Considering moving to the DFW area

post #1 of 6

1/5/13 at 9:01pm

Thread Starter

53 Posts. Joined 1/2009
Location: Okinawa, Japan
Select All Posts By This User

Hi all! We are a military family getting out and looking to settle down in place. My husband is from Portland TX and I am from Atlanta GA. My husband is a satellite tech and would like to continue with Electronic Maintenance type jobs.

Our number one choice to settle down is the Dallas/Fort Worth area as it will be only a few hours drive from his oldest daughter.

Does anyone know what the job market for electronic maintenance types jobs are in this area?

What areas for living do you suggest looking into? Commuting is not an issue for us but we have 3 children (plus his oldest who will be visiting frequently) and my mother will eventually move in with us. I grew up about 20minutes from Atlanta so having easy access to shopping and activities is a bit of a must for me. But I am beginning to garden and grow a potion of our own families food so I need somewhere that won't penalize me for having a small vegetable garden. I believe our budget will be no more than about $250k. Property taxes?

School info. My girls will be going into 5th grade, 3rd grade and Pre K next school year. The two oldest do struggle with ADHD so I need schools that they can get the help they need (neither has/needs and IEP as of yet).

All three girls currently are in gymnastics and we would like to get them back into Isshin Ryu Karate so are there locations for these activities?

We are planning on having at least one more child and I tend to have a very natural view on pregnancy and birth so birthing centers? Home birth midwives? Any of that available?

Natural foods stores? Farmer's Markets? I have been a little bit spoiled living here in Okinawa, Japan with getting super fresh and local produce easily.

What about public transportation? Japan walks or uses public transport for most daily trips and I have gotten more used to walking places. Even just parking in one location and walking most places. Is this feasible outside of Dallas? In Richardson maybe?

Oh and an odd question I guess but does anyone have good/bad experiences purchasing vehicles from Carmax? We have no vehicles waiting for us so we will need to purchase at least one vehicle immediately upon getting back to the states (minivan).

Are there any little yarn shops? I crochet for fun and to help with my own ADHD but I love having yarn shops with small label yarns.

Any help would be appreciated.

post #2 of 6

1/8/13 at 11:27am

559 Posts. Joined 8/2008
Location: Denton, TX
Select All Posts By This User

Hi,

Wow you are full of question! I like prepared people. I currently live in Denton which is just north of Fort Worth. Before that I lived in Rockport which is not far from Portland. I don't know that I can answer all of your questions, but I will try to answer as many as possible. If you are on Facebook, some good groups to join are DFW Crunchy Mamas and DFW Holistic Families. For more info on midwives, check out The Association of Texas Midwives. We have Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Sprouts, and Natural Grocers all over the DFW area, plus some smaller ones. There are tons of farmer's markets as well. This is the website that I use for finding one. They do have a pretty good public transportation system. There are buses for in town and a train that goes from city to city. I am a knitter/crocheter. I know that there is the Wooly Ewe in Plano. I think that there are others. I use Ravelry to locate shops and just because it is an awesome community.

post #3 of 6

1/9/13 at 10:30pm

Thread Starter

53 Posts. Joined 1/2009
Location: Okinawa, Japan
Select All Posts By This User

Quote:

Originally Posted by rockportmidwife

Hi,

Wow you are full of question! I like prepared people. I currently live in Denton which is just north of Fort Worth. Before that I lived in Rockport which is not far from Portland. I don't know that I can answer all of your questions, but I will try to answer as many as possible. If you are on Facebook, some good groups to join are DFW Crunchy Mamas and DFW Holistic Families. For more info on midwives, check out The Association of Texas Midwives. We have Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Sprouts, and Natural Grocers all over the DFW area, plus some smaller ones. There are tons of farmer's markets as well. This is the website that I use for finding one. They do have a pretty good public transportation system. There are buses for in town and a train that goes from city to city. I am a knitter/crocheter. I know that there is the Wooly Ewe in Plano. I think that there are others. I use Ravelry to locate shops and just because it is an awesome community.

Hi! I can't seem to find DFW Crunchy Mamas. Is this perhaps a secret group? If so I won't be able to search to find it. I would need a direct link or someone to add me.

post #4 of 6

1/10/13 at 1:43am

7 Posts. Joined 1/2013
Select All Posts By This User

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarineGurl020412

Hi! I can't seem to find DFW Crunchy Mamas. Is this perhaps a secret group? If so I won't be able to search to find it. I would need a direct link or someone to add me.

I couldn't find it either.