Advantages & Disadvantages of Moving to Arlington

You consider moving to Arlington but want to get additional information about the city, overall quality of life, job market, nightlife, climate, future outlook and much more?

Great! Stick with me since I will show you all the pros and cons of living in Arlington in the following chapters.

Table of Contents

Living in Arlington – Overview

ClimateArlington has pretty hot and humid summers and relatively short and mild winters.
HousingProperty prices, rents and overall demand for housing in Arlington are lower compared to Forth Worth, Dallas or other major cities in Texas.
IncomeMedian household income in Arlington is slightly below US average.
CrimeCrime rates in Arlington are above national average.
EducationDecent schools and colleges, even though it is hard to find excellent education in Arlington.
Job MarketUnemployment rate in Arlington is slightly below national average.
CultureArlington is a culturally interesting city where you can meet many people from different parts of the world.
Leisure ActivitiesFishing, camping, hunting and hiking are just some of the many things you can do in and around Arlington.
LandscapeArlington is surrounded by nice lakes and lots of beautiful nature.
InfrastructureArlington has pretty poor public transport while you will find decent medical infrastructure and will also have a solid supply of material goods.
Level of ToleranceWhile Arlington is a tolerant city, it is not considered as tolerant as Austin.
NightlifeRather limited number of decent bars and overall nightlife in Arlington is rather poor.
Total Population403,682 inhabitants.
advantages and disadvantages of living in arlington

Advantages of Living in Arlington

  1. Property prices in Arlington are fairly low
  2. Rents are affordable for the general public
  3. You will find a decent place to stay rather quickly
  4. Living costs are reasonably low in Arlington
  5. People don’t have to make lots of money to afford a decent lifestyle
  6. Overall financial pressure is rather low
  7. Arlington can be a great commuter city
  8. Many nature activities to choose from
  9. Many recreational spaces in Arlington
  10. Traffic is not a big problem in Arlington
  11. You can get around by bicycle in an efficient manner
  12. People in Arlington are friendly and relaxed
  13. People are genuine and real
  14. Easy to make really good friends in Arlington
  15. You can experience many different cultures and can try delicious foods
  16. Population in Arlington is growing
  17. Good future outlook for the city of Arlington
  18. Arlington has decent tap water
  19. Decent doctors and hospitals in the Arlington region
  20. You can use the international airports of neighboring cities
  21. Decent supply of material goods
  22. You can enjoy warm weather
  23. You can spend lots of time outdoors in Arlington

Property prices in Arlington are fairly low

One advantage of living in Arlington is that property prices are pretty low compared to other major cities and you can therefore buy a home at reasonably low prices and don’t have to spend as much money on housing as people living in Washington D.C. or other more expensive regions.

Rents are affordable for the general public

Not only property prices are rather low, but also rents are still affordable for the average person and people don’t have to spend a significant fraction of their disposable income on housing yet but can rather buy many other nice things for daily life.

You will find a decent place to stay rather quickly

Since demand for housing in Arlington is rather low compared to Forth Worth or other big cities, you will also find a decent place to stay rather quickly and don’t have to search for many weeks or even months as people who want to move to more popular regions where competition in the housing market is much higher often have to do.

Living costs are reasonably low in Arlington

Another upside to living in Arlington is that living costs are also fairly low and while people living in L.A. often have to spend lots of money on drinks and other things of daily life, you will have to spend far less money in Arlington and can therefore afford much more with the same income.

People don’t have to make lots of money to afford a decent lifestyle

Since housing and living costs are fairly low, people in Arlington don’t have to make as much money as in other more expensive regions and therefore also don’t have to work as much overtime and will be more relaxed due to that in general.

Overall financial pressure is rather low

Since the overall price level in Arlington is pretty low, overall financial pressure is also not as high for people living in Arlington compared to people living in San José or other more expensive regions and you will therefore have a much easier time saving and investing money for retirement or for other important things.

Arlington can be a great commuter city

Arlington can also be a great city for commuters since it is closely located to both Forth Worth and Dallas and this gives you the opportunity to live in Arlington for pretty low rent while you can still make decent money in one of the two big cities from your job.

Many nature activities to choose from

Another benefit of living in Arlington is that you will also have more than enough leisure activities to choose from.

Since there are many lakes and forests in the Arlington region, you can go camping, fishing, hiking, hunting and do many other things in nature so that you have a pretty easy time relaxing from your stressful life and can make awesome memories at the same time.

Many recreational spaces in Arlington

Not only will you find many nice places outside the city borders, but you will also find many nice parks and other recreational spaces in the city of Arlington where you can reload your batteries during lunch break or after work so that you are prepared for the stressful things yet to come.

Traffic is not a big problem in Arlington

Another upside to moving to Arlington is that traffic is not a big problem yet and you can therefore get around by car in a pretty efficient manner without getting stuck in traffic jams and will also have a rather easy time finding a parking lot.

You can get around by bicycle in an efficient manner

If you don’t want to use your car, you can also just use your bicycle for short distances since Arlington is a bike-friendly city and you can therefore save lots of money on gas in the long run and can also do good for our environment at the same time.

People in Arlington are friendly and relaxed

You should also know that people in Arlington are friendly, relaxed and outgoing and you will therefore have an easy time socializing in this region and can make many new friends rather quickly.

People are genuine and real

Not only are most people in Arlington friendly and open, but they are also genuine and real at the same time and not as shallow as in many other big cities where people often just want to brag with their nice things instead of caring about your character.

Easy to make really good friends in Arlington

Since people are honest and real, you can also make many really good friends in the Arlington region and some of them will stay on your side for many years or even decades and you therefore also don’t have to worry about feeling lonely or getting socially isolated in Arlington at all.

You can experience many different cultures and can try delicious foods

Since Arlington is a multicultural city, you can also talk to many interesting people and also the overall culinary experience is awesome since you can try many delicious dishes from all over the world.

Population in Arlington is growing

You should also be aware of the fact that population in Arlington has been growing over the past decade and this is usually a sign that the city becomes increasingly popular and may become even more interesting in case more people from other states may move to this region.

Good future outlook for the city of Arlington

Another advantage of moving to Arlington is that the city also has a pretty decent future outlook since population is growing and it is also located between two major cities in Texas so that the Arlington region will stay important for many decades.

Arlington has decent tap water

Since Arlington has pretty decent tap water, you may also not have to get bottled water from the store and this can save you lots of time and money in the long run.

Decent doctors and hospitals in the Arlington region

Another benefit of moving to Arlington is that you will also find many good doctors and hospitals and in case you get sick, you can get solid medical treatment so that you can recover from your disease as quickly as possible.

You can use the international airports of neighboring cities

Since Arlington is closely located to Fort Worth and Dallas, you can also use the big international airport of those neighboring cities and can get to many destinations all over the world in a pretty efficient manner.

Decent supply of material goods

You will also find everything you need for daily life in the Arlington region and the supply of material goods is pretty decent compared to other smaller towns where you often have to commute to other cities to get rather exotic things.

You can enjoy warm weather

Arlington is also a pretty warm place and can therefore be a great place to stay in case you can’t stand the cold at all and want to have warm weather all year long.

You can spend lots of time outdoors in Arlington

Thanks to warm weather and many hours of sun, you can also spend lots of time outdoors in the Arlington region while many other people living in Seattle or other colder regions often have to spend more time indoors and may be in a worse mood.

As you can see, there are many reasons for moving to Arlington.

However, it is still not all sunshine and we also have to talk about all the downsides to living in Arlington so that you get a better picture of reality and are better able to decide whether you still want to move to Arlington or rather want to live in a different region instead.

Disadvantages of Living in Arlington

  1. Median household income in Arlington is rather low
  2. Crime rate in Arlington is above national average
  3. You may miss fancy shopping opportunities in Arlington
  4. Air quality in Arlington is not great
  5. Arlington may be too hot for you
  6. Hard to find really good schools and colleges in Arlington
  7. Pretty poor public transport in Arlington
  8. You may miss the feeling of big city life in Arlington
  9. Arlington is not the most popular city
  10. You may have to justify moving to Arlington
  11. Friends from other states may not visit you often
  12. Arlington is not located at the coast

Median household income in Arlington is rather low

One drawback of moving to Arlington is that the median household income in Arlington is pretty low and this means that you will have a hard time making really good money in this region.

Thus, if your goal is to get rich as quickly as possible, you may rather want to move to San Francisco or other regions where income levels are much higher.

Crime rate in Arlington is above national average

You should also know that crime rate in Arlington is above national average and if you are a careful person, you may just not feel safe in this region and may rather want to move to safer places instead.

You may miss fancy shopping opportunities in Arlington

Since Arlington is not the most glamorous city, you will also miss fancy shopping opportunities in case you are a shopping queen and want to spend lots of time buying fancy clothing.

Air quality in Arlington is not great

Another disadvantage of living in Arlington is that air quality is not great in this region and this may lower your overall quality of life and may also increase your risk of suffering from serious pulmonary issues sooner or later.

Arlington may be too hot for you

You should also keep in mind that Arlington is a pretty hot place and while some people like the heat, others just can’t stand it and if you belong to the second group of people, you will be better off moving to Milwaukee or other cooler places instead.

Hard to find really good schools and colleges in Arlington

Compared to other big metropolitan regions, overall education levels are also pretty poor in Arlington and it will be hard to find really good schools and colleges for your kids.

Pretty poor public transport in Arlington

Another problem with living in Arlington is that public transport is pretty poor and you may therefore have to rely on your car to get around, especially if you live in the outskirts of Arlington where distances are not as short as close to the city center and you may not be able to get around by bike in an efficient manner.

You may miss the feeling of big city life in Arlington

Since Arlington is not comparable to other bigger cities, you may also miss the feeling of big city life you may be used to from NYC or other big metropolitan regions.

Arlington is not the most popular city

In general, Arlington is not the most popular city and has a rather poor reputation compared to other bigger cities out there.

In turn, Arlington is also not as popular among tourists as many other big cities and you may therefore have a harder time connecting to people from all over the world.

You may have to justify moving to Arlington

Since Arlington is not the most popular city, your loved ones may also not understand your decision of moving to Arlington and you may have to justify quite a lot in this regard.

Friends from other states may not visit you often

Since there are not as many things to do as in other major metropolitan regions, your friends from other states may also not visit you in Arlington as often as you might wish and you may therefore feel lonely from time to time.

Arlington is not located at the coast

Since Arlington is not located at the coast, you will not have the opportunity to go surfing or do other water sports on a regular basis while your friends living in Long Beach or other places directly located at the coast will have this luxury and you may therefore envy your friends quite a lot in this regard.

Top 10 Moving To Arlington Pros & Cons – Summary List

Living in Arlington ProsLiving in Arlington Cons
Property prices in Arlington are fairly lowPretty high crime rates in Arlington
Rents are affordable for the general publicMedian household income is pretty low
Living costs in Arlington are acceptableArlington is not the most exciting city
Financial pressure is rather low in ArlingtonNot much entertainment in Arlington
Great weather in ArlingtonArlington is not located at the coast
Arlington is surrounded by beautiful natureYou may not like the heat in Arlington
Arlington is a bike-friendly cityArlington is not as popular as other major cities
Easy to get around by carYou may miss the feeling of big city life
Arlington has decent tap waterPoor public transport in Arlington
Arlington is a great commuter cityHard to find excellent education in Arlington

Is Arlington A Good Place To Live?

Arlington can be a great place to live since it is a strong economic region and you can spend lots of time in nature while property prices and rents are still fairly low. However, you should also know that Arlington is not the safest city and you will just not have as much entertainment as in other major metropolitan regions.

Alternative Cities To Live In

If you don’t want to move to Arlington anymore, you should also have a look at the following articles:

Advantages and disadvantages of living in Wichita

Advantages and disadvantages of living in Tulsa

Advantages and disadvantages of living in Chicago

Sources

https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/arlingtoncitytexas

https://www.arlingtontx.gov/

About the author

This site is about living, moving and traveling to various parts of our fascinating planet.

My name is Andreas and when I was younger, I traveled the world and learned a lot about different cultures and countries.

Thus, I want to share my experiences with you so that you can benefit from them and avoid common mistakes in this regard.

In my articles, you will find everything you need to find the best location for a happy and successful life.

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