Is Dallas really better? (Houston, San Antonio: sales, lease, houses)

[Rose Red]

Originally Posted by Mckellyb

I'm a Dallas native, and can say, while it isn't the cowtown everyone from out-of-state thinks it is, most cities do not live up to people's impressions of what they should be.

Yes, Dallas is a shopping mecca. Austin is not. Dallas has more food and entertainment (movies, theatre, and the like), than Austin. Dallas also has some wickedly bad traffic. If you live in Ft. Worth, it's highly unlikely you're going to commute to/from Dallas for more than a month. I've done it, but in reverse. Irving to west Ft. Worth. This was 12 years ago, and it wasn't enjoyable, then.

Sports. Honestly, I coulndn't care less, so Austin works for me. In fact, if I could find a town which had local news not reporting on any sports-related information, I'd be content.

Funny how those of us who grew up in Dallas feel Houston is pretty much pure evil. Sure, the beach is an hour away, but so are the refineries, traffic, and tarballs on your sandy feet. Also, Houston is a perfect example of why zoning is a good idea. Let's not discuss the humidity....

I'd consider a move to Arlington, to work in Ft. Worth, if the opportunity arose, but I'd not move to Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Chi-town, anywhere on either coast, Phoenix, Vegas, KC, or any other large town, on a bet. I'm even shying away from San Antonio, just because while it's a 'small' city, it's still a city. Austin is much like a very large 'town'.

If you're familiar with both Denver and Co Springs, it's a similar comparison, IMHO.

I've left many places out of areas I'd consider relocating to, but I'd take Denver, The Springs, I'm in Austin, Ft. Worth, Sioux Falls (it's really kinda nice around there), and a few others. I'd even consider Anchorage, if the money was right. Three hours of daylight for a few months of the year is expensive to tolerate.

This is off topic.

The only time I hear the word "wickedly" is from my mom and friends in the Northeast. I grew up in MA so we used the term "wicked" a lot. Is that term coming back or are you originally from somewhere back east?

[MJinAustin]

Originally Posted by jxn3000

several friends think that I am crazy for not choosing Dallas. They reasons they list for preferring Dallas are (and this is their opinion, not mine): more cultural activities, more cosmopolitan city, better sporting events, better shopping/dining....

Have these friends ever been to Dallas and/or Austin?

I posted this a few weeks ago on another Dallas vs. Austin thread since I have lived in both places, so it is somewhat geared toward that poster, but you can glean what you need from it. I think your choice will come down to your personal choices about what you like to do in your spare time and what type of environment you like to live in.

-----------------------------------------

Having had homes and jobs in both cities, I can give you a little insight from our situation, but with you had given more info like what you expect in a home for what price, and what your personal preferences are regarding extracurriculars and weather, and how you define quality of life!

PAY...From my perspective, pay will go about the same in both places. Lots of people say that Austin is more expensive, but really we found that the less expensive new homes on the outskirts of Dallas were so far out, that the time and gas money (PARTICULARLY with the gas prices today) you spend commuting in Dallas pretty much makes it an even bet.

HOUSING IN DALLAS...about 5 years ago, we built a $230K brand new 2300 s.f. home in a somewhat upscale burb from David Weekley (a popular and reputable builder) 30 miles north of Dallas. We found that the homes in Plano and Richardson and some of the other popular family burbs in Dallas were more expensive and required some work, so the choice for us was to go further out. Frisco and McKinney also have some reasonably priced homes, but they would be 30 miles north of downtown Dallas.

HOUSING IN AUSTIN... for about $230-250K, you can get an older 1800 s.f. house in northwest Austin about 10 miles from downtown, or a larger newer home more north in Cedar Park or Round Rock (about 15-18 miles from downtown). Same price will buy you a larger home in Pflugerville (about 2500 s.f.).

RAISING KIDS...you're going to be able to find great public schools in either city, just do your research first. Obviously, since Dallas is larger, you're going to have more choice regarding extracurricular activities for the kids (more dance studios, soccer leagues, etc. to choose from).

WEATHER...It's a little more variable in Dallas...a little colder in winter (sometimes snow)...a little more humid...a little more crazy in the spring with thunderstorms/tornadoes, etc. Austin is a little drier climate (though not totally devoid of humidity). Austin's gardening and landscaping tends to be more desert-like - grasses, sages, plants that can handle heat, whereas you can grow more water-loving plants in Dallas.

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES...you didn't say what field you were in. Austin will offer a lot of tech opportunities. Once you're in "the know" and connected here, you will have few problems finding jobs in tech. Again, Dallas will probably offer more choice in general just because it's bigger. Anecdotally, people have said it is hard to get a job here because lots of people go to UT and then stay, so there are a number of people with graduate degrees waiting tables, etc. Now, I think there are a few reasons for that...perhaps those people just love Austin so much and fit the Austin vibe so much (very laid back) that they don't really search very hard for jobs. My personal experience is that it was hard to break into the market when we moved here (I have a variety of business background) and I had to take a lower position than I was accustomed just to get my foot in the door...however, I am now well connected and have been able to get jobs subsequently. I think Austin is a "who you know" sort of town.

QUALITY OF LIFE...again, you didn't state how you define quality of life. Dallas residents in general care more about what they drive, where they live, what they wear, etc. There's definitely an "air", but not everyone is like that. Dallas is definitely more conservative and there are a lot of church-goers. Dallas is flat and the highest point is probably an interstate overpass. If you are a homebody and like shopping and eating out and doing things close to home, you might like Dallas. Austin is more laid back, parts are a little Bohemian, there's a huge live music presence here so creative personalities are attracted here. There is a small portion of Austin (mainly western/southwestern) that is a little into the "keeping up with the Joneses" attitude, but it's much less pronounced than Dallas. The burbs are a little more conservative, but Austin proper tends liberal (I won't say "very liberal" because I've lived in San Francisco and I KNOW "very liberal").

Ok...have tried to be objective to this point. Subjectively, my hubby and I call Dallas "a great big place where people live"...meaning, there's nothing more exciting to say about it than that. There's no topographical variety, it's fairly homogenous in many respects (including the people). However, because it's a big city, it does offer more than Austin does in the way of major amenities - like museums.

Hope that helps.

[Mckellyb]

Originally Posted by Rose Red

This is off topic.

The only time I hear the word "wickedly" is from my mom and friends in the Northeast. I grew up in MA so we used the term "wicked" a lot. Is that term coming back or are you originally from somewhere back east?

Nope, Dallas, born-and-raised. Folks were from the East Coast, but they lost all of those traits by the time I was 8, or so.

It's not a term I'd typically use, but it was all I could come up with after having been there a couple of weeks ago. The traffic was borderline evil in its herd-like behavior.

'Horribly' is overused, 'nasty' isn't intense enough, 'unpleasant' means it could be pleasant if the planets aligned properly....

'Visciouly' covers it nicely. That covers my mental thesaurus at this particular point in time. I've been refreshing my binary math abilities for the past few days, so in a week, I'll no longer be able to converse, at all.

'Nefarious' is closer to what I'd like to have used, but it didn't come to the fingers, at the time.

[love roses]

Coming from Houston, I never found it butt ugly. The only things I disliked were the flatness and it seems like an awful lot of concrete. There are some very nice areas around Houston and the people are friendly and it's a lot more laid back than Dallas. As in Austin, people going to the store in shorts and flip flops, it's the same way there. The refineries are not close enough to downtown to even notice they are there. They're off to the East of the city, closer to Pasadena (Stinkadena). River Oaks, The Galleria Area, Memorial Area, The Woodlands....all pretty areas. And there are lots of trees around the city, just not so many just North and Central to it.

RGV has some nice pics of Ft. Worth up on the Texas forum if anyone wants to check them out. They are mostly of the stockyards and the immediately surrounding areas.

[mimimomx3]

FWIW, I'll take Houston over Dallas and San Antonio over both. Dallas is just too stuffy for me.

[car957]

Mom speaks the truth and roses speaks her experience. You can have Dallas. I heard that Dallas has more shopping malls per capita than any other US city. I don't need a Cold Stone Ice Cream whenever I have Blue Bell.

On a personal note - I'm seriously considering Lubbock in the next 10 years. Not much (yet) in the live music scene but it is a darn nice town.

Good luck in your decision making process.

[itcoastie]

we just visited family in houston, dallas, and austin this past year when we were deciding where to move and thought the traffic was the worst in dallas and houston. we just loved that austin had more of a country feel to it. so it depends on what you are after.

[love roses]

True, that's what makes it hard to recommend a city when someone just asks which one is the best to move to without any other info. Over on the Texas forum, Lubbock has been getting lots of love lately. They say it's one of the newest "hot" places to move to in Texas after Austin.

[jxn3000]

thanks for all the great responses and information....after reading what everyone has said about ft. worth, im thinking that might be an option

[LookingtoLeave]

Originally Posted by love roses

Coming from Houston, I never found it butt ugly. The only things I disliked were the flatness and it seems like an awful lot of concrete. There are some very nice areas around Houston and the people are friendly and it's a lot more laid back than Dallas. As in Austin, people going to the store in shorts and flip flops, it's the same way there. The refineries are not close enough to downtown to even notice they are there. They're off to the East of the city, closer to Pasadena (Stinkadena). River Oaks, The Galleria Area, Memorial Area, The Woodlands....all pretty areas. And there are lots of trees around the city, just not so many just North and Central to it.

I completely agree. Outside of Austin, Houston is my 2nd choice for relocation, but that leads me to one question many have mentioned and sorry if it's a stupid one. What is meant by Houston doesn't have the zoning Dallas has?