My husband might be transfering to Fort Worth - What is it like there??

[Tina in Ny]

We are from upstate NY and my husband might be getting transfered to Fort Worth. We home school our daughter, but my 16 yr old son attends a Christian School so he can play sports.

Our heart is breaking to pull him out of this wonderful school.

 

Are there good Christian schools there that are not too expensive, that have good sport teams?

 

How is the homeschooling community.

 

Where would be a good area to live??

 

How is the weather

 

:001_smile:Thanks :)

 

Tina

[Twinmom]

I'm from the DFW area...moved there from upstate NY when I was nine! Fort Worth is very nice, but it will probably be a bit of a culture shock. Pretty laid back, much more so than Dallas. A big city with a small town feel...you will like it! It is VERY hot in the summer, however. Prepare yourself!

 

Texas is very homeschool friendly, and I know that in the Dallas area, there are lots of different types of homeschool groups and some AWESOME Christian schools. I'm not as familiar with the Ft. Worth side of town, but I'd not expect it to be any different. You can find any type of hs group that floats your boat! Texas is sports country...I mean, it's really out of control! The public schools are infamous for placing sports over academics...a generalization, but you should see those sports stadiums! There is bleed-over to the private schools, who can't compete financially in most cases but still give it a go! You should have no problem finding a nice school with good sports. Financially, at least in Dallas, the tuitions are pretty high, at least in my book. My kids were in a Christian school in Dallas, and we paid btwn 8 and 10K per kid to go.

 

You will enjoy Ft. Worth. If I were moving back to TX anytime soon, that's where I'd land! Enjoy Sundance Square, the Stockyards, the great steaks and the wonderful museums for me!

[Jami]

Hi Tina,

 

I'm in North Richland Hills just north and east a bit of Fort Worth. We do quite a few of our activities in Fort Worth and I think it's a perfect-sized city. Very comparable in size and amenities to St. Louis where I lived prior to our move. The zoo and museums are very nice. And homeschooling groups and opportunities abound all over the area! There's almost too much, it's hard to remember to stay at home once in awhile. :)

 

I really don't know enough about the particular schools in this area. I live very near Fort Worth Christian and I think they have many sporting teams, I don't know how good they are.... There are people in my church that attend Faith Christian School in Grapevine and their ds plays very competitive baseball and is going to college on a baseball scholarship after graduating from there. And a few families have children at Covenant Christian Academy in Colleyville, which may be on the pretty expensive side of things, but I'm sure offers fairly competitive teams.

 

As far as areas to live, *in* Fort Worth I'm afraid I'm clueless. Sorry. We attended a church for a short time near Hulan and Camp Bowie Blvd. and that seemed like a really neat area. I love older homes and neighborhoods. There's a TON of new construction in the northwest corridor if you're looking for suburbs rather than being in the city. As I mentioned I'm in North Richland Hills which is a good-sized suburb and centrally located. Though if dh's job had been in Fort Worth we would have loved to live in the city, since that's what we were familiar with and enjoyed in St. Louis.

 

Let us know when you get here (if you get here) and if you need other specific homeschool resources. :)

 

Added: I missed the weather question. It's hot. Mild winters, though any ice/snow shuts things down and people can't drive. It's may be more humid than you're used to, I don't know NY weather. We came from St. Louis and it's about the same, maybe a tad less humid than there. Plenty of allergens if that's an issue for you, ask poor Aubrey and dh.

 

Jami

[muffinmom]

I can't offer much help, but I did live in Fort Worth when I was in jr. high and high school. I went to Fort Worth Christian. It was pretty decent--some good teachers, some not so much. My science experience was quite dismal there. But that was 25 years ago, so I'm sure it's a different place.

 

But there shouldn't be a shortage of Christian schools--there are lots o' Christians in Texas!

 

But it really is HOT in the summer. In fact, it's fairly warm most of the year. The one thing we missed about Tennessee was the trees. In Texas the landscape is much more wide open--lots of sky and flat land. But the people in Texas are quite friendly and down-home, and they are very proud of their state. All in all, you'll probably enjoy it.

 

Best wishes on your move.

[bairnmama]

I grew up in TX and lived in the DFW area for 6 yrs while in college and I absolutely miss it!! As many have mentioned, there are plenty of Christian schools of every denomination, but again, I'm not too familiar with prices. My dh and I lived just east of downtown towards Arlington and really enjoyed the area. It was fairly quiet and not too far from either the museums (the Kimbell Art Museum is my very favorite!!!) or the active amusement parks of Arlington.

 

I do have to warn you about the heat, too. The last summer we lived there we had over 35 straight days over 100 degrees and the winters are very mild. I know one person already mentioned that snow would shut everything down, but what wasn't mentioned was that only 2 inches will normally shut everything down. My friends from CT would always laugh at us for that, but no one knows how to drive in the stuff so they figure it's better to just not go anywhere!

 

Hope you're getting the info you need!

[Peek a Boo]

Hi Tina!

 

I grew up in San Antonio and was exiled to Syracuse for 4.5 years. I'm a lizard and LOVE the heat!! Took me a year to thaw out after getting back home ;)

 

The homeschool climate is ridiculously easy --no reporting. no testing. no quarterlies, ihips, or assessments. There are so many homeschoolers they can afford to be kinda cliquish at times, so don't feel like you HAVE to stay w/ one group. check yahoogroups for a ft worth loop.

 

I'm south of Dallas, so I can't help you much w/ Ft Worth specific info. There are a couple of homeschool stores in N Richland Hills and Watauga: The Book Cover, and Creative arts in Action. You might want to email both of those places and see if they can offer info for parents about local sports.

 

a far as weather... here's my standard "Welcome to Texas" email.......

 

Weather:

it's gonna be HOT. Drink a LOT of water.

 

*I* love being out in the heat: we slather up really well w/ sunscreen and play for hours.

I just make sure there's shade around-- it will be WORTH THE BUCKS to make sure the place you are staying has at least one mature tree for shade. That was a requirement when we were house hunting. Insist on it. Make sure the kids take plenty of water breaks: hydration is everything. water sprinklers and mud are FUN. i dare say the kids can take more heat than we can, but I love laying out for a tan.

 

I like knowing that I can plan birthdays/parties around being outside: i was at a loss when I had to plan all the activities *indoors* in NY!! it was awful trying to plan a weekend: it usually rained up there!

 

water restrictions down here basically boil down to "don't water your lawns or wash your cars except for certain times".

they aren't that bad and not that restrictive.

I laughed in NY when they complained of a drought: the grass was still green!! down here, you get huge cracks in the yard that a small child could fall into, and you have to water the foundation of your house so that when it DOES rain, water won't ruin the foundation w/ the sudden onslaught....

 

i do miss the HUGE trees up north. The oaks down here are great for climbing, but they don't reach up as HIGH as those huge evergreens up north. I personally love the 4 seasons of NY... as long as I'm looking at them on a video or in pictures!!

The slightly cold winters down here are just fine; the spring *is* gorgeous, and the summer is easy enough to handle for me.

 

Make sure your vehicle and house have a working A/C: losing the AC down here is almost as bad as losing the furnace up there! I was surprised that most houses in NY didn't have a central AC ;)

however, my FIL didn't have AC and worked out a great little system of box fans :-). Fans and baby powder will go a loooooong way in keeping you cool in TX.

 

In NY, we warmed up the car in the winter. Down here, you COOL IT OFF before going out! [unless you have an AC'ed garage -doubtful!].

 

I *never* spent as much time indoors in Texas w/ the heat as I did in NY w/ the COLD. but again:

I like the heat and hate the cold :P.

 

 

make sure you have sunscreen -waterproof- and bug spray. Hats and loose clothing too. Don't forget sunglasses! did I mention water?

It's a system: water, sunglasses, water, hat, water, sunscreen, water.

Did I mention water??

freeze some water bottles half full w/ ice and fill before you walk out the door. Gatorade sports top bottles are great :-)

Keep a cooler in the car for transporting delicate frozen items [ice cream, lol!] from the store to the fridge. A frozen milk jug will last all day --you can refill your smaller bottles as it melts, and you'll have an ample supply of ice water.

 

I wore shorts maybe three times the entire time I was in NY!!! so much for "summer", lol! and where was spring?

NY went right from winter, to MUD, to fall. not much spring, and almost NO

summer [although there was one day that it reached 101:

hotter than the same day in SA!!!]

 

if nothing else: your wardrobe will become much lighter after dumping the extensive winter garb!!

 

BUGS: I routinely went barefoot when we lived in the city, but if you live "further out" and have more scraggly land, you won't want to! Everything in TX will either bite ya, stab ya, stick ya, or sting ya. Sticker burrs. nettles. fire ants. scorpions. cactus. You'll want to have on hand several medicines/ice packs for bites n stings. Meat tenderizer is good. Aloe Vera is excellent [and grows well here]. Tea Tree oil is s'posed to be good for fire ant stings. Those long, skinny frozen liquid pops in bags make great ice packs [hint hint].

You'll find a pharmacy of insect deterrents at your local store: depending upon how poisonous you wanna get, there are tons of options ranging from organic to absolutely toxic :-) I prefer toxic for nasty critters except I have a toddler and little kids....

 

spiders: we have brown recluses and black widows. Both can be deadly. Brown recluses are usually the toughest to ID --lots of people mistake those big ol' wolf spiders for brown recluses, but DON'T!! THe wolf spiders eat the nasty bugs and are harmless. But they get BIG.

 

snakes: ditto. I'd have a snake bite kit on hand, even tho I've never had to use it. they are easy enough to keep. There are 4 venomous snakes in the US, and we have all of them right here in TX: coral snakes, copperheads, rattlesnakes, and water moccasins. learn to identify them, but don't kill the good ones!

 

The worst? those nasty HUGE roach/water bugs. They can be everywhere. the only thing that I've found keeps them at bay is an army of Combat Gold traps that you slide under fridges, in bottoms of trashcans, wherever you can hide them.

I can handle snakes, spider, rats, mice, whatever, but those darn roaches make me scream like a girl. God must be approving of my move back, cuz He's kept me "safe" from those roaches so far, lol! I know the summer will

bring them out though. That's the one thing I didn't miss about leaving Texas: I never saw *one* *roach* the whole time up there....

 

 

But i am soooo glad to be back in TEXAS!!

 

have a nice move :)

[Tina in Ny]

Thank you for the information! I so appreciate!!

 

I have a couple of more questions.

 

How much does the electricity cost to run the air condition??

Do you need to heat your house in the winter?

 

When would you plant the garden?

 

Thanks

[sdWTMer]

Hi Tina!

Weather:

it's gonna be HOT. Drink a LOT of water. - emphasis added

 

LOL.

 

In other words: keep a hydration pack or camel back on you at all times while outside. :D

[Peek a Boo]

Thank you for the information! I so appreciate!!

 

I have a couple of more questions.

 

How much does the electricity cost to run the air condition??

Do you need to heat your house in the winter?

 

When would you plant the garden?

 

Thanks

 

well, running the A/C down here is a lot cheaper than when we ran the heating in NY! *I* need to heat the house in the winter, but again... I'm a lizard and love the heat.

 

$317.49 for the month of June, south of dallas, in a 2250sf house. But we have some partial tree coverage close to the house, and that makes a difference.

 

not sure abut planting a garden.... i have a brown thumb :)

you can check w/ the TX agricultural extension office in Tarrant County tho.

 

good luck!

[Jami]

Thank you for the information! I so appreciate!!

 

I have a couple of more questions.

 

How much does the electricity cost to run the air condition??

Do you need to heat your house in the winter?

 

When would you plant the garden?

 

Thanks

 

Hi Tina,

 

Our last electric bill for June was about $280. That's with an older AC system and two window units (to make up for the weak old AC!). Our house is an 1800 sq. ft. ranch house, with some shade.

 

We do run the heater from time to time in the winter, mostly a bit in the morning if it cooled down quite a bit at night. We also have a fireplace and had an occasional fire. But there are several months in the fall and spring where we really don't need either heat or AC and that's a nice savings. :)

 

I confess my few gardening attempts have not been very successful, not enough watering on my part, waiting too long for a couple of things like lettuces (those really need to go in in March I think), and the neighborhood cats and squirrels have been less than cooperative. I'll let other, more successful, gardeners chime in here.

 

Jami

[Happy]

Thank you for the information! I so appreciate!!

 

I have a couple of more questions.

 

How much does the electricity cost to run the air condition??

Do you need to heat your house in the winter?

 

When would you plant the garden?

 

Thanks

 

Okay, girl, don't let all the bug talk flip you out. I don't fight bugs in my house. We don't have a lot of trees, so that may make a difference. There are critters in my acre lot...mostly bunnies eating my tomatoes. :glare: Most urban areas do not have too big a snake or varmit problem. In the country, it would be different.

 

The Fort Worth city limits have surrounded my formerly country property, so I no longer say I'm north of FW. But if you follow I-35 north out of FW until it splits with Hwy 287, I live inside that split.

 

You've heard lots about the heat, but, remember, we believe in air conditioning, iced tea, and Dr Pepper. ;) The A/C electric bill will make your heart stop...I think ours is about $350/monthly in the summer, but only $200/monthly in the winter. We have about 2400 square feet. Housing is VERY affordable in the area.

 

As for sports, my teen boys have played on homeschool leagues during high school. Currently, my son plays for the Parker-Tarrant County Warriors http://www.pthss.org They have sports for both girls and boys. My son plays on the varsity baseball team. There is another league in Tarrant county as well as one over in Dallas. Sports is not a problem in the area. Neither, I might add, is band or other fine arts like drama. The Travis Academy of Fine Arts has once a week classes in both, plus art and choir. Lots of class opportunities and homeschool groups.

 

Now about that garden...I'm a passionate gardener...

 

I plant onions, broccoli, and cauliflower in January. In middle March, I plant my tomato transplants. Then I cover them up for the two hard freezes we get after that, tell myself that NEXT YEAR I will not plant until the end of March and ignore my own warnings every year. :tongue_smilie:

We actually get two growing seasons...spring is March through early June, then everything sort of naps until the heat breaks in September. All the plants perk up until we have our first freeze in mid-November or early December. That's right, you may put up your Christmas decorations in shorts or a light jacket. Cold, as we know it, arrives in late December or early January.

 

It's July and I have daylilies, crepe myrtles, zinnas, and roses in bloom in my yard. There are lots of pretties that like our heat and humidity.

 

Let me know if you have specific questions, I'm in the neighborhood and happy to help.

[clwcain]

We live in Arlington, near Six Flags. It's great living near Fort Worth. I don't think I can add anything that hasn't already been covered, but I'll see if I can lend an assist if any other questions come up.

[Jami]

The Travis Academy of Fine Arts has once a week classes in both, plus art and choir. Lots of class opportunities and homeschool groups.

 

I'll just add another plug for Travis Academy. We took a few classes there this past year and really enjoyed them. And the final showcase performances, particularly of the high school-aged groups, were very impressive.

 

 

Jami

[Vicki]

I don't live in Ft. Worth, but do live in Tx. Texas is a great place to homeschool, no paper work to fill out, no hours to keep track of. My sil lives in Ft. Worth and used to homeschool. She teaches at Temple Christian School in Ft. Worth. They do play sports, have a band, and go on class trips. They love the school. If you have any questions I can ask her.

God bless,

Vicki

[Aubrey]

I live in Fort Worth!! But I've only been here about 9-10 mos. I've been in DFW my whole life.

 

Yep, it gets hot. Probably hotter than a NY'er could imagine. (I don't know.) Our apt is all-bills paid, so my last elect bill is probably irrelevant by now. You have to have a heater in winter; don't let anybody fool you on that. We haven't had a fireplace, & I've never lived anywhere truly cold, but Tx *does* get cold for a couple of weeks. In a nasty, wet, icy way. Heh heh.

 

People are probably a little... um...chattier than you'd expect. Most people refer to this as "friendly" but I could see someone viewing it as an invasion of personal space, lol.

 

I find it interesting that all but one of us so far have claimed brown thumbs. Put me in that category, too, lol, but now I'm wondering if it's not Tx, instead of us. Not that you *can't* garden--my grandad always did--just that...maybe it's harder here? But I can kill a cactus, so what do I know?

 

I've heard that DFW housing is cheap compared to the rest of the nation. I don't know about that, but I do know that FW housing is cheap for DFW. There's a neighborhood here called Edgecliff Village that's supposed to be pretty nice. It has its own police & fire dept, etc, but it's really only about the size of a large neighborhood. I haven't been here long enough to know, but I have it on good authority. Plus, avg house prices there are WAY higher than anything around it. (100-150K)

 

As far as schools, I've only looked into that once or twice in a state of pg despair, but I did find a classical Christian academy that looks like WTM on a slightly larger scale. I've tried to get involved w/ a couple of hs groups when I lived near Dallas, but nothing ever panned out. Since being in FW, I haven't really had a chance to try anything, but I'm a homebody anyway.

 

FW zoo is WAY better than Dallas--we drove out here even when Dallas was closer. The Kimbell art museum is small but free, & I like their collection. Some museum from up your way has a really great (sounding) exhibit here until Nov. Impressionists, & big names, too. In the same little area as the zoo & the Kimbell is the arboretum & a log cabin museum thing. All very cool. Well, hot, but cool.

 

I really liked the Science Place in Dallas, & from what I can tell the sc museum here isn't as good, BUT I haven't technically been.

 

The only other thing I can think of that you might need to know is that everything is far. We measure time & distance in a completely different way than people in the NE seem to do. Along the hwy, you'll be surprised by the huge amts of open, unused land even in the cities. We have very little public transportation that actually works here, I suspect because of the distance involved. Our most practical public transport, between FW & Dallas, would actually take TWO hours to ride from FW to downtown Dallas. In the car during rush hr, it's about 1-1.5, otherwise it depends on your speed. And people drive crazy here, I suspect because they're sick of driving, lol.

[GoVanGogh]

I am in the North Texas area - in the middle of FW and Dallas. I am an avid gardener. We have two big garden seasons down here - Fall through winter, then early Spring. I garden 9-10 months out of the year - roughly September through June. I take the summer off from gardening. If I have veggies planted, all I do is harvest and keep them watered. I plant lettuce in October and it will go through the winter.

Here is an organic nursery in Arlington. If you click on 'Notes from the garden,' they have lots of articles on-line that you can read - including a vegetable planting guide.

http://www.redentas.com/shops-about.php

 

I am in two homeschool support groups, including Horizons, which is for homeschoolers 'between' the FW and Dallas area. I joined it last year, mainly for their field trips. They are a Christian-based group, but you do not have to sign any statement of faith.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HorizonHS/

 

Homeschooling is very easy in Texas. Plus, most businesses are 'homeschool friendly' - re: many have special programs for homeschoolers. It is easy to get overwhelmed with all the possibilities... Art classes, P.E. classes, etc. Lots of enrichment opportunities out there!