Dallas vs. Austin vs. Charlotte (living, best, state, better)
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Hello, I've currently been living in Austin for a year but have some thinking to do:
My girlfriend and I are generally liking Austin so far, but we want to buy a house in the next 1.5-2 years. Austin is only getting more and more expensive along with the bad traffic and tons and rising population (not necessarily a bad thing). We're both 23 and I can work my job remotely if needed and she's a nurse so can find a job anywhere.
So some important things to use are:
-Economy
-House prices
-Nightlife/Fun things to do
-Outdoors stuff (we like greenery)
-Low crime (all big cities essentially have crime, we know this)
-A place to call home long-term (this is our problem with Austin, it seems more like a trendy city where people eventually move away after a couple of years?)
Any other input would be great! Or just any other cities you would recommend in general. We want to stay away from CA, Mid-West, and far North-East as snow is not fun.
FWIW, other than lakes, DFW is an awful place to live if you like the outdoors. The hiking options blow, the camping is mediocre, and the biking is average at best. The natural setting of DFW is bland/borderline ugly. It's like Kansas with more trees. You've gotta drive 100+ miles to get to places that are simply meh. Stay in Austin or maybe try Charlotte.
-Economy Dallas by far. There's a constant stream of corporate relocations and the DFW metro continues to be within the top 5 for job growth each year. It's also very diversified between tech, finance, legal, you name it
-House prices Charlotte. Due to the aforementioned job/population growth of Dallas, home prices have been rapidly rising. Many of the desirable in-town city neighborhoods and burbs are almost as expensive as Austin. You may want to check out the Fort Worth side of the metro for more affordable housing, but the commute could be a killer due to the fact most of the jobs are on the Dallas side. This could be Charlotte's advantage of having a shorter commute + affordable housing
-Nightlife/Fun things to do Dallas. If you've enjoyed Austin's nightlife, you can find areas in Dallas with a similar vibe. Due to being a larger city, Dallas's nightlife is a bit more diverse. Some places are more laid back, others more upscale.
-Outdoors stuff (we like greenery) Charlotte. Closer proximity to mountains and much nicer beaches (Myrtle Beach, SC vs. Galveston, TX). The southeast in general gets more rain and is more lush. Much of the terrain of the Dallas area is pretty equivalent to the northern Austin suburbs of Round Rock & Georgetown. There are a lot of lakes though and many in-town Dallas neighborhoods are pretty tree-covered (e.g. near White Rock Lake). Since you're only 3 hours away, I would take a trip up and see if it's passable for you or not.
-Low crime (all big cities essentially have crime, we know this) Not sure about Charlotte. In Dallas, it's more concentrated southeast of Downtown.
-A place to call home long-term (this is our problem with Austin, it seems more like a trendy city where people eventually move away after a couple of years?) I think Charlotte would be a more stable place. The rapid growth of Dallas has also resulted in "trendiness" both in the city and out in the 'burbs. Charlotte is a little bit slower paced with nice growth that isn't as overwhelming.
-Economy Dallas by far. There's a constant stream of corporate relocations and the DFW metro continues to be within the top 5 for job growth each year. It's also very diversified between tech, finance, legal, you name it
-House prices Charlotte. Due to the aforementioned job/population growth of Dallas, home prices have been rapidly rising. Many of the desirable in-town city neighborhoods and burbs are almost as expensive as Austin. You may want to check out the Fort Worth side of the metro for more affordable housing, but the commute could be a killer due to the fact most of the jobs are on the Dallas side. This could be Charlotte's advantage of having a shorter commute + affordable housing
I think it is fair to mention, however, that Fort Worth's side has roughly the same population as the entire Charlotte metro at about 98% so, even then, while Fort Worth's side has less jobs than Dallas' side, the difference may not be as great when compared to the Charlotte metro.
I think it is fair to mention, however, that Fort Worth's side has roughly the same population as the entire Charlotte metro at about 98% so, even then, while Fort Worth's side has less jobs than Dallas' side, the difference may not be as great when compared to the Charlotte metro.
Good point and I forgot the OP will be working remotely while his girlfriend is a nurse.
FWIW, other than lakes, DFW is an awful place to live if you like the outdoors. The hiking options blow, the camping is mediocre, and the biking is average at best. The natural setting of DFW is bland/borderline ugly. It's like Kansas with more trees. You've gotta drive 100+ miles to get to places that are simply meh. Stay in Austin or maybe try Charlotte.
I have to disagree with this. Being from Birmingham, AL and moving to Dallas, we have found many more outdoor activities do to and have been surprised what what's here.
Cedar Ridge is better than any hiking anywhere in Alabama. However, I would argue that Charlotte has much more great hiking.
Lakes... DFW for sure.
Road biking / jogging / walking.. You can ride 50-60 miles in Dallas without ever getting on a road. The paved trail system is amazing.
Mountain Biking.. Plenty of places in Plano and Grapevine etc.. However, I would suspect Charlotte to be better since it's more woodsy.
General overall landscape.. I actually LOVE the flat land. It's more usable and better for biking (there are still hills)..
The best part about flat = the big sky and the awesome clouds/sunrises/sunsets that never saw in Alabama because of the low mountains/pine trees.
Now when I go home, I'm annoyed at all the pine trees that are blocking my view of the sky.. I'm weird though so go figure ha.
I have to disagree with this. Being from Birmingham, AL and moving to Dallas, we have found many more outdoor activities do to and have been surprised what what's here.
Cedar Ridge is better than any hiking anywhere in Alabama. However, I would argue that Charlotte has much more great hiking.
Lakes... DFW for sure.
Road biking / jogging / walking.. You can ride 50-60 miles in Dallas without ever getting on a road. The paved trail system is amazing.
Mountain Biking.. Plenty of places in Plano and Grapevine etc.. However, I would suspect Charlotte to be better since it's more woodsy.
General overall landscape.. I actually LOVE the flat land. It's more usable and better for biking (there are still hills)..
The best part about flat = the big sky and the awesome clouds/sunrises/sunsets that never saw in Alabama because of the low mountains/pine trees.
Now when I go home, I'm annoyed at all the pine trees that are blocking my view of the sky.. I'm weird though so go figure ha.
1) I said biking was average.
2) OP is in Austin. Hiking in DFW compared to Austin is a major downgrade. Lived in DFW for 12 years. 99.9999% of the trails are flat and boring. When you factor in the crap summer climate they're not worth the effort. Austin has real hiking. Dallas, for the most part, does not.
I have to disagree with this. Being from Birmingham, AL and moving to Dallas, we have found many more outdoor activities do to and have been surprised what what's here.
Cedar Ridge is better than any hiking anywhere in Alabama. However, I would argue that Charlotte has much more great hiking.
Lakes... DFW for sure.
Road biking / jogging / walking.. You can ride 50-60 miles in Dallas without ever getting on a road. The paved trail system is amazing.
Mountain Biking.. Plenty of places in Plano and Grapevine etc.. However, I would suspect Charlotte to be better since it's more woodsy.
General overall landscape.. I actually LOVE the flat land. It's more usable and better for biking (there are still hills)..
The best part about flat = the big sky and the awesome clouds/sunrises/sunsets that never saw in Alabama because of the low mountains/pine trees.
Now when I go home, I'm annoyed at all the pine trees that are blocking my view of the sky.. I'm weird though so go figure ha.
I'd have to go with Austin, over both DFW and Charlotte. Sure Charlotte is kind of close to mountains and kind of close to the beach but not really next to either, you're driving a fairly large distance to either one so doing it on any regular basis will be difficult.
As for biking, I'm glad that you enjoy the paved paths of DFW but a lot of us really like actual mountains to mountain bike on, while Austin isn't mountainous they do have a fairly nice mountain bike scene in the Texas Hill Country. And for water, Lake Travis is pretty amazing again right next door.
I spent time in Austin 10-15 years ago, before it was nearly as trendy as its become today. It's too bad that's happened as I really liked the town back then.
The morale of the story is there is no perfect place but if I had to rank orders here I'd put it Austin, Charlotte, then Dallas.
Agree with both above statements. I was talking about road biking though. I love the fact I can road bike for 20-50 miles and never have to ride a dangerous road.
You're right though, it's hard to beat Austin or Charlotte for outdoor activities.
But one thing I love about Dallas is, if you live in uptown, you can walk to the Katy Trail and get outdoors and go on an urban walk. In Austin, I believe you can pretty easily get to the Boardwalk. I'm not sure if Charlotte has anything similar.
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