Arlington Travel Forum

My Wife was born in Texas, though she left at a very early age. We have both graduated from college, she is a Dental Hygienist and I'm an RN. After living in Michigan for many years, I'm "giving" in to the notion of moving south.

Can any residents give me a glimpse of what it is like to live in Arlington? Is it...desert environment? Also, I have two small children. How are the schools?

I'll miss the great seer hunting in the north, but I do hear you have some deer here and there in Texas! ;)

Thanks for your input in advance.

Arlington, Texas? A desert? You must have been watching the X Files movie (which put the suburbs of Dallas in the middle of a desert - made us all laugh).

Arlington is probably the largest of all the suburbs in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. It is home to the Texas Rangers baseball team, Six Flags amusement park, a number of manufacturing facilities like GM, Bell Helicopter, etc., and is about to have an election to approve the steps necessary to bring the Dallas Cowboys to their city (the Cowboys are currently in Irving, another suburb closer to Dallas). Oh, and there's also UTA (University of Texas at Arlington), a sizeable school within the UT university system.

The terrain here is definitely FLAT, and because the trees are not as tall as in other places, it's more noticeable. There is definitely deer hunting in Texas (although I wouldn't know anything about that). If you are country people, you might look to the south or southwest of Arlington (Venus, Cleborne, Midlothian, even Glen Rose or Granbury).

Bill

As Bill said, not a desert environment. But, maybe more flat with smaller trees than you're used to.

Arlington is smack in the middle of the Dallas-Forth Worth metroplex. So, it's suburbia in all directions for a little ways. There are a few undeveloped areas around there, but they are disappearing fast, and the suburbs are spreading out farther and farther. The best way to know, though, would be to visit! Besides Arlington proper, there are several other cities right around there (that might get grouped with Arlington in federal "metro area" studies) - places like Hurst, Euless, Bedford, Irving, Grand Prarie, etc. Personally, I really like Arlington (from what I've seen of it), but that's certainly a personal preference thing (e.g. I would never live in Boston, though I know several people who love it there...).

School ratings statewide can be looked up at:
http://www.tea.state.tx.us/perfreport/account/
The two main counties around Arlington are Tarrant (I think Arlington is in Tarrant county, as is Fort Worth) and Dallas, for reference. There's debate over how well these state measures really are at defining the schools, but the "Exemplary" schools are almost certainly quite good, as are many of the recognized ones. Of course, there are plenty of other exceptions ("acceptable" schools that are actually pretty good, or "recognized" ones that aren't that great - these are rated based on standardized tests).