I got my American Dream in Arlington

My husband and I were both laid off during Covid. During this period of collective existential crisis, we decided it was a good time to make a big change and move to a new state. We stayed up late researching the best places for young professionals, best places to raise a family, etc. One of my stipulations was that we didn't move anywhere it snowed a lot (having been born and raised in southern California), which eliminated a lot of places off the map. North Texas checked a lot of boxes, and after visiting some friends in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, we decided to apply for jobs and take the leap.

At the time, I secured a job in Fort Worth and he landed one in Irving. On the map, it looked liked Arlington was in between the two (although we didn't realize my commute would be much better than his). That was during the crazy housing boom, and we decided we should rent and get to know the area before committing to buy a house -- something that never would have been a possibility for us in southern California. We loved it here from the beginning -- it felt like home. We rented in an area near the Parks Mall, and every weekend we'd make the drive down Pleasant Ridge to Kroger. We talked about how it would be cool to live up in those neighborhoods near Martin High School someday.

Fast forward a year from then, we closed on our house in the 76016 zip code. Now, 4 years later, we still love our house, our neighborhood, our jobs, and we have two beautiful daughters. We wouldn't have had any of these things if we hadn't taken a leap of faith and landed, by accident or fate, in Arlington. We're grateful we get to raise our family and continue living our American Dream right here in the American Dream City.