Where I Live: Fort Worth transplants find friendship, culture and community in West 7th
By Christine Miller
Five years ago, my husband and I moved to The Stayton at Museum Way by Buckner from San Francisco. We did not know a single person in Fort Worth.
Where I Live spotlights Tarrant County’s unique neighborhoods, as told by the residents that live there. Submit an essay to tell us about your neighborhood. Where I Live is sponsored by Frost Bank.
The Stayton is in a prime location in Fort Worth: between the Trinity Park with a duck pond and the Cultural District with its museums.
In some respects, the Stayton is a neighborhood unto itself within West 7th.
The Stayton is a senior community with a full continuum of care available. For us now, it has beautiful big apartments with views of the park, downtown or the western horizon. There are many things to do like exercise classes, art or craft lessons, music to play or listen to and interesting lectures from Silver Frogs or museum curators or civic leaders. These are all great ways to interact with our friends and meet new people.
We are also in close walking distance to shopping and restaurants.
We love to ride our bikes along the Trinity Trails and to walk to many places within the West 7th neighborhood and downtown. All the attractions of downtown and of the Cultural District are within a mile radius of the Stayton.
Where else could you see cutting horses, art at the Amon Carter Museum of American Art and then go to Sundance Square in the evening to hear a live band playing jazz or music from Havana?
We moved here right at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and rode our bicycles around town. There was no traffic, and we were able to learn more about Fort Worth than some of our neighbors who have been here forever.
We found it was easy to meet new people and people always said hello as we rode. But the best people are the friends we have met at the Stayton. We moved to Fort Worth because of residents’ friendliness.
Our neighbors at the Stayton, though, are special. Many are Fort Worth natives so we have learned lots of history. They also have been involved in business, altruistic endeavors, and political and civic activities. That just gives us some inside knowledge of what’s going on.
Most people think of West 7th as the place where the trains stop the traffic, but if they get out and look around it is a lot more.
We have grocery stores, Montgomery Plaza, Artisan Circle and a large number of restaurants. In fact it seems that there is a new place to eat popping up every week.
We have the park, with Mayfest and Oktoberfest, the Fort Worth Botanic Garden, the Will Rogers Memorial Center with all of its activities. Plus, the museums and don’t forget Dickies Arena.
One could live their whole life without ever leaving the area. It gets even better if we include downtown, Sundance Square and Panther Island.
But the best by far was the warm welcome and continued friendship and love we have from our community.
West 7th
Total population: 4,417
Female: 52.3% | Male: 47.7%
Age
0-9: .77%
10-19: 0%
20-29: 52.6%
30-39: 16.3%
40-49: 6%
50-59: 4.7%
60-69: 7.9%
70-79: 4.6%
80 and older: 7.3%
Education
No degree: .5%
High school: 6%
Some college: 16%
Bachelor’s degree: 40%
Post-graduate: 37%
Race
White: 75% | Black: 6.8% | Hispanic: 8.3% | Asian: 7.8% | Two or more: 1.7%
Click on the link to view the schools’ Texas Education Agency ratings:
Source: Census Reporter
Christine Miller and her husband, Gary Glaser, have lived in Fort Worth since 2020.