It looks like I'll be starting a new job Waco in the next month or so. I've only been to Floyd Casey and Common Grounds in town, and I'll probably be working somewhat near Baylor.

Does anyone care to give me a crash course of the town? Places to look to live/avoid, places to eat, things to do, and churches to look into are all welcome.

I'm mid-twenties with a fiancee that will move up once we're married.

TIA

The best places to live in Waco are either the China Spring area or the Woodway area. Robinson also has a lot of nice new sub divisions also. There are a lot of new resteraunts opening in the Waco area within the past year or two. Meadowbrook Baptist Church is a church in Robinson that we have started going to and enjoy it alot.

Avoid anything in the Waco, LaVega, or Connelly ISDs.

Woodway, Hewitt, Robinson are nice. China Spring is nice, but the shopping areas are a distance away and traffic is a concern on the 1 or 2 roads to the area.

Casa de Castillo for mexican!

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Woodway, Hewitt, Robinson are nice. China Spring is nice, but the shopping areas are a distance away and traffic is a concern on the 1 or 2 roads to the area.

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I concur South of town is far more convenient, IMO. Everything that's anything in Waco is south of the Brazos. Sam's is an exception.

Plus, if you need to shoot on down to Temple or Austin for any reason, it's easier from Midway or Robinson than from the North side.

But I don't live there so what do I know...

Woodway and Hewitt are Midway ISD, which is a good school district I suppose.

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Places to look to live/avoid, places to eat, things to do, and churches to look into are all welcome.

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I assume you're Baptist?

You'll probably want to start out in the Woodway/Hewitt area.

Then, when your kids (I know, still in the fiancee stage) are old enough, you'll definitely want to be in the Midway/Robinson/China Spring/Lorena areas.

A HS buddy of me and EMY92 lives right under the Waco water tower in Hewitt which happens to be just inside Lorena ISD. 15 years ago when he bought the place he was pretty happy with it.

Today, I think that sometimes, he wishes his kids had more education opportunities like they offer at Midway. But, he does like the fact that his kids have more opportunity to play sports at Lorena.

Baptist: Eh... We'd probably align a little more Bible church, but the vision of the church and community it offers are more important to us. We just know nothing about the area, so anything is helpful.

Thanks for those that have aided thus far.

[This message has been edited by Bulldog73 (edited 10/4/2012 4:26p).]

Regarding Bible Churches, I don't know if you're willing to drive 30 minutes south (I know more than a few who do) but Temple Bible Church is a great fellowship we're happy to attend. Honestly there are great churches in the area and you can't go wrong with many of them. I met great people in several of the churches when visiting around.

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We just know nothing about the area

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Will take you all of 1/2 day to learn all there is to know....

Stonegate Community Church in Hewitt is pastored by an older friend's son. Check with Harrell Leasing for apartments owned by Cam Parker, I think is his name. Super nice guy who takes care of his tenants. My daughters are in one of his 2/2 apts and moved in as soon as it was finished. Nice nice place with hi eff windows and AC/Heat and it's $700. Elec bills are in the $60 range.

If you choose over by Baylor you will become sick of the college BS just as my oldest daughter did...watch for older apartments over there because they have NO insulation. Her elec bill there was $120 range!!!

We have lived in Hewitt 34 years and it and Midway schools have served our family well. Kids were completely prepared for A&M. When the kids were born/young we attended FUMC-Waco then transferred membership to Hewitt FBC.

Congrats on the new job Bulldog! Are you looking to rent or own? Are you and your wife the type to go out a lot, or relax at home? I ask because it could definitely change what I'd recommend. I used to live in Woodway, (loved it, but we sold our house) and now live in Hewitt. Both are great. Give a little more info on your situation and hopefully we can be a tad more helpful. I would agree with pretty much everything that's been said so far.

Probably rent initially until we can get a lay of the land, and until we can be sure she can find a job in the area.

We're both social people, but love to unwind at home. We won't be hitting many bars/clubs, so of the two, probably relax at home.

Thanks!

YOU TWO will love it here!

Homebodies who are looking to set permanent roots, don't care about regular nightlife/bar scene, asking about areas and churches to attend are exactly the people that Waco appeals to! We were you thirty four years ago. Moved here in May of 78 and rented, even kept lots of items packed. Started looking at churches and schools...listened to lots of very positive comments and a few complaints. FYI, real estate agents can be a handful! PRO Waco schools until she found out how straight laced we were and then said Midway is a better fit for you two.

We put an offer on a huge home in Robinson only to be told it was over built for the neighborhood and to buy it, we would need to put more down because the bank wouldn't okay the selling price. The builder ended up moving into that house. The second house we put under contract was in Hewitt on 2.5 acres...room for a volleyball pit, a batting cage, swingset and basketball goal and all the friends my kids had. We have been in that house 34 years.

Don't give up on living in Waco. There's a lot of people who love living in the city and prefer it over the suburbs. Once you get past the I35 Corridor (and natural Aggie negativity toward all things Waco) there are some great neighborhoods, mature trees, proximity to Cameron Park, and really nice, interesting people. Too many people don't ever give the city a chance. Hope you'll take a look.

Indeed there are beautiful neighborhoods in close proximity to downtown but you have to automatically budget for private schools for your future children.

We had all kinds of friends buying starter homes in Waco proper and they lived there no longer than their first child plus 6 years! One year of public school and not knowing if they were to be bussed or if the neighborhood school was closing and it was adiós! The two families that stayed in Waco...one lived on Austin Avenue and their kids went to St Louis/Reicher and the other family did homeschooling.

Thanks Bulldog, we were in your shoes about 6 years ago. Here are my thoughts.

1.) apartment - centrally located to everything - the Residence or the Retreat located near Central Texas Mktplace. A little pricey as apartments go. You'll be close to Baylor area, but not on top of it. If you don't mind living in Hewitt/Woodway there are some more affordable apts at the intersection of Chapel and Hewitt Dr. Saddlebrook apts I believe.

2) houses/duplex - there are some neat duplexes on Austin Ave if you want to live closer to downtown. There are a lot of duplexes in the Hewitt/Woodway area. Directly across from Saddlebrook there is a street of nice duplexes. Surrey Ridge (sun valley exit), off of i35 also has newer/nicer duplexes. This would be pretty close to Baylor.

Last thing, don't rent or own in Sendero Springs, behind Hillcrest. I haven't heard anything good about that development.

I would've lived in any of these places I recommended with my wife. Hope that helps.

Also, there are a lot of great churches in the area. We attend Columbus Ave and would love to have you guys visit when you're ready. There are a couple of other Aggies in our SS class.

I'm really excited. I'm about 95% sure we know where we'll live, and I'll have about a month to get settled in before we get married and she takes over.

Good to hear man! What type of work is your wife looking for? Some of us on the board may be able to help.

let her set up the kitchen! Don't use wedding gifts when you are there by yourself...don't put the new, good sheets on the bed until you are leaving for the wedding and make sure you clean the bathroom.

When you return from your honeymoon your home together will be perfect and clean. You will be tired, have to unpack and do laundry, go back to work. She will not be in a good mood if the bedroom is wrecked and your dirty clothes from three days are on the bathroom floor.

Filing moms advise away for December.....

Thanks mom!

Our kids are in Waco public schools and doing very well. We actually love our kids school. We recognize the challenges . . .they are there. But there are also many other parents like us who are invested in the city and believe in its future and want to be part of it.

I understand the typical narrative is to avoid all things Waco, and that works for a lot of people. That's fine. I'm just saying that there's a lot of us in the city neighborhoods too who are looking at things from a different perspective and would like to invite those from the outer rings to give us in the city a pause and a second look before you just say to people that Waco shouldn't be an option at all. It should be . . .for more and more reasons.

Great advise, Mom of several! Thanks.

My fiancée is a special ed teacher, but she can teach k-4 as well. She has found two listings in the area for special ed, and she strongly prefers to stay in that realm if possible. She's done some inclusion, but she loves being in life skills. Granted, looking for a job mid semester, or even mid year may prove to be difficult. Her old district is highly supportive and gives her glowing reviews.

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We actually love our kids school

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Waco High or University? I know very little about them.

Is Waco ISD pretty good?










[This message has been edited by Captain Pablo (edited 10/12/2012 8:16a).]

WISD use to be ok, but now it's gotten pretty bad. The positives would be that it's easier to get top 10% AND you are teaching your kids how to handle the "diverse" backgrounds of most of the students....good life lessons.

Our kids are in elementary school still, in the Waco High area. Is Waco ISD pretty good? For the most part, most would say no. There are some schools, particularly elementary, that are as good as anywhere. I've heard our elem. school described by someone not directly associated with it as as good as any school between Dallas and Austin.

And there are pockets in the middle and high schools where kids are doing really well, but the stats for the district are pretty low as a whole.

Those who care about such things (like us), who live in the city, have to negotiate these realities and sometimes make hard decisions. But we've been glad to discover we aren't alone in that. There are lots of people in the district who are going through this together, learning from one another, supporting the schools, and hoping that step by step Waco schools will move in the right direction. We think that's happening now and have hope for the coming years.

Well I'm pullin' for ya. Maybe Waco High will be awesome in 5-10 years..

There are some nice neighborhoods in Waco that'll have nice elementary for that area, but that is 1 or 2 elementaries. When you get to Jr. & High school, you are left with a small percentage of kids from the good elementaries and many from the bad.

I have no children, but I'd never buy a house in the Waco ISD because it will be that much harder to sell when the time comes.

Quite a few people in education on here Bulldog. We'll keep you updated!

Thanks, washburn! She's waiting on a reference letter or two to complete an application for a couple elementary schools.

I'm 29, born and raised in Waco.

I can tell you this:

Like most have already said, Woodway, Hewitt, and in the general vicinity of Lake Shore Drive near Lake Waco (i.e. near Ridgewood CC) are easily the best parts of town to live in. However, the last place is probably Waco ISD. A lot of the people near Lake Shore drive that are affluent send their kids to private schools. Those places are convenient and it's where the educated/respectible citizens live for the most part. Generally the closer you are to the Brazos River, the more ghetto it is. There are exceptions--like Austin Avenue. However, there are a lot of great things in that part of town like Cameron Park and the Zoo--I just wouldn't live there. There has been a lot of investment in recent years revitalizing the down town area--again, I wouldn't live there though.

Waco ISD is horrible. Don't send your kids there. There a a lot of schools in that district that are part of WISD--if any are good, it's the exception to the rule. Your kids would for the most part be going to school with other children that's parents got pregnant in their teens. University is better, but I wouldn't call it great.

Midway, China Spring, and Lorena are all good school districts--where most the parents were actually grown ups and married when they had kids. Midway likely used to be the best, head and shoulders over the others as far as public schools go, but it's slipped in the last decade. It was exemplary when I was there. Now it's just acceptable.

China Spring and Lorena are also not bad parts of town to live in at all, but they're nowhere near as convenient as Woodway/Hewitt. Robinson is not bad.

I wouldn't live hear Baylor. It's kinda of ghetto other than the newer apartment complexes full of Baylor students.

That's Waco for you.

Midway slipped when the NCLB act let the Waco ISD kids go to school outside their district. I think midway is now 5A.

The numerous apartments in Hewitt and the few in Woodway have also hurt MISD.

I respect people that want better schools for their kids, but work with your kids to make them better, don't expect that they'll turn out better because they are now in a better school.

Settled on a place to live in Hewitt, now we just need to get her a job! Anyone hiring teachers, she's interested.

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I respect people that want better schools for their kids, but work with your kids to make them better, don't expect that they'll turn out better because they are now in a better school.

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Couldn't agree more.