Should I take the offer and move to Dallas???

[Squirl]

Originally Posted by ggolf

). And since the Counselor will be working downtown, ed.

Doubt the OP is a lawyer....I don't know any lawyers who get OT pay. Law firms have lots of jobs, administrative, IT jobs....even on-staff caterer/food service jobs.

[SunnyTXsmile]

Originally Posted by PlanoGirl

I suppose it depends on your lifestyle too. We are a family of 4 on 90K, and we feel like we live quite well on this salary. We are fortunate to not have any debt except our mortgage and one (low) car payment, so that definitely helps. We do have some vices though....Hubby likes his techy gadgets, we both like to eat out, and we like to vacation and provide interesting/ educational opportunities for our kids. I guess we just pick and choose what we spend our money on, as we are frugal in a lot of places others aren't....we drive used cars, don't buy designer clothes (Target, Old Navy, Kohls, and JCP are my friends!)...or really designer anything for that matter, prefer to reuse/ repurpose furniture instead of buying new, don't buy our kids a lot of toys (can't say the same for the grandparents though...kids get enough toys from them to fill a store...sigh!),etc. I can say I think your lifestyle expectation is often influenced by others around you....your friends, family, even neighbors and community. Because of that, we gravitate to people and communities that have their values rooted more in 'experiences' of life, and less in the things.

Such fabulous advice.

[DPS25]

Originally Posted by SunnyTXsmile

Such fabulous advice.

Definitely. Fantastic advice.

[TX75007]

85K will go a lot further in TX.

I'd as for a relo package. Many people are getting them.

As for the actual relo, rent the first year close to work.

[mayflowers4me]

I just moved from Pittsburgh to Richardson. I think you can live somewhere in the area on 85K a year.

We paid about $4500 for our move to here from Pittsburgh with the company doing the packing and were reimbursed from my husband's job. Other quotes we received were slightly higher but we went with this company that we used the year before so we felt fine with the quote being a little lower than the others.

Your yearly salary is what it takes for us to pay our bills. Our rent is 2200, have two new vehicles, weekly maid and landscapers, private school fees, etc. We're a family of 6, soon to be 7. Now, if I had to live on your salary with our lifestyle, we'd be in a lot of trouble because we'd have no savings.

So I think if you're a more conservative than us you'll be just ok. But you should try to be savings oriented appropriate with your income/budget.

I don't know if you love it where you live but I hated Pittsburgh. So I can't tell you how happy I was to discover the Dallas area. My kids are SO happy and we're set. I prefer the lifestyle and weather here, though it's crazy hot right now. I did hear it's a little unusual to be 'this' hot, but I think you'll find that the winters are a piece of cake! We'll all be walking around in shorts while Dallas closes down due to possible flurries haha, slightly kidding.

[carroll4628]

Originally Posted by NOEL123

But we are also still need to sell our house in Philly. Do you think the firm will assist us in getting a temporary housing in Dallas and also assist us in selling our current house?.

Any suggestions on housing since I'll be working in downtown?

First, how's your mortgage. Will you be able to sell your house in the "red" or is there a possibility of you taking a loss. That would be my first concern.

Second, do you have enough savings to rent in Dallas while your house is on the market in Philly for 6months, 9months, etc? (I dont' know what the real estate market is like there.)

The relocation packages vary by the company and the position within the company - AT&T for example has levels A-C (at least those are the only levels we've ever been at, so I suspect there's a level D for the officers). Depending on where your job fits, they may have a 'relocation plan' for that job level. Some companies will provide a living stipend, but it's often only 30 days and they will provide you a realtor to help you find a property to rent/buy. They will also find you a realtor to help sell your home.

If there's a situation in which you wish to purchase a home in Dallas, but you haven't sold your home in Philly yet, your company (through the relocation company Altair, Fidelity RS, etc.) MAY MAY MAY provide you with the equity in your Philly home (based on multiple appraisals) so you have the funds to purchase your Dallas home.

Housing suggestions for downtown are based on how much you have for renting/buying and how far you want to commute. I wouldn't look in Lakewood without $600k, Lake Highlands you can find something for $300k, for under $200k I personally think Forney is a nice area - 45 min to downtown in traffic/30min no traffic, and pretty smooth sailing on I30 and US80. Most people prefer to look north and there are many many many threads on the northern suburbs. Depends also if you have kids and need 'good' schools.

[Yokandyman]

You should take the offer, especially if you can get some assistance with relocation. Look into Design District downtown... I wouldn't recommend you go out into the suburbs for renting, unless you just absolutely have to. You probably want to be closer to your place of work and other opportunities for work and leisure without driving all day and night to and from the suburbs.

[NOEL123]

Thanks so much for everybody input and advises.

@mayflowers4me = $4500 for moving expenses. were they including moving your new cars?. What's the company name? You must have a lot of stuffs moved from PIT right?.

@yokandyman = Design District downtown is nice area but it's kind of pricy, what about schooling?

[mayflowers4me]

Originally Posted by NOEL123

Thanks so much for everybody input and advises.

@mayflowers4me = $4500 for moving expenses. were they including moving your new cars?. What's the company name? You must have a lot of stuffs moved from PIT right?.

@yokandyman = Design District downtown is nice area but it's kind of pricy, what about schooling?

Yes that's including a van being moved. They are a company in Portsmouth, Oh. Companies usually charge by the pounds and they come in and give a quote. Our quote is based on 5000 pounds plus the van. I can pm you the name of the company. We used them twice and are happy with their service. They did a direct delivery to our house, meaning they picked up on a Sunday and delivered on Tuesday. The other companies were giving us horrible deliver estimates. You'd need to make sure of their delivery timings. I am not sure if we were just lucky they were scheduled to pick up a load in Dallas at the time we were moving. We moved slightly earlier than we had to just because we didn't want to be without furniture and appliances for a week or so.

I don't know how they would give you a quote since they are in another state, but if you can get a quote from a reliable company including a good pounds estimate then you might be able to tell them the pounds on the phone. They are an honest company and lots of our friends have used them. We were quite scared of using other companies after reviewing BBB reports and forum comments on some moving sites. I hope we never have to move again.

We had the other car privately transported to Dallas for $800. They delivered in a couple of days, not so bad.