What's it like living in Dallas, TX?

[Spede]

My wife and I (plus 2 kids under 5) have thought about moving to the Dallas, TX area. Anyone live there and can give us "constructive" thoughts on it. No jokes please... this is a serious consideration for us.

Our current situation:
We live in the San Francisco Bay Area but have only been here for a few years. Before that we've lived in Hawaii and Nevada. I work remotely on the Web so that's not really a concern for us.

Reason for moving:
Reduce lower cost of real estate.

Concerns:
Raising young Asian kids in Texas. We live in a very diverse area and wonder if Texas will be a culture shock.

Are there natural disasters in that part of Texes? California is riddled with earthquake/fire danger.

Your input is much appreciated.

PS- This question is about Dallas cause my sister is moving there with her family.

[Neilk]

Hey Steve,

Dallas has actually gotten really diverse in the past 20+ years. We even have Asian neighborhoods. Heck, half my company is from Vietnam. So don't worry about having Asian kids. Where in the Bay Area do you live?

If you like the outdoors, I would seriously think about Austin instead of Dallas. Dallas is really flat and the outdoor activities in summer suck. Lastly, what are you looking for? Suburbia where you have huge McMansions or more neighborly areas?

Neil

[Spede]

We live in the Pleasanton area of the Bay Area so we're probably looking for something suburbia-ish. Don't need a big mansion... just a good sized home. We have about 3000 sq/ft now and would like go bigger. Plus I'd need a HUGE garage! heh heh heh

I think we'll just have to go there an scope it out.

Thanks for chiming in.

[Rikao4]

How SF are you ?
we execute,have guns,

Rika

[Spede]

Originally Posted by Rikao4

How SF are you ?
we execute,have guns,

Rika

No problem there.

Does every other person really carry a concealed weapon there?

[Rikao4]

Naw, we just like to keep tourist on their toes.
But, judges do accept the classic TX defense line
'he needed killin'
you will fall down when you see what your $ buys in TX compared to CA.
it's hot, humid, I love it.
Rika

[stomachmonkey]

Moved down here from Long Island NY.

Aside from lack of immediate family close by we love it.

I live up by Lubemaster about 20 minutes N of DFW.

Quality of life is great.

Bang for the buck is awesome.

PM me if you want to chat about it.

[911boost]

I have a really good friend that lives about 15 minutes from DFW. I was in Midland, TX last week and I stayed an extra night in Dallas to see him and his wife.

Do you hate the Dallas Cowboys? If so, it might make it tough, but otherwise I don't mind it there at all.

I would much rather live there than in SF. I have spent a lot of time in CA, and my sister lives in Redwood City, so take it for what its worth.

Bill

[Noah930]

I looked into moving to Dallas a couple years ago. I even accepted a job, but in the end the deal fell through. I don't feel badly about that, as I'm now in a place I'd rather live.

As a Californian, here were my impressions:

First off, Dallas is really, um, flat. Like endless in every direction. There's no ocean. There are no mountains. Or even hills. Imagine the urban sprawl of Southern California...with no end.

I'm Asian, too. But there seemed to be enough diversity that this wasn't a big deal. Like Neil said, there are Asian neighborhoods and markets. Maybe not to the same degree of saturation as in San Francisco/Northern California, but you won't feel totally isolated, either. Still, for other reasons, I think Dallas will be a bit of culture shock. C'mon, I think the whole state almost qualifies as separate country status. I don't mean that in a bad way. Someone moving from San Francisco to New York would have some culture shock, too.

Housing prices were amazingly different. In the suburbs between Dallas and Fort Worth where I was considering working/living, new starter McMansions went for about $350-550K. I don't know if you can get a crack house for that little, here in LA. And, there's no state income tax. (And for me, at least, my income would have been considerably higher.)

Don't know about natural disasters. Dallas is in North Texas, so I suppose you can't ignore the risk of tornados. Perhaps someone else can comment on this.

But everyone I met seemed to rave about the abundance of things to do. Lots of activities, things to see, places to go. As a car guy, I was intrigued by the two race track communities built just outside of town. Kinda like a country club, but instead of houses around a golf course, you have houses around a race track.

[Spede]

This is great feedback... thanks to everyone so far!

[mattdavis11]

Tornados are a reality, but not too much of a threat. By saying that I mean you won't be buying a house that has a bunker/shelter built in. We get the occasional touchdown where a few trees are thrown about, power poles go down, a car gets smashed, and some houses get new roofs. Luckily, or lack thereof for some, we have our fair share of trailer parks riddled around the metroplex that relax the fear of being hit on the home front. We have some pretty nasty thunderstoms, it will hail, sometimes really bad, new roof or new car bad. A fire will not burn through the metroplex, but an apartment complex or twelve will go up in smoke occasionally. Lightning has been known to torch a few homes a year.

One thing is for sure, it's hot in the summer, and all the concrete makes it even hotter. In the winter it will get cold, but rarely below freezing. If the stars align just right, the kids get a "snow day" b/c of sleet, which pretty much shuts everything down. Snow is rare, but it does happen.

The culture is pretty diverse, but it really wouldn't matter much if it wasn't. We're pretty friendly folk here that will welcome all walks of life.

[Neilk]

I hate to say it, but if you like suburbia, check out Frisco or Southlake. They have really good school districts.

I live near downtown, so anything outside of 635 is no man's land to me...

[Tobra]

According to what this new patient told me today, it sort of sucks ass. Of course, she is black, and was talking about 1960, so this may not be totally accurate. She did not care for Virginia in 1963 either

[89911]

From a purely aesthetic view, I could not take living in a state that is so visually uninspiring like many of the Mid-West. W. Pennsylvania is very wooded and has is share of mountains and hill with the Appalachian Mountains running through it. It's something I grown up with. When you move to a state where the highest point is a cell tower, I guess you get use to it, especially if the money's there.

[sjf911]

I have lived in Austin, Dallas, San Antonio, and Houston. If I were to move to Texas again, it would be back to Austin or somewhere else in the hill/lake country close to there. Lots of heat, humidity, T-storms, and things that like to bite .