.
So I moved to California to get away from * and his ilk and the nuts here elected the Gropinator within months of my arrival.

[mwdem]

8. Thanks for the info!

and welcome to DU!!:hi:

[ChickMagic]

11. Freaking Park Cities voted Kerry

If you can believe that! Like you, my family's been here since we were Mexicans and the US wouldn't have us. You state very well how I feel about the Conneticut capetbaggers.

[TomInTib]

14. actually....

My family was the first Anglo family of record in the Indian Territories- TX, OK, AR, AZ,&NM.
Criminals all.

[damntexdem]

22. Yeah, my family wasn't that early ...

but criminals still.

[ChickMagic]

26. Mine were criminals too

Brothers who shot a taxman in Scotland. Besides all the DUI's of my sister's charming children, the last of the criminals was my mother's uncle - hung as a horse thief. A whole nest of pirates, some Cherokee, and we all for some reason married other Scots and Irish. I'm thinking' that's why Texas was always so onery. Of all the native Texans I've talked to (and I don't mean single generation) that's pretty much the story.

That is too cool about your family in the Indian Territories.

[anarchy1999]

66. First Anglo family of record according to whom? I have to question this.

Thanks and welcome to DU, I'm known for being a cynic. PS, my family hails from Texas as well. Very deep roots.

[crispini]

15. Job in Arlington, eh?

Well, I guess you may have to live somewhere outside of Dallas proper 'cause the commute would be tough otherwise, but all the cool stuff is inside Loop 12, IMO. :P

[mwdem]

16. Loop 12?

:shrug:

[crispini]

17. City of Dallas, proper.

Lots of old neighborhoods, historic and conservation district, art house film places, funky restaurants, live music venues and bars, interesting shops, etc. I lived in the 'burbs for a while and I couldn't stand it... I was always in the car driving to Dallas. :)

[mwdem]

19. Sounds like my kind of place!

We'll be spending some time there, for sure.

[crispini]

27. Well, give us a post when you get into town

and we'll point you in some fun directions.

Also, if you wind up living in Dallas county, drop me a PM and I'll find you some fun volunteer work for the Dallas County Democratic Party. :P Hey, it's a great way to meet Democrats! :)

[mwdem]

29. Sweeet! Thanks!!

:D

[fudge stripe cookays]

43. Also known as NW Hwy

Sort of a mini loop inside our other larger loops, LBJ Freeway (635) and the George Bush Tollway (190).

You'll never hear Democrats call it that though. Either we call it 190 or some derogatory term. My favorite is the No-New-Taxes Thruway.

Welcome to town! DeposeTheBoyKing and her husband are moving here in the next few weeks, to Irving/Grapevine, and we DFW DUers are a fun bunch. When are you planning on getting here, do you know? We'll have to have a celebratory meetup to greet you, and congratulate DTBK for passing the Texas bar in July.

FSC :hi:

[Bouncy Ball]

40. ....

Ppppppptttttttthhhhhhhhh!

[damntexdem]

18. Moved from Kansas to Denton last August.

It's warmer -- and you're hitting it at the beginning of the summer. We've already had record-breaking heat this May, near 100.

You'll be closer in, so it will be smoggier and the roads more backed up. But the traffic isn't really that bad, certainly not compared to California. On the other hand, the smog IS that bad.

There's no state income tax, so you'll save there. Hang on to it, though, because you'll be shocked by the sales tax, which they are trying to RAISE. And if you have kids, you'll likely hate the schools -- but I don't think that they're actually any worse than in Kansas. In fact, the two states seem to be trying to copy each other in providing inadequate funding for schools despite court decrees that the legislatures have responsibility to more-adequately fund schools.

Where are you coming from in KS? I moved from Wichita and have greatly appreciated the amenities available in a much-larger metro area. On the other hand, if you're moving from the KC area, there may not be much gain for you in that respect.

[mwdem]

21. We're moving from the Overland Park area.

No kids this time, we're empty nesters (!!!). We're open to anything right now, but not so new, we need something with a little character. We just got back from the area, and it was hot!! And way more humid than here. I'm from the south, so I can get used to that again.

[damntexdem]

24. Well, hope you find something with character (we did).

But don't worry: Texas is full of characters.

[mwdem]

25. Gotcha!

I'm finding that out the more I get to know the place.

[tex-wyo-dem]

28. Yeah, definitely inner Dallas (south of Northwest Hwy) is better...

We would live down there if it wasn't for my work being so near Coppell. If I had my choice, I would probably live over near White Rock Lake/Lakewood area.

[mwdem]

30. I'll take into consideration

Thanks for the info!

[CoolOnion]

34. Lakewood is very nice

I live in North Oak Cliff--also very nice and Democratic, even though gerrymandering gave us that awful Pete Sessions for a Congressman. Lakewood is beautiful and (mostly) represented by Eddie Bernice Johnson.

[tammywammy]

31. I live in SW Arlington

It really isn't too bad. Well the Souther Baptist are strong (the Hooters in South Arlington cannot serve beer :( ).

My really good friend's family lives in North Arlington, off of Green Oaks (across from the Odom Rec center) and it's a very nice subdivision (and my friend is Indian, so I'd say it's somewhat diverse).

My neighborhood is diverse in SW Arlington (Green Oaks at Pleasant Ridge) with whites, blacks and Hispanics. And there were a couple of Bush signs, but also a few Kerry signs.

Euless also has some really nice areas. Grapevine maybe a bit of a drive during rush hour.

[mwdem]

32. Thanks for the tips!

We've also been looking there. Who knows where we'll end up!

[fudge stripe cookays]

44. Yes, and I heard on the news the other day...

they're now having discussions for making 121 (I think it was 121) a tollway, so that could increase your commute dollar.

I would avoid Southlake/Grapevine at all costs if I were you. They are 2 of the bedroom communities that have experienced astronomical growth within the last 10 years, and the roads just weren't ready for that kind of crowd. It backs up horrendously in the morning.

I'd strive for Arlington, N. Richland Hills, Useless (Euless), Bedford, Hurst or the like.

Also, be aware that although there is no state income tax, your car insurance rates will shoot through the roof. Texas and California have the highest car insurance rates in the country (because people drive like assholes here).

And a cautionary note in your home buying: Not sure about Kansas, but Texas has very clay, elastic soil. One of our huge problems here is foundation problems. You'll probably see houses with small to large cracks, and you have to know what you will be dealing with if you buy. Foundation work is NOT cheap; almost like taking out a second mortgage.

So be wise, try to look for those with no cracks yet, or very tiny ones. And crazy as it sounds, you will have to "water your foundation", especially in the summer. Try to judge when it may rain, and keep the foundation moist in the meantime.

The heavy rains we get in May and June have to see us through much of the summer, and sometimes we don't see any again til August. If your foundation dries out after being very very wet, the ground will expand or contract from it and CCCRRRACK! There it goes.

Can't wait to welcome you to town. And happy to see more progressives arriving!

FSC and reprehensor

[mwdem]

46. Great information!

Thanks. You've all been very helpful.

[fudge stripe cookays]

53. You're welcome.

Glad it helped!

Addendum to my original post:

Actually, heard on the news this morning, that the toll portion may be in Collin County, which is a bit more east of where you're looking, so it might not affect your area of town as much.

But they could always decide to extend toll portion later.

FSC

[lastliberalintexas]

57. Can't serve beer but can continue to degrade women?

Yep, that sounds like the SBC I know and love/hate. :)

[tammywammy]

58. Yeah, well they think that since Martin HS

is 2 miles away, it will induce the male teenagers into hormonal over-drive and start raping scores of women. I guess. :shrug:

Not to mention that everytime I drive by the Hooters the parking lot if pretty full.

[Hypatiasm]

33. Here's a great place for you!

I recommend looking in Grand Prairie. It is much closer and South Grand Prairie has some very lovely homes at great prices. We also have some very active Democrats. Westchester, just south of I-20 off of Carrier is a great place to look right now. Your new job will only be about 8 - 10 miles away.

[CoolOnion]

35. Also a good choice!

[mwdem]

38. Thanks to you both!

[Bouncy Ball]

41. Why don't you want to look in Arlington?

Because you don't want your taxes to pay for a new stadium for the Cowboys when the owner of the Cowboys could afford to build about 800 of them?

Just kidding. Well, not really, but there's certainly nothing wrong with Arlington.

Also, there's Irving, Grand Prairie and Ft. Worth. I see kids aren't a factor, so you are pretty free on that.

Unless you lived in far southwest Dallas, and even if you did, that would be quite a commute, though it WOULD be a bit of a backwards commute (against traffic).

Grand Prairie is a well-kept secret, by the way. Don't overlook areas like that. Cedar Hill, too. Very nice and it gets a bit hilly down there, believe it or not! LOL!

Check your PM.

[ChickMagic]

42. I don't know about Kansas

But around these parts the yellow pages have ads that prominantly feature the Christian fish symbol. Avoid these businesses like the plague. Virtually everyone I know who has used these businesses because they "must be good to people" were sorely mistaken.

[Bouncy Ball]

45. Heck, I'm a Christian and I WON'T use those businesses.

I think it's just a scam, a ploy, a way to get certain customers. No thanks!

[ChickMagic]

47. Exactly

It's the thing about having to tell people something rather than showing it. Most of the people who warn me about that particular scam are, in fact, Christians who have been burned by it.

[mwdem]

48. We have a lot of those here, also

I would never use them for anything. I've even see the fish on house painter's signs on corners in my neighborhood. Ughhhh!

[yellowdogintexas]

49. Don't forget about Fort Worth! East Fort Worth has a lot of new

developments going up. However if you want character... depending on how much you want to spend...there are some really cool neighborhoods in Fort Worth ....lovely older homes with trees, etc.

The homes can range in price depending on square footage and style.

Mistletoe Heights
Ryan Place
Fairmount
WoodHaven & White Lake Hills..(also a very easy commute to your job location)
and others.

Interstate 30 runs east west straight through Dallas and Fort Worth, and your job is near 30 if you are close to 6 Flags.

These neighborhoods all have easy access to I 30 and there are a couple of others whose names escape me at present.

I live in a subdivision of early 1960's era homes farther south and west ..closer to I20. They have already done all the foundation slipping so you have a known quantity. Lots of trees (big ones)..

And downtown Fort Worth is condominium BoomTown right now. Again, don't know what your budget is, but downtown FW is becoming more residental by the minute. There are apartments and condos in the immediate downtown area, both new construction and recycled buildings which once served other uses...in downtown FW, if it has 4 walls and a ceiling, somebody will try to condo it.

Since you don't have kids, you don't have to worry about school system issues, which frees you up a LOT.

Welcome to the Metroplex!

[sendero]

50. I've lived in the DFW area for 40+ years..

.... and I'd second that emotion :)

Fort Worth is a much better place to live than Dallas IMHO, and I've lived here (in the Dallas area) for 30 years.

I have family in FtW and I go there from time to time. I really like FtW a lot more than I like Dallas.

As for the 'burbs, Grapevine, Coppell, and even Arlington itself are more like Dallas to me. Euless, Hurst, NRH more like FtW.

If I were you, I'd try for FtW, the commute shouldn't be that bad although I haven't driven it and you'd want to check out the traffic at rush-hours, something you need to do no matter where you decide to live :)

[Bouncy Ball]

51. I heart Ft. Worth.

You forgot to mention Sundance Square and the wonderful cultural arts area in Ft. Worth. The Kimball. The Ft. Worth Modern. The Bass Performance Hall (SUBLIME). Just to name a few.

Ft. Worth has really come into its own. To me, it has a nicer personality than Dallas, and is a bit...deeper.

[yellowdogintexas]

52. all those wonderful things, I do love them too. FtWorth is a fine

place to be and the pace is just nicer than East of 360.

I actually ran out of time before I got to the touristy parts of my speil! This was just about the neighborhoods that I personally consider to be very cool.

Thanks!

Are you going to the meet up on June 4?

[Doohickie]

55. Hey yellowdog,

Mistletoe Heights & Ryan Place- nice
Fairmount- jury is still out. They're improving, but it's still spotty there.

Yellowdog- We must live near each other if you live 1960's south and west of downtown.... are you in Wedgwood or South Hills? I live near the Wal-Mart on McCart.

[Doohickie]

54. Welcome to Fort Worth

I live right in Fort Worth, southwest side (just north of Crowley). I know several people who live in Mansfield, which is adjacent to Arlington. It isn't up there with Grapevine in terms of niceness factor, but it is an up-and-coming suburb. It's been a little messy with road construction, but once that's done it will be very accessible. They have everything from housing tracts to acreage.

Downtown FW is very accessible from all directions and is a good downtown for day visits. See something, anything, at Bass Hall early on; it's a great performing arts venue. FW also has three major art museums and nice botanical gardens. It's a very livable city.

If you insist on going north, Keller is also a pretty nice suburb, kind of like "Grapevine lite".

[lastliberalintexas]

56. Welcome to Texas!

I can't tell you anything about the Metroplex, but it's always nice to hear of another Dem/liberal/progressive moving to the state! And be a little patient with us- if demographics hold, we'll be blue within the next 10-15 years.

I'm in SE Texas (one of only about 3 or 4 on DU I think), so if you're ever in this area, PM me and I'll take you to dinner. We might not have much else, but we have some *great* Gulf seafood. :)


and on edit- Texas is a very ecclectic place, despite the way it's supposedly voted in recent times. The Native Americans, Mexicans/Spanish and early Anglos kind of set the tone for just how kooky (in a good way) our state would become.

And like others on this thread, my earliest Anglo ancestor to Texas was also a criminal- sailed with Laffite, so he wasn't all that early in Texas history though.

[Doohickie]

59. My earliest Texas ancestor is

...me.

I'm a damyankee. }(

[mwdem]

61. Everyone, thanks for all the great information..

Hope to meet you all soon!

[Kathryn STone]

62. oh god do I have to be the one who won't drink the kool-aid?

I have lived in N. Dallas since 31 January 2000. I have cried bitter tears at the mistake of my decision to come here.
I came from Phoenix AZ. I lived there 13 yrs went to study at Arizona State University.
Moved to Dallas to be near my parents. This is what I gave up:
6-8 hour drive and you're at San Diego the bloody Pacific Ocean not the Gag me Gulf of Mexico.
Phoenix is in a valley surrounded by beautiful mountains around the whole city, so it's always easy to just put on the hiking gear and ta da!
Phoenix is close to Sedona and there is a lot more freedom spiritually here it's like you see churches everywhere. Due to the peer pressure when I 1st got here I joined one.
Better to be a principled atheist than a Christian for show. -- Garrison Keillor
Anyways, I imported my boyfriend from Lexington KY we have lived together since October 2003. I finish my paralegal cert program 1st of August.
You know the people are nice enough, it's just all the Christianity. Sorry this is so long, I just got ticked reading all the "woo-hoo" messages. btw I just turned 40 and my boyfriend is 37.

Cheeers

[mwdem]

63. We don't have a choice.

It's for a job. We're moving from the very Christian, mega church-building Johnson County, Kansas, so I'm used to that. We have a few more years til retirement, and are looking to move to the southwest, possibly.

[Kathryn STone]

64. Word ma brotha!

you can tough it out here if all the "Texas/Dallas is the Nirvana Siddartha looks for" then you'll be ok. What I mean is you gotta kiss some ass here.
I dunno but you'll be fine.
The southwest to me is like AZ not TX cuz TX was a confederate state and all that
:) :) :) :) :)

[anarchy1999]

69. Nothing but flat out insults and ignorance. What in heavens name do

you speak of? Smile all you like. "you can tough it out here if all the "Texas/Dallas is the Nirvana Siddartha looks for" then you'll be ok. What I mean is you gotta kiss some ass here.
I dunno but you'll be fine.
The southwest to me is like AZ not TX cuz TX was a confederate state and all that

KISS SOME ASS!?

[anarchy1999]

67. Welcome to DU and to Dallas. You know you could do better!

I've lived in all the places you mentioned, I am a "transplanted Texan", (you will not know what that means), but for the life of me, do not ever come off on Texans the way you just have, especially to be so new to this forum.

I'm sorry, I've taken insult at your post. I'm sorry for your getting "ticked" at all our "woohoo" post/messages. BTW, I'm 47 and my husband is 38.

CHEEERS!~

Oh and by the way, can you get past the air pollution in Phoenix while you hike your hours away? I need a break!

[anarchy1999]

68. Go back to Arizona! Soon!!!

n/t