If you’ve been wondering what it would be like to move to Fort Worth, TX, you’ve come to the right place.
Fort Worth, a town that could have the motto, “Yes, it’s Fort Worth, not Dallas-Fort Worth, so quit it.” Also, the home of Horned Frogs and Goatman.
One’s a mascot, the other is an urban legend. Fort Worth residents root for the Texas Christian University Horned Toads and trade stories about the Goatman, a kind of Jersey Devil/Bigfoot creature with the body of a man and the head of goat.
We take it back: Fort Worth’s motto could be, “Frog and Goat Fans Welcome!”
But if you’re giving serious consideration to relocating to Fort Worth, there happen to be so many other reasons to make the journey other than sport mascots and urban legends.
Living in Fort Worth
As previously stated, there is no Dallas-Fort Worth; there is a Dallas, there is a Fort Worth, but they’re not tag team or a music group. The two cities do share a sibling rivalry, with Dallas acting like the older kid that gets all the attention while Fort Worth gets played off as the younger sibling always looking for attention.
It’s not a bitter rivalry so much as a never-ending competition, something that residents with siblings might understand. Fort Worth Star-Telegram owner Amon Carter was known for carrying a sack lunch on trips to Dallas because he said he didn’t want to spend money in the town.
In other words, relocating to Fort Worth means witnessing and/or engaging in the ongoing one-upmanship against Dallas. Fort Worth will also be less crowded than Dallas, with a large availability of suburbs and older housing that new residents won’t have to fight over. Some of the best neighborhoods include Southlake, Keller, Arlington Heights, the downtown area, and Wedgewood.
And because it’s Texas, the cowboy culture will be very noticeable in Fort Worth. However, as with any significant change in living venues, new residents will not be required to immediately acquire flannel shirts, tight jeans, and boots when they arrive. In fact, it’s probably best to wait and see if cowboy culture gets absorbed naturally; those boots can hurt if you don’t get the right cut.
And there’s always the possibility that while you may not go cowboy, your kids might. Plan accordingly.
Working in Fort Worth
According to DataUSA, households in Fort Worth have a median annual income of $60,205, which is only slightly less than the median annual income of $60,336 across the entire United States. That data stands in comparison to a median income of $56,428 in 2016, which represented a 6.69 percent annual growth.
In other words, it’s cheaper to live here than in Dallas. Fort Worth rules and Dallas drools! Moving on…
Along with the usual demands for health care and medical professionals that can be found in most major U.S. cities, the website added that Fort Worth’s largest industries include manufacturing, mining, management, and retail trade. Additionally, aerospace companies including Bell Helicopter, Lockheed Martin, and American Airlines operate in the Fort Worth area.
When you’ve got to compete against Dallas for workers and business, you don’t mess around with job availability.
Weather Conditions to Consider Before Moving to Fort Worth
As with other major cities in Texas, the weather can be a big of a grab bag of Mother Nature’s greatest hits. On the one hand, Fort Worth gets 229 days of sunshine (that’s more than the national average!) and reaches its highest temperatures (about 97) in July. Fort Worth also gets about 37 inches of rain annually, and the average low occurs in January when the thermometer dips to 37.
However, Fort Worth also gets snow, so don’t make the mistake of thinking of the entirety of the state of Texas as a sunbaked flat land. Don’t throw away your rain boots and snow jackets, you’ll need them in Fort Worth. On the plus side for anyone who hates the cold, Fort Worth experiences approximately zero days annually when the nighttime low temperature falls below zero.
In other words, keep the flannel pajamas and invest in a good winter jacket if you don’t have one already.
Things to Do Once You’ve Moved to Fort Worth
Everything is bigger in Texas, including the concert venues. The Bass Performance Hall, which takes up an entire downtown block, has been referred to as Fort Worth’s crown jewel. While judgment should be reserved until one sees the performance venue for themselves, the hall enjoys a reputation for offering awesome acoustics for any performance. And don’t go thinking it’s only country music stars performing there, either. Ballet, operas, and Broadway shows also come to town.
But if performances don’t seem like your kind of high-end culture, the city also hosts the Main Street Fort Worth Arts Festival every April. The event reportedly attracts more than 400,000 people to come and see the art on display and for sale.
Oh, and during the summer months, head to the Trinity River and enjoy Rockin’ the River, a free summer concert series that can be viewed from a floatation device on the river. That’s right; tubing while you’re grooving.
For more rustic flavoring, Billy Bob’s professes to be the World’s Largest Honky Tonk Bar and the Stockyards Championship Rodeo takes place every Friday and Saturday night.
Because, come on, you can’t live in Fort Worth and at least attend a rodeo. It’s that cowboy culture thing. Seriously, keep an eye on your kids; they could start asking for giant belt buckles for birthday gifts.
The Culture of Fort Worth
Aside from the cowboy culture and the ongoing frenemy relationship with Dallas, Fort Worth culture includes an embrace of spices in the food, slow-cooked barbeque (try Railhead Smokehouse), shopping at a Central Market (which you’ll do, because every good Fort Worth residents does), and the knowledge that a trip to downtown might involve seeing a steer and/or covered wagon on the street in broad daylight.
If that doesn’t scream Texas, what does?
Yippee Ki Yay, You’re On Your Way
Fort Worth sounds pretty awesome, doesn’t it? Awesome enough to start thinking about relocating? Let Colonial Van Lines help.
We get that moving down the street can be stressful, and moving to a new state can be downright horrifying. But Colonial Van Lines has the experience and the expertise to make sure your moving experience will be straight forward and stress-free.
Call a Colonial Van Lines professional and find out how to start your journey to Fort Worth.