v8anglia

i have the chance of a job in grand prairie texas, are there any brits there who can tell me what its like?

Manc

what visa will you be on? a H1B or an L1?

anyhoo, this is Texas we're talking about. Cowboys, Spittoons, George Bush and Trailer Parks. That's all you need to know.

Lion in Winter

You forgot to mention the flying cockroaches.

v8anglia

just like the UK then..., not sure what the visa situation will be guess that will be down to my potential employer

DaveC

I've only ever been to Grand Prairie for concerts and horse racing, all of which I've enjoyed. It is bordered by DFW airport to the North, Dallas to the East and Arlington to the West. It's right in the middle of the DFW Metroplex and is easy to get to / from. Well, there are plenty of roads but the traffic can be a 'mare.

Air quality is crap so if you suffer from asthma or sinus problems you might want to reconsider. The climate is favourable, shorts and t-shirt season runs from March 'til October. The metroplex only had 1 official day of 100F weather this year, usually we have a few in August & September. The temperature drops below freezing on 2 days in January. We also had 1 day of snow this year which was abnormal.

Ignore the comments above from the Northerners, they're just grumpy 'cause they're in for a hard winter!

Lion in Winter

Yeah but the cold kills the cockroaches. Oh, and we don't have any scorpions or venemous snakes, either.

Texas Brit

Grand Prairie is the Dallas Fort Worth area, as I am sure you know. So Dallas is really where you talking about moving and, my 2 cents is that Dallas is actually a pretty decent city. This is particularly true in the central area, where there are some vibey neighborhoods, good eats, museums, cinemas, etc. (Uptown, Greenville, Park Cities). But Dallas is spread out and if you are stuck out in the suburbs (e.g. if you live out near where you work) your life would be a bit more of the typical suburban house, mall, lawns, etc., sort of life.

I am in Austin, about 2.5 hours south, but seriously considered a move to Dallas when I was looking for a job in Texas (we were previously in LA, but wanted to get back to this part of the country, long story). But there are loads of Brits in Dallas and several Brit shops, pubs, etc. Come on Dallas Brits, help him out . . .

Oh, and by UK standards, housing is ridiculously cheap. Way, way cheaper for more more property than you would get in England. The weather is nice in the late fall, winter and early spring and really, really hot during the summer.

Good luck.

Mark

Yosser

Very well put Dave, GP is not a city that I frequent much, I always seem to be driving through it or around it. Theres a lake just south of GP and like Dave said theres a nice horse racing stadium there, I wonder if its noisey, being in the direct route of the airport?

If Arlington City get there way, there will be a brand new multi-million cowboys stadium built, so you won't be too far from that, and if you get into baseball the Rangers posh stadium will just be down the road. Thats all I can think of for now!

dbark

Not forgetting that Brit'n'Tx and Leslie both live there!

Manc

makes me like Michigan so much more.

dbark

Hehehe

ironporer

And scorpions, fire ants, red ants, black monster ants (actually leave 30' dead patches w/ 6'' trails in all directions), tarantulas, rattle snakes, copperhead snakes...and the worst vermin of all- the feared Texan.

Actually I liked TX very much, was 1 hr north of Austin...beautiful country! Grand Prarie is in Dallas...lots to do, Cowboy Stadium close by- you can see 'real' football...Dallas has a fantastic night life scene and lots of good resturants. It is not a cheap place to live either. Hope you like the words "Tomorrow's expected tempatures= 97 f for the high, 77 for the low, at least 4-5 mo a year.

dbark

Sorry, John - 'real' football is soccer. I tease Kurt about it all the time - at least it's played with feet, and the ball is ball shaped .... *ducks*

Manc

is that where the Dallas Burn play then?

DaveC

Tell me about it, there are freaking mounds all over our garden. I can't kill the little swines fast enough.

Don't forget black widows, I've had some in my storage unit and we currently have one living in the front garden by our water shut off valve.