From the Taff to Texas: 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.