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Your money will definitely go farther in Dallas-Fort Worth, but after a few years I found it to be an extremely mundane place to live. Very little in the way of scenic beauty and absolutely wretched summertime weather to boot.
If you're into the arts scene and enjoy shopping and eating out all the time you'll probably love it there. If you're outdoorsy you'll probably hate it.
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Originally Posted by John7777
I've lived in both cities. And, once upon a time, Plano have the cheaper real estate by far. Today, they say prices in the Dallas area are getting to be a little bit excessive. Why, I'm not sure, but you can easily get on Realtor.com and poke around. And whatever you do, don't forget to factor in the tax situation. California has an income tax and Texas does not, but Texas makes up for it by having abnormally high property taxes. I guess you'd pay the property taxes in Texas regardless of your family situation or the number of your dependents. In California, the property tax will be about 1%, and the income tax is graduated and you'd surely get a break because of your dependents.
Personally, I wouldn't want to try to live in San Diego with a wife and a a kid on only $126K, primarily because of the cost of San Diego real estate. And the schools might be better in Plano.
For what it's worth, one of the very best days of my life was the day I finally left Texas. Some people must like it, but all thing s considered, it wasn't for me.
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Originally Posted by usamathman
Your money will go further in Plano. Schools systems in that area are also pretty good. Plenty of activities in Dallas for a family man such as yourself.
Visited San Diego earlier in the year. As far as weather and sheer beauty is concerned. San Diego....hands down is better. I found the people there also be much more friendlier, laid back and relaxed. Only cons are the high real estate prices. Other than that....you couldn't find a better location to call home.
Lived in Dallas for 7 months and hated every minute of it.
My suggestion. As single earner with a wife and kid. Probably best to go with job in Plano.
However, please make sure to schedule a visit before committing. Dallas is one of those places that you either love or hate.
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Originally Posted by FJB327
I'm in the DFW area. San Diego is my favorite city in the USA. I'd move there in a heart beat if I could live somewhat comparable to how I do now.
Home prices are cheaper here. You can provide your family with a great quality of life in DFW. Great schools, nice home, extra money to splurge on things like clothes, vacations somewhere, youth sports, school extracurricular activities etc...
That's why I'm stuck in DFW. If I was all about myself, I'd choose San Diego. The weather is to die for and the beaches are nice.
Unless you can get a comparable house in San Diego, logic says DFW. My heart is in SoCal though
^^^
These are accurate statements. Plano is "family-ville" and "easy living" at its finest. While I do not like Dallas and its burbs for a few of the reasons listed above, there's no denying that you'll make out better in Plano based on the cost of living and access to your basic needs & services. Good schools, its safe and though the housing market is white-hot crazy in DFW, your likely to find a decent home in a good area.
Plano is more practical for your family now, while San Diego is definitely a highly desirable place to be.
Having lived in both San Diego (SD) and currently Plano, that's a tough choice. Both offer different things. But personally? I'd pick San Diego hands down.
SD offers the beach & surf lifestyle, gorgeous sunsets, and culture. Not to mention the zoo, Balboa Park, Gas Lamp district, & fish tacos! If you are serious about SD, consider Mira Mesa or RB (Rancho Bernardo). Both have their own, unique take on being great, family-centric areas.
The thing is: you pick SD, you will lose on home size and QOL in the commute, unless you are lucky enough to live very close to your job.
You pick Plano? You will lose on out-door-ability factors and possibly housing. I'd suggest to find an excellent realtor asap to help you navigate the current DFW housing market. **Keep in mind, housing prices here are and have been on the rise (but still better priced than CA).**
We moved to Plano a few months ago from a western mountain town. Our other choices were Boston or DC. We chose Plano for a perceived low COL we thought existed. We thought we'd won the lottery with a great job offer and coupling that with the savings we thought we'd have moving here, well...
Fast forward a few months. We didn't realize, naively, that Toyota and State Farm are rushing in as well, driving up already on-the-rise home prices -- for rentals as well as mortgages. So now we are suffering both housing sticker shock and culture shock, not to mention imminent weather shock this coming summer. My husband is doing fine here but given the chance, I'd move back west in a minute.
In addition, the emotional cost of uprooting our family (4 kids, all school age) has been high. My husband has the cool job, I left mine to support him and have yet to find my professional niche here now. And the homes are not that cheap: those in Plano neighborhoods we are eyeing are $500,000+ to start, which is fine, we just thought they'd be cheaper (more like $400,000 or $450,000) and have bigger back yards.
From other threads, people & articles we've read the trend now is cash offers, multiple offers, zero contingencies, and moving fast on what you want before it's gone. If you've already been a buyer in a hot market (sigh, we have), we are so over this (insert eye roll). The beauty/joy of an area wanes when there is such fierce competition, people like us (been there, done that), may just up and leave, move further out to a less competitive area. The question is where from Plano?
Transition to a new part of the country can be tough. Think and think again before moving. It is an intensely personal choice and easier done/less complicated when children are younger. We believe in blooming where you're planted and all, but me? I'm impatient. I have a habit of pulling up the flowers to check how the roots are doing.
But think about all the things you could do with that extra cash that gets eaten up in California. Travel the world, etc.
I guess maybe that isn't as important to other people.
I live in San Diego and make considerably less than this poster. It didn't stop me from visiting 8 countries last year, saving for retirement, etc.
I used a few online "Cost of Living Calculators". Most seem to agree that Plano will be about 25-28% cheaper to live (utilities, healthcare, housing, transportation, groceries). It seems like the higher San Diego wage mostly offsets that difference, although the results are mixed.
So if disposable income is relatively similar, would you rather live in Plano or San Diego?
Your money will go further in Plano, but be aware that salary is not high-falooting nice real estate or fancy living in Plano.
You'll probably be priced into cookie-cutter zero lot crap. Or something really old on the east side.
So many people come here with much higher salaries than you (we just got an influx of new doctors from California) and complain that they thought their money would go further than it does. Many of them have actually put off purchasing a house because it wasn't what they expected.
But you could live outside Plano (further out of town) and commute in. There are good schools all over the place. Plano schools are excellent. But Frisco and Allen are nothing to sneeze at.
And Texas has no state income tax, but the property taxes can really hit your wallet. For a $400k house, you could easily pay 6 or 7 thousand dollars a year in property taxes.
So don't think you'd come in a lead a rich life by any means. But you'll be comfortable and get more overall bang for your buck in Plano.
Knowing this, you might reconsider just going to San Diego.
As far as outdoor stuff, I'm outside playing, running, biking, and tennising 365 days a year here. If you're a super-pansy, the couple of months of dire heat (read: 90s) might bother you, but most of us play all year long. Lakes are aplenty for fishing, boating, jet-skiing, waterskiing, swimming, etc, too. The top is down on my car pretty much any time of the year, too.
However, the ocean is the ocean and nothing beats the ocean.
I would not live in Plano, though, if I didn't make tons of $$$. Having lots of $$$ makes living in Plano awesome, because I can afford the actually nice real estate, all the amenities, and make use of two great airports nearby to go and do whatever I want. And that includes flying to luxury ocean destinations while still filling my retirement account vs living somewhat near some beach and not saving as much.
I would not live in Plano, though, if I didn't make tons of $$$. Having lots of $$$ makes living in Plano awesome, because I can afford the actually nice real estate, all the amenities, and make use of two great airports nearby to go and do whatever I want. And that includes flying to luxury ocean destinations while still filling my retirement account vs living somewhat near some beach and not saving as much.
I'm so glad you said this. For some odd reason, many people in these parts don't always like to admit that this is a key reason of living in Plano, or DFW for that matter. Truthful post.
... and I definitely wouldn't want to waste my life in Plano, Texas.
Grew up in Los Angeles and lived in Plano for 4 years.
I loved living in Plano. I almost wished I hadn't left.
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