Is Dallas for us?

[TurtleCreek80]

Welcome!!

[Lakewooder]

Originally Posted by corcorangirl

Hey everyone!

I arrived in Dallas a few days before Christmas and it greeted me with a 90 degrees day in December - what a welcome!

I have to say I really like it here. The people are friendly, and thanks everybody for recommending Lakewood, it's a wonderful area! Also the weather! Although some days have been colder than I expected them to be, weather is sooo mild compared to Minneapolis! The city is also very clean, has a very appealing downtown and gives an overall friendly and welcoming impression. I was really quite worried about coming here, but the first day my husband and I took the baby and went out to get to know our area and the city I knew I could feel at home here.

With a 12 week old baby at home and a husband working full time I didn't really have the time to get to know the city too well, but what I've seen so far has all been very nice. My husband likes his new job, and his colleagues have been extremely welcoming. People here are really much more open than in Minneapolis! Minnesota nice is not a cliché, it's true..

The apartment we're currently living at is really not too great, but well, you get what you pay for, and now we're looking for something more permanent.

I will say this now, because there has been a long discussion in this thread, not because it really is an issue, but Dallas is not really a liberal city in my opinion. From what I can tell so far it's very centrist, pure mainstream America, maybe a little more open when it comes to homosexuals, partying and minorities, but still quite religious. But yes, the Texas stereotype of cowboys and megachurches definitely doesn't fit Dallas.

I can't think of anything negative so far (except for the news, it seems to make me dumber each time I watch it), and although I really miss my friends and the city of Minneapolis which has become my home, I don't regret coming here for a second, and congratulate all of you for building such a wonderful community!

Welcome to Big D!

I think you'll find that East Dallas is more liberal than Lakewood generally..but then again many disagree on which is which!

Hope to see you out at Times Ten, Matt's or somewhere around the neighborhood!

[nsandlie78]

Corcorangirl~
I am too from Minneapolis (Richfield area) and we too are moving to Dallas for my husbands job. He just had an interview and was hired. He will move there in a few weeks to start his new position, while I stay back with our 2yr. and try to sell our house. I am very excited but nervous as well, since its all new. I have only been to Dallas once, to go to the zoo and shopping. I am not sure all what to expect. I am excited to get away from these cold winters though. Hopefully the grass is greener on the other side, right?

Good Luck!

[azriverfan.]

Originally Posted by corcorangirl

Good morning Texas!

I'll be having a baby next month and my husband and I were rather tight on money, but now he got offered a job, a lot better paying than his current job, for a large company in Dallas. He has already been there for a job interview, and they said he could start December 1st. Now the question is, should we go? Is Dallas really for us?

I really love Minneapolis, where we're currently living, but, even though I'd like to, I can't get back to my job after I've had the baby, and my husband has a really bad paying job at the moment, and I do want to be able to give my child a good life.

I've never been to Dallas, but my husband told me it's a very nice place. I'd like to know, is it more or less safe? I mean I know big-city living, there's always some criminality, but in that aspect Minneapolis really is Disneyland, so I guess we're quite spoiled. Another question I have is if public schools are good. Also, Minneapolis is a very liberal city, and I like it, I don't care if my neighbors are conservative, but coming from Omaha, I know that usually they care that I'm liberal. I heard Dallas is rather liberal and doesn't live up to the Texas stereotype, does that mean that our neighbors won't bge inviting us to church and I won't get any shocked looks when I confess that I'm not planning to raise my daughter as a christian? I don't care about hip coffe shops and all those other things usually associated with liberal, I just want people to let me live the way I want.

I used to work as an interpreter (for german), and I'd like to do so again, I don't think anybody here would know what the situation in the job market is like in Dallas, but asking is free, right ? Another thing is, right now we are sharing one car (I almost never take it), is it possible to partially depend on public transportation in Dallas? I mean we would have a car, but I would like to not buy a second one, would that be ok, or rather difficult?

My husband would work Downtown, do you know a nice neighborhood not too far, with good schools, decent public transportation and a 2br apartment for max. about 1200 dollars/month? I like older neighborhoods very much, but that's a bonus not a must

Thanks very much everybody for working through my extremely long post.

PS: It's 40 degrees outside in Minneapolis now, damn I'm looking forward to Texas winters

The Dallas Ft. Worth metropolitan area is most certainly not liberal. It's a prominent city in the Bible Belt and many consider it to be the capital of the Bible Belt. It has a large Christian Evangelical presence and church attendance is a big part of the lives of many DFW residents. It has one of the largest Southern Baptist populations in the country. As a liberal, I would never consider living in Dallas. You have to also consider its location. It's less than 100 miles from the Oklahoma border and it's less than 200 miles from Arkansas. It embodies many of the values and views of that area of the country.

Dallas is a great city. It has a strong economy and schools. It has low crime relatively speaking and is very clean. It's a great place to start a business. And while it is conservative, it's not hell fire and brimstone conservative like the Deep South so they won't mistreat you for telling them you are a liberal but they are very Christian and won't necessarily embrace you with open arms if you say you don't attend church and are not really into Christianity. It's big there but be prepared for other members to now dispute everything i said and deny all of this.

Given your situation, I would move there. It's an excellent place to raise a family and all of you could benefit from your husband making more money there but just be aware of the mentality there. I wouldn't go around freely and openly telling people you are not Christian and don't want to raise your child as a Christian.