We have a somewhere to live!

We didn't get the house we originally bid for, they already had someone else and it had only been up for rent for a day! So we decided to go for one of the other houses we had seen in Southlake and we've just found out we've got it, hurray! It's a beautifully kept 3,200 sq. ft. house with 5 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms and a community pool just around the corner. It feels great to have an address and it means we now know which schools the children will attend and can start the enrollment process. We've just got to sort out some rental furniture for the period our own furniture is crossing the Atlantic on a boat.

On the move.

Rob went in to work this morning so we ambled down to the pool for a bit more of this.

Summing up their current mood on our relocation.

After cramming our stuff into our cases, we went back to Southlake to view another property that had come up for let yesterday evening. Although shabbier on the inside than the other two properties we have already seen, this house has it's own pool, so we decided to place a bid for it. Exciting stuff!

I did the driving today, my first time behind the wheel in the US for 20 years. The huge "spaghetti junction" flyovers were great fun, although we will have to take a driving test within six months of living in the US, which I'm not looking forward to quite so much!

It's time to fly home just as we're getting used to the place. I'm certainly going to miss the glorious weather in Texas, there has been torrential rain and a flash flood in our village this week. That said, this sign in the airport puts a bit of perspective on things.

I assume it means tornadoes, and not other forms of wind! ;D

Southlake & Stockyards

For our final full day (and Evan's 6th birthday) we visited Southlake, a suburb on the north eastern edge of Fort Worth, close to DFW airport. Southlake has one of the best school districts (Carroll ISD) in north Texas, but we are concerned about Rob's commute to work, his office is located south of Forth Worth and he would have to drive 25 miles through the busy corridor between Fort Worth and Dallas, which can take up to an hour. Still, having driven through seemingly endless identical suburbs to get there, entering Southlake was like entering another world, the only words to describe it are pristine and immaculate. The schools were on a par with those in Aledo, big and impressive. They had proper science labs and have just received funding to build an observatory for the school district pupils, as a scientist and stargazer I'm delighted. We looked at two rental houses, both big and nicely decorated, with community pools, tennis courts, playgrounds and a fitness suite within a short distance. The houses in Southlake are on smaller plots than in Aledo but we don't mind that, we want to have neighbours and people nearby, to become part of a community. Most importantly to me though, Southlake has facilities in spades. The town square, boasting shops, restaurants and a market is just a mile and a half away. I really like Aledo, but Southlake is in the thick of it, which is where we want to be. The decision on which area to live has been made, we've just got to choose a house.

Encouraged by the delighted responses and fuss he received, Evan spent the day telling anyone and everyone that it was his birthday.  For a birthday treat we headed down to the Fort Worth Stockyards to see some real cowboys do a longhorn cattle drive.

Mall and BBQ

We have a day to ourselves so, armed with a shopping list, we decide to head to the mall at Arlington. This place is huge, housing an ice rink and a cinema. We managed to check off most of our list, whilst learning that you have to carry ID to shop with a credit card. Us Brits only get our passports out to go through border customs, whilst driving licences get an airing if we hire a car, so a lot of cash purchasing went on. The highlight for the kids was an enormous sports shop... 

The boys had great fun trying on the American football kit.

But guns in a sports shop is a bit out of my comfort zone.

In the evening we were kindly invited to the home of Rob's colleague, Annmol, in Aledo for a barbeque. When we drove into their street an involuntary "wow!" came from the kids in the back seat; it was stunning, beautiful houses set in a small valley next to a golf course, and very peaceful. We had a lovely evening, the children playing in the pool and a proper American cookout with great company, a real taste of the lifestyle we are hoping for.

Downtown Fort Worth & Aledo

The plan for our first day in Fort Worth is to meet with our appointed local expert, Inge, and a realtor, Ann, and visit an area called Aledo which lies about 20 miles west of Fort Worth. But the jet-lag wakes us up early so we have time to pop into downtown Fort Worth before we meet them. Fort Worth is like a lot of US city downtowns: clean, neat and almost eerily quiet. UK town centers are a hub for retail, but in the US shopping goes on at the mall.

Can we get one of these Dad?

Sundance Square, Fort Worth

After a coffee and a wander, we head out to Aledo with Inge & Ann to visit a rental property and schools. Aledo is quite rural and on the drive there I'm thinking it's probably a bit too out in the sticks for me, but I can't help but like the undulating landscape, trees and green fields, it has an essence of home. Our first look at a Texas house results in a lot of gasps at the size and space, but the schools were on another level. Like most schools in the UK, the primary school our children go to is short on space. These schools were amazing, with huge classrooms to accommodate classes of 18-22 children, wide corridors, libraries the size of our UK school hall, gymnasiums and music rooms in addition to the main school hall. The staff were friendly and there was a clear focus on academic attainment.  Granted we have selected areas in and around Fort Worth with the best schools, but we are very impressed.

We get back to the hotel with enough time for a quick dip...

...before heading to the Pancake House for tea. That's the kids sold on the move then!

Expectations and first impressions

I had been feeling a bit glum about the move to Texas in the run-up to our familiarisation visit to Fort Worth. It's easier to see what you are leaving behind when you have never been to the place you are going to. Not to mention the fact it's a 10 hour, 4700 mile flight from the place my entire family and all my friends live. I had travelled to America many times before I had the children, to both east and west coasts, and Colorado in the middle, so I felt like I had a good handle on what we're in for when we get there. But for some reason Texas seems a bit different. It's big, it's hot, it's conservative, it's gun-toting, and famous for cowboys and oil, well, if you believe the media portrayal anyway. My expectations were of a hot, dry, flat landscape with none of the rolling green fields I'm used to, and the usual skyscrapers looming out of a pristine downtown.

Flying in over Dallas to land I was pleasantly surprised. There were several lakes with beaches, and it was, to quite a degree, green (O.K., it's May, we'll see how that pans out as the summer gets in to full swing). The flight was pleasant enough, the first long haul for the kids, although getting through US immigration at DFW airport involved a tediously long wait. Still, through picking up the hire car, I was reminded how friendly and helpful Americans are, and genuinely felt happy to be back on US soil after so many years. Plus the weather was fantastic; sunny, warm and breezy. I'm liking it already.

We really are actually moving to Texas!

Finally, the job offer we've been waiting for is here! We're moving to Texas! Fort Worth, to be exact.

We have been living in Cardiff, South Wales for nearly 15 years. It's the longest that either I or my husband, Rob, have lived in one place and we're rather attached to it. We were both born in England; Rob in Somerset and me in Birmingham. Rob moved numerous times around the south west and midlands throughout his childhood, whilst I moved through Gloucester, West & East Yorkshire. We did the same degree at Leicester University, and fell in love whilst I was living, working and doing my PhD in London.

In the summer of 1999, Rob was offered a job in Wales and the move just felt right. Rob's parents are Welsh, in fact he was the first family member to be born outside of Wales, at least as far back as anyone can remember, which means he has been brought up to be an ardent fan of Welsh rugby. By a strange twist of fate, my Dad bought a business in Port Talbot in 1997 so my parents moved from East Yorkshire to their current home near Llantrisant, just 17 miles away.

Living in London, along with most of our group of friends from University, was fantastic, but Cardiff instantly felt like home. We enjoyed exploring the mountains, beaches and castles, although not so much the wet weather that makes the grass so green! I obtained a research post at Cardiff University and we got married in 2001. Shortly afterwards we moved to our current house in a village between Cardiff & Newport.

Parenthood came our way in 2003 with the arrival of Alice, followed by David in 2005 and Evan in 2008. I gave up work to become a full-time Mum and threw myself into volunteering with the local groups and organisations the children were involved in. I've made some wonderful friends who have been on this journey with us; from sharing gory birth stories, laughter, tears and tantrums (not always the kids), first days at playgroup and school, birthday parties, school plays, fundraising events and camping trips, to standing on the touch-line in the pouring rain. Our roots here are deep.

Suffice to say, we are not moving because we're unhappy where we live, we really do love it in Wales and this move will be a huge wrench for us. But over the last few years, as my husband's career has taken off, we have been faced with the prospect of a move to Hampshire to be near his company UK head office, which interests us little. The alternative has meant Rob spends many nights away from home, which, frankly, is rubbish. Last summer, just as we were getting to the point of saying enough is enough, the idea of a job at the global head office in Fort Worth was suggested. After many months of anticipation, interviews, trips to Fort Worth, and an excruciatingly slow HR process, Rob has now been formally offered a position. It's not just any job either, it's a career changer, another level. From financial and lifestyle perspectives it's a no-brainer, but overwhelmingly it's an amazing opportunity and a big adventure. So do we want to move to Texas? Hell yeah!