For the most part, the west side of Fort Worth is relatively upscale. There is a brand new outdoor mall with a new Neiman Marcus (The Shops at Clearfork). Nothing is very far from anything else in Fort Worth. It's not a very large place. I would think North Dallas up to Denton would be a more remunerative territory. While I don't live there any longer, my parents still live in town and I'm there at least once per year. Feel free to message me with specific questions. Poster IdaClair lives in Fort Worth.

I can help with North Dallas as well (the Park Cities there are great), but have no clue about Fort Worth.

This is a silly question, but I've always wondered why Dallas and Fort Worth were so close together when you have such a lot of room in Texas. Do they have quite separate identities and feel about them? Then I was thinking of San Francisco and Oakland, but there's a bay between them so that sort of seems like a reason.

Linelle, Dallas and Fort Worth do have quite separate identities and the town fathers competed fiercely to bring in culture and business back in the early to mid-twentieth century. Historically, Fort Worth was considered the country cousin and Dallas was the sophisticated one. Even today, Fort Worth is a town and Dallas is a city. Between them and around them, many other towns and communities have grown until the area is a large urban sprawl, similar to the way Los Angeles/Orange County has developed or to a lesser degree Phoenix/Scottsdale.

Oh, as to settlement...Fort Worth was a fort built by the army to protect the frontier after the Spanish-American war, although it had been a trading site earlier. Dallas was founded by an individual as both a trading site and as a permanent settlement. Both are on branches of the Trinity River. Remember, too, that in the 1800's when the area was settled, horseback was the main mode of travel, so they weren't that close together.

Pretty sure Ida (Jen) lives in Dallas.

Fun2BHere, thanks so much for that info. Of course they didn't seem so close when horseback was the main mode of travel.

It's definitely a nice area, but if she has other job offers, she needs to ask herself if she likes heat, humidity, and tornadoes. :) OTOH, there are a lot of places to visit in Texas.

I lived in Ft Worth for 3 years and in Dallas twice. There are things I like about both, but I don't think of Ft. Worth as particularly humid or tornado prone. Houston and Austin are both more humid that Ft. Worth. Dallas and Ft. Worth can be windy, especially in spring. I've always been open to the idea of returning to Ft. Worth, but live near Houston now. I think of Ft. Worth as more laid back -- in part just because it is smaller and not trying to compete with Dallas and Houston.

Ft.. Worth is home to the Amon Carter, Sid Richardson and the Kimball art museums, has its own symphony and its own zoo while it shares the Texas Rangers, Dallas Cowboys and Six Flags Over Texas with Dallas and the rest of the metro area. It is home to Texas Christian University (location for the Van Cliburn piano competition) and Texas Wesleyan University, the University of North Texas Health Science Center (adding standard medicine to what used to to be the Texas School of Osteopathic Medicine) and the Texas A&M School of Law (Aggies as lawyers? ). The Colonial Country Club near the TCU campus hosts the Colonial National Golf Tournament. Oh, and there is a Mrs. Baird's bread bakery near the freeway as you approach downtown. It smells so good driving by. LOL

I prefer the charm of Ft. Worth to Dallas. I have been to west Ft. Worth several time and I find it to be a beautiful part of the city. There is definitely old money in that area.

Lascatx, sadly, the downtown location of Mrs. Baird's bakery closed some years ago. No more luscious yeast smells wafting over the downtown freeway.

Awww, sad to hear that Mrs. Baird's left the area. I thought having the bakery near the freeway was almost unfair -they almost needed a drive through window. LOL

Oh thank you all for your insight and offers of help. My dd seems to have narrowed it down to the area around the zoo and close to ridgelea. Here is a link to the apartment complex that they like. They're sticker shocked by rents and will be leaning towards a one bedroom, possibly laid out as a duplex. My only concern is that it is near TCU, so there may be the usual college shenanigans. ( and yes, I know it is a Christian university but college kids are college

kids )

I know there are a million rental properties, but wondered if any of you have ever heard of/seen this one. It gets decent reviews. (I know a lot of the 5star reviews are prompted by management, but there are a lot of honest three star ones too).

thank you all so very much for your help. We never stop worrying about our kids, do we?

jo

http://www.marquisatstonegate.net/

Hi Jo, I live between Fort Worth and Dallas and have seen home health patients all over Fort Worth, so I am pretty familiar with the area. My son and his family live out on the west side of Fort Worth. The apartment complex that you linked looks like it should be fine, but I have no personal knowledge of it. The Chisholm Trail Parkway is relatively new and is bringing a lot of new development to the area. Ridglea and the area near TCU would be great places to live. Parts of the west side are slowly declining, such as the area near Ridgmar Mall (just north of I30 near 183). Businesses that used to be located there are moving to the new Clear Fork development area. I love Fort Worth and would have no qualms about making it my home. I hope your daughter loves it, too.

Fort Worth tends to attract young, active residents. Particularly around downtown and on the west side, there are many opportunities for a busy social life. I wouldn't let proximity to TCU give me pause for one moment. It's but one of numerous colleges in this area and it's located in a relatively upscale part of town. The college shenanigans usually take place in bars as with anywhere else. Ridgelea is nice - one of those "old money" enclaves, but she shouldn't feel relegated to living there. The revitalized West 7th Street area is booming with younger residents and there are quite a few new apartments. She could also look further out in suburban areas, which may be priced more attractively. She would have a bit more of a commute to get to her sales region though.

I don't know anything about that complex specifically, but the area is decent.

The Christian in TCU refers to an association with the Disciples of Christ Church which is a moderate Protestant sect, but I don't think you would find the campus any different from any non-sectarian campus. In the olden days, when I attended, alcohol was prohibited and you had to take one semester of religion, but I don't think either of those conditions still holds true.

I would pull the police reports for that complex if possible. That would tell you more about the issues. I know some of the apartments in that area offer Section 8 housing which can introduce a less-than-desirable element.

https://www.cwsapartments.com/apartments/tx/fort-worth/marquis-bellaire-ranch/

These apartments are in a bit better location and are just down the road from the complex you listed. I didn't check the reviews, but I think they are worth a look...same freeway access...and easier access to the Trinity Trails for walking, running or biking. Plus, they are next to an upscale housing development instead of a bunch of other apartment complexes.

The new front runner is Coventry at city view:

heres the address:

https://maps.google.com/maps?rlz=1MDAPLA_enUS560US560&ctzn=America/New_York&apps=ma&biw=320&hl=en&channel=iss&client=mobilesearchapp&v=34.1.167176684&noj=1&ion=0&wf=pp1&gs_lp=EgppcGhvbmVhcHAyGgIYASIAKggIABApGCcoATIICAAQKRgnKAEyCAgBECkYJygBMggIAhApGCcoATIICAMQKRgnKAEyCAgEECkYJygBMgkIBRAAGI8BKAEyCQgGEAAYjwEoATIJCAcQABiPASgBMgkICBAAGI8BKAEyCQgJEAAYjwEoATIJCAoQABiPASgBMgkICxAAGI8BKAEyCQgMEAAYjwEoATIJCA0QABiPASgBMgkIDhAAGI8BKAFIzRPSATIyNTA5ampqampqamoxNWpqampqampqampqampqampqampqampqampqampqamowajBqMOgBAYAC5-EUkAIAmAIBqAIPsAIBoAMg&bih=548&ntyp=1&um=1&ie=UTF-8&fb=1&gl=us&entry=s&sa=X&ftid=0x864e6d5dca9748af:0xae1ef820e60df629&gmm=CgIgAQ%3D%3D

my dd took job and now is panicking over where to live.

One problem with City View is that the traffic is horrendous. She should check access in person before renting there.

Congrats on her new job. TCU has grown a lot since I went there and I am sure there is more of everything than then, but the residential areas around the campus should not be a problem. Several years out of college, I lived not that far from SMU in Dallas. Never a problem with the proximity to the university. If TCU did drop the religion requirement (it was only 3 hours), I find that regrettable. So many undergrads took the survey course -- a religions of the world kid of thing and our text was a paperback called Great Religions of Mankind. Dr. Flowers was a great teacher and the course so enlightening.

Lascatx, Which Dr. Flowers did you have...Ron, Robert or Elizabeth (Betsy)?

It wasn't Elizabeth. Ron? Maybe.

Ron was who I had back in olden times. I wonder if we were classmates.

Must have been Ron if that was the "olden times." I am not certain which semester I took it, but could be. I kept the book from that class and gave it too my oldest son. Told both they should read it, but I wish they could have taken that class.

Jojoco, will her new employer allow her to make a trip to look for an apartment or pay for a week or two of hotel while she looks for an apartment? I had to do that once.

Sorry, Lascatx, I was just kidding about "olden" times.

Well, that's much better than Keller. I was starting to get worried. I hope she likes her new place and that the job is just what she wants.