Starting new life in Texas - from Oregon (Dallas, Plano: salon, unemployment)

[tracey8876]

I am thinking of starting new life in TX.I have read many good thing about TX,I working for salon in Oregon for over 10 years and have two boys (10yrs and 11yrs) I am is singe mother, i have very good skill about beauty job.so hopefully some one in common with the locals ,thank a lot

[btheferrett]

Hey tracey8876-

Just moved to Oregon from Texas!

After 6 months in the Portland area, let me outline the differences after having been in the Dallas area most of my life. These are items that are the extreme culture shock items that I notice the most:

1. PDX drivers are VERY....painstakingly....get-on-my-last-nerve....slow. You better learn to step on it if you are going to drive in DFW, even teh side streets

2. There are an incredibly scary number of white people in PDX. I have never lived nor even visited someplace so white in my life. Therefore, you might feel that DFW (Texas in general) to be very ethnic

3. PDX people are extremely laid back...almost to a fault. In the workplace, on the road (as discussed), in the market, in the gym, you will have to learn to be much more of a fighter, and much more ambitious and goal-oriented to stay alive and move ahead. In DFW, I was seen at my job as the laid back hippie type. In my PDX office, same company, I am seen as aggressive...LOL!

4. DFW is so flat ugly and has poor weather conditions compared to PDX.

5. Schools are MUCH MUCH better in the DFW suburbs than anywhere in the PDX area....by far. This is the one reason that I will be moving back next Summer. For you, be aware that it is quite possible that your kids will be behind when they get there (if you are in Richardson, Plano, a few others)

[Mommy2WnAnT]

Poor weather as compared to PDX? Really!? I think it depends on the kind if weather you like. I prefer warm and sunny over constant cold and rain any day!

Also moving from Oregon to Texas very soon!

[btheferrett]

Originally Posted by Mommy2WnAnT

Poor weather as compared to PDX? Really!? I think it depends on the kind if weather you like. I prefer warm and sunny over constant cold and rain any day!

Also moving from Oregon to Texas very soon!

It's funny, I don't see it that way. Everyone said I would, but I don't.
The temperature gradient in Portland is from 40-90 360 days out of the year. Only 50 degree difference. In Dallas, it will change 50 degrees in an hour....and over the course of the year will go from 20 to 110. Additionally, there is no "ozone alert" here in Portland, and there is very rarely (once since I have been here) a "wind chill factor" unless you are in the gorge. Yes, it may rain about 300 out of 365 days, but on most of those rain days there is also sun for part of the day. Plus, "rain" here in Portland is not rain by Texas standards....it's "mist". When a storm comes in texas...one of those real TEXAS storms- one cannot drive nor walk in it. Until an hour later, of course, when it is suddenly either 110 with bright sun and so much bad air that you can't breather, or until an hour later when it is sunny but 20 degrees with a wind chill of 0.
Dallas weather is not horrible...no lake effects snow, etc...but it is more harsh than Portland in my opinion

[from nv]

Welcome to DFW! We grew up here in Irving (a Dallas suburb), have lived in several states around the US, and have recently returned here to live.

Dallas weather is not horrible, however it does have it's "moments"....especially during the spring when theres alot of storms, which sometimes result in tornadoes and/or hail. Summers are warm, but not unbearable. It does not have a dry heat, such as Arizona, but it's not humid like southern Texas.

Drivers here are always in a hurry, regardless where you are..highways, or surface streets.

There are lots of malls, businesses, and job opportunities.

Good luck on your move!

[FiddleDeeD]

There re not LOTS of job opportunities. We are in a budget crisis and unemployment is high and will go up even more once all the layoffs start. I would look for a salon with benefits and make sure that you have plenty of savings.