Thinking of moving from Orange County CA to Dallas **please help** (Plano: school, tornadoes)

[Lakewooder]

The central parts of Dallas near and just north of I-30 have little violent crime. If you watch the news these days, there seem to be more crime in the older burbs. The central part of Dallas is more affluent than anyplace else in DFW, so that does attract some property crime.

[blueskies49]

Originally Posted by ladysrodgers

Here's a picture of it.

Great pic, ladysrodgers! I've seen green swirling clouds but didn't have a camera handy.

[Lakewooder]

Yep...good one - although after you've been here some time, you will probably just shrug and go on your way...

Still, my grandmother always said to keep one eye open when things turn green.

[shaxs]

Originally Posted by AKgirlinCA

Wow, I'm pleasantly surprised by all of the feedback. Thank you all. I am not a native Californian and in no way boast about it, in fact I don't have tons of nice things to say about California. I am a proud Alaska girl though born and raised. Looks like I have a few things to consider and I really appreciate everyones feedback. I guess I will have to come out there and see for myself. I do realize that no place is perfect but we just want to be able to afford a mortgage on a decent house , nothing fancy, in a decent area, with a decent wage. This is all too much to ask for in SoCal. It doesn't seem to be too much to ask for in Dallas. We'll see I'll keep checking back for more feedback.

I feel you there. I was originally born in Texas and my parents move us to CA when I was in second grade. I currently live in a San Diego community called La Mesa. It is in East county and I still pay $2100 a month to rent a 1500 sq ft live/work condo. Ridiculous. I cant wait to come back to my roots!

[shaxs]

Originally Posted by ladysrodgers

I've taken my chances with earthquakes on more than one occasion.....they aren't that frequent. People who have never lived in CA seem to think they happen all the time. You do feel tremors from time to time, but as far as ground breaking, it's rather rare.

Tornadoes on the other hand, occur here every single year without exception.

But if you compare the number of people killed in CA earthquakes to Texas tornadoes, you will see a lot more deaths in CA.

[shaxs]

Originally Posted by nativeDallasite

I don't know why people are so paranoid about tornadoes anyway. It's silly. There's almost nowhere in the US that isn't prone to one type of natural disaster or another. If it's not tornadoes and hail in Texas, it's floods in the midwest and Gulf coast...hurricanes on the east coast and Gulf coast...blizzards in the north...avalanches, mudslides, etc. in the mountains...earthquakes and wildfires in California...freaking VOLCANOS in the PNW...etc. Nature is dangerous.

Of all of those, I think I prefer tornadoes...the damage is almost always confined to a small area and they don't actually kill that many people. Plus, I know what to do when a tornado is coming.

Ah yes.. the wildfires suck. I have been affected by the last two and let me tell you, I will not miss them when I leave here. The fires themselves are FAR more destructive than tornadoes in Texas.

[shaxs]

Originally Posted by blueskies49

I agree that tornados are far more numerous in OK but they are not all that rare here. This past spring there were at least two warnings in Arlington with one being near the Parks Mall putting the shoppers in danger. The local news covered it. In south Arlington near the Mansfield border the sirens were going off near where my daughter lives. And my stepkids and their mother were in a Walmart in Forney just east of Dallas and all the customers were made to seek shelter inside the store.

I know there are more watches than actual warnings here but sightings occur every year in the DFW area with some actual touchdowns in some years. The huge one in downtown Fort Worth happened in 2000 with several smaller ones in surrounding cities over the years.

I'm just saying most people's chances of actually being in a tornado in this area are rare and shouldn't be of needless concern. But on the other hand, don't go traipsing out into the storms thinking there will be no potential danger. Just make sure and watch the weather alerts carefully especially in the spring as they can pop up quite suddenly at times.

My fiancee and I really liked Arlington. She wants to attend UTA to get her masters in social work. Are you saying there are a lot of tornadoes in Arlington?

[AKgirlinCA]

Thank you everyone for all of your feedback, I really appreciate it. My husband and I are coming out there in April to check everything out.

[blueskies49]

Originally Posted by shaxs

My fiancee and I really liked Arlington. She wants to attend UTA to get her masters in social work. Are you saying there are a lot of tornadoes in Arlington?

No, not statistically any more than any other town around here. I'm just saying that although most of Texas is in Tornado Alley and the potential is always here in the spring and even to a lesser extent through the fall, you really don't need to be concerned. Some years are worse than others. Just keep an eye on the weather whenever there are watches.

Come on down and don't worry!

[blueskies49]

Originally Posted by AKgirlinCA

Thank you everyone for all of your feedback, I really appreciate it. My husband and I are coming out there in April to check everything out.

You're welcome! Hope you like what you find!