Ft. Worth

[mrtm1970]

Hello Texans...

My step daughter and grand child are thinking of moving to the the Ft. Worth Area. My wife, I and 2 kids will follow if it happens.

How is this area?

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[Natrodomus]

Where about's are you looking? Its a festive area, but lot of tourists roll thru it. Especially with the sucess of shows like Yellowstone, you got a ton of folks playing cowboy.

 

[mrtm1970]

Where about's are you looking? Its a festive area, but lot of tourists roll thru it. Especially with the sucess of shows like Yellowstone, you got a ton of folks playing cowboy.

Not sure exact area. Wanted to know how bad crime and such are. Where to avoid and where are the nicer areas to live in the Ft. Worth area.

 

[DubaiMarauder]

Here's my honest and unfiltered opinion as a Texan purist. Take it for whatever it's worth. It's a long read but hopefully worth the time.

This isn't a dig, but asking how Fort Worth is tends to be a very vague question. It's like asking how NYC is. Or Los Angeles. It's a loaded question, and one that is wide open for speculative personal opinion. There are good areas and not so good areas, just like any city. What are you looking for? Hustle and bustle city life? Calmer suburbanite life? Country farm town life? Cheap house in a lower income area? Apartment living? School considerations? Estimated commute from home to work? These are all things any transplant usually wants to know.

How is Fort Worth?

General consensus:
-Fort Worth was better 5 years ago than it is now, and it was far better 20 years ago than it was 5 years ago before all the transplants from California and NYC and Chicago and yes, Florida showed up. Not throwing stones at y'all specifically, but y'all do tend to drive like maniacs. If there's a car in the left lane doing 20 under the posted limit it's likely got a California tag on it, if there's a car that cuts across 5 lanes of rush hour traffic in a single move at 80mph without signaling or even looking just to barely make it onto an exit ramp, its likely got a Florida tag on it. I've seen it a thousand times. We don't do that here, we try to drive friendly, the Texas way. That being said, traffic is HORRIBLE from about 630am-9am and about 3pm-8pm. Yes, traffic is THAT bad in FTW. Dallas is even worse. In Fort Worth, we have I-20, I-30, I-35W, US-287, US-287B, I-820 and TX-183 plus Express Lanes all converging and merging into the same 5sq-mi area.

Amenities:
-You can find whatever amenities you want here, just like everywhere else. Schools are ok, depending on what area of FTW you choose to reside. Just like anywhere else. Do your research on schools here, they aren't county run, they are all ISD's or Independent School Districts. Curriculum can vary from ISD to ISD. We don't take kindly to certain ideologies around here, especially in our schools. Sports are a big thing here. We've got plenty of everything. All the big-name chains are here. Food is generally pretty good. We have entertainment a-plenty. Texas, being what it is has a huge BBQ scene. Also, being so close to the border, tacos, Mexican and Tex-Mex is everywhere. This ain't the place to come to if you plan to push a vegan agenda. You can still find your run-of-the-mill big name restaurant chains like Applebee's and Chili's around as well, but nobody really goes to them, our Buffalo Wild Wings and Applebee's have already been shut down. Downtown Fort Worth has a lot of little one-off diners, restaurants and bars, boutique coffee shops and cafes. There is plenty of night life downtown as well. The Stockyards is a favorite hangout for tourists that want to pretend they are cowboys for a few days but are willing to spend $850/night on a hotel that looks like it's out of an old western movie. We have shopping malls, strip malls, outlet malls, and shops a-plenty. It doesn't matter what you're looking for, just how far you're willing to drive to get to it. Whataburger is King, not In-N-Out with their paper hats and wafer-thin burger patties.

Cost-of-Living:
-Money is a concern, so is the average cost of living. You won't pay State Income Tax here, but you're going to pay much higher property taxes, higher than average sales tax (8.75%), and your utilities will be more far expensive, due to 110+-degree temps in the summer and sub-freezing temps in winter. For comparison, it was 8 degrees last week and we got a dusting of snow. Last year, we had the deep freeze ice-storm that caused a major wreck in the express lanes and shut down a highway. This isn't your near tropical Florida environment where it hovers at 87 degrees 9 months out of the year. Gas may be a bit cheaper, but your average trip length overall will be longer, so between traffic, longer distance driving and stoplights, you're going to fill up more.

Commute:
-Fort Worth does not have public transportation except for downtown. Dallas does. The greater DFW metroplex from east to west is 60mi across and in rush hour traffic, it'll take you a solid 2.5 hours to go from one end to the other, on the same road. Toll roads here are wickedly expensive. Express lane cost (as of 530pm today) was $7.50 at peak travel time per toll, which is every 5mi. Do the math on that. we have non-toll roads, but you sacrifice time in exchange for money by doing that. The President George Bush Toll Road (TX-160 E/W), Sam Rayburn Tollway (TX-121 N/S), Dallas North Tollway (DNT N/S), TX-183 Express Lanes (E/W), I-35E Express Lanes (N/S), I-35W Express Lanes (N/S), I-820 Loop Express Lanes (E/W). If you're happy with a local supermarket like Albertsons/Kroger (same company) or Wal-Mart, cool, you might save a bit on commute, but if you want to go to the true Texas supermarket H.E.B. its 30mi west of FTW towards Weatherford.

Real-estate: If you had moved here way back then, I would've told you that you could get a very nice 4000+ sq-ft house for 180k on a half-acre of land, now, with all the transplants and Californians moving here, new developments and apartment complexes pop up every other week and real-estate costs have tripled if not more. My grandmother bought a house 25 years ago for 125k, sold it 3 years ago for 325k, and it's now worth 700k. Same house, no modifications and just a few interior updates.

Crime:
-Most areas are pretty good, but like any city, you have your hotspots. Fort Worth is no different. Southwest of downtown Fort Worth tends to be that area. It's a bit lower income, slightly aged and run-down. There are some lower income areas spread throughout, but they tend to be fairly quiet crime-wise. Most of the crime here tends to be petty stuff. Most folks in the other non-southwest area are hard-working folks and their neighborhood tend to be fairly quiet. Drugs, especially methamphetamines and marijuana have unfortunately become rampant, especially in cars, you can smell it driving down the road, wafting out of a slightly lowered window in the car ahead of you. This unfortunately contributes to the accident rate. It has gotten so bad that Texas changed the laws as to how Police can investigate and prosecute those individuals. Car break-ins and catalytic converter theft tends to be a consistent issue here, especially if you drive a pickup truck, especially Toyota Tundra's. There is the occasional shooting, but it's not nearly as common in Fort Worth as it is in the ghetto's of south Dallas. Home invasions aren't hugely popular, likely because most folks here are well armed. Road rage has become an unfortunate daily event over the last 5+ years. So has street racing, likely due to the higher average speed limits on our roads, primarily at night. You will hear muscle cars and JDM tuners with loud exhaust systems screaming up and down the freeways at all hours. Some pickup trucks do it too, mostly to intimidate people out of their way, but that falls into the road rage/impatience category.

People:
-We are a friendly bunch, or at least we try, the kind that will stop on the side of road to help you change a flat tire or jump your battery for you. Especially in the more rural areas, but it does occasionally happen in town too. I have personally pulled two vehicles out of ditches. Our local Jeep club every year in winter helps pull folks up the icy hills in the area. Unfortunately, with all the transplants, that is becoming rarer and rarer. Folks tend to race by at 80+mph whilst staring at their darn mobile phones. We say Howdy and address others as Ma'am and Sir, so this ain't the place to come to push your liberal gender-fluid BS. Take that crap elsewhere. We don't play that game here. We try to be accepting of most folks, unless you become belligerent that your way of life back home was better, in which case, we will kindly invite you to go back there in a less than friendly manner. I've seen it happen. Even the Californians know they shouldn't advertise where they came from. People used to wave when you passed them on a 2-lane road, especially in rural areas. Don't see that much anymore, unfortunately.

Weather:
-It's Texas. It's hot 85-90% of the year. When I say hot, I mean 100-115 degrees, with little wind and little rain. Most of our rain and cold weather happens right now, this time of year in the December to March time frame. April will bring the heat back and you'll start to see temps in the 80-90's. June-August is when your electric bill will hit triple digits. Joking, but only sort of. Your AC will run non-stop for 5+ months and your heat may run for 2-3 months. It does get windy at times here, which is ok, except for the fact that the wind tends to bring heavy amount of dust in from the arid west Texas deserts and the sky will turn orange/brown, especially noticeable around sunset. Also, we get spectacular thunderstorms here, which can bring 100+mph winds and tornados. Last year, there were at least 3 tornados that hit the FTW area and 2 that hit Dallas. 1 of those was less than 3 miles from my house. Flooding can be an issue at times due to how dry the ground is from not getting any rain for 6 months and then getting a supercell thunderstorm that drops 6" of rain in 2 hours. Those storms also tend to bring hail. And I mean HAIL, not that little pea sized stuff you coasties get, think baseball and softball sized hail. The kind that totals cars, damages roofs and can split skulls if you're not careful.

Culture:
-Texas is the greatest country in the world. America? Oh, you must mean Texas and the 49 wanna-be's. We have a HUGE amount of pride in our country. And yes, we DO mean country, as Texas was its own independent country before becoming a state and it hopefully will be going back to that soon. You will see far more Texas flags flying here than you will US Flags. We love our football and baseball. Go Rangers! World Series Champs! Ahem, sorry Cowboys, someone had to make Texas look good this year. We respect our elders, first responders, public servants and our military and veterans here. So, if you hate cops and the military, go ask Antifa how we got rid of them at gunpoint, or go look up on YouTube how we chased Biden and Harris out of the state, there is plenty of video of hundreds of vehicles escorting them out of the state. We also have a huge agricultural and ranching background here. It's not entirely uncommon to have livestock in the freeway. I can't count how many times I have been in a traffic jam thinking it's yet another accident caused by another idiot on a mobile phone, only to find out, NOPE, just another cow in the road, usually followed shortly after by a cowboy on a horse while our fine officers from Fort Worth Sheriff's Department and Police Department keep the cars back so the animal doesn't get hit by an impatient driver. YOU DO NOT HIT LIVESTOCK HERE. Trust me, it's cheaper to wreck your car, especially if it's a Texas Longhorn. You do NOT want that $25,000 bill. Insurance will not cover that. Pickup trucks hauling livestock/horse trailers tend to have the right of way here. That being said, stay the hell out of the left lane, you WILL get run over by one of those trucks doing 90+. Fort Worth is called Cowtown for a reason. Right now, we have the annual Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo going on. There are rodeos and stock sales all the time here. It's so frequent, we have 3 major permanent sale barns in Fort Worth alone. Do your research about the Texan way of life as well as customs and traditions before you move. We do things a certain way 'round here. You're welcome to partake, but don't show up and try to change it. We don't take kindly to that. There's a lesson there for you Californians. We also have a huge gun culture here. Texas is a Constitutional Carry state, meaning we don't need a permit to carry at all. You will see guns everywhere. Don't like it, go live in California or New York or some other liberal high crime city. There are gun shows every other weekend somewhere in Texas. Currently the next one is in Mesquite this weekend. We don't play around and we tend to live by the mantra Dont Mess With Texas. It usually ends badly for those who do.

I do hope you've made it this far, and if you have, I commend you. I trust this provides a bit of insight into our way of life here and what to expect should you choose to move and I sincerely wish you all the best life has to offer in all your endeavors.

 

[outlaw.taco]

Houston is all of the above plus illegals

 

[DubaiMarauder]

Houston is all of the above plus illegals

Oh, we have 'em up here too. Usually in a clapped out painter or construction pickup truck thats overloaded with way more than the damn thing can handle, sitting in the left lane doing 30mph under the speed limit, with 6 dudes in the truck, all of them staring at their phones, and likely drunk since they started drinking when the sun came up, even on the jobsite.

 

[outlaw.taco]

Hello Texans...

My step daughter and grand child are thinking of moving to the the Ft. Worth Area. My wife, I and 2 kids will follow if it happens.

How is this area?

Cost of living in Texas is not what it once was. People are moving to all the major cities and Texans are moving to more rural area to dodge this migration. Both factors drive up real estate values, traffic, and everything else.

Crimes and homelessness are on a rise because of this sudden localized inflation.

Dallas/Fort Worth real estate are slightly more expensive than Houston but this will give you an idea.

Homes outside Houston city limit priced at 500k and up = good neighborhood, ok commute to inside Houston for work (about an hour each way)

300k in good neighborhood will likely be longer commute to work (1.5 to 2 hours each way)

Good neighborhood inside Houston city limit are in the millions, there are cheaper homes but learn self defense because no one is coming to save you.

If money and traffic aren’t the issue then you can just ignore this post.

 

[jc1003]

I have lived in the DFW area all my life. I would not live anywhere else. Traveled all over but Texas is my home.

 

[dsgrey]

Son lives around the Ft Worth & Keller area. Not a bad area to live and they did finish all the I35 construction...for now. Only downside is if you work towards Dallas, there's not a straight east/west highway in the northern area. Home prices are crazy but driven by the growing population and transplants who paid even more in their state. My son bought a foreclosure home 8 years ago for $200k and now it shows a value of $550k.

 

[Mudduck]

I grew up in DFW, but the influx of intelligence has driven me to East Texas.

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