Gunslinger wants to finish his education at A&M in Commerce. Since Commerce is a couple hours away from us (Longview), we figure we better move.
If there is anyplace that is in between Commerce and Longview and reasonably convenient to both, we could move there and I could keep my current job.
Otherwise, I need to find a new job, and without a college education (I can’t go back to school until he’s done and has a job so he can support us on his salary alone) I don’t know what I can get. My current job COULD, possibly, depending on openings, transfer me to one of their locations in Mesquite, Allen or Plano; in that case, we’d need to live somewhere that was convenient to both that location and Commerce. Other than that, I don’t know what to do.
I don’t know anything about Texas, except for the very small region in which I live. I CERTAINLY don’t know anything about Dallas. I’m so confused, and I don’t even know where to start looking for things. We have to figure out what we’re doing by July, when my lease here runs out…
I’m feeling very panicked, and would appreciate any help, tips, advice - ANYTHING.
I’ve lived in that part of Texas (Brashear, to be exact), and my father commuted to Dallas daily. Halfway to Longview puts you in Canton.
It looks like Royse City or Greenville is roughly halfway; Greenville has the advantage of being directly on the Interstate, and accessible to US 380, which is a slightly easier road to Plano.
One thing you might do is have Guns talk to his financial aid officer. Some schools can put together a financial aid package that will at least help with living expenses. He might also ask about financial aid based on two students. We’re doing that, and it’s looking attractive. You or he might have to work part-time, but it’s do-able.
A couple things you’re going to have to consider. First, compare the increased gas usage and wear-and-tear against your income. Greenville to Dallas is roughly an hour, depending on traffic. Longview to Commerce is two and a half hours, so that cut in half is also roughly an hour. That’s 120 miles, give or take, per day. At $1.75/gallon, that works out to $7-10 per day for gas. You might be better off finding another job and just living in Commerce.
racinchikki, I actually do live in Greenville and have for over the past two years. I would recommend it as well. If you’d like more input of a personal -type nature, since I’m not so good with specifics like employment rates or how effective the school system is, email me. It’s in my profile.
The advice about financial aid is well-taken, Robyn, although not really applicable to Justin’s education (I’ll remember it for my own); his college is paid for by gift of his family, as far as I’m aware. Their generosity does not seem to extend towards housing, despite the fact that they were going to be willing to pay for him to live in a dorm. The difference, obviously, is that in a dorm he wouldn’t be living in sin with me. :rolleyes:
I’ve been leaning towards Greenville, if I can find a job there; we can always move again after he graduates, since I want to go to Kilgore College, which would kind of necessitate moving back closer to Longview…
It would be nice to live a little closer to Dallas; I’ve never been yet, and I’ve been longing for “cultural” things - there’s, like, museums and stuff in Dallas, aren’t there?
I’d also like to thank whichever moderator did me the favor of moving this into its very own thread.
Not to sound like a tourist commercial for Greenville, but it really isn’t that far from Dallas. Only about 45 minutes to downtown, because of the straight shot on the interstate. And yes, they have tons of cultural events there (like museums, playhouses, the opera, ballet, whatever your paticular bent is, I’m sure they’ve got).
WRT to the financial aid, just because his family is paying for tuition doesn’t mean you still can’t apply for aid for housing costs. The best advice I got when I applied was “Fill out a FAFSA. You can always turn aid down, but if you don’t apply, you won’t get any.”
Ugh, I lived in Greenville for 2 years and hated it (dry county to boot). Dallas itself was a pretty fun place (decent restaurants, good shopping, things to do). Dallas has a great museum, beautiful arboretum, aquarium, Music Hall at Fair Park, zoo…
If you can, live closer to Dallas! (Rockwall, Garland, Mesquite). We were so much happier when we moved into Dallas from Greenville.
Things to do in Greenville:
Hastings
Walmart
Cotton Museum
Candy Factory
Now that I’m in Seattle, I miss a lot of stuff in Dallas:
Thai Taste - Fitzhugh and 75
Queen of Sheba - Lemmon and McKinney Connemara
State Fair
Huge, big sky The Kirby - our loft
The Mesquite 30 Movie theatre (big Texas theatres with stadium seating in general)
Eek! I’m in and out of this thread a lot. You’d think I had some stake in getting an influx of new people to Greenville, but I swear I don’t! Especially since I’ll be leaving soon.
What?
Anyway, to address a couple of points listed above…
Yep, forgot to add that Greenville is dry. However, you’re only about 10-15 minutes away from the nearest liquor store on the way to Commerce. Sadly, it doesn’t have much of a selection, they’re a little high, and, according to people who are forced to shop there, extremely rude and prejudiced on a variety of subjects. Going the other way though, right before you hit Rockwall is a liquor mega-store. That equals about a little under 30 minutes (or over, depending on how fast you drive) to commute. I highly recommend it. Cheap and lots to choose from.
What?? ::: hiccup :::
Also, as far as expense goes on what county you decide to live in, Rockwall is unbelievably expensive and it’s growing by leaps and bounds. To rent a ramshackle, run-down 1 bedroom house (I’m loathe to call most of them that, but you get my drift by saying ‘single person dwelling’) cost well over $500.00 to $750.00. There’s no way that most folks can afford to live there unless they have a dual income with both paying really well.
Garland’s better, in class and pricing being decent. Mesquite can be a little neglected in areas, so you just have to check. But I’m sure you’d have all these considerations no matter where you pick.
Also, remember there’s an amusement park, Six Flags, close by. For all your fun, act-like-a-little-kid-for-a-day-and-puke activities. Whee!!
Ha, I’d nearly forgotten that liquor store between Greenville and Dallas (Chilli’s?) For new transplants to Texas, unfamiliar with service roads, it can be quite and adventure how to figure out how to get over there.
Our first weekend in Texas, my boyfriend and I just kept driving back and forth in front of the Chilli’s, looking at it mournfully. We could SEE the beer, we just couldn’t GET to the beer.
My other problem with Greenville was it was just such an ugly town (not that Garland and Mesquite are gorgeous
