Am I crazy for wanting to move to Dallas? Coming from Bay Area (West: job market, school districts)

[Cowboys fan in Houston]

No one is saying that DFW is as good as the Bay or Chicago food wise. What I am saying is that it is being sold short in this thread. It's still one of the best places to eat in the US.

[kretsch]

Originally Posted by synchronicity

Totally disagree on both. IMHO, Bay Area blows away DFW food wise (as does Chicago). And I always preferred Pacific Time to Central - I 'd rather watch football games starting at 11AM instead of 1PM, and have the evening games over before 11PM (or later).

That said, the "live in DFW, travel elsewhere" is the model we're going with and it works surprisingly well, especially if one has a job where you can take off chunks of time in the summer. (Caveat - we have flight benes and so have it easier in that regard than most). Maybe DFW can best be summed up as "nice place to live, but you wouldn't want to visit there", and frankly there are a lot worse things one can say about a place. It delivers a lot of the functional things one needs at a very reasonable price and in a generally family-friendly fashion. It's not the tourist mecca the Bay Area is, but you can live well day-to-day in DFW and use the money you save to BE a tourist in the Bay Area.

I realize in saying this that there are many people who find DFW to be their preferred destination. Again, I'm not one of them...but even taking things from that point of view, there's still a lot of value here.

uh, you may have time zones confused because our football starts at 11 for college/12 for pros

and i would like to understand how bay area food blows dfw food out of the water. i've been to the bay area several times and at no point did I think the dining was head and shoulders above what dfw has to offer. they aren't at the same level but i don't think its that big of a difference.

[thenewtexan]

Originally Posted by landesb

Perfectly put! California is a wonderful, beautiful place. However it's also filled with people with six figure incomes that can only afford to rent and live paycheck to paycheck.

Straight from the horse's mouth! With that said, don't move to DFW just for the money. It has a lot to offer than just economics. Come visit during the summer, rent a car, check it out, make a list. Go everywhere from downtown to Waxahatchie to Wylie.

[dinoo82]

Originally Posted by peterlemonjello

Just curious, where are you eating your Asian food?

Coming from LA, we used to think that until we realized that the best Asian food in "Dallas" isn't in Dallas. Its in Plano, Richardson, Carrollton, etc. Broken down, I would say it goes like this:

Korean food: On par with California. Dallas does this one well
Chinese food: The number of really good Chinese restaurants pales greatly compared to California, but there are still a dozen or so very good ones.
Vietnamese food: On par with California, though much more centralized in Garland and Arlington. Not nearly as widespread as California.
Thai food: Most Thai restaurants here taste the same, but there is the Thai Temple which on Sundays serves Thai food. Thats amazing. Overall, its hard to compare to Thai town in LA.
Japanese food: This is the only category where Dallas truly lags in my opinion. It seems to be all fusion to appeal to the American taste.
Filipino food: Only a few really good spots here. Not on widespread like LA.
Indian food: Is BETTER here than LA.
Pakistani food: Is BETTER here than LA.

Overall, I find the Asian food here good if you know where to go. Its not LA, but there are still some very good spots.

I haven't been here that long yet so I havent tried a lot of yet but I usually go to Frisco and Plano for Asian food. I agree with you they are ok/good for TX but compared to LA/SF where I'm originally from, its no where close.

Thanks for the tips though! As I get more acclimated here, I hope to find all the good spots soon!

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by peterlemonjello

Just curious, where are you eating your Asian food?


Overall, I find the Asian food here good if you know where to go. Its not LA, but there are still some very good spots.

I'm guessing dinoo82 has never been to Richardson.

Originally Posted by cy_flembeck

Trust me, if houses were $120 a square foot in SF or La Jolla, the World would tip over because so many people would try to move there.

You bet your bippy. I'd be one of them.

[bluescreen73]

If I had to give DFW letter grades, here's where I'd rank it:

Economy: A+
Housing: A+
Dining: B+
Traffic: C-
Geography: D-
Climate: D-

DFW is what it is...a means to an end. It'll never be a tourist mecca or a "must-live" place like New York or LA. It's a place for people to go when they're looking for a decent income and cheap housing, and that's about it.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by bluescreen73

If I had to give DFW letter grades, here's where I'd rank it:

Economy: A+
Housing: A+
Dining: B+
Traffic: C-
Geography: D-
Climate: D-

DFW is what it is...a means to an end. It'll never be a tourist mecca or a "must-live" place like New York or LA. It's a place for people to go when they're looking for a decent income and cheap housing, and that's about it.

Mmm yeah, I agree with most of that though I would rank its economy and housing as A-, maybe B+. DFW has created a lot of jobs but a large percentage pay poverty wages and a lot of the white collar jobs are taken by relos from the coasts instead of being opened up to locals. Plus, if you're in IT, you're going to find a lot of the work out there is on crappy 1099 contracts with no benefits whatsoever in corporate sweatshops like BCBS, Bank of America, etc. There's a reason why they are always hiring.

[cy_flembeck]

Originally Posted by bluescreen73

If I had to give DFW letter grades, here's where I'd rank it:

Economy: A+
Housing: A+
Dining: B+
Traffic: C-
Geography: D-
Climate: D-

DFW is what it is...a means to an end. It'll never be a tourist mecca or a "must-live" place like New York or LA. It's a place for people to go when they're looking for a decent income and cheap housing, and that's about it.

I think that is accurate with one exception....Climate. I hear people say things like it is brutally hot in the summer and really cold in the Winter. I don't think that is the case at all.

The sun shines almost every day, there is very little snow, an ice storm or two every year and very little humidity in the summer.

Have you seen what has happened on the East Coast and in the South this year?

It is no Santa Barbara summer day or Scottsdale, AZ in February but 365 days a year compared to every square mile of the US, I would give it a B-.

[Cowboys fan in Houston]

Originally Posted by bluescreen73

If I had to give DFW letter grades, here's where I'd rank it:

Economy: A+
Housing: A+
Dining: B+
Traffic: C-
Geography: D-
Climate: D-

DFW is what it is...a means to an end. It'll never be a tourist mecca or a "must-live" place like New York or LA. It's a place for people to go when they're looking for a decent income and cheap housing, and that's about it.

Agreed for the most part. I would give dinning an A-. Based on that rating, Chicago, NYC, LA, and the Bay would be A+ dining cities. Houston, DC, New Orleans, and Boston would be a solid A. Dallas and DFW would be next in line.

[FriscoTex]

The cost of living in the metroplex is one major reason to move here....especially once you are starting a family and if you or your spouse wants the option of staying at home. If we lived in Cali we wouldn't be able to travel within the US or international as much as we do and I look forward to going on and planning vacations. I wouldn't retire here, and I wouldn't pick DFW as my first choice as a single 20-something. Too bad your company isn't in Austin, I always feel like the vibe in Austin is similar to the Bay area and would make an easier transition. Good luck w/ your decision!